I recently read a clever article on Fragrantica by historian, archaeologist and fragrance author, Elena Vosnaki about Chanel No. 5, the title of which was “Is Chanel No. 5 Obsolete?” The article spurred me on to finally get it out of the way and talk about this iconic perfume. I’ll get to the point right…
Category: Editorial
Why Use Scent in the Time of Covid19?
In the age of social distancing, more than ever, I’ve find myself at home, dousing myself with different bits and pieces from my collection as the hours pass. Since I don’t have to worry about offending anyone with some of my more polarizing choices, I indulge myself during these stressful times. Indeed, I’ve been exploring…
How to Know if a Fragrance is FBW (Full-Bottle-Worthy)
Let’s face it, for most people, fragrances are expensive. Even if you’re not hugely into perfume and just want to buy something to make you smell good to others, it can be overwhelming in a market that’s as saturated as the perfume industry. Starting prices for most half-decent scents still start at around 100 USD…
Fragrance to Help Learning? Makes scents!
A few years ago a wee article I wrote was published in a small institutional journal where I was employed in Tokyo. I wanted to find out if scent had any affect on the cognitive process of learning, so I did a little bit of digging. I had forgotten about this piece until today, while…
Designer, Niche, Artisan, Indie, Bespoke… Say WHAT?
Perfume is usually categorized into types based on smell, and there are several ways to categorize those smells. Michael Edwards, for example, has defined 4 groups – florals, woody, fresh, and oriental – and he has subdivided into 14 categories. There is another way to categorize fragrances, though, and that is by the fragrance house…
How to Rate Perfume
One’s preferences regarding perfume are highly personal, so it does not matter what anyone else thinks. Nonetheless, here I’d like to describe a list of criteria that are typically used by perfume reviewers, which include 1) quality, 2) originality, 3) projection, 4) longevity, 5) versatility, 6) value, 7) complement frequency, 8) packaging, as well as an 9) overall rating and 10) recommendations. I mostly stress the first four in addition to an overall grade when deciding whether to add a full bottle to my own personal collection.