Posted by Robin
on
26 October 2009
I do not think it is the creative capacity that is lacking, or the capacity for understanding on the part of the public (which remains what it has always been). What is in process of petering out is the capacity for starting something. It is really responsible people who are lacking, and it seems that to-day there is no man capable of launching a Chanel No. 5.
— Perfumer Edmond Roudnitska in Where Are We Going?, an English translation of a talk given in November 1967. You can download the paper in PDF form at Anya's Garden.
If you read French, you may be familiar with that excellent series of cheap booklets published by Presses Universitaires de France called “Que sais-je?”. Each volume in this encyclopaedic collection covers a specific subject, and the good news is: there's one about perfume too! None other than Edmond Roudnitska is the author of this little marvel, first published in 1980 and simply entitled Le Parfum. Unfortunately there's bad news too: it's not available in English.
Most generic perfume books focus on production methods, raw materials, and the history of perfumery. Roudnitska's approach is rather unique, in that he explores perfumery from an aesthetic point of view…
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Posted by Robin
on
28 April 2005
If you are looking for a lily of the valley fragrance and don’t care for Diorissimo, Muguet des Bois by Coty is worth a try. I have not been able to find a list of the notes online, but this is a soliflore and I don't smell any notes other than lily of the valley with a touch of green. It is a sweeter, cleaner, less sparkling fragrance than Diorissimo, and has a slight hint of soap.
Edmond Roudnitska, the master nose who created Diorissimo, said of Muguet des Bois…
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Posted by Robin
on
21 April 2005
Le Parfum de Thérèse was created by Edmond Roudnitska for his wife during the 1960s, and was not made available publicly until after his death, when Frederic Malle procured the formula for his line. It is an aldehydic floral with notes of mandarin, melon, jasmine, pepper, violet, rose, plum, nutmeg, cedar, vetiver, and leather.
Thérèse starts with sweet, over-ripe fruit, but the sweetness is perfectly tempered by the spice notes, and it demonstrates beautifully that a fragrance based on sweet, over-ripe fruit does not have to smell insipid, as it sadly does in so many recent fruity florals. The top notes are very peppery; later the nutmeg takes over, and the fruit notes slowly become more tart than sweet…
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Posted by Robin
on
20 April 2005
Continuing with what has apparently turned out to be Edmond Roudnitska week, today I am wearing Christian Dior Diorella, said to be Roudnitska’s personal favorite among his own creations. It was released in 1972 and features lemon, greens, basil, bergamot, melon, jasmine, rose, carnation, cyclamen, oakmoss, vetiver, musk, patchouli.
Diorella is often called the “sister scent” of Eau Sauvage, but Roudnitska disagreed. Diorella, he said, was descended from Eau Fraîche de Dior (1952), although both Eau Sauvage and Diorella could also be called the grandchildren of Diorissimo…
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