The perfect lemming for Book Lovers Day, courtesy of Oakland Fresca: the Scents Gift Box from The London Review of Books. "Beethoven beguiles the ear, Ingres the eye and Ferran Adrià the tongue, but of all the senses scent is perhaps the most neglected. Here’s our personal selection of books to make you smell wonderful." With Perfume by Patrick Suskind, The Secret of Scent by Luca Turin and The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr, plus a Made by Coopers Happy Room Spray in 100 ml (with lime, clementine and basil). £45 at the LRB Bookshop.
The daily lemming
Perfumes The Guide 2018, by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, promises over 1200 new perfume reviews: "Ten years later they bring their inimitably passionate, erudite perspective back to the hugely changed world of fragrance, to sort out which of over 1,200 new individual perfumes deserves celebration (and which condemnation)." Available at Amazon in Kindle ($9.20) or Paperback ($16.99).
The modern history of perfume
In this programme, Bridget Kendall and guests explore the modern history of perfume, including its flowering in France and the explosive chemical discoveries that helped to make fine fragrance what it is today. They also explore perfume’s ancient roots and ask: what’s in a name?
Bridget is joined by scientist and critic Luca Turin, writer and curator Lizzie Ostrom and the perfumer Thomas Fontaine. Also featuring William Tullett and James McHugh.
— Listen to the 41 minute radio show on BBC World Service. (I have not had a chance to listen yet, if you have, do comment and let us know if it is fantastic!) Hat tip to Oakland Fresca!
The Grey Lady
Luca Turin talks about “violet, ionones and iris, in this teaser from the upcoming feature documentary, ‘The Grey Lady'”. From the film’s website: “The Grey Lady is a documentary exploring the very real challenges faced by several perfumers in their competition to re-create a perfume that has been – and may yet remain – lost to time.” I have no further information, but it looks like the fragrance is Jacques Fath Iris Gris. (For one “new version”, see Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Scent of Hope.)
The documentary is being produced by The Institute for Art and Olfaction, and they’re in need of funding support. There are fun perks! Do watch their video below the jump…
I will pick only the ones I love
So I have decided to try a different approach: I will write reviews of niche fragrances at my own pace. I will pick only the ones I love, hence the name of this blog. That way small firms who send me samples can take comfort in knowing that the worst that can happen is no review. When a great mainstream fragrance comes along, I will review that too, since there is no point excluding good stuff simply because it is widely available.
— Luca Turin on his new blog, Perfumes I Love.