The Solution to April Fool's Game

It was with real pleasure that I saw you had fun with the little game on April Fool's day. It was fun for me as well and I enjoyed reading your thinking behind every guess. Thank you!

Now, on to the solutions.

The correct answer is #3: there is a DNA-developed technique in which scientists are set to create the ultimate bespoke fragrance.

The rest had some grain of truth in them, but they were ultimately false.
Madonna has been linked with her own celebrity scent for ages, but no one has ever heard anything more about it, least of all about names, colour of juice and deals. I admit to fabrication...
Gucci badly needs an in-house perfumer, if only to sort out all those same name fragrances and ressurect some of the older defunct ones (like Arte di Gucci and Gucci No.3, a lovely chypre in the old style). It was tempting to designate Sheldrake for the job...
Chanel should probably issue a parfum form for all Les Exclusifs, and especially 31 Rue Cambon, although rumour has it they went for the gigantic bottles inspired by the commercial success of the big bottles of Creed (who would have thought?). Luckily Bois des Îles and Cuir de Russie are still being made in exrait de parfum, available from their Paris boutique. Of course the issues of birch tar and Mysore sandalwood remain, but I trust they will find a way. For our sake!

Since many of you have guessed right I opted for a little random draw among the correct guesses and the winner is Elysium! Please mail me your info so I can send you your prize.

Thanks again to all for your clever guesses and stay tuned for a practical and useful primer post shortly!

Exciting News!

As always we have the extreme pleasure of bringing you news that will delight or trouble, depending on your tastes and expectations.
Without further ado, here is the latest:

1. Madonna who has been rumoured with issuing her own celebrity scent for ever (and who is by all means a fragrance hoarder) is finally doing just that: She has striken a deal with Coty, brand to the stars, and will launch a fragrance named "Enlightment Forever". Inspired by her own spiritual journey through the years, it will be coloured bright red to match the little red Kaballah bracelets the stars are wearing with a cap in orange, colour of spiritual awakening. Despite Coty's average licences for celebrity perfumes, Madonna's will be featured only at select doors and will retail at the higher end of the price range, perhaps as a nod to her upscale British living.
She has plans of issuing children's scents next, inspired by her own offspring. Best of luck to her!

2. Chris Sheldrake, the prodigy behind the Serge Lutens line and up till now collaborator in the creative department of parfums Chanel, has announced artistic disagreement with Jacques Polge and is leaving the house. Rumours want him to become the in-house nose of Gucci, following in the steps of Duriez for Patou and Ellena for Hermes.
Effective come June of this year. Can't wait!

3. Scientistis and perfumers collaborate on the ultimate personal, bespoke scent. A concept of a fragrance based on a person's individual DNA. Yes, it's as you heard: a cotton swab will take a small sample from inside your cheek CSI-mode-like and then perfumers will work on accords that suit your individual chemistry and of course tastes (you will be asked, I presume). The service promises that after use of a person's DNA, no data or specimen is kept but they are destroyed to protect individual rights. The idea sounds terribly futuristic but wonderful, no?

4. Chanel has announced they are issuing a parfum version of their most lauded perfume from Les Exclusifs: 31 Rue Cambon. It was about time! I always thought the Eau de toilette was doing it a disservice being so light and fleeting. Unfortunately to do that they are officially discontinuing the parfum strength of Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie, due to allergen issues with birch tar for the former and environmental issues with Mysore sandalwood depletion for the latter. It was a long way in the coming, as we have discussed before... Sad, though.


But don't despair! Not everything you read is true. It's just phrased to sound like it, in typical perfume-industry mode. You did look at the date above, didn't you?
So, a little April Fool's GAME: spot the true from the false and you will win a decant of a niche scent. Alors!

Artwork La Joconde by Gelitin, courtesy of the New York Times

Average Person vs Perfumista

Sometimes a question is not just a question. It includes its own answer and some surplus connotations as well. How can this theory be applied to perfume discussion? Here is how: "Do you think the average person on the street would like Chanel Bois des Îles?" The thought was further elaborated: "Does our extreme focus on fragrances make us unable to be impartial judges at this point to what appeals to the masses? And finally...do we even care what the person on the street thinks as long as we like it?" This got me thinking.

For some reason, a question like that presupposes certain things:

1) that Bois des Îles is not popular anyway (OK, I am willing to believe this due to exclusivity, if not taste)
2) that Bois des Îles is therefore somehow superior (which in all truth it is...But this is besides the point, as it is getting asked, so supposedly it would be under scrutiny whether it is)
3) that the average person cannot recognise the value of a superior fragrance if they smell it
4) that the person asking is not average (notice the term "masses")
6) therefore, by process of syllogism, the person asking is superior.

Don't you think such questions are more about the questioner than the question?

The answers are just as interesting:
"I do not think Bois Des Îlesis a particularly accessible fragrance" coming from a "newbie" as she admits. Another continues the above thinking: "I don't eat what the average person on the street eats (McDonalds!) and I'm sure they don't share my taste in scent. That's fine, we can have rarefied taste..." To which there is some follow up: "Bois des Îleswas not made for the average people. I am not interested in their reactions".
And the pièce de resistance, someone asks: "Which street?" (I am laughing now with the wry humour. If it's not humour, then I don't know what to say!)

A friend with whom I discussed this replied with another question: "Why the hell would I want the average person to love it on ME?"
Because it is inferred we pick them, not the other way around. True, dear, true.

Since when our choice of perfume makes us superior? Or is this as ancient as the first cavewoman/caveman who rubbed herbs on the body and believed to be better than the neighbour next...cave-opening? I am asking you!

Pic originally uploaded on Wit of the staircase

2008 fragrance anniversaries

Several significant fragrance anniversaries are scattered through 2008: the House of Guerlain’s 180th year (to mark which a new men’s scent is in the works), L’Air du Temps’ 60th and the 30th for several other classic scents: Polo, Mûre et Musc and Azzaro pour Homme.

Personally I am very intrigued with what Guerlain might further do for the occassion: being my favourite house and with a revamped image in the last few years, sourcing through their back catalogue, I am eager for more! In the meantime, Guerlain is launching a limited edition of its best-seller for men, Habit Rouge, this spring. Named Habit de Metal , it is a collectible presented in a metallic-red lacquered flask, in a silvery package. The scent remains the same gorgeous powdery oriental. The Eau de toilette comes in 3.4 oz/100ml and retails for €70.


For the holidays of 2008, Nina Ricci will issue a prestigious collector’s edition for the powdery floral L'air du temps: a duo in “day and night” Lalique crystal. The set will comprise two bottles of extrait de parfum; one a pale, opalescent crystal, the other a shiny black. The set will be presented in a round jewel box with a black satin ribbon that will come in only 1,382 numbered sets for the entire world. The Lalique crystal extrait de parfum bottles will contain ¼ fl. oz. each and will retail at €227. {info through Osmoz}

Check back later for an opinion article.

Pic of Nina Ricci ad from the 70s courtesy of Parfums de pub

Perfumes the Guide by Turin and Sanchez: sneak preview and review

The perfume guide being written by odor guru Luca Turin with co-author and his newlywed Tania Sanchez was shrouded in mystery for some time. It has been 15 years since Turin had penned the original, now out-of-print Parfums, Le Guide in French. Since then the eruption of the Internet made English-reading audiences thirsty for his erudition, sporadically catered for through his NZZ Folio column and defunct blog. Finally this new guide is fast approaching. I received my copy in advance and I am in the position to tell you that it is a good read! Perfume Shrine is in fact the first perfume blog to post an actual review of the new Guide.

Although it claims to be “the definitive guide to the world of perfume”, I find that such a task is so monumental in its scope that it might as well be awarded the Everest-climbing seal of effort. It’s simply a Titan feat to accomplish! However, Perfumes the Guide impressed me as being a very pleasurable guide through the opacity of perfume shopping, low on the purple-o-Meter and more importantly one that does not require a former education on the subject while being scientifically elucidating.

How does the book "flow"?
Luca continues to write in his familiar vernacular (references to classical music and sports cars abound) that manages to be witty and caustic most of the time, even if one disagrees, with the admirable trait of laconic delivery. The latter should serve as a lesson to my anal-retentive habit of elaborating on any possible historical minutiae when writing myself.
Tania seems to have also benefited from her stint as editor-cum-muse, not having forgotten her Makeup Alley roots which she credits. Her writing is removed from previous exaggerations and is to the point, sometimes rivaling her prototype in acerbity and realism. They alternatively (identified by initials) take on almost 1500 fragrances -per the book jacket- circulating in department stores, drugstores and niche boutiques today. Something at every price point. The system is easy and relies on a 5 star point scale (from 1 for awful to 5 for masterpiece) ~which is to be expected in any product qualitatively measured these days. Wine appreciation guides as well as cinephile sites have contributed to this system becoming increasingly common. It will do.

The structure of the book is divided into uneven parts:

1. The brief introduction by TS focuses on how perfume is part of culture and criticism is inherent in any art form ~ergo in perfume as well, and everyone should get used to it
2. Essay on how to choose fragrances for oneself and for the occassion
3. Essay on why would men want to wear scent and categories of masculine fragrances with impromptu, fun names like "Lawrence of Arabia" for orientals
4. A brief introduction to the history of modern perfumes' emergence, which to LT is inextricably tied to the rise in synthetics. Somehow like a brick off his previous book but informative.
5. Some answers to frequently asked elementary questions, one of which is the perennial “skin chemistry” affecting fragrances (the short answer is "not really")
6. The reviews, which take the huge bulk of the book in easy to follow alphabetical order
7. A very brief glossary of terms
8. Top ten lists in the categories of: best feminines, best masculines, best cross-gender choices, best picks from floral, chypre and oriental families and the innovatively intelligent best quiet and best loud fragrances; as an epilogue an index by star-rating of all the fragrances reviewed.

What I enjoyed:

~The to-the-point monikers beside the perfumes, instead of general classifications which usually prove so pointless to the reader. Instead the two-word descriptors are uncunningly accurate most of the time. Those range from the merely descriptive (“rasberry vanilla” for Armani Diamonds) to the outright dismissive (“nasty floral” for Bright Crystal by Versace or “fruity death” for Nanette Lepore), through the poetically inclined (“angry rose” for Malle’s Une Rose or “snowy floral” for Pleasures) and the iconically untouchables (“reference vetiver” for Guerlain’s).
I had much fun with the “not X” and “not Y” descriptors besides perfumes which are actually named X or Y something. It is so true, it’s hilarious! It’s refreshing to see that Lauder's Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia gets the “true gardenia” descriptor, because hey, it does smell like it and making it into the best florals category.

~That no perfume is spared based on its former laurels. This is a personal pet peeve of mine, I admit, when reading perfume criticism online; especially on perfume blogs and fora. Too often the illustrious reputation and history of a fragrance earn it a state of grace that is completely undeserved in its present formulation. To their credit, LT and TS dismember each and every one of those old beauties and see just how successful the facelift was: Are there any visible scars? Forehead immovable? Eyes not going beyond the perpetually surprised? Oh, it’s breathing and smiling again, there’s a dear! Or is it terminally confined to Joan-Rivers-land? It’s a great misfortune that the majority belongs to the latter category. Caron fans are in for a bumby landing!

~That two indie perfumers (and people who are trully sweet) received accolades for their work in this tome: Andy Tauer, mainly for his superb L’air du desert marocain (which earned the masterpiece 5-star award, with honorable mentions for Le Maroc, Rêverie and Lonestar Memories). And Vero Kern whose Onda, Kiki and Rubj received each 4 stars. For someone who is mentioned as coming initially from aromatherapy (a no-no obviously in LT’s books), this is not just high praise, it’s being toured round Zeus for the first time ever. Bravo Vero!

~That Luca Turin has relaxed his stance against perfumes that use only natural essences and included creations by Dominique Dubrana, who will be featured on these pages soon. A small step for one man; a huge step for a whole artistic movement.

What I did not like as much:

~The impression that fragrances created by friend perfumers are seemingly described in more raptured tones. The fact that some of those perfumers are actually mentioned as friends leaves a little bit of hesitancy to the reader in ingesting the opinion proferred. Not that I doubt the best possible intentions, mind you.

~The idolatry surrounding most of Sophia Grojsman’s scents down to 100% Love (formely known as the artwork named S-Love). Do I read her referred to as trismegista? I can’t explain why. I trust it does not fall under the previous category. The comparable disparagement of Jean Claude Ellena’s and Olivia Giacobetti's aesthetic with sporadic exceptions.
Celebrity deathmatch indeed of two diametrically antithetical worlds.

~In fact there is a tendency of formed opinion regarding brands more than individual perfumes (By Killian is "good" while Le Labo is "bad", although to me they seem to be equally poseurs). I might attribute that to opinion on the concept of a line, however.

~The glossary provided is very poor in a guide that purpots to be “the definitive” one. Perhaps they meant it as a help through the lingo used throughout the reviews. For the perfume enthusiast it is formulaic and not offering anything new.


In essence (pun intended), Perfumes The Guide is not going the exposé route that Chandler Burr did with his The Perfect Scent and therefore perfume lovers will not find out as many revelations either, but it is an absorbing, very entertaining read that will be referenced from now on on every possible online venue. Rookies especially will have a field day with the latter activity (bound to grate on the nerves of the rest of us). More seasoned perfumephiles can disagree from time to time... Oh and Luca, please drop the Keen fishing sandals over socks.

Perfumes the Guide is officially coming out on April 10. You can preorder it clicking Perfumes: The Guide

Pic of book jacket courtesy of Amazon, pic of LT and TS courtesy of the perfume pilgrim. Pic from the Terry Gilliam 1985 film Brazil courtesy of filmforum.org