Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Perfume Quotes: "You have to feel like it's your own skin sweating perfume"

"There (should be) space between you and your perfume. It shouldn't be obnoxious and it should blend in a way that it almost gives you the feeling that it's your own skin that smells that way. I think that the intimacy between your perfume and your skin is very important. I envision my perfume of being, in a way, a no make-up make-up concept. You have to feel like it's your own skin sweating perfume. I love that idea." [It personally reminds me of concubines being fed raw musk to emit a pleasant scent when caressed in the distant past and of the swallowable perfume pill launched recently]


 Thus describes perfumer Francis Kurkdjian the two-plonged affair between perfume and wearer, a propos his newest perfume duo under Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Amyris for Women and Amyris for Men, disputing another famous perfume quote in the process too: "(Coco) Chanel used to say that you could put perfume wherever you want to be kissed. It doesn't work; I have tried. It gives a nasty taste when you eat perfume and it's the most horrible thing ever. No one wants to be kissed that way. I love to quote her sometimes but not that. Instead, put it next to where you want to be kissed."

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Perfume Quotes 

[quote source] [pic source]

11 comments:

  1. LOL, cracking up about the Coco Chanel comment because it is so true, and I have also had the same experience.

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  2. Jen,

    and me as well, which is why I found it odd that so many people quote it as gospel. ;-)
    Tasting perfume is horrible, most of the time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous19:47

    i agree with what he's saying, and this is how i feel about his lumiere noire pour femme on my skin - it becomes part of me, rather than sitting on top of me like a synthetic blob. a blob is okay sometimes, but i prefer this natural connection between flesh and scent. he and i actually talked about this when he visited the NM carrying his line a couple of years back. he was so cool to talk with - very approachable and kind.

    excited to try this new one of his!

    cheers,
    minette

    ReplyDelete
  4. annemariec23:53

    Worse than tasting perfume is getting a drop in your eye. If you particularly want to be kissed on your eyeball, go right ahead, but expect pain.

    I have always loved the 'my skin but better' concept. After yesterday's mention of Chanel body creams I remarked that I buy cheap body lotions. Actually I lied a bit - one of my most extravagant perfume purchases is the Chanel No 5 body creme, and it is sumptuous. It blends with the skin in exactly the way FK describes.

    I have since learned that you can get the same effect by mixing perfume with unscented lotion, but I have never regretted buying that No 5 creme.

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  5. Miss Heliotrope02:29

    I find some perfumes do become part of you & some dont - and it doesnt seem to have a reason. Today's Ormonde Jayne Woman seems to have become part of me, yet others that I love are still something that I have put on - sometimes but not always has something to do with the weather: the colder I am, the less scent merges, and I am a rather chilly person.

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  6. J,

    it's indeed very cute saying those things and very truthful. He seems quite amiable, from the little I have discussed with him. I hope to elicit more. He's clearly talented and worth watching his every new fragrance.

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  7. AMC,

    ouch!! Spraying accidentally in the eye is an involuntary rite of passage for many perfumistas, I suppose. It does hurt! (not as much as squirting with some dish-washing liquid though, I can attest!)

    Yup, agree with you. There are positively luxurious products in every range. The wisdom is picking the right ones and investing in what makes a difference. (I also like the No.5 cream myself, same for the No.19 lotion)

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    Replies
    1. Andrea20:10

      What is worse is spraying it in your preschool child's eye. In public. At Sephora. Not that I ever did that.......

      Delete
  8. C,

    there's truth to what you say! I too find that "warm" temp people have the ability to make scents more "intimate: sometimes. Though it does happen with some scents more than others (some of the classics and some of the modern "designer" fumes are clearly designed to be worn as an accessory rather than an extension of one's personal aura).
    Enjoy the OJ Woman!! Great pick! :-)

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  9. A,

    that takes the cake indeed... A very hasty and absent-minded mother I suppose?

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's 2020 and I've just seen this post, I totally agree with you - You have to feel like it's your own skin sweating perfume.. This is such a great article!

    ReplyDelete

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