Every great perfume probably loses the market test. It affronts, and so they mark it down. Yet it’s that very quality, I am convinced, that makes it memorable. Give me a fragrance that five per cent of people are totally addicted to and 70 per cent loathe, and I’ll give you a $100 million grant. The reality is that broad appeal means you have to compromise: you end up with the best of the worst and the worst of the best. The average perfume is nice and pretty and forgettable. It’s hard to find one that has enough guts to keep you going.
— Fragrance expert Michael Edwards, author of Perfume Legends. Perfume Legends II has just been published (look for an announcement later today). Read more at A fragrance connoisseur explains the ingredients required to make an iconic scent at Vogue Australia.
Now compare that to the approach of those youtube/instagram activists with their search for “compliment getters”, “crowd pleasers”, “mass apealing” etc… – what is rated high there, us nerds don’t need to look at 😀
Very true.
Ditto.
Thank you for the link. When I initially tripped down the rabbit hole I did a lot of perfume reading, but never acquired the first edition of Perfume Legends (due surely to price, but also availability.) The questions I had and stories I was looking for weren’t quite satisfied by what I read. (I was seeking the backstories of legendary perfumes and the process of their creation, within the context of historical and popular culture and world events.)
This interview suggests that this might be the book I was looking for all along – particularly perfume backstories and the characters involved. Is that the case as far as the first edition (and presumably the 2nd?)
I think so. Here is Marcello’s review:
https://nstperfume.com/2007/01/20/perfume-legends-by-michael-edwards-perfume-book-review/
I would wholeheartedly agree with everything he says there, except about the French version which I never saw.
As I said in the comments to the announcement of Legends II, Legends I is the single most valuable perfume book I ever read, and one of the few I refer back to. Even though Legends II only adds a small amount of material, I will probably buy it.