Created by a leading French perfumier, the scent is meant to be the olfactory embodiment of Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the ruthless dictator of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov.
— The fragrance, Mystérieusе, was created by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. Read more at Can the daughter of a dictator come up smelling of roses? at the Independent, and then check out the discussion at Bois de Jasmin. (hat tip to Donna!) Update: and here's another discussion at The Non-Blonde.
It can always become worse.
When Mr Duchaufour chose to work for Marc Atlan, that was a bad move, I think. The scent “Petite Mort” in my opinion is a slap in the face of any woman, or rather a punch below the belt , and Mr Atlan is one very unfriendly person.
This however finally makes me erase Mr Duchaufour from my favourite perfumers’ list.
I am actually quite shocked.
I’ll go and try to have a politically correct sniff.
Didn’ t work out, I am still petrified.
What will we have next? A perfume line dedicated to the dictator’s of the world past and present – and their beloved ones – starting with
“Eau de Pol Pot” and “Eva Braun en Soie”?
It’s interesting to read the widely differing reactions at Bois de Jasmin & The Non-Blonde. Personally I tend to be somewhere in the middle. I really don’t think he should have made this perfume, but it would not make me erase him from my list, or boycott his other fragrances.
I am completely aghast, as many other perfume lovers seem to be on those aforementioned blogs.
It is probably almost impossible to find an entirely politically correct scent, but when the lack of feeling for other people’s dismay is so openly displayed, I think it is high time to boycott.
I own L’Artisan’s Oudh which I love(d) dearly as well as a small
bottle of Pêche Hélène (which I think is a bit too sweet) and have always pondered on buying Dzonkha (wasn’t there some Tibet sweet talking involved?).
Well then, damage done, buying plans revoked.
Wow…this is bizzare…what kind of guy is going to whisper in the ear of his beloved…”You smell just like the daughter of a ruthless dictator.”
I would like to smell like the son of a ruthless dictator, or better yet, a ruthless dictator himself. “No Mercy” – by Bertrand Duchafour…for those who think the Spanish Inquisition was too touchy feeley…wait…that’s the next fragrance in the line…”Spanish Inquisition” – essence of Seville oranges, Spanish leather…maybe a little essence of napalm…
LOL at the No Mercy…and cannot help it, the Spanish Inquisition in general makes me laugh — it’s all the fault of Monty Python.
Looks like she has a fashion line and has designed jewelry for Chopard, so apparently her ties are not an impediment to her success in the fashion & beauty world.
Yeah, it’s not her fault that she was born to horrible people. Regardless, she does profit in many ways from her father’s position, the privilege she enjoys because of who she is and who her father is, is enormous.
My chief problem with this is that it’s just bizarre that thie is the tack they took, that phrase “olfactory embodiment of Gulnara Karimova” is just incredibly wierd, and as a broader concept, it just feels even stranger. I know it’s the terminology, if they’d said “to evoke the presence of Gulnara Karimova” it wouldn’t even have caused me to bat an eye, but “the olfactory embodiment of” is just a step way too far into la-la-land.
Oh, and the other thing I meant to say…traditionally there’s been an enormous romantic ideal regarding the daughters/wives/sisters of horrible men, it’s all over Western literature through like…all the eras of it. This neither surprises nor disturbs me, it looks like just another upsurge of Orientalism.
Well, do keep in mind that it’s the Independent’s wording there…no idea if she or BD ever said any such thing.
Actually, I think that unless you very clearly and publicly distance yourself from the actions and policies of parents like that, you should be smeared with the same brush.
ITA
You cannot be serious that the Inqusition makes you laugh?
Apart from the atrocities committed then, it has bequeathed
on modern society such wonderful organisations like what
is widely known as the Mafia.
I also like Monty Python, especially “The Life of Brian”.
Sorry, it makes me laugh, too. I was introduced to the Spanish Inquisition via Monty Python first, Mel Brook’s History of the World second and history class third. I blame my older brothers.
[comment removed] Petra, please see the comment policy. You cannot insult other readers, even if you don’t agree with them.
Now this was not an insult!
I am a bit at a loss here about the censorship.
To put it nicely: laughing about torture is inacceptable.
Petra, there is little point in you & I debating whether or not is ok for Monty Python or anyone else to make comedy about the Spanish Inquisition. They’ve done so, some of us find it funny, you do not…but you cannot say rude things to those of us who do. You can say you don’t find it funny, mind you, you just can’t insult another reader because they find it funny.
I commented on yet another blog that mentioned this and wished I had kept my mouth shut. Or should I say kept my fingers off the keyboard. People have some very strong feelings on this topic.
Yes — I almost didn’t post on this topic at all. It really isn’t the sort of thing where you can always sum up your feelings in a few sentences in the comments and be understood, and beyond that, some people are so inflamed that they’ll be angry just because your position isn’t the same as theirs.
Lesson learned. I’m staying out of it next time. Thankfully people here seem to be a little less angry. I’m there in the middle with you. Safety in numbers.
I think people are probably already talked out since we’re about the last blog to post the news? Just as well. I don’t like it when I have to close comments because people get all worked up.
Robin, I think what bothers me about this, more than the design commission, is the event appearance and what he allegedly said (it’s hard to imagine a perfumer saying that something smells like all the flowers of Asia). It’s hard to take when someone whom one admires and treasures as an artist is associated with something horrible. I don’t know what I’ll do; that requires more thought, and I’d like to know if this was a direct commission or something obligated by a larger contract, or what. I do know this is sapping my usual enthusiasm for his perfumes.
It is absolutely offensive, I agree. But I do not know anything at all about why he took this commission, or whether he even investigated the issue, or whether he regrets it now. For all I know, Bertrand Duchaufour is not personally someone I would respect or admire even if this had not happened: I know nothing about him, only his perfumes. And there are many, many artists, in a variety of fields, whose work I continue to enjoy and admire even though I DO know things about them that disgust me, and that are far worse (IMHO) than this.
And I don’t know anything about other perfumers or their political views, or views on gender or race or whether they beat their wives or give money to causes I don’t believe in, or…? And ALL the other people, creative directors, everyone else working the in big fragrance & flavor companies, and everyone at places like Coty and Elizabeth Arden, and all the PR companies, and the people who make the packaging, on and on and on…hundreds of people, literally, might be involved in the creation of a perfume, and I don’t know anything about their actions or beliefs either. Undoubtedly we ALL wear perfumes made with ingredients that weren’t sourced in an ethical manner. So I don’t generally choose to boycott products lightly.
But of course I wholeheartedly believe that every consumer must do what they think is right. I am not trying to tell anybody else what they should do or think.
And I will add that simply in terms of PR, I am very surprised that any well known perfumer would have done this. It just seems like a really dumb move, even assuming the pay was quite handsome.
I’m just wondering who the target market is for this perfume. I guess the same people who buy her clothing and jewelry designs, whoever they may be? I will admit I had to look her up just to find out who she was (my knowledge of Uzbekistan is admittedly almost nil). and what I read certainly wouldn’t make me want to buy this perfume. That is, I have no wish to smell like this person.
I feel like you, Robin: he was probably stupid/greedy/ignorant to have taken this on, and I would rather he hadn’t, but it doesn’t mean I would never wear another of his creations again, particularly as a boycott of his works would adversely affect the innocent manufacturers/retailers selling those products.
He seems to have got caught with this hand in the cookie jar, as so many others before him have worked with unsavoury types – and are even pretty unsavoury themselves. I just couldn’t get Coco Chanel out of my head while reading your comment – and how many people buy, and continue to buy, perfumes from her house with no thought of what she did?!
Jillie, I’m surprised at how many people have no idea about Coco Chanel’s life during the occupation of France.
Same here.
These days you cannot plead ignorance about anything: it’s so easy to find out everything about everyone.
I have read two books about Coco Chanel’s life,
and there are heaps out about her, especially
concerning her rôle during the occupation.
It seems that stories and opinions differ widely:
you can choose from secret agent for the British
to evil collaborator.
Duchaufour is a bit more easy to grasp.
Ditto.
I agree, you never know about people; there’s no logic to expecting that someone who has a very specific talent is noble or discerning in any other way; the interconnectedness of the modern world means that there are really no clean hands, and don’t get me started on how the whole phenomenon of PR, rather than substance, becoming the coin of the realm is ruining everything. *hyperventilates*
I’m just saying, it does bother me. I won’t feel comfortable commenting on his perfumes again any time soon, and my lemmings may be affected. Of course, there are more constructive things I could do than passing up his perfumes, like informing myself better about Uzbekistan and writing my Congressman or some of the big companies that do business there, that I probably won’t get around to.
I’m deliberately avoiding even mentioning any specific BD perfume in my comments because I think that would be VERY unfair to any brand or person not involved in this incident.
Noz, I think you and Robin make some great points about the vast ethical unknowns that are out there, and about the illogical tendency to assume (perhaps even subconsciously) that good art comes from good people. And I emphatically agree with you that it’s unfair to penalize brands and people who’ve worked with BD in the past).
I really have no authoritative pronouncements to make re: Gulnaragate, but maybe authoritative pronouncements aren’t really the most productive use of my energies. Not to sound wishy-washy, but I think there’s a lot of value in just thinking through these thorny issues and acknowledging the unknowns and the ambiguities. And if that thinking and pondering leads someone to want to take a more specific course of action, that’s of course their prerogative. Me, I’m still a bit lost in the woods — but I’m okay with that, for now.
A thoughtful perspective is not wishy washy at all, Emily – excellent points.
I find it very disappointing that Duchaufour would take on this commission. But I don’t find it surprising: singers and celebrities often appear at parties for some truly horrible people (any number of them were paid big bucks to sing for Gaddafi and his family as just one example).
I’m trying to decide what looks more vicious: the model pictured in the non-blonde with the blood dribbling from her mouth, or the actual picture of the feline Gulnara in the Independent!
When I see a polemic question like this, I just imagine an opposite point of view like a Michelle Obama’s invitation to Duchaufour to create her a fragrance, and a bunch of Iranian Perfume Bloggers sentenced him to death.
I would think of perfumer as artists – so I dislike his decision. On the other hand it’s me always saying: Money makes the world go round.
His job is to make perfume, and it’s the amount of cash that counts.
Me personally? I will not buy anything from him.
I am happy there is a kind of public conscience for these matters, I am just aksing myself how long it will take until there will be a “sniff” good enough to forget this policy (from my point of view as a consumer).
Oh, I will write this alos for the german readers – been reding this before on the Non-Blonde already. The discussion is interesting.