The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York (Hardcover)

by Chandler Burr (Author) "I BECAME THE PERFUME critic of The Times in 2006 owing to a series of coincidences..." (more)
Key Phrases: other perfumers, scent makers, ethyl maltol, Sarah Jessica, New York, Estée Lauder (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. New York Times perfume critic Burr (The Emperor of Scent) follows the creation of two new scents—Un Jardin sur le Nil by French luxury house Hermès, and Lovely, a celebrity fragrance by Sarah Jessica Parker—in a kind of travelogue through the international perfume industry, one of the most insular, glamorous, strange, paranoid, idiosyncratic, irrational, and lucrative of worlds. The former perfume was conceived by Hermès, informed by a trip to Egypt, then crafted by Jean-Claude Ellena, who represents a breed of ghosts known in the biz as perfumers. For the latter, Parker worked as artistic director of a corporate scent-making team. Burr illuminates perfumery's clash of cultures and values—French artistic purity versus American commercialism. Worldwide, this highly secretive industry's PR machine propagates several anachronistic myths. For example, it insists that perfume ingredients are naturally derived (the overwhelming majority are not, because of concerns about quality control, ecological impact and allergies, among others) and that the big names on the bottles are personally involved in creating scents (perfumers alone typically do this; Parker was a rare exception). Burr makes a strong case that this mythmaking works to the industry's detriment, and that inviting the public behind the scenes might help to reverse the industry's declining sales. Burr's is a thorough and often hilarious account of perfumery's colorful characters, the science and art of fragrance creation and the human experience of scent itself. (Jan.)
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Review

"Filled with fascinating revelations about an industry built on illusions . . . entices you to marvel all the more at the power of fragrance."--The Dallas Morning News

"The Perfect Scent has drama, unforgettable characters, history, and location."--Los Angeles Times

"An inside, Hollywoodesque account."--The New York Times Book Review

"Burr winds his way deep into the secretive, dark, high-stakes world of perfumery, where following the scent can be hazardous to your career. . . . He smells the story in each bottle."--Associated Press

"Passionate and captivating."--The Toronto Star

"An appealing writer and an acute observer, [who] tells his two stories well."--The Wall Street Journal

"Filled with fascinating revelations about an industry built on illusions."--The Kansas City Star

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; 1st edition (January 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805080376
• ISBN-13: 978-0805080377
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #288,886 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As Addictive as a Great Perfume, February 23, 2008

By	Bec "bec16" (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews

First I read "Emperor of Scent", but this is totally different from Burr's prior work on the world of fragrance. This one is an easy quick read (I finished it in a single day), but also addictive - you bounce back and forth from Paris and Jean-Claude Ellena's story of Hermes' "Jardin sur le Nil" and New York, where Burr see first-hand how Coty works with Sarah Jessica Parker to create "Lovely". Francophiles will delight in the liberal use of French phrasing and direct quotes (always translated), which gives a wonderful sense of place to the Paris/Grasse side of the story. The New York story is a mini biography of SJP herself - who turns out to be an incredibly likeable and compelling woman with a great sense of self.

I was also intrigued at the idea that fragrances were all unisex until the early 20th century - prior to then, men and women wore what they liked, rather than what was 'marketed' to them. And finally, finally! I understand why the majority of American fragrances smell the same to me - because they ARE the same (common ingredients in standard proportions)... and also why French perfumes are so vastly different.... and most interestingly, perhaps, is a wonderful and insightful discussion of "naturals" vs. "synthetics" in fragrance, which has forever altered my perspective on what is a 'quality' ingredient.

The only reason I gave the book for stars instead of five is honestly because the very end of the book felt rushed - felt incomplete. Given that it started life as an article in the New Yorker, I'm not surprised... articles and books have different requirements for endings. But I was very sorry to see the creative process that brought Parker's latest fragrance, Covet, to market in 2007 given only a paragraph in the end (though the origins are clearly visible throughout the early creative process and then meetings where IFF is trying to discern Parker's scent preferences. It would have been a nice coda to the original story, or perhaps to weave the Covet story throughout.

I bought the book on the strength of Burr's earlier work, and those who used it (as I did) as a virtual shopping list of fragrances to try will find this book an even better resource. And for the record, Jardin sur le Nil is one of my favorite fragrances, along with Jardin Mediterran and the newly-released Kelly Caleche. I am not a big fan of Lovely - but Parker's personal favorite scents are some of my own, and I also wear Covet on a regular basis... and now I will look forward to her next release, which I hope will have that 'dirty' feel she's been wanting to put out there from the beginning...

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes you wish for a scratch and sniff edition!, February 14, 2008

By	Elaine Walsh (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I came to this as a fan of Chandler Burr's fragrance reviews already, some of which I've clipped out not because I wanted to try the fragrance, but because the language is both so gorgeous and precise at the same time. So I came to this book with a great deal of anticipation and was not disappointed. It reads like a novel, with great characters and plot, and the world of perfume making is so exotic and unlike anything I can ever imagine that there is something intriguing and interesting on every page. Fun to read, full of great facts (okay, you can use them to impress your friends, I'll admit that) and if you love perfume...or just stories of those who are passionate about what they do...it's a terrific read.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mysteries unraveled, February 14, 2008

By	Vermeer fan (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

If you are intimidated by whippet-thin, well coiffed, stylish clerks at the cosmetics counters or simply wish to learn more about an industry that sells dreams, Mr. Burr peels back some of the layers of marketing and spin put out by the perfume industry. Over the course of about a year, he follows the NY-based production of a contemporary fragrance issued under Sarah Jessica Parker's name and the Paris-based building of a "scent image" for the ultra protective Hermes house. He discusses the pros and cons of natural vs. synthetic ingredients, schools you in how fragrances are designed and described and sheds light into the reclusive, spotlight-shunning world of the trained perfumers who build the fragrances that fuel the industry. A bit of gossip, some dish on his disdain for any of the Hugo Boss products, a reveal on that final marketing push to capture the eye and nose of the media and public. A quick read, funny and a good introduction that makes you want to run the gauntlet of fragrance-spitzing women at the local Nordstroms, Sephora or Macy's to see what he speaks of.