What do you think?
Rate this book
Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent
In this international bestseller, the exclusive in-house perfumer to Herms reveals the art and business of creating precious scents. 12 b&w illustrations.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
153 people are currently reading
1,178 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
March 27, 2013
My perfume collection recently expanded, in a single heady evening, to thirteen bottles. My collection of perfume books expands more slowly - they are more than their subjects.
When I impulse-bought 'Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent' on Amazon, I think I thought that it would be one of those artsy-sciencey floaty bits and bobs, in which Jean-Claude Ellena - one of the highest profile noses in the business, perfumer for Hermes, and also the maker of a number of highly regarded L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrances - would dispense words of wisdom, hints of magic, and insider gossip with his history. I was vaguely prepped for this by Chandler Burr's which contrasts the creation of Ellena's Le Jardin Sue le Nil against the creation of Sarah Jessica Parker's second scent, 'Covet'.
In the event, 'Perfume' is nothing like that. Rather, it's like a highly personalised training manual. The overall tone is of lecture notes, with the odd slip into freestyling philosophy:
Passages like this are rare though, and if you want reminiscences about Ellena's favourite childhood smells or the scent of the crook of his first girlfriend's elbow, you're going to need to look elsewhere. 'Perfume' has chapters dedicated to 'Learning the trade' [I. Odor Classifications II. Memorizing the Collection III. Type of Olfactory Field], 'Bringing the perfume to market' [I. The manufacture of perfume concentrate II. Perfume manufacture and production III. Safety regulations IV. The products V. Concentrations] and 'Protection of perfumes' [I. Protecting names, containers and packaging II. Protection of fragrances]. It has an awesome little chart that shows how Fructone plus Benzyl acetate equals 'apple' when blotters are impregnated with the molecules then waved below the nose, while Fructone plus Ethyl maltol equals "strawberry". It details the five corporations who between them hold 60% of the international flavours and fragrances market, with their 2007 earnings and how they were split across their different product lines. It shows L'Oreal dominates the cosmetic market, and runs or owns the licences to well over a dozen brands that you would think of as "independent", from Stella McCartney to Viktor and Rolf.
Some of the technical sections I found to be sincerely gripping. Perfume interests me because it is so finely balanced between art, science and commerce. The section on obtaining materials, for example. Ellena traces the development over time of different ways of obtaining the ingredients for perfumes. Distillation was one of the earliest - the extraction of essential oils from secretory cells by heating them and then capturing the fragrant substances with water vapor. Yield depends on the plant: 5 tons of magnolia blossom and 20kg of lavender blossoms both render 1kg of essential oil. Expression is used just for citrus fruits. Extraction with volatile solvents was demonstrated at the Vienna International Exhibition of 1873. The process has all sorts of great phrases like "nonmiscible vegetable waxes" and "macerate in a volatile solvent". It renders a concentrate that is closer to the original scent than distillation, but yield also varies dramatically. 'Supercritical CO2 Extraction' is my favourite though, because holy impressive sounding science. This little section concludes with a commentary on Cost:
The selling price of a kilogram of essential magnolia flower oil is $935 at 2011 prices, as compared with $115 for essential oil of lavender, although more than 250 times as many magnolia flowers were required to produce it. This comparison shows that, with mechanical harvesting of lavender and a higher yield of essential oil, the price of an essential oil does not depend on labor costs, but essentially on demand.
This section is followed by one of the evolution of synthetic materials, beginning with Benzyl acetate in 1855, the aldehydes (the fizz of Chanel No. 5) in 1903, Hydroxycitronellal in 1908 (everything) etc etc. By the end of the 1930s, Ellena observes, all the major synthetics in use today had been discovered. Costs of synthetics are partly linked to their natural counterparts, but also reflect the labor force required to produce them and the steps to make them. Contrast the $925 for magnolia above, for example, to $4,675 for a kg of synthetic irone (iris scent).
The chapter that blew my mind though was about marketing. I mean, sure, we get perfume marketing. Hot young body, maybe some luscious landscape, some gauzy fabric, some dramatic eyebrows or sunny skies, and a discreet (or totally in your face) logo. But Ellena's aim with this chapter is "not to explain marketing as it applies to perfumery, but to situate the role of the composer of perfumes within different forms of marketing."
In the art world, we talk about curating in, and curating out. Curating in is when you start with the idea or theme, and pull art around it. Curating out is when you begin with the work, and build the show outwards. One is not better than the other; they're just different ways of working and it helps to understand which context you're operating in and assessing. The difference between commercial and niche perfumery is somewhat similar.
In the 1970s, marketing emerged in the perfume industry:
In Ellena's assessment, the marketing of demand equates to a kind of 'curating out'. The perfume begins with a marketing brief, customer profiling and segmentation, and the construction of perfumes using what he calls the 'cursor' method: effectively, making perfumes that tick off adjectives that we have come to have a common agreement on - feminine, light, elegant, flowery.
So far, so impassioned TED talk. But!
Niche perfumes, on the other hand, spend little if anything on advertising (although they certainly publicise the hell out of their work, and the growing army of perfume bloggers and writers almost all describe their origin stories as aficionados as a movement from the commercial scents of their teens to an encounter with a semi-niche brand to a tumble into the blog world to a full-blown affair with the obscure - much like my own). This leaves them with the fragrance as the product. They are sold in small stores by highly trained staff, judged by professionals and colleagues rather than commercial figures, and require the perfumer and perfume house to closely observe the individual customer's taste rather than shape it in advance.
And yet I only gave the book 3 stars. It is a feast of detail and insight, but it as an austere feast. This is not the book I would foist upon a perfume newbie. It is the book I would foist upon the person who doesn't care about fragrance, but loves understanding how worlds work. I may not read it again, but I'm a wee bit smarter for having read it the once.
When I impulse-bought 'Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent' on Amazon, I think I thought that it would be one of those artsy-sciencey floaty bits and bobs, in which Jean-Claude Ellena - one of the highest profile noses in the business, perfumer for Hermes, and also the maker of a number of highly regarded L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrances - would dispense words of wisdom, hints of magic, and insider gossip with his history. I was vaguely prepped for this by Chandler Burr's which contrasts the creation of Ellena's Le Jardin Sue le Nil against the creation of Sarah Jessica Parker's second scent, 'Covet'.
In the event, 'Perfume' is nothing like that. Rather, it's like a highly personalised training manual. The overall tone is of lecture notes, with the odd slip into freestyling philosophy:
Every day that I work with perfumes I am in search of beauty, yet I still don't know where it is to be found. What I know os that in order to enchant you, to charm you, to tempt you, to influence you, to fascinate you, in a word, to win you over, ['Perfume' is translated from the French - occasionally a little clumsily or carelessly, but I love this slip, intentional or otherwise], I have to manipulate and make a show of what I know, to make the perfume desirable. Desirable - the adjective that for the classical philosophers marks the limitations of art. However, the fact that perfume evaporates and disappears is proof that it cannot be possessed - desire remains desire.
So it is through the use of memory, through the remembrance of shared fragrances, that I create the seductiveness of perfumes.
Passages like this are rare though, and if you want reminiscences about Ellena's favourite childhood smells or the scent of the crook of his first girlfriend's elbow, you're going to need to look elsewhere. 'Perfume' has chapters dedicated to 'Learning the trade' [I. Odor Classifications II. Memorizing the Collection III. Type of Olfactory Field], 'Bringing the perfume to market' [I. The manufacture of perfume concentrate II. Perfume manufacture and production III. Safety regulations IV. The products V. Concentrations] and 'Protection of perfumes' [I. Protecting names, containers and packaging II. Protection of fragrances]. It has an awesome little chart that shows how Fructone plus Benzyl acetate equals 'apple' when blotters are impregnated with the molecules then waved below the nose, while Fructone plus Ethyl maltol equals "strawberry". It details the five corporations who between them hold 60% of the international flavours and fragrances market, with their 2007 earnings and how they were split across their different product lines. It shows L'Oreal dominates the cosmetic market, and runs or owns the licences to well over a dozen brands that you would think of as "independent", from Stella McCartney to Viktor and Rolf.
Some of the technical sections I found to be sincerely gripping. Perfume interests me because it is so finely balanced between art, science and commerce. The section on obtaining materials, for example. Ellena traces the development over time of different ways of obtaining the ingredients for perfumes. Distillation was one of the earliest - the extraction of essential oils from secretory cells by heating them and then capturing the fragrant substances with water vapor. Yield depends on the plant: 5 tons of magnolia blossom and 20kg of lavender blossoms both render 1kg of essential oil. Expression is used just for citrus fruits. Extraction with volatile solvents was demonstrated at the Vienna International Exhibition of 1873. The process has all sorts of great phrases like "nonmiscible vegetable waxes" and "macerate in a volatile solvent". It renders a concentrate that is closer to the original scent than distillation, but yield also varies dramatically. 'Supercritical CO2 Extraction' is my favourite though, because holy impressive sounding science. This little section concludes with a commentary on Cost:
The selling price of a kilogram of essential magnolia flower oil is $935 at 2011 prices, as compared with $115 for essential oil of lavender, although more than 250 times as many magnolia flowers were required to produce it. This comparison shows that, with mechanical harvesting of lavender and a higher yield of essential oil, the price of an essential oil does not depend on labor costs, but essentially on demand.
This section is followed by one of the evolution of synthetic materials, beginning with Benzyl acetate in 1855, the aldehydes (the fizz of Chanel No. 5) in 1903, Hydroxycitronellal in 1908 (everything) etc etc. By the end of the 1930s, Ellena observes, all the major synthetics in use today had been discovered. Costs of synthetics are partly linked to their natural counterparts, but also reflect the labor force required to produce them and the steps to make them. Contrast the $925 for magnolia above, for example, to $4,675 for a kg of synthetic irone (iris scent).
The chapter that blew my mind though was about marketing. I mean, sure, we get perfume marketing. Hot young body, maybe some luscious landscape, some gauzy fabric, some dramatic eyebrows or sunny skies, and a discreet (or totally in your face) logo. But Ellena's aim with this chapter is "not to explain marketing as it applies to perfumery, but to situate the role of the composer of perfumes within different forms of marketing."
In the art world, we talk about curating in, and curating out. Curating in is when you start with the idea or theme, and pull art around it. Curating out is when you begin with the work, and build the show outwards. One is not better than the other; they're just different ways of working and it helps to understand which context you're operating in and assessing. The difference between commercial and niche perfumery is somewhat similar.
In the 1970s, marketing emerged in the perfume industry:
By widening the choice of product, by guaranteeing reliable quality, by offering worldwide distribution and a better return on investment, marketing contributed to the growth of perfume brands and to the transformation of a business into an internationally industry.
In Ellena's assessment, the marketing of demand equates to a kind of 'curating out'. The perfume begins with a marketing brief, customer profiling and segmentation, and the construction of perfumes using what he calls the 'cursor' method: effectively, making perfumes that tick off adjectives that we have come to have a common agreement on - feminine, light, elegant, flowery.
The objective was to sell perfume on a global scale. To achieve this, the marketing focus moved away from the selling of products, which were seen as too dependent on conviction and personal choice. To create a global market, the priority shifted to the marketing of demand. Demand marketing operates by continually assessing the needs, habits, and interests of consumers the way they judge products and the pleasure they draw from them. ... While this process can be described as innovative, it is not creative. ... This technique has distanced perfumers from the judgement of their own senses and curtailed creativity. It has provided a foundation for new olfactory conventions, a new conformity.
So far, so impassioned TED talk. But!
That being said, I find that the overall quality of perfumes has improved. Technically, they have radiance, diffusion, and persistence, and these qualities take months of work. They are good perfumes.
The paradox of good is that it is identifiable; it doesn't generate surprise. Acceptance and assimilation are immediate. The good is almost always based on commonplaces, on the familiar, and on stereotypes.
Niche perfumes, on the other hand, spend little if anything on advertising (although they certainly publicise the hell out of their work, and the growing army of perfume bloggers and writers almost all describe their origin stories as aficionados as a movement from the commercial scents of their teens to an encounter with a semi-niche brand to a tumble into the blog world to a full-blown affair with the obscure - much like my own). This leaves them with the fragrance as the product. They are sold in small stores by highly trained staff, judged by professionals and colleagues rather than commercial figures, and require the perfumer and perfume house to closely observe the individual customer's taste rather than shape it in advance.
The fragrance has to speak for itself and express a strong identity, an olfactory individuality. Great care is taken with the name. The name is the first component in the communication process, and the aim is to generate curiosity, not consensus. ... For composers of perfumes, whether under commission or free agents, the approach is primarily olfactory - no preadjustment of products for customer segments, no market testing, none of the mythical imagery of marketing, the "plausible stories" Plato speaks of. They are simply unique fragrances, inventions of the mind, which appeal primarily to the olfactory sense.
And yet I only gave the book 3 stars. It is a feast of detail and insight, but it as an austere feast. This is not the book I would foist upon a perfume newbie. It is the book I would foist upon the person who doesn't care about fragrance, but loves understanding how worlds work. I may not read it again, but I'm a wee bit smarter for having read it the once.
February 24, 2025
I've been fascinated with the sense of smell since I can remember, precisely for how powerfully it ties to memories. Visual art is a way to decorate space, music decorates time, and perfume decorates both space and time, which is another reason why it's so evocative, neuronal pathways aside.
In this book, Jean-Claude Ellena talks the reader through his creative process, far beyond knowing your materials and their chemical compositions, the dilution percentages and their interactions, he speaks about creating a scene, something that evokes the sense of a place, perhaps a personal memory, or simply an imagined space. He emphasizes the artistic process of creating a perfume, which is, like any other art, an extremely arduous process of learning the basics, improving your technique, and finally freeing yourself from convention to experiment and create on your own.
Later on, he also focuses on the perfume industry, the marketing aspect of it, how it's regulated for safety standards and the fight for granting perfumes protection under intellectual property. Absolutely fascinating.
In this book, Jean-Claude Ellena talks the reader through his creative process, far beyond knowing your materials and their chemical compositions, the dilution percentages and their interactions, he speaks about creating a scene, something that evokes the sense of a place, perhaps a personal memory, or simply an imagined space. He emphasizes the artistic process of creating a perfume, which is, like any other art, an extremely arduous process of learning the basics, improving your technique, and finally freeing yourself from convention to experiment and create on your own.
Later on, he also focuses on the perfume industry, the marketing aspect of it, how it's regulated for safety standards and the fight for granting perfumes protection under intellectual property. Absolutely fascinating.
October 20, 2020
It was not a bad book but it did not make me care more about the art of perfume making. The middle part of the book where all the technical terms begin to come up, I started to feel indifferent about it. Maybe one day when I decide to compose a perfume, I would go back to this book but for now, I really don't give a damn. Maybe read this book if you want to know more about what goes into your perfume, for now I would stick to reading the much more interesting and engaging blog posts over Fragrantica.com.
September 5, 2023
As an amateur enthusiast of perfumery who has spent some time learning about different natural and synthetic compounds and their composition, this book was a wonderful and helpful overview of the history of perfumery, categorization of materials, and and the process of perfume composition. All from the perspective of a beloved and respected perfume composer. Admittedly, it can be lightly technical and is not a book for the completely uninitiated. But for the beginner perfumer, gives a helpful lay of the land and structure by which to think about perfume.
December 19, 2024
Unfortunately, like the Jean-Claude Ellena perfumes I've tried, this left me a little cold.
I can listen to Persolaise's perfume livestreams every Sunday morning and not be bored. But this brief book left me tempted to skim. I was just a little too technical, a little too impersonal, for my tastes. It was educational, however, and there's no doubt JCE is a generational talent.
I can listen to Persolaise's perfume livestreams every Sunday morning and not be bored. But this brief book left me tempted to skim. I was just a little too technical, a little too impersonal, for my tastes. It was educational, however, and there's no doubt JCE is a generational talent.
November 10, 2024
"The materials of fragrances do not mix like colors to create a new color. Instead, they coexist and continue to express themselves individually while at the same time forming a new odor, a new meaning. In olfactory terms, 1+1=3, and 1 remains perceptible."
October 30, 2018
I liked this book! I would say it's for those with intermediate knowledge of perfume, though. At times, the author's writing was so poetical that it was hard for me to truly understand. (For example, when he's talking about how he formulates perfume, and "composing" and "shaping" a scent.) Perfume fans will understand the categories of perfume he talks about, and at one point, he imagines a new set of categories for perfume, which I found interesting to contemplate. However, one of the categories is "classic," which seems to me to be quite difficult to objectively categorize a perfume. What, objectively, could make a perfume "classic"? I feel that is arguable.
While the author appreciates advanced in perfumery over the years, he seems to be pretty much over mass-marketed perfumes and prefers "niche" perfumers who create scents based on their creative visions and desire to achieve originality instead of catering to something that "most" will like. This book was written in 2011, and when I started to become more interested in perfume in 2013, I could already see that niche perfumers were getting more popular.
You can tell the author has a lot of insider knowledge about all of the things that go into making perfume commercially, as he's done it for over 40 years. If you want a look inside the industry, this is a good book to check out. It's quite short.
While the author appreciates advanced in perfumery over the years, he seems to be pretty much over mass-marketed perfumes and prefers "niche" perfumers who create scents based on their creative visions and desire to achieve originality instead of catering to something that "most" will like. This book was written in 2011, and when I started to become more interested in perfume in 2013, I could already see that niche perfumers were getting more popular.
You can tell the author has a lot of insider knowledge about all of the things that go into making perfume commercially, as he's done it for over 40 years. If you want a look inside the industry, this is a good book to check out. It's quite short.
July 16, 2012
This was an account of how new perfumes are created. The author is a Frenchman who works for Hermes, I believe, and created one of the new modern scents (which has been widely imitated) based on the smell of tea. Modern perfumers seek not just to recreate scents such the smell of roses, but to work with ingredients to create a new scent that is an artistic work. The author uses a large palette of ingredients; one can almost smell the wonderful aromas. However, this book was a little hard to follow; I think it was originally written in French and I had no previous knowledge of the subject.
This book contained one really wonderful quote, which I will repeat as well as I can remember: "An illusion is not a lie; it is a way of making our dreams come true."
This book contained one really wonderful quote, which I will repeat as well as I can remember: "An illusion is not a lie; it is a way of making our dreams come true."
November 14, 2023
The highlight was the chapter "The Nose and Odor." Here, Ellena delves into scent detection, the influence of vapor pressure on smells, individual detection thresholds, sensitivity to scent nuances, and the impact of previously experienced scents on current perceptions. Later chapters gives some tips on enhancing sensitivity to smells and developing our olfactory taste. The book also briefly touches on scent description, exploring aspects like intensity, tenacity, volatility, and uniqueness.
Despite not being the most seamless translation from French, it serves as a commendable introduction to the art of perfumery.
Despite not being the most seamless translation from French, it serves as a commendable introduction to the art of perfumery.
August 14, 2018
Jean-Claude has arguably been more interested over the years in talking about perfumery rather than practising it. He's been featured in more documentaries and books than any other major perfumer that i can tell. His own book is more of less a dummy's guide to the complex and layered business of perfume, written solely from the perspective of a nose. He explains the technical elements of creation, who the main players are in the industry, and stresses heavily that he specifically is more artistic, more original than all other perfumers. In fact, the whole thing can be read as an essay to convince European courts to copyright his work due to its status as a work of the mind. If you're a die-hard JCE fan, or am simply interested in learning more about perfumes, this is a quick read that will satisfy both. If you're interested in the actual process of creating a brand new scent, read "The Perfect Scent," written about JCE but not by him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2021
I believe this book must suffer greatly due to the translation to English. I have just enough familiarity with French to have noticed when certain sentences were muddied by incorrect choice of words. The language is stilted sometimes to the point of losing all clarity, and unfortunately the most interesting and well written part of the book is the section regarding marketing, particularly how it has unexpectedly enhanced the industry, and copyright law. The description of the process of creation is just too badly treated by the translation and/or possibly the verbose style of Mr. Ellena himself.
June 2, 2024
I like perfume, but I am not at all technically minded when it comes to the construction of scent, nor do I consider myself a sophisticated consumer of perfume. I like what I like, and am not too fancy about it.
But, like all subjects, if I have any interest in it at all I will find books to tell me more.
This is a highly technical manual about the creation of perfume, both fascinating and (to me) somewhat opaque. If you are the sort who finds very precise descriptions of molecules interesting, then you will find this riveting. I found it a little overwhelming, but still approachable enough to read.
But, like all subjects, if I have any interest in it at all I will find books to tell me more.
This is a highly technical manual about the creation of perfume, both fascinating and (to me) somewhat opaque. If you are the sort who finds very precise descriptions of molecules interesting, then you will find this riveting. I found it a little overwhelming, but still approachable enough to read.
April 15, 2024
"Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent" by Jean-Claude Ellena is a fascinating read that delves into the world of perfume creation. However, the book can feel a bit disjointed at times, as it jumps between technical scientific information and more creative, poetic writing. While the blend of styles adds depth, it can also make the book feel a little scattered. Additionally, the book's brevity may leave readers wanting more, especially considering the richness of its subject matter. Overall, though, it's a great exploration of the art and science of fragrance.
April 23, 2021
I really enjoyed this book, as a chemist and as a perfume lover. I found interesting how regulation has changed and how similar it is to other chemistry areas but how deficient it still remains in terms of copyright. I loved JCE's standpoint in questions of classification and creativity. Of course, I enjoyed the sciency stuff although I would have absolutely loved a deeper dive. Certainly, this is not a book for everybody but it is an lovely read for perfume adicts.
June 23, 2024
So interesting!!!! The perfume and luxury goods industry holds so much mystery to consumers and I hate it because when you demystify it, it truly is just like other industries: money makers.
Perfume however in isolation is such a precise art and science, but it so dominated by luxury brands that it’s hard to feel like a conscious and ethical consumer. Niche brands are (sometimes) the better choice but ethics costs COIN. Ugh.
Perfume however in isolation is such a precise art and science, but it so dominated by luxury brands that it’s hard to feel like a conscious and ethical consumer. Niche brands are (sometimes) the better choice but ethics costs COIN. Ugh.
December 24, 2024
Learned a lot. Though I wouldn’t say the style of writing was particularly engaging. At times I’d say it was a bit too poetic. Expected a more straightforward guide through the world of perfumery. Even so, there were so many facts that came as a total surprise to me, it appears that the global perfume industry is way more complicated that one would think. Having read the book and now I have a different view and understanding of it.
January 18, 2025
This book reads like a great university lecture series in an intro to perfumery class. It’s equal parts poetic and technical. I found it to be both helpful in understanding the perfume industry at a very basic level as well as inspiring in the way Ellena speaks about the creation of perfume as art. I would highly recommend this as a jumping off point for anyone curious to delve a bit deeper into understanding the origins of their favorite fragrances.
May 28, 2021
This book was a great way to enter into literature about perfumery and the perfume industry. Jean Claude Ellena really paints a picture for the reader to understand what life is like taking a fragrance from concept to reality. It is also very helpful having a list of his more frequently used materials(I.e. Essential oils and synthetic molecules)
July 29, 2021
I purchased this book hoping to learn how perfume is made. While the book did discuss the selection of ingredients and process of perfume recipes, it was filled with technical jargon. This made it a very boring and difficult read in my opinion. I did meet my goal of gaining more insights into the perfume industry but it was challenging to stay focused and complete this book.
January 24, 2023
Astounding insights into art
In discussing the finer points - or notes - of perfume, Jean-Claude Ellena weaves in vital insights into art above and beyond the medium of fragrance. This is an utterly charming and informative book: my only complaint is that the kindle edition is missing a promised “fragrance map� illustration alluded to by the author: an incredibly daft oversight that is unforgivable on the part of the editor and one that should be corrected at once.
In discussing the finer points - or notes - of perfume, Jean-Claude Ellena weaves in vital insights into art above and beyond the medium of fragrance. This is an utterly charming and informative book: my only complaint is that the kindle edition is missing a promised “fragrance map� illustration alluded to by the author: an incredibly daft oversight that is unforgivable on the part of the editor and one that should be corrected at once.
January 7, 2025
"Perfume" by Jean-Claude Ellena is an interesting guide on the basics of perfumery and the overall economics and recent history of this art form.
As a chemist I really enjoyed the technicality and focus on compounds of this book. It nicely refutes the naturalistic fallacy widespread in the cosmetics industry. However, it could have been longer and more detailed in all areas touched on.
As a chemist I really enjoyed the technicality and focus on compounds of this book. It nicely refutes the naturalistic fallacy widespread in the cosmetics industry. However, it could have been longer and more detailed in all areas touched on.
September 11, 2022
A poetic and interesting history and meditation on the properties and sale of perfume. I enjoyed many of the lyrical passages on scent and pleasure. The market-related analysis was insightful and elevated the dryness of the source material by relating it to contextual, real-life sensabilities.
November 9, 2022
An excellent introduction to perfumery and the perfumery industry.
A good book about perfumery by an accomplished perfume creator. Has a balanced combination of technical and aesthetic information. Lists many historically important perfumes.
A good book about perfumery by an accomplished perfume creator. Has a balanced combination of technical and aesthetic information. Lists many historically important perfumes.
Read
February 10, 2025Short and sweet introduction to the world of perfumery -- as an art, as a business, as a mass marketed fashion commodity. An easy and quick read. Was hoping for more depth on the creative and scientific processes of composing perfumes but I'll find that elsewhere.
November 28, 2018
If you are really really into the methods and science of Perfume, this short book is a good start!
March 31, 2022
Lovely book.
March 1, 2023
Most informative is learning what 151 compounds (some like lilial are now banned) are in JCE's palette. A quick read.
July 12, 2023
Very informative. Good basic overview for anyone who has an interest in perfume.
January 5, 2024
Interesting and short. Wish it went more into history.
October 23, 2024
I’m a perfume lover, i have a huge collection, this bore me, not much knowledge just technical jargon
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.