Today on NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook: "Scent and sensibility: Two top perfume critics explain how their world of scent works on us."
The one hour show airs at 11 am, and the guests include Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, authors of Perfumes: The Guide, and Patty Geissler of Perfume Posse.
You can find out more here. The station does offer both online streaming and an iTunes podcast.
Apropos of this, did you see Sunday Morning this previous Sunday, where Bill Geist meets the maker of “The Pope's Cologne”? Kevin reviewed the fragrance here: https://nstperfume.com/blog/_archives/2008/2/7/3509661.html
Dunno … any perfume, no matter how great, loses its appeal when one sees it pumped out of a 5-gal jug of polyethelyne plastic.
I missed it! They really showed it in a large plastic jug???
And was the guy interesting? Must say that is going to be the last time we ever get anywhere near the topic of religion around here…
Yes, they showed the jug, disillusion city all the way. My impression of the maker is that he is the most practical, prosaic sort of character who in a hearbeat could be distilling hot sauce from the same jug. Absolutely not a whiff of romance, he did take Geist to the back yard and show him a clump of jasmine and said it's the most expensive perfume ingredient, but I did not get the impassioned perfume zealot such as Turin or Sanchez. He also tried to get the Vatican to give up some more historical docs to get a clue to other Popes cologne concoction but I forget whether he hadn't been able to find any or the Vatican didn't give him any. He also makes other fragrances, one named after a bridge even. Somehow I don't think a line of perfume based on Popes would thrive. Geist did ask him how's business and he said “terrible!” with a straight face.
Oh, yeah. It was a jug like I've used for mixing pesticides (my parents farm). I thought he was kind of interesting, in as much as he's made a bunch of other scents for what seems to be his own pleasure (one was named “Deer Camp”, another after a nearby bridge).
Being a very lapsed RC, though, I can't say I'd like to smell papal. 🙂
Wow, that is too funny! Wish I had seen it…always wanted to see perfume poured out of a plastic jug. But you'd think w/ the current Pope's visit, he be able to sell some bottles…
No religious comments, please! We had enough of that discussion when Kevin reviewed the scent 😉
Do you know how psyched I would be to subscribe to a NowSmellThis podcast on iTunes…or a PerfumeSmellin'Things podcast…or a PerfumeCritic podcast…or a BaseNotes podcast? SO psyched! Heavy sigh.
My 2 problems: I detest the sound of my own voice, and I can't pronounce anything in French — which pretty much rules out my talking about perfume. Besides all that, seriously, I can hardly find the time to keep this site up as it is. So — bug all those others!
I loved this interview Robin, wish there would many more to listen to. Feel so inspired that I am going to try Chanel nr. 5 again for I haven't smelled it since the year 2000.
Back then a very dear friend of mine departed from Toronto to Lagos, Nigeria and with her she took bottle of Chanel nr.5 and a purse spray of Chanel nr.5. When she sprayed some on me I remembered it so well, even after many years. It is a completey timeless perfume. And now after another 8 years I will go and smell it again.
Chanel nr.5 will always be there.
Hope you will like Chanel no. 5 again 🙂