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Perfume Legends II by Michael Edwards ~ new perfume book

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Fragrance expert Michael Edwards has revised and updated his reference work Perfume Legends. Perfume Legends II includes the original list of fragrances covering the period from 1882 to 1992 (you can find that list in the review linked above) plus two that were left out: Robert Piguet Fracas (because the formulation was so bad at the time) and Guerlain Nahéma (because Edwards couldn't get the information he needed from Jean-Paul Guerlain). It then brings us up to 2010 with Serge Lutens Féminité du Bois, Rochas Tocade; Christian Dior J’Adore; Kenzo Flower; Chanel Coco Mademoiselle; L'Artisan Parfumeur Timbuktu; and Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady. You can order a copy from Fragrances of the World for $145.

 

Every great perfume

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Every great perfume probably loses the market test. It affronts, and so they mark it down. Yet it’s that very quality, I am convinced, that makes it memorable. Give me a fragrance that five per cent of people are totally addicted to and 70 per cent loathe, and I’ll give you a $100 million grant. The reality is that broad appeal means you have to compromise: you end up with the best of the worst and the worst of the best. The average perfume is nice and pretty and forgettable. It’s hard to find one that has enough guts to keep you going.

— Fragrance expert Michael Edwards, author of Perfume Legends. Perfume Legends II has just been published (look for an announcement later today). Read more at A fragrance connoisseur explains the ingredients required to make an iconic scent at Vogue Australia.

Probably for men

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When I asked Philippe Guerlain if Jicky was made for women or men, he looked at me and said, ‘Probably for men, but by about 1900 it became clear that men weren’t buying it, so we put it in a new bottle shaped like a champagne cork for women.’ However, about 10 years ago Guerlain asked me to change the gender classification again.

— Fragrance expert Michael Edwards, author of Perfume Legends, on Jicky's gender status. Read more at Why perfumes are moving beyond gender at Financial Review.

Jackpot

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He described the old days when you had slot machines - which we still have in Australia. Pull the lever down and wait to see if the five cherries would line up, hoping cash would fly out. Jackpot.

The juice, the perfume, in his mind is the first win, cherry #1. Cherry #2 is the bottle. To him, it is the visual interpretation of the fragrance promise. Cherry #3 is the name of the perfume. So often, he says, in today’s crowded perfume world, the names mean nothing. They’re borrowed. Madame this. Monsieur that. They are not promises. Opium, Eternity, Angel, they offer a promise. The fourth cherry is the fragrance story, so often pretentious, overblown, sometimes silly. That authentic feeling we can share is missing.

— Michael Edwards, author of Perfume Legends, telling a story about bottle designer Pierre Dinand. Read more at Meet Michael Edwards at Map of the Heart.

Fragrances of the World 2016 by Michael Edwards ~ new perfume book

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fotw-2016-s

Michael Edwards will publish the latest version of his “fragrance bible”, Fragrances of the World 2016. The 2016 edition lists fragrances grouped by fragrance family, and includes over 2,000 new releases from 2015. The book is used by numerous retailers to help customers find fragrances they might like based on the scent(s) they already know and enjoy…

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