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Hundreds of similar fragrances, the suffocated American housewife, blurred boundaries

Posted by Robin on 10 December 2010 7 Comments

Hundreds of similar fragrances are launched each year, mainly by the five big perfume houses, and in a fragrance market worth £1bn in sales, last year 46 per cent of product was shifted in the Christmas holiday period, despite striking similarities between many of the products.

— That pretty much sums things up, no? From Chemical romance: How did chemists become the greatest force in fragrance? at The Independent.

Diorissimo, a synthesised lily-of-the-valley fragrance, was used to conjure up images of the suffocated American housewife, while the decadence and hedonism of the 1970s were epitomised by Opium.

— On behalf of Edmond Roudnitska, I protest! From Lights, cameras, olfaction: scratch and sniff movies at The Guardian.

There's no question that museums need corporate support, but fashion companies have a lot to gain from a public that is better informed about fragrance. Which means the potential for mutual benefits and boundary-blurring is high.

— The Wall Street Journal wonders who will pay for the new Center for Olfactory Art. From Confronting the Sniff Test.

Filed Under: perfume in the news

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7 Comments

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  1. VanMorrisonFan says:
    10 December 2010 at 12:30 pm

    Developments in the fragrance world are similar to what has happened with motion pictures over the last two or three decades. In the 1960’s and 1970’s writers and directors were the driving force as they championed unusual and off-beat projects. Think of movies like “Five Easy Pieces” or “Chinatown.” Even crowd pleasers like “Funny Girl” had a quirky feel to them. Starting in the mid-80’s the coporate world took over and creating a salable product beame the key. “Pictures with numbers” (Rocky I, Rocky II, Rocky III, etc.) became the norm – find a theme and ride it to death. Pictures with numbers are like the flankers of the fragrance industry – derivative commodities that are partially pre-packaged and can be marketed with only minor alterations. There’s little emphasis on creativity or innovation. When I was young and buying my first bottles of cologne the men’s fragrances were distinct – Polo, Armani Pour Homme, and Eau Sauvage are distinct products. You can’t confuse one for the other. That’s all gone now. Who cares you ask? If fragrance is a commodity like a quart of milk, then no one cares…but if it’s something more we should care.

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    • Robin says:
      10 December 2010 at 12:58 pm

      I don’t know if they’re really gone or just buried in the avalanche. It’s hard to believe, but the fragrance industry used to churn out 50 fragrances a year, and even then many inside the industry complained that it was too many.

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      • Tama says:
        10 December 2010 at 10:57 pm

        Only 50? Good grief, you’d have nothing to do.

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        • Robin says:
          11 December 2010 at 11:36 am

          LOL…you know, I complain about the number of launches, but you could hardly have forums or blogs with 50 launches!

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  2. VanMorrisonFan says:
    10 December 2010 at 2:48 pm

    There are still a lot of great independent/foreign/art-house films being made, but the mainstream movie go-er hardly sees any of them, because the local 16-screen movieplex won’t book them. In the same way the local department store relies on the usual suspects for the same type of product to stock its shelves. Of course, the movie business is in the midst of another revolution.

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  3. Erin says:
    10 December 2010 at 2:58 pm

    I thought Luca Turin said the LoTV for the suffocated American housewife was Gucci Envy! Poor old Diorissimo… Scratch and Sniff the movies sounds like a fun concept, though.

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    • Robin says:
      11 December 2010 at 11:37 am

      It does sound quite fun.

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