Issue 13 of Nez is out (160 pages, $29), as are two more ingredient issues, Cinnamon (not shown) and Immortelle: "Native to the Mediterranean Basin, immortelle is grown in the Balkans for perfumery. It owes its name to its tiny golden-yellow flowers, which never fade. Their dark, spicy, boozy scent conjures curry, sandy dunes or the Corsican maquis. Explore the many facets of this wildflower by journeying through botany, history, mixology, agriculture and chemistry without overlooking, of course, perfumes and perfumers." 96 pages, $25 at Luckyscent.
The fragrance of our generation
Patchouli was the fragrance of our generation. Smelling like the earth, undergrowth, youth, and freedom, it connected us to the imaginary world born of 19th-century Romanticism, when the word “patchouli” first appeared. In a commentary on Baudelaire, André Guyaux noted that the poet “didn’t need to go looking far for a little jar of heliotrope or tuberose, a bag of peau d’Espagne or a cashmere shawl redolent of patchouli cast on a sofa” to find himself spirited away. We, too, wanted an earthly paradise that wasn’t artificial.
— Perfumer Jean Claude Ellena, from his book Atlas of Perfumed Botany. Read more in A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver at MIT Press Reader.
Art. Love. Scent. And murder.
Art. Love. Scent. And murder. Lara Elena Donnelly's new book has it all.
Set in New York City, Donnelly's novel "Base Notes" follows Vic Fowler, a perfumer whose specialty is creating bespoke scents: very specific perfumes that evoke emotional memories for clients. Scent is, after all, the sense most closely aligned with memory. Unfortunately, some memories require someone pay the ultimate price: death, in order to be retrieved and recreated for the paying patrons Vic so desperately needs.
— Read more in When love and perfume lead to "a side hustle in murder for hire" at Salon.
The daily lemming
Issue 12 of Nez is out: "The Twelfth Issue explores links between scent and design. Nez is an invitation to explore the world through our olfactory sensations, adopting a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses art, literature, photography, science, history, gastronomy and, of course, perfumery, providing its readers with a better understanding of the essential role the sense of smell plays in our lives." 160 pages, $29 at Luckyscent.
The daily lemming
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.