Carlos J. Powell wasn’t at the front rank of the fragrance machine

Posted by Robin on 18 March 2021 7 Comments

Carlos J. Powell wasn’t at the front rank of the fragrance machine. Luxury brands didn’t invite him to party at their ateliers in Venice or to go rose picking at dawn with influencers in Isparta, Turkey.

Mr. Powell, who lived in Sheepshead Bay and was known to his fans on YouTube as Brooklyn Fragrance Lover, worked as a children’s shoe salesman at Lester’s Clothing and Shoes for 35 years before he was laid off early in the pandemic. He roomed with two cats, Claude and Jean (named after Jean Claude Ellena, a master perfumer), and his fragrance collection, with bottles numbering in the thousands.

— From a lovely New York Times article about Carlos J. Powell, aka Brooklyn Fragrance Lover, who passed away on February 7. Read more in Chasing the Scent of a Brooklyn Fragrance Lover. (And if you missed it, see also YouTuber Carlos J. Powell, Whose Popular Channel Shared Fragrance Reviews, Dies at 56 at People.) Hat tip to sacre bleu and skalolazka!

Thursday scent of the day 3/18

Posted by Robin on 18 March 2021 235 Comments

Happy Almost-Friday! (And happy 51st to Queen Latifah). What fragrance are you wearing?

I’m taking points in good old Prada Candy…

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Something that you took for granted

Posted by Robin on 18 March 2021 Leave a Comment

We really got to see what it was like not to smell at all, and it was probably one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever experienced. Food doesn’t taste like anything, so you have to rely on the texture of the food for pleasure. You realize how lucky you are when it comes back little by little. When you pick up some notes, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I can smell pepper!’—you get to enjoy something that you took for granted.

— Sylvie Ganter of Atelier Cologne, on losing her sense of smell to COVID-19. Read more in COVID made this perfumer lose her sense of smell at ParrySound.