One reason why truly great smells are so often undervalued is that they are today made and distributed under the not particularly watchful gaze of a few large corporations. The cynical bean-counters in Paris and Zurich do not hesitate to tamper with old formulas, insisting on the substitution of cheap chemical compounds that approximately resemble rarer, better ingredients in an effort to reduce the dizzying cost and increase profits. They do not tell their customers when or how they do this, indeed they presume we won’t notice the difference, so fine perfume is now hopelessly entangled with the international cosmetic dollar, and ill-served by marketing and public relations. It is also manacled to crude presumptions about what is acceptably feminine or credibly masculine.
— From Smelly masterpieces, a review of Perfumes: The Guide in the UK Times Online.
4 Comments
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I think this probably ties in with too many niche brands popping up.
I am currently interested in the Creed fragrance line…idea's for a slightly green, slightly white, rich (lasting) floral anyone?
Anyway, it seems they spare no expense and still use distillation??? Something that isn't used very often anymore because of time and cost I believe.
I am glad they exist and aren't popping up a new perfume everyday and it seems they could be worth the slightly extra expense.
Joy
Becca
I hope someone else will chime in with a good Creed recommendation for you — I haven't liked many of their recent scents. Do like Jasmal for a green-ish jasmine.
Superbly-written column, R. Thanks for the link.
It was a fun read