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The Perfume Lover: A Personal History of Scent
‘Why couldn’t I be a perfumer’s muse? I’ve come such a long way in the realm of scent. In fact, I was never really meant to poke my nose into it …’ The Perfume Lover by Denyse Beaulieu is an intimate journey into the mystery of scent. What if the most beautiful night in your life inspired a fragrance? Denyse Beaulieu is a respected fragrance writer; it is her world, her love, her life. When she was growing up, perfume was forbidden in her house, spurring a childhood curiosity that went on to become an intellectual and sensual passion. It is this passion she pursued all the way to Paris, where she now lives, and entered the secretive world of the perfume industry. But little did she know that it would lead her to achieve a fragrance lover’s wildest dream … When Denyse tells a famous perfumer of a sensual night spent in Seville under an orange tree in full blossom, wrapped in the arms of a beautiful young man, the story stirs his imagination and together they create a scent that captures the essence of that night. This is the story of that perfume. As the unique creative collaboration unfolds, the perfume-in-progress conjures intimate memories, leading Beaulieu to make sense of her life through scents. Throughout, she weaves the evocative history of perfumery into her personal journey, in an intensely passionate the masters and the masterpieces; the myths and the myth-busting, down to the molecular mysteries that weld our flesh to flowers… The Perfume Lover is an unprecedented account of the creative process that goes into composing a fragrance, and a uniquely candid insider’s view into the world and history of fragrance. Your world will never smell the same.
320 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
March 27, 2013
I spent 85% of this book wanting to smack Denyse Beaulieu in her smug, self-satisfied, ever-so-seductive face. To wit:
Or
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'.
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.
Or
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'.
December 4, 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’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!
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!
February 26, 2012
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 an introduction to this new perfume that's going to be launched in July by the house of L’Artisan Parfumeur, called Seville at Dawn (but in French, I can't spell it, sorry). The perfume is inspired by the author who spent a night with a stranger in Seville during Holy Week as a teenager, the air redolent with orange blossoms, beeswax, incense, underscored with the stink of tobacco and lust as the guy stuck his hand down her knickers.
Hold that thought, because it comes up again.
Ms Beaulieu stakes her ground with scent being personal, transformational. Life changing, and yet capturing a snapshot of a culture, of a time. Remember how everyone was wearing Obsession back in the 1980s- a heavy, almost cloying, sweaty miasma? One's scent is its own country, she states - a border without boundaries, permeable, distinct yet changeable. With this observation, she launches into the state of perfumery, and I give the book three stars for the insight she gives into the business/art/alchemy of said industry.
The book shines when she speaks about what chemicals a perfumer may use to invoke which scent, the science of top and base notes, and tells the reason why all modern perfumes as we know them tend to smell alike. Surprisingly, it's due to what we like in our detergents and room fresheners, and those scents dictating what we like in our perfumes, think of that philosophy perfume that's supposed to smell like clean laundry, for example. The sickly sweet smell of Bodyworks or Victoria Secret spritzes. Or the relatively light scents of Jo Malone. Pretty, inoffensive, and entirely too fleeting.
In addition to that, she pretty much states why perfumes don't last as long as they used to - because of the customer not wanting to 'search' to see if a perfume suits them any more (in terms of base notes and how it reacts to the skin), the manufacturers stick to top notes, neglecting base notes (no dry down) reducing the ceremony of perfume to nothing more than a .98p bottle of impulse that you buy from superdrug - and keep spraying on through the day because as soon as the scent hits the air, it's a distant memory. Which is okay for something for .89p per 50ml - but for a perfume such as Alien, for £30 for 15ml, it should be unthinkable. Also, there's the threat of reformulated formulas- because it's cheaper that way. The Jicky you remember from so long ago? Now a watered down version of its original self. Mourn for Guerlain, because its perfumes are not what they used to be.
Parts of the book are inspired though - the notion of perfume as scent not having to be *pretty* is refreshing. Perfume should have 'skank'- as in, notes of sperm and blood, silage, faecal and body odour. Some flowers do smell like sperm, and others (like the oft coveted jasmine) can smell like decay as well as beauty. It made me understand why the French spray their clothing with linen sprays instead of washing them - the veil of orange blossom and lime softening a body's natural smell but not erasing it. It's given me an impetus to try perfumes that challenge, provoke and perhaps fall in love with.
Now, coming back to that guy and that night in Seville. With the aid of Bertrand Duchaufour, she tries to search for scent to tell the story, to capture the moment. I can see what Ms Beaulieu was trying to do with this - the ribbons of her seduction/awakening sensuality as a teenager weaving in and out of the eyelets of perfumery, industry, the tension between art and commerce, and her past life.
However, she's waylaid by the memories of her sexual experiences, as if she's writing for a more literary Penthouse or erotic confessionals, complete with ellipses (like this...). The short affair she had with the mail man, the long affair she had while married to her husband. In addition to that, her writing style is so affected at turns, you can only shake your head and push on.
Overall, I'd say the book is worth a read, for the terminology of perfume, its spotted history, the process of how a perfumer works to a brief. It's done its job in that it's made me interested in the perfume tie in itself, because I've been to Seville. I too have my own scent memory of Seville - orange blossoms in the evening, with beeswax and fermented fecal matter from the horses' backside. Churros and chocolate. Which chemicals and essential oils would I use for that?
If nothing else, you should read this book if you're looking to find your own scent, because there's enough information to stir you to look further into perfume, and demand more.
The novel is an introduction to this new perfume that's going to be launched in July by the house of L’Artisan Parfumeur, called Seville at Dawn (but in French, I can't spell it, sorry). The perfume is inspired by the author who spent a night with a stranger in Seville during Holy Week as a teenager, the air redolent with orange blossoms, beeswax, incense, underscored with the stink of tobacco and lust as the guy stuck his hand down her knickers.
Hold that thought, because it comes up again.
Ms Beaulieu stakes her ground with scent being personal, transformational. Life changing, and yet capturing a snapshot of a culture, of a time. Remember how everyone was wearing Obsession back in the 1980s- a heavy, almost cloying, sweaty miasma? One's scent is its own country, she states - a border without boundaries, permeable, distinct yet changeable. With this observation, she launches into the state of perfumery, and I give the book three stars for the insight she gives into the business/art/alchemy of said industry.
The book shines when she speaks about what chemicals a perfumer may use to invoke which scent, the science of top and base notes, and tells the reason why all modern perfumes as we know them tend to smell alike. Surprisingly, it's due to what we like in our detergents and room fresheners, and those scents dictating what we like in our perfumes, think of that philosophy perfume that's supposed to smell like clean laundry, for example. The sickly sweet smell of Bodyworks or Victoria Secret spritzes. Or the relatively light scents of Jo Malone. Pretty, inoffensive, and entirely too fleeting.
In addition to that, she pretty much states why perfumes don't last as long as they used to - because of the customer not wanting to 'search' to see if a perfume suits them any more (in terms of base notes and how it reacts to the skin), the manufacturers stick to top notes, neglecting base notes (no dry down) reducing the ceremony of perfume to nothing more than a .98p bottle of impulse that you buy from superdrug - and keep spraying on through the day because as soon as the scent hits the air, it's a distant memory. Which is okay for something for .89p per 50ml - but for a perfume such as Alien, for £30 for 15ml, it should be unthinkable. Also, there's the threat of reformulated formulas- because it's cheaper that way. The Jicky you remember from so long ago? Now a watered down version of its original self. Mourn for Guerlain, because its perfumes are not what they used to be.
Parts of the book are inspired though - the notion of perfume as scent not having to be *pretty* is refreshing. Perfume should have 'skank'- as in, notes of sperm and blood, silage, faecal and body odour. Some flowers do smell like sperm, and others (like the oft coveted jasmine) can smell like decay as well as beauty. It made me understand why the French spray their clothing with linen sprays instead of washing them - the veil of orange blossom and lime softening a body's natural smell but not erasing it. It's given me an impetus to try perfumes that challenge, provoke and perhaps fall in love with.
Now, coming back to that guy and that night in Seville. With the aid of Bertrand Duchaufour, she tries to search for scent to tell the story, to capture the moment. I can see what Ms Beaulieu was trying to do with this - the ribbons of her seduction/awakening sensuality as a teenager weaving in and out of the eyelets of perfumery, industry, the tension between art and commerce, and her past life.
However, she's waylaid by the memories of her sexual experiences, as if she's writing for a more literary Penthouse or erotic confessionals, complete with ellipses (like this...). The short affair she had with the mail man, the long affair she had while married to her husband. In addition to that, her writing style is so affected at turns, you can only shake your head and push on.
Overall, I'd say the book is worth a read, for the terminology of perfume, its spotted history, the process of how a perfumer works to a brief. It's done its job in that it's made me interested in the perfume tie in itself, because I've been to Seville. I too have my own scent memory of Seville - orange blossoms in the evening, with beeswax and fermented fecal matter from the horses' backside. Churros and chocolate. Which chemicals and essential oils would I use for that?
If nothing else, you should read this book if you're looking to find your own scent, because there's enough information to stir you to look further into perfume, and demand more.
February 22, 2013
This woman is utterly besotted with her own beauty, wit, intellect and talent.
November 12, 2013
A most interesting mixture of history and a sensual personal story. Like a perfume this story probably wears better on some than others.
I'm a rather bland individual, I buy the cheaper gas, cheap bread, socks in packages of 20, and have no real sophisticated tastes. Thus this books was a step into a whole other world.
The author's approach to developing a new perfume goes, "It should make me want to say a prayer and get my knickers ripped off, at the same time."
Nothing very bland about that, I'm still wondering what that smells like?
I'm a rather bland individual, I buy the cheaper gas, cheap bread, socks in packages of 20, and have no real sophisticated tastes. Thus this books was a step into a whole other world.
The author's approach to developing a new perfume goes, "It should make me want to say a prayer and get my knickers ripped off, at the same time."
Nothing very bland about that, I'm still wondering what that smells like?
January 8, 2013
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.
December 22, 2016
See, here's an example of how someone can write an interesting memoir even when she herself is not super likable.
Denyse Beaulieu tells her life story through the lens of perfume, along with the story of working closely with perfumer Bertrand Dechaufour to create the perfume that eventually became Seville a l'Aube from L'Artisan.
I am a perfume hobbyist, so both parts of the story were of particular interest, and I bought a sample of Seville a l'Aube after I finished reading. I know I like that perfume more than I would otherwise because of the story associated with it.
So Beaulieu herself is not a bit modest or self-deprecating. She's extremely sexy and she knows it. Faithfulness to lovers is not one of her top priorities. All of this makes her fun to read about and helps to make this an interesting book. I'm glad she's not my friend, though.
Denyse Beaulieu tells her life story through the lens of perfume, along with the story of working closely with perfumer Bertrand Dechaufour to create the perfume that eventually became Seville a l'Aube from L'Artisan.
I am a perfume hobbyist, so both parts of the story were of particular interest, and I bought a sample of Seville a l'Aube after I finished reading. I know I like that perfume more than I would otherwise because of the story associated with it.
So Beaulieu herself is not a bit modest or self-deprecating. She's extremely sexy and she knows it. Faithfulness to lovers is not one of her top priorities. All of this makes her fun to read about and helps to make this an interesting book. I'm glad she's not my friend, though.
July 27, 2020
Full disclaimer - I've only read halfway through the book and I don't think I am able to read a single page without throwing either the book, or myself, out of the window.
From the very beginning, I was rubbed the wrong way by the Québecoise author describing her accent as "rural" and talking about how she put a fake French accent in school to be "sophisticated". This is comparable from someone from Alabama inexplicably speaking with a posh London accent in her school. She spares no opportunity to bash her French Canadian origins and idolizing Paris as if she had escaped the armpit of the world. More on her fake French persona later...
The author paraphrased some passages from sources actually detailing the history of perfumes, and that is the only interesting part. Period.. The rest are personal anecdotes (where you can feel her pedantic and self-important personality) that she wrote with a synonym dictionary by her side to change every normal word into its most pretentious version. You can't help feeling like punching her in the face with anecdotes such as being checked out by a mechanic fixing her father's car and reminiscing: "He couldn't possibly read all the signs I'd accumulated on my body... the signs that said "intellectual, "sophisticated",... First I cringed, then I craved in... the disconcerting pleasure of being just-a-woman rather than a Parisian intellectual... capable of decoding Jaques Derrida before lunch and still have appetite left over for a nibble of Jaques Lacan...", or the more humble: "It was all Immanuel Kant's fault... I'd read his "Critique of Aesthetic Judgment in one sitting... and been struck down with such a violent fever I became delirious - my writer-lover said that was what happened when women like me were exposed to German philosophy." My level of cringe is through the roof only from having to type these passages into a review. I am halfway through the book and maybe there's been a page's worth of her actual experience of annoying the perfumer to death with her demanding nature after he nicely offered to craft a perfume based on some erotic memory of her hook-up in Seville with some rando in a park.
I made the mistake of looking her up on YouTube and hearing her fake Parisian accent (it's not even a Quebecoise adding a couple French words and intonation, she mysteriously developed a full new "Parisian" persona). I will not be able to finish the book because now I all can hear when I read is a voice-over of the text with her phony accent.
I give this 0,5 on 10. I guess if you have a high tolerance for bullsh*t you may be able to ignore the 97% of her self-important ramblings and learn maybe just a little bit about perfume.. but there are a bunch of other books that go straight to the point, like "Parfums de Legende" by Anne Davis and Bertrand Meyer-Stabley. Spare yourself a literary punch in the liver and skip this one.
From the very beginning, I was rubbed the wrong way by the Québecoise author describing her accent as "rural" and talking about how she put a fake French accent in school to be "sophisticated". This is comparable from someone from Alabama inexplicably speaking with a posh London accent in her school. She spares no opportunity to bash her French Canadian origins and idolizing Paris as if she had escaped the armpit of the world. More on her fake French persona later...
The author paraphrased some passages from sources actually detailing the history of perfumes, and that is the only interesting part. Period.. The rest are personal anecdotes (where you can feel her pedantic and self-important personality) that she wrote with a synonym dictionary by her side to change every normal word into its most pretentious version. You can't help feeling like punching her in the face with anecdotes such as being checked out by a mechanic fixing her father's car and reminiscing: "He couldn't possibly read all the signs I'd accumulated on my body... the signs that said "intellectual, "sophisticated",... First I cringed, then I craved in... the disconcerting pleasure of being just-a-woman rather than a Parisian intellectual... capable of decoding Jaques Derrida before lunch and still have appetite left over for a nibble of Jaques Lacan...", or the more humble: "It was all Immanuel Kant's fault... I'd read his "Critique of Aesthetic Judgment in one sitting... and been struck down with such a violent fever I became delirious - my writer-lover said that was what happened when women like me were exposed to German philosophy." My level of cringe is through the roof only from having to type these passages into a review. I am halfway through the book and maybe there's been a page's worth of her actual experience of annoying the perfumer to death with her demanding nature after he nicely offered to craft a perfume based on some erotic memory of her hook-up in Seville with some rando in a park.
I made the mistake of looking her up on YouTube and hearing her fake Parisian accent (it's not even a Quebecoise adding a couple French words and intonation, she mysteriously developed a full new "Parisian" persona). I will not be able to finish the book because now I all can hear when I read is a voice-over of the text with her phony accent.
I give this 0,5 on 10. I guess if you have a high tolerance for bullsh*t you may be able to ignore the 97% of her self-important ramblings and learn maybe just a little bit about perfume.. but there are a bunch of other books that go straight to the point, like "Parfums de Legende" by Anne Davis and Bertrand Meyer-Stabley. Spare yourself a literary punch in the liver and skip this one.
May 12, 2013
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.
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.
April 6, 2013
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 throughout the entire book. She delights in describing how amazing she is. She braggingly calls herself a "muse" to a perfumer, and refers to her lover as "Monsieur" throughout the book.
Okay, so you know those "ufologists" who use science and/or pseudoscience to explain why they believe in aliens? You can kind of respect them for their beliefs, even if you don't agree with them, because they can at least hold a quasi-intelligent discussion to support their claims. Now thing of that crazy farmer who always claims he was abducted and anally probed by an alien spaceship in the middle of the night while standing in his cornfield... That guy does NOT come across as well-read or intelligent. Instead, he seems kinda batshit crazy. Yeah... that's how Beaulieu sounds as she describes perfume, which she clearly thinks is the most important thing in the history of the universe. She actually uses the phrase "this is so tough and tender that, if it were a man, I'd date it" to describe a perfume.
Yeah... like I said. BATSHIT CRAZY.
This is by far the worst book I've ever read, and I find it ASTOUNDING that the author somehow found editors and publishers willing to tell her story. Seriously.
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 throughout the entire book. She delights in describing how amazing she is. She braggingly calls herself a "muse" to a perfumer, and refers to her lover as "Monsieur" throughout the book.
Okay, so you know those "ufologists" who use science and/or pseudoscience to explain why they believe in aliens? You can kind of respect them for their beliefs, even if you don't agree with them, because they can at least hold a quasi-intelligent discussion to support their claims. Now thing of that crazy farmer who always claims he was abducted and anally probed by an alien spaceship in the middle of the night while standing in his cornfield... That guy does NOT come across as well-read or intelligent. Instead, he seems kinda batshit crazy. Yeah... that's how Beaulieu sounds as she describes perfume, which she clearly thinks is the most important thing in the history of the universe. She actually uses the phrase "this is so tough and tender that, if it were a man, I'd date it" to describe a perfume.
Yeah... like I said. BATSHIT CRAZY.
This is by far the worst book I've ever read, and I find it ASTOUNDING that the author somehow found editors and publishers willing to tell her story. Seriously.
January 7, 2015
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 all, a deftly handled piece of journalism and personal memoir and a must-have for anyone interested in the world of perfume. HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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 all, a deftly handled piece of journalism and personal memoir and a must-have for anyone interested in the world of perfume. HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
June 18, 2013
I really didn't take to the narrator BUT her knowledge of the perfume history is really good and so as a book on perfume making I would rate it highly, hence the 3 stars which is a balance between the two. Her erotic interludes just didn't work for me and she comes over as conceited but I guess the book is about how an erotic encounter led to her devising a perfume so to an extent it does exactly what it says on the tin...... or should that be bottle....
August 28, 2019
Very good book about the process of making a perfume.
Fascinating with discussions about the history of Frances Grasse region & perfume making over the ages.
Highly recommended for us perfumistas!
Fascinating with discussions about the history of Frances Grasse region & perfume making over the ages.
Highly recommended for us perfumistas!
April 7, 2013
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.
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.
May 3, 2020
I'm not done with the book, but the picture is clear: genuine Love for scent, Sophisticated use of Language, some great weaving of History, expert opinions, Technical terminology and Erotic memoir.
The best parts are historic and expert opinions, the worst is technical and erotic.
Technical side: Just throwing dozens of chemical names at a reader does not equal education, that wouldn't help much even a general chemist like me. there is a way to explain hard science, rather than inject fancy words without much context.
Erotic Escapades: the absolute worst part of the book. I wish the 50 shades of grey cheeziness was left out. There were so many self-congratulatory sex references injected out of place, that it ruined my appetite.
Here we talk about some amazing poetic historical point, then bam! switch to a naughty experiment with one lover, after which she could not sit for days. Thanks for honesty, but I really do not need author's anal imagery in my life. Or how shivering she was in an elevator, rushing to remove her panties to be "ready" for some old fart she called "a mentor".
As she considered flashing her boobs at Duchaufour to get his consent to make her a scent and proclaiming herself a muse. The paragraphs of detailed descriptions how high brow her friendships were, without forgetting to mention that she paid back by amusing their erotic imagination.
Just disgusting and sad. A woman who is so obsessed with being accepted to high society, that she would offer her body as an object to any man for any doings (not being able to sit!?!) in exchange for illusions of privilege.
BUT the language, the history, the expert opinions - that all is excellent!
As a summary: it is the matter of literary taste. If you don't mind somebody insistently trying to prove herself to you as a Goddess of sex, you will get a lot of incredible information and joy out of this book.
The best parts are historic and expert opinions, the worst is technical and erotic.
Technical side: Just throwing dozens of chemical names at a reader does not equal education, that wouldn't help much even a general chemist like me. there is a way to explain hard science, rather than inject fancy words without much context.
Erotic Escapades: the absolute worst part of the book. I wish the 50 shades of grey cheeziness was left out. There were so many self-congratulatory sex references injected out of place, that it ruined my appetite.
Here we talk about some amazing poetic historical point, then bam! switch to a naughty experiment with one lover, after which she could not sit for days. Thanks for honesty, but I really do not need author's anal imagery in my life. Or how shivering she was in an elevator, rushing to remove her panties to be "ready" for some old fart she called "a mentor".
As she considered flashing her boobs at Duchaufour to get his consent to make her a scent and proclaiming herself a muse. The paragraphs of detailed descriptions how high brow her friendships were, without forgetting to mention that she paid back by amusing their erotic imagination.
Just disgusting and sad. A woman who is so obsessed with being accepted to high society, that she would offer her body as an object to any man for any doings (not being able to sit!?!) in exchange for illusions of privilege.
BUT the language, the history, the expert opinions - that all is excellent!
As a summary: it is the matter of literary taste. If you don't mind somebody insistently trying to prove herself to you as a Goddess of sex, you will get a lot of incredible information and joy out of this book.
April 13, 2012
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. Denyse Beaulieu has a way of drawing you into her world and making the creation, history and chemistry of many familiar perfumes extremely readable and surprisingly compelling.
The biography bits were much less interesting to me. They were incredibly – almost cartoonishly – French, with a constant silk-knickers tone of self-conscious femininity, and highly sensual references to food and sexuality and occasional brutal attacks on the senses – like her casual acceptance of and frank enjoyment of the corrida in particular (which I found offensive).
In short, I loved the perfumery, I didn’t much love Denyse Beaulieu, but goodness, the woman can write.
The chapters on perfumery were fascinating. Denyse Beaulieu has a way of drawing you into her world and making the creation, history and chemistry of many familiar perfumes extremely readable and surprisingly compelling.
The biography bits were much less interesting to me. They were incredibly – almost cartoonishly – French, with a constant silk-knickers tone of self-conscious femininity, and highly sensual references to food and sexuality and occasional brutal attacks on the senses – like her casual acceptance of and frank enjoyment of the corrida in particular (which I found offensive).
In short, I loved the perfumery, I didn’t much love Denyse Beaulieu, but goodness, the woman can write.
May 11, 2013
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 book a 2.5 stars. I don't really like it and the book is more than OK. This is not a book if readers don't have a science background. There are so many technical terms that if an average readers read the book quickly, they will glazed through it. This is a book that needs to be read slowly just to understand all those technical scientific words and process that the creation of the perfume goes through.
I give the book a 2.5 stars. I don't really like it and the book is more than OK. This is not a book if readers don't have a science background. There are so many technical terms that if an average readers read the book quickly, they will glazed through it. This is a book that needs to be read slowly just to understand all those technical scientific words and process that the creation of the perfume goes through.
June 1, 2013
The Perfume Love by Denyse Beaulieu is an interesting look into the life of a woman and the birth of a perfume. Denyse's father didn't allow perfume in the house when she was a child and because of or in spite of that Denyse was and still is fascinated by scent and the art of creating it. The Perfume Lover is the story of how a memory of a night in Seville became a perfume. Denyse works with perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour to create the scent that represents her memory of the night she spent in Seville during Holy Week. We learn a little about Denyse and her life and a little about the complicated art of creating a perfume. She has the scent memory of the night and Bertrand has the skill to make that scent come to life. It takes more than a year but in the end Denyse and Bertrand are both satisfied with what they created and have found a perfume house to sell it. Denyse says of the world of perfume "The more I learn, the stranger and more magical it gets."
June 2013
June 2013
January 6, 2019
I have no problem finishing a 300 page book in one day but this took me weeks to get through. I know it's supposed to be about her, but it's soooo much about her in the "me me me" sense. She's not a bad writer but the self congratulatory pats on the back when she was working with Bertrand Douchafour were too much! It also seems she is a woman who knows how to manipulate men to get what they want/pout/push. Maybe it's the French way but it's a put off. I actually felt sorry for Bertrand working with her sometimes!
It contains quite a bit about chemical formulas too/chemicals that go into perfume that I skimmed over because I will forget what I read immediately after.
I think at least 50 pages could have been skimmed off the book, maybe more and it would have been much better.
It contains quite a bit about chemical formulas too/chemicals that go into perfume that I skimmed over because I will forget what I read immediately after.
I think at least 50 pages could have been skimmed off the book, maybe more and it would have been much better.
May 25, 2016
This is an extremely gorgeous story as well as a useful guide for any beginning perfumista...it is also an impressive account of the creative process. Very grateful that Ms. Beaulieu penned her tale and made such a beautiful scent!
Read
December 13, 2012It was torture to read this book galley without smelling the perfume it inspired! Anyway, just finishing my book blurb! Wait and see!
July 25, 2013
The writing is a little much....I learned a lot about the scents that go into perfumes and a lot about the perfume making process. Lots of chemistry!
July 30, 2016
Probably being not being much for fashion or perfumes, I might not have chosen this book, but rather totally scientific explanation of scent, and perfume making. A friend recommended this to me, and I am thankful she took me out of my comfort zone (okay, so it's rut, not a zone). Beaulieu grew up in Montreal with a father, who though he worked in the pharmaceutical field, forbade the use of perfume. He said he was scent allergic. Of course this becomes the "forbidden fruit" for the author. It becomes her passion, not just in an elemental, sensual way, but in an very intellectual way. Her book recounts her adventure in working with a master perfumer to develop a scent that is based on a story she tells him of a romantic adventure in Seville, Spain. She weaves the two strands of her narrative together to give the reader insight into how a niche perfume is created and how it comes to market.
The author takes issue with the idea, often borrowed from clichés of Proust's madeleine, that scent is all about recalling memories and feelings. She brings out the intellectual work that goes into creating a scent, and the materials that go into perfume formulation, as well as the choices that must be made to be true to the idea, and also developing something that might actually be marketable. The perfume that Beaulieu collaborates on is only quasi-bespoke. The idea is that it will go to market. At the close of this adventure, Beaulieu states that the final scent is a result of choices made, and choices not made, which I suppose one can say about any creative effort, including one's life.
There were times I found the organization and author's tone a tad annoying, but the author knows perfume. She is, after all, telling her story, so she is absorbed in that story. (She says several times that she strongly dislikes the smell of lavender--and yes, it becomes overdone in the South of France, but lavender is a scent I love,--so ouch-- but, hey, that's HER opinion, HER call.) Maybe others would not want to meet Beaulieu for "un café", but I would most certainly take her along if I were buying perfume, which I just may start doing.
The author takes issue with the idea, often borrowed from clichés of Proust's madeleine, that scent is all about recalling memories and feelings. She brings out the intellectual work that goes into creating a scent, and the materials that go into perfume formulation, as well as the choices that must be made to be true to the idea, and also developing something that might actually be marketable. The perfume that Beaulieu collaborates on is only quasi-bespoke. The idea is that it will go to market. At the close of this adventure, Beaulieu states that the final scent is a result of choices made, and choices not made, which I suppose one can say about any creative effort, including one's life.
There were times I found the organization and author's tone a tad annoying, but the author knows perfume. She is, after all, telling her story, so she is absorbed in that story. (She says several times that she strongly dislikes the smell of lavender--and yes, it becomes overdone in the South of France, but lavender is a scent I love,--so ouch-- but, hey, that's HER opinion, HER call.) Maybe others would not want to meet Beaulieu for "un café", but I would most certainly take her along if I were buying perfume, which I just may start doing.
October 14, 2014
"In this new realm I am exploring, a vanilla pod can turn into a cigar and a cigar can grow into a bale of hay; the bale can spit out an almond and the almond turn to poison".
The story starts out as a story about Denyse Beaulieu's meeting with Bertrand Duchaufour that produced a perfume based on her story of a sensual night spent in Seville. However as it explores the ins and outs of producing a fragrance it also takes us back in time to discover the scents that make up Denyse's history.
Exploring the history and myths of the perfume industry and lifting the lid on what makes the scents we recognise we are taken far into a world that we may never have realised is there.
You will never look at a bottle of perfume the same way again.
*14.10.2014*
I was finally able to get my hands on a small 2ml sample vial of this perfume. I'm testing it on my skin right now, but it looks like it's all good. Deep dark and delicious. I'll be keen to get my hands on a full size bottle soon. There are so many pleasing layers to the smell and it's really unique to have read the entire story of the perfume before picking it up.
The story starts out as a story about Denyse Beaulieu's meeting with Bertrand Duchaufour that produced a perfume based on her story of a sensual night spent in Seville. However as it explores the ins and outs of producing a fragrance it also takes us back in time to discover the scents that make up Denyse's history.
Exploring the history and myths of the perfume industry and lifting the lid on what makes the scents we recognise we are taken far into a world that we may never have realised is there.
You will never look at a bottle of perfume the same way again.
*14.10.2014*
I was finally able to get my hands on a small 2ml sample vial of this perfume. I'm testing it on my skin right now, but it looks like it's all good. Deep dark and delicious. I'll be keen to get my hands on a full size bottle soon. There are so many pleasing layers to the smell and it's really unique to have read the entire story of the perfume before picking it up.
June 18, 2012
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 interest in the sensuous world of perfumes, coinciding with my first purchase from L'Artisan Parfumeur; and from now on I'll never look at perfumes the same again. No longer will I be satisfied with the hum drum sweet smells the industry churns out but instead seek out the skank.
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 interest in the sensuous world of perfumes, coinciding with my first purchase from L'Artisan Parfumeur; and from now on I'll never look at perfumes the same again. No longer will I be satisfied with the hum drum sweet smells the industry churns out but instead seek out the skank.
March 13, 2013
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 if you're into cultural history or wish to learn more about beauty products like perfume.
My complete review of the novel was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2...
My complete review of the novel was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2...
July 12, 2014
The book was interesting enough for a relaxed kind of nonfiction read. Some of the discussion of perfumes from the 80s brought back memories that I had forgotten I'd had (I think I had a bottle of Baby Soft perfume when I was in jr. high, and I vaguely remember the disturbingly seductive ad campaign targeted at pre-teens) I left off on page 106 and I may come back to this later. When the weather isn't so hot. And I've taken a thorough tour of the perfume counter to better acquaint myself with the scents that are discussed. But for now, I think I need to move on to something else to read. Something with a little faster pace and a more defined story arc. Apparently I can handle 2 nonfictions at one time, but 3 is just too many at once.
March 27, 2014
It's an awesome read. It touches on history of perfumes, insight into the current industry, and the process of creating a true and unique scent. The author was inspired by a memorable night of her life and took me there by describing a scent, mood, atmosphere and all the visual stimuli of that night. I've often expressed how commercial perfumes disappoint me with a decent scent and a half naked human covered in sweat as the "brand" I am buying into. This opened my eyes to a real industry including Perfume houses from the turn of the century to new indie perfumers doing a great job speaking to the consumer on what inspired the scent, describing the process and their belief system. Great read on my new obsession.
January 3, 2015
This was the first book of my 2015 reading challenge, and what a fabulous way to begin. This is a wonderful book that I absolutely savoured. Author Denyse Beaulieu has created a beautiful story that is part scintillating memoir, part fascinating history lesson, part thoughtful examination of the contemporary perfume industry, and part thrilling glimpse into the minds of some of the world's finest perfumers. If you have absolutely no interest in perfume, I doubt this book would feel relevant to you. If you have even a moderate interest, you will find it fascinating. If, like me, you are obsessed with fragrance, you will be swept away by Beaulieu's lovely story.
January 11, 2013
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 I found it dragged rather a lot and contained too much detail.
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