The Perfume Lover: A Personal History of Scent. Denyse Beaulieu

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The Perfume Lover: A Personal History of Scent. Denyse Beaulieu

3.3 of 5 stars 3.30 · rating details · 37 ratings · 17 reviews

"The Perfume Lover" is a candid personal account of the process of composing a fragrance, filled with sensual scent descriptions, sexy tidbits, and historical vignettes.What if the most beautiful night in your life inspired a perfume?

When Denyse Beaulieu was growing up near Montreal, perfume was forbidden in her house, spurring a childhood curiosity that became an intellec...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published March 1st 2012 by Collins (first published January 1st 2012)

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Feb 22, 2013 Sabrina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

This book is often tagged with the line “What if the most beautiful night in your life inspired a perfume?” So, I was expecting a long, overly-romantic retelling of a heavenly sexual experience that went on for an entire book culminating into “and then it became a perfume”. Which wouldn’t have been a bad thing because hey, everyone could use a lusciously romantic story once in awhile. Especially one that’s actually true.

How very mistaken I was. Denyse is one of the sassiest, most fun writers I’v...more This book is often tagged with the line “What if the most beautiful night in your life inspired a perfume?” So, I was expecting a long, overly-romantic retelling of a heavenly sexual experience that went on for an entire book culminating into “and then it became a perfume”. Which wouldn’t have been a bad thing because hey, everyone could use a lusciously romantic story once in awhile. Especially one that’s actually true.

How very mistaken I was. Denyse is one of the sassiest, most fun writers I’ve read this year. She’s a no-nonsense, sexy, evocative, fashionable woman who knows what she wants when it comes to perfume. And, truth be told, life. The book is an insider’s look into one of the world’s most sensual and precise industries. Denyse manages to take the complexities of chemistry and undertones and duos and quite literally turn you on. The effect is forceful and I was completely caught up in the excitement of conveying a powerful, seductive life experience through scent. And we thought writing was a powerful form of expression!

I have dipped into perfume books in the past and that’s all it’s ever been, a quick dip. I found the history uncompelling and the writing too stiff to keep my interest. That changed as Denyse powered through her book, demanding perfection and weaving personal stories with vignettes about perfume. Whether you’re an occasional spritzer, a perfume lover, or an all out scent slut, you will love this book!

PS. It just so happens that I spritzed myself with a tester perfume I got at Sephora before settling down to read this book. I have to say, I was mesmerized by it for the rest of the day. I felt the power of the individual ingredients and was fascinated at the change in what I can only describe as density as the day went on. If I hadn’t been reading The Perfume Lover, I probably would have never noticed how fascinating a scent can be on my own skin. Downside? Now I get to shell out $90 to get the perfume. Curses!(less)

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Feb 26, 2012 Jazzypom rated it 3 of 5 stars

Before we go any further, you must know three things about Denyse Beaulieu- she writes about perfume, writes about erotica, and is an escapee from a literary background. In her mind, scents and sensuality are inexorably linked, and with the use of literature as historical reference (a smattering of Marquis de Sade here, and Kant there, you understand). Her sexual life is offered to the reader with spread open thighs- to tie all three points together - which doesn't work in the end.

The novel is...more

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May 12, 2013 Sarah Lachance rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just posted this over on Amazon....

I'm resisting the urge to rate this book lower than the three stars I've given it. The book isn't badly written, it's just that the narrator is insufferably self-centered. It is, after all, a personal history of scent, so some degree of self-aggrandizement is to be expected. The author interweaves her past experiences with a present-day narrative of developing a scent based upon one of these stories with Bertrand Duchaufour, perfumist of L'Artisan Parfumeur. In...more Just posted this over on Amazon....

I'm resisting the urge to rate this book lower than the three stars I've given it. The book isn't badly written, it's just that the narrator is insufferably self-centered. It is, after all, a personal history of scent, so some degree of self-aggrandizement is to be expected. The author interweaves her past experiences with a present-day narrative of developing a scent based upon one of these stories with Bertrand Duchaufour, perfumist of L'Artisan Parfumeur. Interesting enough.

Where the book veers into unlikeable territory is when she moves from personal anecdotes to interviews and interactions with Duchafour and other industry luminaries. She writes him as if he's a reluctant puppet to her string-pulling, pouting when he doesn't take her ideas literally or cancels an appointment or takes too long to get back to her. Her utter insistence in defining her relationship with him and the scent (muse, auteur, author) is insufferably boring. She feels a constant need to establish her dominion over the subject matter and experts. Her explication is less about learning from them and their experiences and more about her demonstrating that she knows as much (if not more) than they do.

Examples:

About Hypnotic Poison: "Was the perfumer Annick Menardo aware of what she was doing when she stuck an almond note into its jasmine sambac, musk and vanilla accords? As any reader of classic English murder mysteries knows, you can tell whether a victim has been poisoned with cyanide from the lingering smell of bitter almonds." Menardo's response when caught with the question? "I don't psychoanalyze myself."

About interviewing Serge Lutens: "This isn't an interview where a person extorts as much as she can from another without disclosing anything. Lutens is asking *me* questions."

And despite having written a memoir about scent and memory, she writes: "The next time someone brings up the perfume-as-instant-flashback cliche, I may scream."

Yawn.

I do have to credit Beaulieu for being willing to write herself honestly, even if the result is in writing a not-so-likeable character. If you're looking for well-balanced, informative writing on scent, with an unobtrusive narrator, check out the work of Chandler Burr. (less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Courtney Johnston rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed, biography

I spent 85% of this book wanting to smack Denyse Beaulieu in her smug, self-satisfied, ever-so-seductive face. To wit:

Despite my admiration for the cavity-inducing Hypnotic Poison, olfactory pastries were never something I could get particularly worked up about. I may want to offer myself up at dessert when the mood strikes; I don't want to smell of it. Which is why Bertrand Duchaufour's take on vanilla delights me particularly: it reminds me of something I'd much rather wrap my lips around afte

...more I spent 85% of this book wanting to smack Denyse Beaulieu in her smug, self-satisfied, ever-so-seductive face. To wit:

Despite my admiration for the cavity-inducing Hypnotic Poison, olfactory pastries were never something I could get particularly worked up about. I may want to offer myself up at dessert when the mood strikes; I don't want to smell of it. Which is why Bertrand Duchaufour's take on vanilla delights me particularly: it reminds me of something I'd much rather wrap my lips around after dinner than a spoonful of vanilla icecream ... a good cigar.

Finding my own perfume to herald our clandestine love affair wasn't much of a quandary either. As soon as he smelled Serge Lutens' Tubereuse Criminelle between my breasts, Monsieur whispered 'Criminelle' in gloating tones and proceeded to bare them.

Beaulieu's writing certainly isn't notable for its restraint or its effortlessness: it's as LOOK AT ME as Opium or Poison. But I stuck the book (a mixture of memoir and pop-sci, blended around Beaulieu's, a journalist and perfume blogger's collaboration with a French perfumer to make a scent inspired by 'the most beautiful night of her life - I won't go into it, you'll gag - that was eventually released by L'Artisan Parfumeur) out for the other 15%, which introduced me to perfumes I hadn't heard of and taught me some new things. France, for example, is the historic centre of perfumery because Catherine de'Medici brought her Italian perfumer there with her in 1553. Louis XIV's extreme toileting regime (which required his courtiers to attend upon his every movement) and dedication to fashion was partly political - it kept the men at court too busy and too impoverished to plot insurrection.

I can name you several other books on perfume that I recommend above this (start with Chandler Burr's 'Emperor of Scent'). But at the same time, credit to Beaulieu for getting me actively smelling again, and dropping a bundle on a small and intense bottle of Nasamatto's 'Black Afgano'. (less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Lianne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, first-reads, arcs-and-galleys

I received a copy of The Perfume Lover from the GoodReads First Reads program. I don't know much about perfume so I greatly reading the chapters about the history and culture around the product, I learned a lot about it. However, I found the other personal aspects of her life that she included in this memoir not as interesting or as compelling; I was never quite sure how some of her personal stories were connected to her journey in creating the Séville à L'Aube. Overall, I recommend this novel i...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Didi rated it 4 of 5 stars

A beautiful love story with a twist. It's a love affair with perfume rather than between the lovers that unfolds.

Certainly well written, the history of perfume is interwoven with the author's own entrance into the world of perfumery. There were times I thought she waxed too lyrical but that was because I felt so impatient for the end result of her affairs and journey, culminating in the creation of a perfume (due out this July I think, which i'm sure to be checking out).

It has sparked an inter...more

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May 12, 2013 Porkpie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of the best books on perfume out there right now. It blends the hard science of creating a scent with titillating personal memoirs of romantic travels abroad.

The character portrayals are honest without being catty, the descriptive power of the prose is evocative and specific, and the entire book has a wonderful personal voice to it that kept me reading for hours.

Definitely a book for both 'fumeheads (like me) and people only marginally interested in the topic of perfumery.

All in a...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Becky rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, non-fiction

In a word: Pretentious.

That's the only thing I can come up with to describe the horrible-ness that is Denyse Beaulieu's book "The Perfume Lover: A Personal Hisotry of Scent." Perhaps "A Crazy, Obsessive Person's Personal History of Scent and Her Love of Herself" would be a better subtitle. Beaulieu merely comes across as condescending, self-important, and insane. She clearly does not have an ounce of self-awareness, because if she did, she would realize that she sounds like a crazy person throug...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Monica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

This was the first book I received as a Goodreads giveaway, along with a surprise sample of perfume!

I really would like to give The Perfume Lover a 3.5 - parts of it were fascinating, yet the overall organization kept it from the extra star.

What this book did well is tell the complex story of how a perfume is made. The sections highlighting the author's interactions with perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour were compelling, a true lesson in the evocative power of scent. The snippets of perfume history...more This was the first book I received as a Goodreads giveaway, along with a surprise sample of perfume!

I really would like to give The Perfume Lover a 3.5 - parts of it were fascinating, yet the overall organization kept it from the extra star.

What this book did well is tell the complex story of how a perfume is made. The sections highlighting the author's interactions with perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour were compelling, a true lesson in the evocative power of scent. The snippets of perfume history were also interesting, ranging from biblical times to the modern regulation of perfume ingredients that have changed some classic scents. While reading the book, I was compelled to visit my (somewhat dwindling) perfume selection and try different scents, looking for the notes Denise Beaulieu describes, and making a list of perfumes I would like to try.

Less compelling were the lengthy explanations of the chemistry of the scents thrown into most of the chapters which, to me, bogged the writing down. Though the book is ostensibly organized by following the journey from a shared story of passion leading to the final creation of a perfume, it sometimes reads a bit like separate essays with the author's reminisces leading the narrative off on distracting tangents: personal history (very personal, at times), chemical analysis, historical perspective, anecdotes all thrown into the same chapter in a sort of stream-of-consciousness. Sometimes this works; sometimes it is extremely distracting.

Overall, The Perfume Lover gives us an engaging look into the world of perfumes and how scent affects us personally, providing insight into what makes perfumes work.

On a separate note, the sample of Seville a l'Aube (the perfume created in the book) that Penguin Books included in the giveaway was truly intoxicating! After reading Beaulieu's story, taking a whiff of the perfume transported me to a Catholic Church filled with orange blossoms and a priest who had smoked a cigar before the mass. (Would that we could know the provenance of all perfumes!)It is available from L'Artisan Parfumeurs for about $135.(less)

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Apr 13, 2012 Maya Panika rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very enjoyable and informative foray into the world of perfumery. A French-Canadian who always dreamed of living in Paris, Denyse Beaulieu gives a potted biography, how she began to love perfume so much and came to be a part of that world. A mixture of biography and the art and science of perfumery, the narrative pivots around the creation of a new, bespoke perfume made for her by a top perfumer to celebrate the memory of a love affair in Seville.

The chapters on perfumery were fascinating. Deny...more

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May 11, 2013 Kai rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

The Perfume Lover is a journey of a journalist critic of discovering how perfume is made. Each perfume tries to capture the moment through scent. A story has to be told of that moment that is significant to that individual. There are several stages that a perfume undergoes. It could take a year to a few years just to create a scent that would remind an individual of that moment. The perfume also reacts differently to each individual's body chemistry so not all scent is the same scent.

I give the...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Janet marked it as to-read · review of another edition

This books concept seems mysterious and alluring just like the scent of perfume that you try to figure out its components. Would love, love, love to win this book!

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Jan 10, 2013 Tanya rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this because I am interested in perfume- despite the fact that I don't like 99% of commercial perfumes. It was interesting learning about the strange scents which go into perfumes and the lengthy process of adding and subtracting ingredients and the way they interact with each other. Beaulieu, however is convinced that perfume is on a par with fine art, which I think is taking things a bit far. If you are fascinated by scents & the scent-makers, you will probably enjoy this book, but...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Laren added it

It was torture to read this book galley without smelling the perfume it inspired! Anyway, just finishing my book blurb! Wait and see!

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Feb 22, 2013 Leslie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, olfaction-perfume-scent-smell, non-fiction, gave-up-on

This woman is utterly besotted with her own beauty, wit, intellect and talent.

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Jan 08, 2013 Chloé rated it 2 of 5 stars

SUCH an interesting concept and for the first two thirds I very much enjoyed the descriptions of sent and learning the compositions of perfume. However, Beaulieu lost me as a reader when she sensationalised her personal life (which is obviously woven into the quest for the sent)to the extent I could not stand her, it became altogether a different book. Disappointing.

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Mar 07, 2013 Terri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book in a giveaway. I could not imagine what a book about perfume would be like, but it was amazing! The main character is a sassy, sexy independent woman that will keep you laughing.

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Feb 15, 2013 Kayla marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: won-from-first-reads, to-be-reviewed, books-i-own, arc, to-be-read-pile

I won this book from a first reads giveaway. I can't wait to read and review it!

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Mar 19, 2013 Jasmine Nicole is currently reading it · review of another edition

I won this in a giveaway from goodreads.com.

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May 24, 2013 Fatema marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 24, 2013 Susan Mathieu added it · review of another edition

May 24, 2013 Sophie added it · review of another edition

Shelves: perfumery

May 18, 2013 KO marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 16, 2013 Melissa is currently reading it · review of another edition

Shelves: diversity, nonfiction, science

May 13, 2013 Gillian marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 13, 2013 Mickslibrarian marked it as to-read

May 21, 2013 Ludwig Z. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 06, 2013 Victoria is currently reading it · review of another edition

May 11, 2013 Elisa added it · review of another edition

May 04, 2013 Valeria Verholen marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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