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The Little Book Of Perfumes by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez (view source)
Revision as of 11:44, 26 November 2011
, 11:44, 26 November 2011no edit summary
I have always admired people who seem to know about scent, those whose dressing tables are littered with bottles none of which flaunt the name of a major (or increasingly, minor) celebrity. Some of the bottles might be works of art in themselves, but the general understanding is that they’ve been bought not for their vessels, nor for their exclusive advertising campaigns, special offers or celeb endorsement, but for their evocative scent. Perfumery is clearly an art and a science and if your skills aren’t as honed as they might be, this is a wonderful little book to sink your teeth into as you’re guided through the field by two people very much in the know.
''The Little Book Of Perfumes'' is essentially a distilled version of the previously successful title, [[Perfumes: The A - Z Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez|Perfumes: The A - Z Guide]]. This time they’ve settled on an even 100 scents to critique, chosen for their ''quality, inventiveness and straightforward beauty'', and many of the classics are double reviewed with comments from both Turin and Sanchez. The reviews aren’t long but they are punchy, and each is as much of a work of art as the scent it describes. It’s a bit like reading a cookery book or a restaurant review – you don’t have to be planning to eat there (or where the scent) to appreciate the pictures so clearly painted by the language used. The fact that these are the stand-out scents from the original edition is just a bonus but a bonus worth having as there’s nothing nicer than reading happy, positive reviews (AA Gill take note).
As in the previous title, the perfumes are presented in an alphabetical list, but following the final entry there are also some bonus lists: Top Tens that are feminine or masculine, or top masculine scents for women or feminine scents for men and so on which helps sign post the reader if the reviews have overwhelmed you somewhat. The lists include some obscure scents, a few now discontinued, certainly, but they’re also not afraid to go mainstream with things like Davidoff’s ''Cool Water'' which even I am familiar with.