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A chemical poem

Posted by Robin on 10 October 2015 2 Comments

Perfume is not a smell. It’s what I call a message in a bottle. A smell has no intent. A perfume is like a chemical poem composed by a human being to impart an idea or sensation or emotion to another human being. The best ones are those where the intent is clear, otherwise it’s just something nondescript that smells vaguely good. So if the intent is intelligent, humorous, surprising, novel, profound, then the critic’s job is to read that intent and put it into words. In a sense, you’re simply translating.

— Luca Turin on perfume and perfume criticism. Read more at Follow your nose: a lesson in perfume-making at The Guardian.

Filed Under: perfume in the news
Tagged With: luca turin

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2 Comments

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  1. Merlin says:
    11 October 2015 at 2:21 pm

    How odd. Turin says there ‘a guy should just smell clean’. Sounds though like someone took down his words without capturing his intent!

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    • luca turin says:
      12 October 2015 at 9:16 am

      Nope, that was my intent. Most masculines today are too invasive, in my opinion. Many are good compositions, but way too loud anywhere other than a smelling strip. When I try to wear one I often end up smelling like a Guido and having to wash it off.

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