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Title: Perfumes: The Guide
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Manufacturer: Viking Adult
List Price: $27.95
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| Perfumes: The Guide by Viking Adult Spirited, Intelligent and Indispensible | The amazing thing about some of these reviews is that they fault a book of criticism for being too critical. This is a common complaint of those not used to criticism in any form and there probably isn't a group of manufacturers and consumers less used to criticism than those in the sphere of perfumery. The reason for this is simple: scent has rarely been taken seriously enough to attract intelligent criticism. As many other arts associated with women, it languished barely regarded any more highly than paper dinner napkins or personal hygiene products. But perfumery is about as pure an example of aesthetics as anything. The goal of serious perfume (don't chuckle) is to create beauty, full stop. And like other art forms directed toward this goal, the more intelligently and surprisingly this is done the more beautiful, the more delightful and strange it is to the sensitive nose and sensitive brain at the end of the nose.
To address several recurrent points:
"These reviews are so subjective!"
Well, yes they are. That's the basis of criticism: the intelligent judgment of a well-developed subjectivity. And there are few more well-developed subjectivities on the topic of perfume than Turin and Sanchez.
"Smell is subjective!"
In a way, at least (to a degree) the aesthetic reaction to smell is. But that's not disputed. In order for an art form, and the conversation surrounding an art form, to develop intellectually, extreme subjectivity is necessary. Art needs people of taste to delineate its parameters. But more importantly, it needs people of taste who can communicate their ideas in beautiful, sharp and surprising ways. That's the role of a great critic. Of course you might not agree with the taste of the critic at all times. But that's not the goal of criticism. Turin and Sanchez might, now and then, stray from my taste. But they do it entertainingly and intelligently.
"This book is so negative and nasty!"
Of course there is negativity in a book of criticism! The negativity (hilariously) displayed in "Perfumes: The Guide" is the reaction of passionate lovers of perfumery towards the cynical trash often foisted on the underdeveloped tastes of the public. If there seems to be a surfeit of negativity it is only because there is a surfeit of cynical, slapdash stink water crowding the shelves of Sephora. Any art lover will lash out at vulgarity which cheapens and debases the art that they deeply love.
"Turin and Sanchez seem to consistently denigrate certain brands and promote others"
Yes, as anyone who loves the work of an artist tends to follow and appreciate their work over their careers. To cite several perfume houses frequently lauded by Turin and Sanchez in the book: Guerlain, Chanel, and Parfums De Nicolai. But each of these brands also receive negative reviews for several of their products. Guerlain's dreadful "Champs-Élysées", for instance, receives one of the more savage reviews in the book. The author's partiality to certain makers and perfumers only extends to their products that deserve it. And of course, consistently mediocre or terrible brands receive consistently negative reviews because, after all, they consistently deserve it.
To summarize: this book is a book of perfume criticism, therefore it is full of criticism. It is written by authors who are extraordinarily knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. You might not always agree with their aesthetic perspective, but it's still a crackling, invigorating tour-de-force of short-form criticism about a subject that has never received and doesn't always deserve such intelligent consideration. The book doesn't contain meaningless lists of "notes" (pink jasmine, white musk, Tilapian elderflowers, cracked dungberries) which of course is a positive in my opinion. Almost no contemporary perfume consumers know what fields of Grasse jasmine or Jabuticaba fruit smell like anyway, so what help are such lists? Turin and Sanchez have an amazing ability to convey the totality of the composition without resorting to listing fantasy ingredients; if you want that sort of nonsense, read the press release for the perfume or consult Jan Moran. You might find that Turin and Sanchez hate a perfume that you like (they hate a couple that I like). Don't get upset. They don't hate you, dear. Enjoy the wonderful give-and-take of opinion that is the essence of intelligent and spirited dialogue. Remember that "Perfumes: The Guide is no nonsense. If you can't handle the unvarnished opinions of a pair of talented and sharp writers without getting the vapors, don't buy the book. Step away from your computer, make yourself a cup of chamomile tea and settle in to bed with that cat book.
In my (naturally) subjective opinion, the book is one of a kind and indispensable. | | Perfumes: The Guide by Viking Adult Lovely! (Not SJP's) | | Tania Sanchez and Luca Turin have written a wonderful book. The reviews themselves are great fun to read and use as a reference, but the articles/essays preceding each section are also quite good, unusual in a book of this type. I almost wish there was more of the essay-type material. Hopefully they will be able to do an updated version sometime in the near future, or another book on fragrance entirely. Both are great writers with distinct prose styles, and it's fun to have them together in a way that doesn't try to meld them into one. Highly recommended. | | Perfumes: The Guide by Viking Adult It's about time | Finally, perfume criticism is coming into its own. With this bracing, educational, and witty guide, Turin and Sanchez blow away the empurpled PR prose and provide a much-needed reality check. And, fortunately for us, they do it with style and verve. Their respective writing styles turn the book into a page-turner. Luca in particular manages to describe how something smells with a lapidary precision that occasionally takes the breath away.
Of course I didn't agree with some of their reviews; so what? I'm just thrilled somebody finally had the chutzpah to say "Hey, this stinks" as well as the more usual glowing praise. Candid and opinionated discussion can only be good for the perfume industry in the end.
Who knew perfume reviews could be this much fun? | | Perfumes: The Guide by Viking Adult Hugely disappointing | | As a lifelong afficionado and collector of scents, I was sorely disappointed in this book. Some of the recommended scents are (to me) cheap-smelling, even sickening, while some of the greats were overlooked or critiqued harshly. In the end, what matters is personal preference. I just had no idea that individuals schooled in scent would have olfactory preferences no more discerning than the rest of us. | | Perfumes: The Guide by Viking Adult worthless | | The trouble with this book is that it's like two high school girls sitting around mocking everyone. Nastiness abounds and while it is amusing for the first few pages it got on my nerves after a chapter. On top of that the reveiews aren't very good. The authors dislike a particular celebtity and give a devastating descriptiton of her perfume based not on the scent, which is actually nice though weak but on the horridness of the woman herself. That has nothing to do with perfume. | | Perfumes: The Guide by Viking Adult Product Description | The first book of its kind: a definitive guide to the world of perfume
Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez are experts in the world of scent. Turin, a renowned scientist, and Sanchez, a longtime perfume critic, have spent years sniffing the world’s most elegant and beautiful—as well as some truly terrible—perfumes. In Perfumes: The Guide, they combine their talents and experience to review more than twelve hundred fragrances, separating the divine from the good from the monumentally awful. Through witty, irreverent, and illuminating prose, the reviews in Perfumes not only provide consumers with an essential guide to shopping for fragrance, but also make for a unique reading experience.
Perfumes features introductions to women’s and men’s fragrances and an informative “frequently asked questions” section including:
• What is the difference between eau de toilette and perfume?
• How long can I keep perfume before it goes bad?
• What’s better: splash bottles or spray atomizers?
• What are perfumes made of?
• Should I change my fragrance each season?
Perfumes: The Guide is an authoritative, one-of-a-kind book that will do for fragrance what Robert Parker’s books have done for wine. Beautifully designed and elegantly illustrated, this book will be the perfect gift for collectors and anyone who’s ever had an interest in the fascinating subject of perfume. | | Perfumes: The Guide by Viking Adult Book Description | The first book of its kind: a definitive guide to the world of perfume
Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez are experts in the world of scent. Turin, a renowned scientist, and Sanchez, a longtime perfume critic, have spent years sniffing the world's most elegant and beautiful--as well as some truly terrible--perfumes. In Perfumes: The Guide, they combine their talents and experience to review more than twelve hundred fragrances, separating the divine from the good from the monumentally awful. Through witty, irreverent, and illuminating prose, the reviews in Perfumes not only provide consumers with an essential guide to shopping for fragrance, but also make for a unique reading experience.
Perfumes features introductions to women's and men's fragrances and an informative "frequently asked questions" section including:
• What is the difference between eau de toilette and perfume?
• How long can I keep perfume before it goes bad?
• What's better: splash bottles or spray atomizers?
• What are perfumes made of?
• Should I change my fragrance each season?
Perfumes: The Guide is an authoritative, one-of-a-kind book that will do for fragrance what Robert Parker's books have done for wine. Beautifully designed and elegantly illustrated, this book will be the perfect gift for collectors and anyone who's ever had an interest in the fascinating subject of perfume. Picking a Perfect Perfume  For Perfumes: The Guide, Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez tested nearly 1,500 fragrances--some glorious, some foul. Here they offer some humble advice on finding something worth loving among the stinkers. 1. Smell top to bottom
Perfumes usually unfold in three (often very different) stages: the sparkling first few minutes are the fragrance's top note, followed by its true personality, known as the heart note, and ending with the base note, aka the drydown, hours later. Something you love at the counter you may loathe by the parking lot. We recommend top-to-bottom tests on skin and on paper, since some scents that disappoint on the heat of skin may shine on your shirtsleeve. 2. Write it down
Bring a pen to write names on paper test strips, so you're not in anguish hours later, trying to recall which is the third scent from the left that transports you to Shangri-La. Keep a cheap, possibly extremely trashy paperback on hand, so you can store strips between pages to keep them separate. 3. Rest your nose
Noses tune out, which is why you can smell your friends' homes but not your own. Smell no more than five scents per day on paper strips and try on only the best one or two, to keep your nose reliable. 4. Check the radiance
To get a good sense of how the perfume will smell to other people as you walk past, try spraying a test strip and leaving it in the room while you step out for a bit. Come back fifteen minutes later and breathe in: that's the radiance. |
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