Posted by Robin
on
30 August 2008
Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez have released the first of a projected series of quarterly updates to Perfumes: The Guide, and are offering the first issue as a free download:
Each newsletter reviews about 100 perfumes. The first free issue includes some fragrances missing in the original guide, as well as new brands. Future issues will discuss favorite discontinued perfumes and give our point of view on perfume history, culture, and developments.
You can find it here. My absolute favorite line after a very quick skim-through this morning, from the review of Guerlain's recent Cruel Gardenia:
Would be perfect if the spray button said "sucker" each time you press it.
Posted by Robin
on
1 May 2008
There are thousands of perfumes on the market. They're as manifold and distinct as wines but far more important to get right. Which, after all, is more likely to spoil your meal: a bad cabernet in your own glass, or a bad perfume or cologne on anyone in the room? Besides, the mystery of wine is mitigated by an enormous wing of writing: histories, guidebooks, magazines, Web sites. Not so with scent; there's almost nothing to steer the novice. At least, there hasn't been until now.
— From The Sweet Smell of Success: The mysterious art of writing about perfume, a review of Perfumes: The Guide (by Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez, for anyone who hasn't been paying attention) at Slate. Many thanks to Ruth for the link! If you missed it, here is Marcello's review, and our recent Q & A session with the authors.
Posted by Robin
on
21 April 2008
Today on NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook: "Scent and sensibility: Two top perfume critics explain how their world of scent works on us."
The one hour show airs at 11 am, and the guests include Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, authors of Perfumes: The Guide, and Patty Geissler of Perfume Posse.
You can find out more here. The station does offer both online streaming and an iTunes podcast.
In a letter to his friend Oskar Pollak, Franz Kafka (1883-1924) once wrote: “I believe we should only read books that bite and sting. If a book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a punch on the head, what are we reading it for?” That punch on the head, that wake-up call, was a defining element in 20th century art. In Perfumes: The Guide, authors Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez describe their favorite perfumes in similar terms: a great composition takes you by surprise, exceeds your expectations, blows you away.
Some people, of course, can't fathom why perfumes are worthy of serious consideration in the first place, let alone why they should be reviewed in a book. I'd recommend those naysayers to pick up a copy of Perfumes: The Guide, and read the short preliminary essays where the authors share their views on perfume aesthetics and criticism. In clear and simple words they explain why perfume is an art, why the industry should take consumers more seriously, and how a guide with unabashed opinions fits into all of this. I found them well worth reading, and worthy of a little reflection here too. I figure there's been enough talk about the reviews…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
14 April 2008
At the end of March, we gave readers the chance to ask Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez questions about perfume and their then-upcoming book, Perfumes: The Guide. Here are their answers. Note that I threw in two questions of my own at the end, and those of you who read all the way to the last answer, please join me in a moment of silence.
Nam: To both Mr. Turin and Ms. Sanchez: What is your all-time favorite perfume, if you have one? If not one, can you name some that would be in your top 5?
LT: Mitsouko.
TS: Mitsouko. Even reformulated. For lovers of top ten lists, we include several in the appendix. For haters of top ten lists, please remove them with a craft knife…
Read the rest of this article »
