Pretending that you’re an artist when what you’ve made smells like the fragrance right next to it… all that bullshit! The business is full of bullshit.

Hear, hear! That’s perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, at the end of a long discussion with Persolaise about why perfumery is not art (among other subjects — if you have not read the interview, it is worth the time, and don’t miss part 2). It’s the sort of thing most perfumers don’t say in public, and his candor is one of many reasons I have always found Mr. Kurkdjian — or at least, his public persona — extremely likable.

I don’t always find his perfumes as appealing as his person, though. That is not to say I don’t like his work, because I do think he’s a brilliant perfumer. But in general I don’t feel the same sort of natural affinity for his perfumes that I do for those of some other perfumers or brands…

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