Beyond brand - the real revolution in perfume

Edmond Roudnitska in his garden

creator of perfumes for Dior, Rochas and Hermes

Oh you lovely reclusive Perfumers! 

Come out from hiding behind those faceless multinationals! 

Ever since Frederic Malle's Editions de Parfums (2000) there has been a profound new interest in the people behind the famous signature perfumes. For the first time the author of the perfume is promoted on the label just as an author on the cover of a book. 

So who are these artists behind the perfumes we wear and cherish?

In the spirit of celebrating the 'perfume authors,' Basenotes website interviewed 50 of the most famous Perfumers in the world today and asked them, who would they choose, "if they could travel back to the time of their choosing to meet, chat and co-create with a perfumer past?" 

Like other arts, it shows how scent has the power to traverse space and time. This is a most fascinating collection of interviews, thanks to Marian Bendeth of Basenotes. 

Link: Scent Treks through Time

 

back to basics

3 types of French Lavender 

Vouillez Patienter. That's the command from ATM machines and toll-gates in France. Oh, how I enjoyed the irony of a machine telling me to have patience. 

Lately I have had a happy respite from machines, including computers; instead, I have been taking in the smells of the ocean road in France along the Basque country between Biarritz and San Sebastien.

There's something wild about this country, similar in many ways to the Australian coastline. Although the smells were different - not mint or menthol, instead, thyme and lavender. Both have the lovely fresh spray of the sea. 

So thanks for being patient. For a while there, I only had the ability to smell disgusting things! Now I have refreshed the senses I am back to enjoying wine aromas with renewed awareness. 

I hope you can join me for a glass or six. 

P.S. If you are serious in fine-tuning your sense of smell then I recommend the Le Nez du Vin set of 54 wine aromas in phials. Just as you learn the piano from practicing scales, you learn scents from isolating smells to the nose. This is how I started out learning about wine tasting ten years ago and I highly recommend the investment.