Perfumes: The Guide

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Perfumes: The Guide is part of a series of books cataloguing major perfumes, written by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez.

Contents

Authors

Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez co-authored The Guide. The couple are married; he is a biophysicist and she is a perfume critic. [1]

Perfumes: The Guide and Perfumes: The A-Z Guide

In 2008, Turin and Sanchez published Perfumes: The Guide. [2] It began with introductory chapters on the basics of perfumery and then reviewed more than a thousand perfumes, giving a rating of one to five stars and a brief critical review, signed either LT or TS. These ranged from a single word (Sanchez on Lanvin Rumeur: "Baseless") to a few paragraphs. [1] [3]

In 2009, they published a paperback edition, titled Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, that made some expansions, adding 451 new reviews and new Top 10 lists. [4]

Perfumes: The Guide 2018 and reissue of The A-Z Guide

In 2018, Turin and Sanchez released a new volume, Perfumes: The Guide 2018, covering 1200 fragrances that had been released in the 10 years since the first book. [2] In 2019, they reissued Perfumes: The A-Z Guide.

Reception

The Guide received a starred review in Publishers Weekly , which said, “The book brings [the authors'] exquisite connoisseurship to life in a contagious manner. Their passion for a few scents and their outrage at the others' failings make for entry after entry of hilarious, catty comments interspersed with occasional erudite, eloquent disquisitions." [5] Other reviewers echoed the praise for the book’s prose. In The Guardian , Hermione Hoby wrote, “Convincing the reader that perfume-making is an art form is easy for these authors: the real joy of this husband and wife's dazzlingly comprehensive compendium is in its case for perfume criticism as the even greater art." [6] Likewise in Maclean's , Anne Kingston wrote, "Perfumes' metaphorically brilliant descriptors often qualify as art themselves." [3] In The New Yorker , John Lancaster wrote that the authors "offer vivid, funny, evocative descriptions of the smells they write about…To enjoy "Perfumes," you don't need to know, or even to like, perfumes, such is the brio of Turin's and Sanchez's prose." [1]

See also

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joy (perfume)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osmothèque</span>

The Osmothèque is the world's largest scent archive, a leading international research institution tracing the history of perfumery, based in Versailles with conference centers in New York City and Paris. Founded in 1990 by Jean Kerléo and other senior perfumers including Jean-Claude Ellena and Guy Robert, the Osmothèque is internationally responsible for the authentication, registration, preservation, documentation and reproduction of thousands of perfumes gathered from the past two millennia, archived at the Osmothèque repository and consultable by the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J'adore (fragrance)</span> Perfume by Christian Dior

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jicky</span> Guerlain perfume

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fracas (perfume)</span> 1948 tuberose perfume by Germaine Cellier for Robert Piguet

Fracas is a 1948 perfume created by French perfumer Germaine Cellier for French fashion designer Robert Piguet. It is based on the scent of tuberose, a pungent small white flower. A landmark fragrance, it has spawned many imitators and as of 2024 has been in production for over 75 years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lancaster, John (2008-03-03). "Scents and Sensibility". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  2. 1 2 Ilchi, Layla (2018-08-16). "'Perfumes: The Guide' Highlights Fragrances of the Last Decade". WWD. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  3. 1 2 Kingston, Anne. "Do you smell like one star or five?" Maclean's. 6/9/2008, Vol. 121 Issue 22, p63-63. Via EBSCO.
  4. ↑ Hirst, Christopher (2009-10-30). "Perfumes: the A-Z Guide, By Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez". The Independent. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  5. ↑ "Nonfiction Book Review: Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin, Tania Sanchez". Publishers Weekly. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  6. ↑ Hoby, Hermione (2009-11-15). "Perfumes: the A-Z Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
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