Perfume and the Internet

Posted by Angela on 17 October 2011 154 Comments

computer

Technologically, I’m on the arrière garde. I don’t have a cell phone, my car is nearly 26 years old, and if I want to watch TV I have to fool around with a digital converter box. Facebook holds no appeal for me. Food just doesn’t taste as good from a microwave, so I don’t have one. Or a hair dryer or dishwasher. Besides my laptop — a workhorse MacBook Pro — and weekly posts on Now Smell This, I might as well set myself up as an exhibit at the Smithsonian entitled, “Life in 1994.”

For the most part, I wouldn’t have it any other way. But don’t even think about taking away my internet.

With Steve Jobs’ death and the arrival of my iPad, I’ve been pondering how the internet has changed the world for perfume enthusiasts. Ten years isn’t that long, really. But ten years ago I was an unanchored perfume lover at sea, buffeted by the conflicting information offered by sales associates and the slim, misleading perfume descriptions in magazines. If a sales associate waved his hand over the perfume counter and said, “Everything here is made of natural ingredients,” I believed him. Perfumers? Who were they? Didn’t Coco Chanel and Estée Lauder create their own perfumes?

Fragrance-wise, the internet opened up a whole new world…

Read the rest of this article »

Hunting down tiny artisan perfumers

Posted by Robin on 2 March 2010 46 Comments

Smart Londoners don't want to smell like everyone else. We're busy hunting down tiny artisan perfumers and niche brands. From colognes at Santa Maria Novella on Walton Street to contemporary artisan perfumers at Les Senteurs in Belgravia, we're looking for a new hit. And we're very territorial.

— From Perfumistas are the new cool-hunters at the London Evening Standard, with many thanks to Pigoletto for the link!

Lament of a Penniless Perfumista

Posted by Angela on 13 July 2009 248 Comments

beans rice hermes-bel-ami

As Johnny Cash famously sang at Folsom Prison, I’m busted. At the end of the month, my hours at work will be cut back a third, leaving me to scramble for freelance work to make up the gap. And I’m one of the lucky ones. Some of my coworkers have been laid off. Many of you are undoubtedly feeling the recession’s pinch, too. We’re eating beans and rice, turning down invitations to go out, and forgoing two-ply toilet paper for whatever’s on sale. I can pass up a new pair of shoes without missing a beat, and although I enjoy eating out, I’m happy to cook at home. What really gets me down is knowing that, for now anyway, new perfume is out of the question.

Right now, I’m longing for a bottle of Hermès Bel Ami. Plus, I just know that an earthy, dry jasmine fragrance (any suggestions?) would change my life. A non-perfume lover who stumbled on this post might say, “Boo hoo, no perfume. Well, I can’t pay my mortgage.” I can’t argue with that. But I do live an unusually thrifty life compared to that of most Americans: no cable, no cell phone, no gym membership, and my car has been paid off since 1986. (Yes, you read that right.) Nearly all my wardrobe is culled from thrift shops and vintage clothing stores, I bicycle whenever I can, and even my cat came from the Humane Society with a 30 percent discount. Perfume is my great extravagance…

Read the rest of this article »

Lazy Friday poll ~ how did you get interested in perfume?

Posted by Robin on 13 February 2009 4 Comments

Today's poll was suggested by reader Annonose: how did you develop a strong interest in perfume?

My story is short. I had stopped wearing fragrance for a number of years after my son was born, but was an avid reader of the skincare board at MakeupAlley. One day it occurred to me that it would be nice to wear perfume again, so I wandered over the fragrance board to see what was new & interesting. Before you knew it, I had made my first sample order (thank you, Aedes!) and I was hooked.

You?

Note: image via Amouage.

Sniffing and swooning

Posted by Robin on 23 September 2008 45 Comments

For a growing band of scent-obsessed women, known as 'perfumistas', the pursuit of a particularly desirable fragrance is as much of a buzz as securing the latest limited edition Louis Vuitton handbag or Louboutin heels.

[...] Sniffing and swooning their way around the world's most elite fragrance boutiques or scouring eBay for half-finished bottles of rare, highly prized scents such as Chypre by Coty or Nombre Noir by Shiseido, the perfumistas amass fragrances in the way that other women collect shoes.

— From Meet the perfumistas: For a growing band of fashion fanatics the new lust-haves are obscure and extortionately priced perfumes, in the Mail Online. Many thanks to Helen for the link!

« Newer articles

Older articles »