80’s Perfume Ads and Camp: Calvin Klein’s Obsession
In 1964, the literary and art critic Susan Sontag published an essay in Partisan Review entitled “Notes on ‘Camp’” in which she enumerates …
A New, Noisier Way of Writing – from the New York Times
Anand Giridharadas writes in the New York Times about how the digital age has changed the pace of writing. His thoughts are …
Frédéric Malle’s On Perfume Making
Frédéric Malle is my all time favorite perfumer. His ability to attract the most creative noses in the business helped him to …
Painting and Scent: Pierre Bonnard’s Perfumed Impressionism
Pierre Bonnard was part of a group of French artists called Les Nabis, post-Impressionist painters who came together in the late 19th …
The challenge of writing about smells
In 3QuarksDaily.com, Rishidev Chaudhuri writes a brilliant review of the now classic book on perfumes, “Perfumes: The A-Z Guide” by Luca Turin …
Chanel Egoiste Ad
Sometimes us perfume bloggers take ourselves a little too seriously. This post is an antidote to that. Am I the only one …
For the Love of Perfume: Blogging and its discontents
Full disclosure: I am an amateur enthusiast of perfume on Stage 3 of NST’s brilliantly described progression of perfumania. In my short …
In 2010, the Museum of Art and Design in New York City appointed the former New York Times scent critic, Chandler Burr, to be the head of their newly created Department of Olfactory Art. Burr will … → February 16, 2012
The social significance of perfume: Antiquity
The Song of Solomon: Chapter 1 (excerpt) I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots. …
And suddenly the memory returns: Marcel Proust
Perfumers love Marcel Proust. The “episode of the madeleine” is the most famous passage from his multi-volume masterpiece, “À la recherche du …
The social significance of perfume: Introduction
Denyse Beaulieu interviews Antoine Lie on her fantastic blog, Grain de musc. Monsieur Lie has created scents for Burberry, Calvin Klein, Givenchy, …
Avant-garde style: is it possible in the perfume world?
Who doesn’t love Bill Cunningham? He’s been photographing New York fashion for decades on the streets of Fifth Avenue for the …
Baudelaire’s Perfumed Imaginary
There can be perfumes cool as children’s flesh, Like fiddles, sweet, like meadows greenly fresh. Rich, complex, and triumphant, others roll With …