tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post8670282557551503996..comments2024-03-29T05:13:21.130+00:00Comments on Perfume Shrine: Fragrance Choices in Relation to Character & Ambience Delineation in NovelsPerfumeshrinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-13522344750196679722013-01-16T10:19:33.636+00:002013-01-16T10:19:33.636+00:00C,
dipping the pages in corresponding perfume! Th...C,<br /><br />dipping the pages in corresponding perfume! There's an idea! It would make for very involving reading and a memorable experience when re-picking up the book to do some reading anew. I know of a lot of people who have extremely fond memories of <i>I Capture the Castle. </i><br /><br />Of course it would only work with things that are relative to any given book and not arbitrarilyPerfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-4836597136685857352013-01-16T10:16:38.150+00:002013-01-16T10:16:38.150+00:00Warum,
yeah, there are those references in the Ru...Warum,<br /><br />yeah, there are those references in the Russian novel. Presenting them with Chanel, Guerlain etc. too (I found it interesting that the house names were given as if to render cachet)<br />It's a pity that the novel with all its Soviet references didn't ring a bell for me and I could only read it as a revolt against a suffocating bureaucracy (to which I can relate to)<br /Perfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-23257700247645361962013-01-16T10:11:22.709+00:002013-01-16T10:11:22.709+00:00I,
it's such a classic and in such a pyramida...I,<br /><br />it's such a classic and in such a pyramidal mold that things pop out one by one at intervals. The whole smells smooth and seamless though. Perfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-91623341979956958922013-01-16T10:10:10.342+00:002013-01-16T10:10:10.342+00:00Carole,
Mitsouko is a Guerlain misspelling of the...Carole,<br /><br />Mitsouko is a Guerlain misspelling of the Japanese word, thee's no Mitsouko in Japanese (but there's the heroine..) <br />How lovely that the character keeps steady on the perfume front, gives a constant to her. Perfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-65271004807919764442013-01-16T08:33:58.243+00:002013-01-16T08:33:58.243+00:00Doing some back reading & enjoyed this.
I ado...Doing some back reading & enjoyed this.<br /><br />I adore I Capture the Castle, having read it first as a-bit-too-young girl & later rediscovered it & all my memories of it came rushing back - & I understood a number more things. I actually ordered a sample of Bluebell based on it, and am currently considering dripping a little on the appropriate pages of my paperback & Miss Heliotropenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-959671732523045822011-05-17T21:50:07.515+01:002011-05-17T21:50:07.515+01:00I love fragrance references now. I used to not not...I love fragrance references now. I used to not notice them, but now I do. Recently I noticed that in Michail Bulgakov's classic Master and Margarita there's a fragrance reference -- when Hella opens a magic shop on stage of the Variete Theater, she lures women in by the names "mitsouko" and "narciss noir" :)) <br /><br />Margarita also gives Natasha a bottle of a.k.a. Warumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14751185174871487907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-44905656657161136572011-05-04T21:29:09.626+01:002011-05-04T21:29:09.626+01:00Dear H,
I came home this evening and went in sear...Dear H,<br /><br />I came home this evening and went in search of Bal a Versailles to smell for myself. I have a clear memory of having a little miniature bottle of it, only to go through everything and not find it.<br />So, then I checked my recent vintage haul and found a half-empty miniature edt and I'm smelling it now. I love it but I would never have guessed at civet and jasmine (then Ineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12119611878721554991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-24558835928930271262011-05-04T14:48:06.874+01:002011-05-04T14:48:06.874+01:00I should have typed 'Mitsuko', of course-s...I should have typed 'Mitsuko', of course-so sorry about that! And other characters spoke of Calypso's beauty and mystery, and dry wit. The character appears throughout many of the nvels-growing older and becoming wiser, and always wearing Mitsuko :)<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />CaroleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-85096416308206678962011-05-04T11:48:06.795+01:002011-05-04T11:48:06.795+01:00Ines,
how very interesting!
Smart thinking that...Ines,<br /><br />how very interesting! <br /><br />Smart thinking that authors who embrace all the senses are somehow "smarter"; I think you're on to something, although of course that does not exclude the more purposefully cerebral writers from excellence. But I like sensuality in novels. <br /><br />I think lots of people have a negative association with heavy chypres, maybe Perfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-33717020092506225552011-05-04T11:43:44.543+01:002011-05-04T11:43:44.543+01:00Carole,
thank you, it has been much needed rest a...Carole,<br /><br />thank you, it has been much needed rest and at the same time apprenticeship on the matter which interests me. ;-)<br /><br />Good thinking on Gone with the Wind, thank you! Iconic gargling cologne scene to hide her drinking in the film. I recall her mother saying that she shouldn't take fragrances as gifts from men, which is such "classic" advice. <br /><br />Perfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-86633795152391904512011-05-04T11:40:49.874+01:002011-05-04T11:40:49.874+01:00Noz,
great references and close to my heart since...Noz,<br /><br />great references and close to my heart since the geisha celebration of pleasing the senses is such a nuanced and complex issue. Thank you!!<br />I need to catch on Lisa Darby; I remember being interested in her years ago when I was reading Memoirs of a Geisha and she was giving interviews in documentaries about the book. Cocoa Lavande sounds rather westernized, though, doesn'tPerfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-57414518640003336412011-05-04T11:38:34.617+01:002011-05-04T11:38:34.617+01:00C,
wow, talk about an influence!! It does sound l...C,<br /><br />wow, talk about an influence!! It does sound like something that would catch a young girl's fancy though. And it's romantic. :-)<br /><br />Thanks for chiming in!Perfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-79249271146548284242011-05-03T16:33:12.899+01:002011-05-03T16:33:12.899+01:00I'm finally back so I can answer in peace.
Yes...I'm finally back so I can answer in peace.<br />Yes, the novels I read contain smell references. Actually, from my experience, most novels I read have at least some reference to smells.<br />But after this post, I was reading a book where the main character has an allergic reaction to some heavy stuff worn by the evil female character (I believe it would be some kind of a heavy chypre from Ineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12119611878721554991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-52902197935224688862011-05-01T19:06:10.572+01:002011-05-01T19:06:10.572+01:00I love what Ines said-about being lost in the mome...I love what Ines said-about being lost in the moment but knowing she enjoyed it. It's a beautiful thought.<br /><br />I remember reading Gone With The Wind when I was 11, and reading that Scarlett wore rouge and used Florida water in her hair, and for a mouth wash( to disguise the alcohol she drank). She knows when she attends a ball that her cheeks are prettier, and her hair more fragrant,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-82230727269657869272011-05-01T02:02:48.671+01:002011-05-01T02:02:48.671+01:00Great topic! I've been catching up on novels ...Great topic! I've been catching up on novels by Liza Dalby (her best known book, Geisha, describes her apprenticeship as a geisha in Japan). There are numerous scent references in the novels: for example, a textile designer in Hidden Buddhas wears traditional powdered incense (zukoh) in her hair, reflecting her traditional and spiritual nature; her rebellious daughter opens a fashion Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-22006439746839150522011-04-30T15:01:05.117+01:002011-04-30T15:01:05.117+01:00When I was in my late teens/early 20, I read "...When I was in my late teens/early 20, I read "The Tin Drum" There is much talk about scents in that book, most notably when Oskar is smitten with Maria and she smelled like vanilla. For about a year, I would dab myself with vanilla extract!Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394558427981331885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-37861149793053121642011-04-30T09:44:52.232+01:002011-04-30T09:44:52.232+01:00Annemarie,
thank you and thanks for commenting!
I...Annemarie,<br /><br />thank you and thanks for commenting!<br />I wouldn't take Linda for an insensitive type, but rather the type that goes for honest appreciation of situations, even if she doesn't act up on them (i.e. keeping up the pretence in what concerns her marriage for instance)<br />Like you say, she hangs on to her sense of self. Perhaps her fragrance choice showcases this: herPerfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-20741920937192267532011-04-30T09:38:36.729+01:002011-04-30T09:38:36.729+01:00Ines,
that's brilliant what you say there: be...Ines,<br /><br />that's brilliant what you say there: being ensnared in the moment is as good as any excuse not to notice something <i>consciously</i>. I bet your experiences are vivid and engrossing if you find you are that taken with them (and yes, I can see what you mean, even though myself I am more of an observant type sometimes). <br />Do the novels you read last contain any scent hintsPerfumeshrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222733129203280662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-5237016270687121342011-04-30T00:05:01.218+01:002011-04-30T00:05:01.218+01:00Lovely post. That reference to Apres L'Ondee i...Lovely post. That reference to Apres L'Ondee in The Pursuit of Love was the first time I had heard that perfume. Linda wears it, even in the misery and confusion (and horrid smells, no doubt!) of a camp for Spanish refugees. I've never thought that we are being invited to accuse her of brittle insensitivity. Instead she seems to be hanging on quite firmly to the things that maintain her annemariecnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3792393342962796253.post-76504917084077433982011-04-29T21:56:50.937+01:002011-04-29T21:56:50.937+01:00This is something I've been thinking about for...This is something I've been thinking about for a while now.<br />Before my fall into the perfume hole, I don't remember ever realizing reading about perfume or smells (like I did realize reading about landscapes for instance).<br />I don't know whether it's the fact that I could imagine them as I was reading or just didn't pay enough attention (both are equally possible). :)<Ineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12119611878721554991noreply@blogger.com