| The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 17 reviews)
Sales Rank: 145098
Category: Book
Author: Chandler Burr
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Studio: Henry Holt and Co.
Brand: Chandler Burr
Label: Henry Holt and Co.
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Size: --
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1
MPN: 446609
ISBN: 0805080376
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.766854
EAN: 9780805080377
ASIN: 0805080376
Publication Date: January 22, 2008
Release Date: January 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | The New York Times Perfume Criticyes, You Read That Rightfollows The Creation Of Two Industry-defining Perfumes. | | • | While Burr (the Emperor Of Scent, 2003, Etc. | | • | ) Approaches His Beat With Healthy Skepticism, Hes Also Capable Of Flowery Language, Describing A Perfume As Smelling like Early Evening On An Island Where It Is Always Summer. | | • | The A Year Inside The Perfume Industry In Paris and New York fragrance is original and 100% authentic. |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
From the New York Times perfume critic, a stylish, fascinating, unprecedented insider?s view of an industry and its charismatic charactersNo journalist has ever been allowed into the ultrasecretive, highly pressured process of originating a perfume. But Chandler Burr, the New York Times perfume critic, spent a year behind the scenes observing the creation of two major fragrances. Now, writing with wit and elegance, he juxtaposes the stories of the perfumes?one created by a Frenchman in Paris for an exclusive luxury-goods house, the other made in New York by actress Sarah Jessica Parker and Coty, Inc., a giant international corporation. We follow Coty?s mating of star power to the marketing of perfume, watching Sex and the City?s Parker heading a hugely expensive campaign to launch a scent into the overcrowded celebrity market. Will she match the success of Jennifer Lopez? Does she have the international fan base to drive worldwide sales?
In Paris at the elegant Hermes, we see Jean Claude Ellena, his company?s new head perfumer, given a challenge: he must create a scent to resuscitate Hermes?s perfume business and challenge le monstre of the industry, bestselling Chanel No. 5. Will his pilgrimage to a garden on the Nile supply the inspiration he needs? The answer lies in Burr?s informative and mesmerizing portrait of some of the extraordinary personalities who envision, design, create, and launch the perfumes that drive their billion-dollar industry.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Not a perfect book, but a good read June 9, 2009
I'm of two minds with Chandler Burr. He seems to have unprecedented access to perfume industry insiders, and the kind of personality, perseverance, and patience that it takes to deal with difficult types that seem to permeate the entire field. He can get information out of scientists in chem labs, celebrities, artists, and high-powered executives, so he must be adept at asking the right questions and tolerating ridiculous egos.
He fills this book with so many interesting tidbits about perfume and scent that I have frequently quoted from it when trying to make a point about fragrance to a friend or colleague. I love the bits of science that are injected into this book, the overviews of molecules and their uses in many industries. The information is so fun (and for me, mind-boggling), that I have read the book several times.
That said, his writing style drives me just about batty. I get so tired of his sentences structure, his fragments that are meant to drive home a point, that I have to stop reading every few pages and put the book down. As other reviewers have noted, he is slightly obsessed with describing exactly how each and every individual is dressed (always to the nines, no matter what); on one hand, this can get a bit grating, but on the other, it does help the reader visualize and mentally sort all of the players in these stories. If you speak French, you may be thrilled with the French sentences that are inserted every other paragraph or so. If you do not speak French, you might still find these delightful, as they are helpfully translated. If you are a grumpy person like me, you might wonder if Burr isn't showing off just a wee bit.
If you are interested in fragrance, this book is a must-read. Don't let the fact that Burr has some rather startling pronouncements about smells terrify you - he might be wrong.
 Pompous writer- so full of himself makes reading a chore March 26, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Yes he talks about Sarah Jessica Parker, her perfume, and follows the story of the creation of another perfume.
Those stories are somewhat interesting but they could be told in 25 pages.
The rest is descriptions that will bore you, about how wondefullly dressed this or that person is, how chic, how of much of the elite, etc. He also writes in a pompous way that makes the book NOT a pleasure to read, but the opposite- And he talks about HIMSELF a lot more than it is needed.
For example, the man writes Et cetera many times, because he cannot be like the rest of the mortals and write it as one word like in modern times. He likes his own style so he repeats it all over. He also tries his hand at comparisons (and believe, he is a journalist writing and NOT a literature writer), so he makes a comparison between someone not showing up and the DISAPPEARED in Argentina!
a) so you need to be an "worldly" reader to understand the comparison but me, as an ARGENTINIAN, find it COMPLETELY offensive- you don't JOKE with the hurt of a country and so many people kidnapped and killed by the military regime! So the use of it is just SELF SERVING because he wants to show of-
b) he does THE SAME with a comment about the Concentration camps/holocaust.
If you want to buy it go ahead, you WILL learn something about the industry, but do not support this clown. If you end up having some of the ideas I have please come and post yours as well.
I Never Knew the Perfume Industry Could be so Interesting March 4, 2009
The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York is a marvelous book! I wanted to smell every perfume mentioned, every molecule described, every successful perfume and every failed perfume.
It is the story of the development of two perfumes as reported by the Scent Critic for T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Chandler Burr. The first is Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely with Coty, and the other is Un Jardin sur le Nil, created by master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermes. They are two very different stories that work well together.
The chapters alternate between the two stories, more or less chronologically, with interesting forays into the history of perfumes and scents, particular perfumes, and the people who create them.
The Hermes story takes place in France. Burr quotes quite a bit in French, but puts the English translation immediately after, without any fanfare, so that you get the sense of what the people are saying but also understand the meaning of what they say.
I particularly liked the author's comments about scents he likes and dislikes and his descriptions of people. He brings people to life vividly. He also explains the science of scents and perfume in an understandable yet detailed way. Most rewarding of all, his language is very poetic. Here's his description of Un Jardin sur le Nil:
"It is a perfume that smells like early evening on an island where it is always summer. It is the smell sunlight makes coming out of a blue sky, the air scented with the tang made as the light warms the smooth unblemished peel of the greenest mangoes hanging from the branches of the young trees, just out of reach."
And, as a humorous antidote to the lushness of his perfume descriptions, here's his description of a men's cologne that he hates: "This is the chemical reek of deep-space travelers frozen in goo in suspended animation."
The only criticism I have is simply that the industry is complex, with a convoluted history and mode of operation. The many names, perfumers, perfumes, and corporate players were sometimes a bit hard to keep straight.
However, all in all, the book is humorous, witty, full of love for the subject, and crammed with interesting information. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
A Good Read February 18, 2009
Chandler Burr's The Perfect Scent follows the development and marketing of two perfumes within the walls of two major players in the industry: Hermes and Coty. The fast-paced story bounces between Paris and New York. Jean-Claude Ellena provides a thoughtful and intimate account of the development of "Un Jardin sur le Nil" for Hermes. In New York, Coty worked with Sarah Jessica Parker to create "Lovely."
The perfume industry is highly secretive and speculative with an aura of glamor. Readers will be treated to mounds of information about the business and science of perfume. While the development of a formula involves "techie" chemistry, Burr is able to present the details without losing readers. He also has a superior ability to describe scents in words. The description of natural musk (muscone) is a fine example:
"Muscone is found, at a concentration between 0.5 percent and 2 percent, in something called Tonquin musk, a richly stinking secretion mixing hundreds of molecules that comes from a gland inside the male musk deer. Extract the rich secretion, separate out the little bit of muscone from it, and by itself this one molecule has the warm, sensual, rich scent of clean warm skin. It's only this molecule (not the full, richly stinking, animalic Tonquin musk secretion) that perfumers call the scent of musk."
Here is Burr's depiction of L'Eau d'Italie's "mesmerizing, shadowy" Bois d'Ombrie:
"... putting it on was like slipping on an organza silk shirt. You saw the material---the silken, shadowy wood smell---it had immense, gorgeous form, an yet it was transparent, if not invisible, and you saw every bit of skin underneath. Bois d'Ombrie was an olfactory garment. It sat on you like the most gorgeous Givenchy haute couture piece, and yet it became part of you somehow."
I found the comments of perfumers particularly interesting. For example, Ellena notes: "They say cooking is an art and pastry is a science. Perfumery is a math, specifically an algebra. All these interactions."
I enjoyed the book. There are memorable characters, excitement, historical insights, and wonderful descriptions of various locations, including Egypt. Quite frankly, I had never given much thought to perfume. I am paying attention now! The nuances of illusion that perfumers create are fascinating.
There are a few caveats. The book could be somewhat shorter. There are sections that feel patched together, possibly from previously published articles. I found the use of French in the text distracting. Those who can read French will naturally examine the English translation that follows the French to find out if it is translated correctly. Some of the translations are banal: "She paused again, then said, `Non, je ne pense pas.' No, I don't think so." Lastly, the index is shallow. Proper names and nouns are included, but there is very little analysis of the thematic substance of the book.
The Perfect Scent provides a delightful introduction to the multi-billion dollar perfume industry. It is a "good read" and full of information about the power of scent.
 Interesting look inside industry January 13, 2009
This book gives a small sampling inside the perfume industry. How different business aproach getting a new perfume to market was very interesting. The fact that Sarah Jessica Parker took so much responsibility for "her" perfume made me like her even more.
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