Episode 1 and 2 of the BBC 4 Perfume series are now on YouTube. Part 1 of 4 from the first episode is below, you can find the rest, and the second episode, here. Hat tip to Laurie!
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That beautiful opening music was from Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music”
Does Guerlain really want to be known for JPG’s fond rememberance of the day of the Nazi invasion and t he strawberry tarte his mother served that day? Just when I had managed to forget his work comme une negresse comment.
Don’t forget, “A woman can be ugly in the day and wonderful in the night.”
I don’t know if he was always quick with an unfortunate comment, but jeez, someone should have saved him from himself.
He is not PC, but that does not bother me…I thought the strawberry tart story was cute.
In all fairness to him, he had been asked about his earliest scent memory, and that happened to be it. He is French, so I doubt that his memories of the Nazis are fond, just vivid. We don’t necessarily choose our memories, and it is true that stressful or scary events tend to get imprinted deeply in our memories. In addition, smell is the sense most closely linked to our memories.
I wasn’t too crazy about some of his other remarks, but I just chalk it up to generational differences. I have actually heard much more offensive remarks from some of my male coworkers, who are much younger than JPG, and therefore, in my view, have far less excuse for their antiquated ideas.
One of my earliest “perfume” memories was of a giant fatice (it was either for Joy or Channel No. 5) at a childhood’s friend’s house. I had thought it was actually filled with fragrance until it was explained to me that it was just a display which her father had because he was the designer of the ads for the line.
My friend’s father too had quite a day when the Nazis arrived. Although a child, his parents had sent him away from home to hide somewhere because the family was jewish. He never saw his parents again.
Jewish or not, I suspect that there were very few French who celebrated in any way when the Nazis arrived.
Maybe it’s because I have been living amongst the French for almost 5 years, but I have no issues with what JPG said.
Scent is primal. Fragrance is his life and his famiial legacy.
One of the most terrible and most significant days in his life was also his birthday. His mother tried to carry on for him as normal, trying not to panic him. (Most parents tried to do the same.) He will never forget the scent of the strawberries of the strawberry tart his mother made for him that day.
The incongruity of their sweet and innocent deliciousness with the invasion of his country by the Nazis is something he will never forget; it has marked him for life. I think it would have marked me as well.
I am afraid that I just don’t understand where the controversy is…
As for his remark about ugly women, I see it as the French attitude towards what makes someone, in this case a woman, attractive. Even a woman who is not physically beautiful becomes beautiful by means of her voice, her charm, her scent. He is in fact saying that physical beauty is not all that makes a woman beautiful.
Sure, he used the word “ugly”. He wasn’t insulting an individual, but rather, communicating a concept. Again, I personally didn’t find it offensive.
My family lived survived the Nazi invasion — I had one grandfather who was sent to a concentration camp, and another who as part of the Underground Resistance personally sheltered, fed and clothed those running from the Nazis — at great risk to not only his life, but the lives of his wife and children. And no, I was not offended by JPG’s remarks.
Oh cool!!! Thanks for the heads up, Robin!
De nada. But now I have to find time to watch them all!
Robin & Laurie: thanks so much for providing this for us. I was transfixed by so many aspects of it.
Oh, do bear in mind I have nothing to do with the videos! Just passing on the news 🙂
Yes, Robin, but without you as blogmistress for the penultimate perfume site in the world, so many of us would not have had access to this wonderful series. I wanted to express my gratitude for continuing to maintain this creme de la creme of websites!
That’s sweet, thanks 🙂
Tommy Hilfiger: “You know what it says. We know what it says, but what does it really say?” I almost did a spit-take with the coffee on that one. Went up my nose instead. Lmao!
And I have to ad: I “heart” Chandler Burr. I’ve never seen/heard him, only read his writing. I think he needs to do a video-blog. He is so adorable and charming.
I can definitely relate to running short of skin space for sniffing, and I don’t get nearly as many things to test as he does! I’ve never resorted to using my knees, though. I’m not that flexible, and I might strain something.
When I worked in cosmetics, there was this nutty girl that came in trying all kinds of fragrances and ran out of room on her upper body so she hoisted her leg up on the counter and started spraying her ankles. Everyone else was so horrified but I thought it was hilarious. Plus I was very impressed at how flexible she was! lol
…and I thought that I was the only one crazy enough to use my legs for additional testing areas!
I thought that was funny too!
Apparently, in the second video we learn that what we are really saying is, “We’re fun, we’re fruity, we’re juicy …”
That was another one where I was guffawing. I really wonder what happened to this fragrance. I don’t think I’ve even seen it at my local dept. stores.
Apart from how awful it is that something I love so much has such an ugly side. ( all the marketing taking precedence), what struck me most in this documentary is how very old and frail J.P. Guerlain looks. I felt quite sorry for him.
I think his strawberry tart comment is just the remark of someone, who is looking back full of nostalgia, remembering a precious moment. The wonderful fragrance amidst all the fear and stress caused by the German invasion.
I am very grateful for the link to the You tube clips, thank you Robin and Laurie!
Thank you for posting this! I adore Chandler Burr! And after seeing this I don’t ever want to go shopping for perfume at Macy’s, horrible-I’d get claustrophobia in under 5 minutes. I understand now what the head of Le Labo meant when he said that trying to pick a perfume at Macy’s like trying to fall in love on the highway!
I got instant claustrophobia watching that, too! That is what I call Fragrance Hell!
Thank you!!!
I know I ask this all the time, but is Chandler Burr STILL the perfume critic for the NYT? I mean I haven’t seen him post there in ages!
I *think* he is just doing the new gig and no longer writing for the Times, but I’m not positive.
https://freebox.it.com/2010/12/09/new-center-of-olfactory-art-at-museum-of-arts-and-design/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Just got to the second part but watching the three old-guy scenesters design a music-packaging inspired fragrance for 17-to-27 year old consumers was painful. See, the lid is a volume knob! The test strip is a ticket stub! 17-to-27 year olds want to listen to records! But if they could design a fragrance that could be delivered digitally, they’d really be golden. And what about Play and that other new frag with the microphone shaped bottle. These people must all be working with the same coterie of consultants.
That packaging can’t hold a candle to Womanity which is (I think) is supposed to reference female spirit tribal totems but winds up looking all Giger Aliens and Ancient Martian Runes because the Mugler aesthetic is so strong. Here’s to originality.
Agree — the whole Loud project seems absurd.
I’ll admit, the bottle’s LP-esque sleeve and the ticket-stub test strip were kinda cute. But the whole “inspired by rock music” idea is so nebulous, and the revelation that young people today are into vinyl is awfully 2004. And if you’re going to make a perfume called Loud, don’t make it Fruitchouli #1693. Make it a hissy neon floral with a fat bottom and nuclear projection, like Gucci Rush, or a diabetic shock-inducing sweet thing laced with smoke and noise. Give it a sense of humor and an edge of weird. (Do none of those perfume-buying young things want humorous and weird? Even a little bit? Really, you just want to smell exactly like all of your friends?)
Rant over. Thanks for the link, Robin! I’m enjoying this series tremendously.
It makes me glad Loud did not sell like gangbusters.
oh i like your ideas much better. Loud went straight to the discount bin, it seems
@Subhuman, agree.
Also, MaDame was both commercial and pretty rock-and-roll both in packaging and in scent. I’d rather have seen the making of that one.
I thought the second instalment was as fascinating as the first one was cringe-making. The only person who came across as rather silly (as opposed to practically everyone in the first instalment, especially Chandler Burr) was the man who wanted to recapture the smell of Olde England. It really *really* doesn’t exist any longer (certainly not in London, anyway). But I can see what an interesting challenge it would be for Christopher Brosius. I’m not looking forward to the next instalment: frankly, I couldn’t care less what those multi-billionaires want to smell.
Look forward to part 2 then (still catching up) — this episode is mostly a turn off.
I heard that loud it’s discontinued in Europe, not that I care..
Not yet actually. Saw it yesterday in a store called Ici Paris XL (a perfume chain store “native” to the low lands ).. for some reason I had no inclination to ask for a snif..strange… bought Cinnabar instead! (was still lacking in my collection…)
I was told by Tommy SAleswoman, aparently they cannot order it anymore. I assume what you saw were last pieces around. Not sure if it will remain available in America. Such a shame after all the work done and see a product die like that. Maybe execs should take note…
episode 2, part 1 @ 2:36, me and my friend patrick with CB! i hate how the guy cut soooo much of my interview….pffft
Wow, thanks for the post. I was hoping to find the documentary on Youtube as we don’t have BBC4 in Australia. Loved the Guerlain segement. Made me reminisce when I saw Francoise in the shot. She showed me around the Maison last month. Was one of the highlights of my trip. Haha, love how animated Chandler Burr gets when he analyses scent. I could listen to him all day.
I’ve been GLUED to these programmes. I love BBC4. I thought Thierry Wasser came across as a lovely guy. Thoughtful and sensitive. He was so upset at the JPG incident as he knew how the comment was received (and could not defend the indefensible) and was saddened that his “father” would now be perceived as an old fossil (at best). Then the bliss of JC Ellena in his wood cabin trying to work out if the colour red could smell cold, poor CB being sent on a fool’s errand to London (I totally agree with Bela) – what did that guy want? To smell like Bertie Wodehouse? And that sweet sweet french guy who welled up whilst trying to explain how grateful he was to be given a chance at fragrance school. I’d have rolled in the lavender fields of Provence with him – whoops did I say that out loud? And Jean Guichard! (And his lovely son Aurelian in the first episode!). Major swooning going on here.
Your lavender field comment was so funny! I found myself trying to figure out what kind of assistant JCE might still need for his work and then offer my services. He is old enough to be my father but what a gorgeous man!
Thank you! I agree about JCE. Such a mobile face full of expression.
me too, he’s so cute!
In episode 2, Christopher Brosius discussed my favourite of his perfumes – Memory of Kindness- sorry to say I squealed with joy when he said this was his favourite. Jean-Claude Ellena was also fascinating as the programme followed the creation of Jardin sur le Toit. All i could think was ‘all the reviews said this smells like apples and this woman is calling it a ‘hot skin scent” – reminded me that I should always test for myself.
I also want to study at Givaudan and roll through the lavender fields – there are some jammy people out there!
I just got to the part in Part II where they call Jean Claude Ellena the “Obi-wan Kenobi of perfume”. 😯
Thanks so much for the repost. It’s fascinating. By the way, does anyone know what the bottle the woman at the end is talking about that she wore since the end of WWII (blue with a clear stopper)? I couldn’t recognize it.
I believe it’s a vintage bottle of Soir de Paris, but I could be wrong.
Thanks; that was my guess. The cobalt blue is pretty distinctive. I think that one got reformulated a lot, so I’m happy to see that she still loves it (although that bottle does look vintage). I hate to see companies swearing it’s not reformulated and passing that off to computers, but I’m glad that hasn’t affected her appreciation. If only they would do what Worth did with Je Reviens and properly resurrect the original!