I was disappointed in this book and didn't find it useful. It doesn't have entries for KL, Jess (or any Jessica McClintock), or Giorgio - some of my favorites from the past. Scent is a very personal issue for me. First time I ever returned something to Amazon.

I'm older now, and I have a little more disposable income (and a lot more self-confidence), so I have had great fun using this book's witty reviews to guide me in trying and purchasing perfumes. I never had more than one or two bottles of perfume on my vanity table before. Now I have several dozen because this book has made me see perfume in a whole new way.

Yes, the book is a delight to read, but I have found it much more fun to actually use. Interestingly, I discovered just how interactive this book can be because I am a book lover.

I was intrigued by the book's description of a perfume by L'Artisan Parfumeur called Dzing! The authors likened the perfume's scent to a "secondhand bookstore." I purchased a bottle on a whim when I happened across it on a trip to New York. It was only when I was browsing at my favorite used bookstore days later that it struck me. The vanilla overtones in this fabulous scent do indeed evoke the wonderful aroma of old paper. I smelled my wrist, I sniffed the terrific, familiar book-laden air around me, I felt a happy sense of discovery and I was hooked.

Since reading this book, I have stuck it into my tote whenever I plan to be in a major department store. The book's vignettes ignite my curiosity and imagination.

Take, for example, Thierry Mugler's Angel. The authors deem this scent a masterpiece. They tell the reader the history behind the scent -- that it started as a joke which combined the elements of a masculine and a feminine fragrance, but that in making that joke the perfumer came up with a truly new kind of scent. The authors point out that Angel exists in a "high energy state of contradiction. Many perfumes are beautiful or pleasant, but how many are exciting?" Then the authors deliver the zinger, which gives me a mental image for placing the perfume into my own life context. They say that Angel evokes that " woman in a film who seethes "He's so annoying!" and marries him in the end." I got that! I could then smell the contradiction and the attraction in the scent. I purchased a bottle because the scent now "speaks" to me in a way it never could have before I read this book.

Is perfume necessary to my existence? No. When my children were small and we had meager time, money or energy, perfume was simply that handy bottle of Chanel No. 5 my mother had sent me for Christmas which I sprayed on to feel pretty on those infrequent dinner/movie dates with my husband (when we could get a babysitter.) Do I agree with everything the authors say about the various perfumes? No, but that's part of the fun.

This book has opened a pleasant door for me. Perfume has become a fascinating foray into sensual exploration. I enjoy reading the metaphors and similes, the creative adjectives and backstories describing these perfumes, and then experimenting with the truth of them for myself.

The authors have done something wonderful with this book. They have taken the mystique which advertising has always made sure surrounded fragrance and swept it away. But they have replaced that mystique with something better -- little personalities, if you will, for the different scents. Now browsing at the perfume counter has become like attending a cocktail party filled with famous people. Some will speak to you immediately. Some will stand back, but become friendly if you approach. Some are dull as dishwater. Some you will dislike. But being an insider at the party is exciting. I love that I have an invitation.

One liners about how bad certain perfumes smell isn't really what I would expect from a book that takes itself so seriously as to be titled "Perfumes: The Guide". I was hopeing for something informative. Instead I got two divas with their claws out.

Yes, they're clever. They're also so superior it's nauseating.

The information in the begining of the book was helpful, I enjoyed that. But the reviews were a waste of time. My issue is not with how many stars they give a certain perfume or whether or not I agree with how much they liked it (or hated it so much they insulted and mocked it), I just would have enjoyed a little more subtance and a little less venom.

And for the people who were insuled by the bad reviews of their perfumes, I can see why you would be. This book is very insulting to what it does not worship. I can understand why someone who enjoys, and smells like a perfume that gets ridiculed in this book could take that a little personally.

You know how it goes... you get a spritz of something in the mall and, yes, it smells real purdy but is it worth the money? Is it special? Is it "you?" It smells better than nothing... usually, and on the other hand you remember all too well getting in the elevator with a bunch of people overspritzed on a Monday morning and feeling like you are going to heave. So, is any of it worthwhile? Also, a couple of things I suspected turned out to be true:

1.) Manufacturers change scents... AH HA!!! I suspected as much.
2.) Scents go through many changes on the skin... AH HA!!! Again.
3.) A lot of the hyped scents are CRAP. AH HA!! Yet, again.

No wonder we are confused. Every once in while you smell someone who smells fabulous and it's back to the cosmetic counter which is so confusing and after a while you end up with a bunch of bottles at home which smell various ways, none of them necessarily great and you wonder: is that all there is?

No, as it turns out. It isn't (all there is). Example: Go to Victoria's Secret which turns out to be a scary place, (a roil of celebration about average body parts of 3.5 billion women on the planet) and stumble around the beauty component of the store and pick up the "Very Sexy for Her" perfume set which the snotty salesgirl dressed all in black and is not hiding her contempt for the manner in which you are hiding your nakedness... and she says, "Oh, that's a fabulous scent.... Everyone loves it," and looks as though it makes her sick that you might actually buy it and somehow be associated in anyone's mind with her even if it is just via their honker. So, when she's not looking you snap up the biggest vat of it you can manage along with the armloads of other stuff you hope launches you into the hip lifestyle and scuttle to the counter and whip out you credit card and feel you may have accomplished the biggest coup ever. But somehow "Very Sexy for Her" never lives up to its promise. Maybe you weren't the right Her. Maybe you're overreaching. Something is very wrong, not very sexy.

TS (one of the authors) to the rescue. She says: "I have been racking my brain, trying to understand how one of the most unpleasant fragrances ever made was developed and brought to market. It consistes of a loud metallic note (which you can replicate at home by chewing on a piece of aluminum foil) plus the sourest woody amber ever and a whiff of stale pizza. Let us charitably assume that its self proclaimed sexiness has to do with the personal memories of some of VS's executives who falls helplessly into erotic fantasies in the presence of chemical spills and has mistaken this for a universal experience. Are people buying this? This fragrance and Givency's Very Irresistable lead one to believe that "very" is actually perfume industry jargon for "not at all."

AH HA!!! (if there was a bigger font option, I'd use it here)

Thank you TS and LT.

Now what I need is this printed up on little cards so the next time a snotty VS saleperson.... (well, you know.)

First, let me state clearly that I used to value Luca Turin's work, and I'm enthusiastic about "The secret of scent". It is his name which attracted my attention to this Guide.
Second, I did check authors' synopses on the back page. Dr. Turin holds a PhD in biophysics and writes about perfumes. For the little I know biophysics is not perfumery. Ms. Sanchez is an expert and avid perfume collector, writes on the Internet, lived in San Francisco and now in London. Now, how many prospective readers of this Guide don't collect perfumes, don't write on the Internet, didn't change a place of residence? OK, there is one difference - we don't claim to be experts.
Bemused by this preliminary finding I set out to explore the book. The faults I found are so many I will just enumerate them.
1) Text is uneven. Parts written by Turin (all text is initialed) flow easily, making for effortless reading. Sanchez's penmanship seems heavily indebted to tabloid prose, only it achieves higher level of sentence convolution. Copious references to "mom" and "dad" made me wonder if this book targets the adolescents.

2) Products selected for inclusion. A lot of these brands and fragrances is just noise. We either can't buy them in the USA, or they were shortly on the market and disappeared. What's the point of including these products, in particular since many are branded as either "disappointing" or "awful"?. (Though it does give an idea why some perfumes are not available this side of Atlantic.)
Remaining selections are either staple Sephora, or department store niche, say Creed or Annick Goutal.

3) Products not selected for inclusion. I looked for some the well-known names - Panthere de Cartier, Shiseido's Feminite du bois, Hermes' Rouge, Versace Blonde, Jardin du Nil MPG (do not confuse with Le Jardin sur le Nil by Hermes) - futilely. The whole brand of Molinard is dispensed with "cheap floral scents" and only Habanita merits the review. So-called niche is limited to few brands, as a rule available at department stores. Don't expect to find here any mention of DelRae, Nanadebarry, Christiane Gelle, Shalini or Fifi Chachnil of the frolicsome flacon. Not sure if the authors heard about Montale, MPG makes an appearance only once or twice. (Strangest of all, considering the taste exhibited in perfume rating - more below - they left out Avon.) Space does not allow me to list all what is missing.
At first I thought that the authors just pander to the interests of major department stores, but then checked again and yes, Trish McEvoy is also absent, so it's not department stores. Of course with the sheer number of perfumes on the market they had to make some exclusion choices, but what was the criteria? Perhaps product selection reflects the French/British market. Why, then, this book had been offered to the American public at all? Product selection should be adjusted to the local market.

4) Style of critique. Typical review is limited to up till three lines of qualifiers, intended to explain the fragrance's rating, which ranges from "masterpiece" to "awful". Any Internet-based retailer gives better "reviews" just by listing ingredients and comparable fragrances. This Guide is nothing better than a guide to personal tastes of the authors.

5) Tastes of the authors. Yes, they asked for it, by employing peculiar style of critique, see 4). Syrup, syrup ueber alles! True perfumery masterpiece sags under overload of vanilla and assorted kitchen odors, with generous hints at soiled underwear. Flowers, or rather "insect attractants", are deemed olfactorily inferior. Price is not a factor in rating, though price is said to reflect quality of ingredients; several affordable masterpieces may be found in the "personal care" section of your local food mart. Four labels - Guerlain, Estee Lauder, Chanel and Dior - dominate the field. Out of the three, two are owned by LVMH and only one has perfumes as its primary product. Given all this, I don't understand how the Authors could overlook Charlie!
The Authors never reveal their evaluation criteria.

6) Precision of execution. Sample case, Bulgari Black, which is rated "masterpiece" (did the Authors ever sniff the original Black, which reeked of burning rubber, and burning rubber alone? it wasn't pretty, but it was indeed outstanding in a very unappealing way. There is no mention of it in the review, while so many other scents come with history of all releases; current version of Black reeks of suburban mediocrity). The last sentence: "its place is with Bandit, Tabac Blond, and Cabochard among the great emancipated fragrances of all time". Now let's look at the ratings of the "great emancipated fragrances of all time". Bandit - a masterpiece; Tabac Blond - awful; Cabochard - disappointing. What did the Venerable Authors smell besides perfumes?

7) Presentation method. All products are listed alphabetically, followed by lists of "top ten" and all grade categories - masterpieces, recommended, disappointing, awful. Needless to say any such ranking functions only either as personal confession, or an attempt to influence prospective buyers. Judging by distribution of masterpieces across giant marketing firms we are dealing with the latter. That's why, perhaps, any absence of groupings and indexes based on the brand, creator, or the fragrance content.

On the positive note, I have absolutely no problem with the nasty tone of many reviews. Nasty wit can be wickedly funny and illuminating, though here it is neither, due to excess of clichés worn out by constant use in all texts on fashion, style and glamour. It doesn't matter anyhow, since the Guide totally fails in its purported mission. It is just another boring oeuvre on "style" (yes, "style" and not style), intended by its creator as a money-maker and directed at the newbies. Newbies are always numerous and impressionable, so it is rather easy to get them enthusiastic about - and spending on - anything.

Footnote: I did not buy this book, in spite of previous positive experience with one of the authors. Decided to borrow it first and check. And the verdict is: I will not buy this book and will not bother with any consecutive editions. Better to spend on some perfume not listed in this guide.

Yes, BUT! I was dancing with anticipation when the library finally delivered this to me. I am not a "perfumista" and I think I have a terrible nose for things. I am also a sucker for adverts, I admit it! So I was really interested to see so many perfumes reviewed in one volume.

Gone are the silly and ultimately unenlightening magazine tags of "fruity," "floral," and "sexy." LT and TS delve into depth for those perfumes that merit such attention, and for others, two words often suffice. I have no qualms whatsoever about the tone of this book, which many seem to think cruel or overly snipey. I may like it because, well, I talk that way myself.

However, I also have some serious complaints. It's not just that they dislike some fragrances that I like, etc. but LT's overall theory of perfume and its application in this guide leaves me cold. Perfume is something intimately tied to memory and personal taste. I cannot accept that perfume does not smell different on different people, as they posit. I tried Guerlain's Shalimar, which they rate as a masterpiece, but to me and on me it smells like wet baby diapers. Ew.

I was trying to think of an example: Those scientific chaps have shown that most of our sense of taste is really our sense of smell (this is why when you have a stuffy nose your food tastes off). Let's say a person absolutely abhors food X in any form. This person goes to the best restaurant in the world and the best chef at that restaurant prepares a complex and beautiful meal that also contains X. The person will still dislike it. Even though food critics may have lauded that dish for its mastery of ingredients, complexity, etc, that person will still hate it.

However, I learned about fragrances I never knew about before and have tried some of them with good results. But lots of brands and popular fragrances were completely omitted? Where's Fresh? Hard Candy? Gap?

I hope they revise this with new fragrances every year. I'll probably read it, but not buy it. And take everything with a handful of salt.

This book is a fascinating view into the world of perfume. While cursorily interested in fragrance, I had never before been overly concerned with the art of notes, accords, and blends. Now I'm eager to go about and smell perfumes with a fresh new understanding and appreciation.

Caveat - be prepared to have your favorites slaughtered or mercilessly derided by the authors. This didn't bother me at all, but sensitive souls (read: the easily offended) may want to avoid.

Having loved perfume my whole life I found this book fascinating. Yes, there are many negative comments but it's the first time I ever read a review of perfumes that actually expressed anything but over the top compliments for every fragrance and manufacturer.
I honestly learned a lot about what it takes to create a good fragrance and I've been trying some of the ones they recommended, especially the classics that I never considered buying before. So far I've been pleased with every choice (Shalimar, Angel, several Estee Lauder scents) and have enjoyed the experience.

I expected a light, dumb read. What I got was the most hilarious and thought-provoking book I've read in the last five years. They explain the technicalities of the subject as directly and patiently as your favorite high school teacher, but the reviews are acidic and laugh-out-loud funny (My friends are sick to death of me calling them to read them passages.). When you consider how intimately scent is linked to both attraction and memory, it's amazing that so little attention is paid to it. It amazes me how little attention I'VE paid to it. I bought this book less than two months ago and I've read it twice and refer to it almost daily. I've read in a couple places that they might be starting a newsletter or magazine of some sort. It would be a shame if they didn't.

I have voraciously plowed through the Luca Turin/ Tania Sanchez Guide. What fun it is to read these witty and acerbic remarks on perfume, written by people who obviously know a lot about the subject. However, I find their choices of perfumes to review strange, at times: How is it that Boucheron's original scent is not reviewed (but is mentioned admiringly in their review of the Legere version of Boucheron), while a whole set of Art of Perfumery fragrances are skewered with singe star reviews? In other words, why devote all that space to bad scents, and not review a classic at all? (Are they just being mean?) I also find strangely absent the entire line of Fresh fragrances, including the Sugars and Index scents. . . . Is this a snub? An oversight? Politics of the industry?

In addition to the above criticism of the work, I find using the Guide difficult if you aren't in the mood to read it straight through. Scents are listed by name of the perfume, not by brand. If you don't know how to spell a fragrance name exactly, or if you only remember part of the name, you could be in for a heck of a search (or you will need to cross reference the full, correct name on a site like fragrancenet.com or Sephora.com).

Anyway, mostly fun reading, even on the occasions when (especially when?) I strongly disagree with their assessment.

Isn't the first movement of Brahm's 2nd Symphony in D Major the most melodic symphony ever written? Or would it be the Friar Lorenzo movement of Prokofieff's Romeo and Juliet? Or Tschaikowsky's 1st Piano Concerto?

To the naive listener, a music critic's judgement and description would be helpful. To the urbane listener, such critique is interesting. Often critics will discern something that the casual listener has missed. It is why we need thoughtful, experienced, educated critics. Not because we always agree with them, but because they inform the debate.

And so it is with "Perfumes - The Guide". The authors perform a stupendous service in reviewing hundreds of scents in lively detail. For the reader who is new to perfume (or has simply used what his parents used), this book is a must for the reference shelf. Eventually, the reader will have a significant other and run out of gift ideas: have this book at hand. There is no other similar compendium available. And while the authors have strong biases (good for them!), they are, at least. their own norm. The book is called a "guide"; it is not called "the RULES". All such compendia have biases, if only what is included and what is left out.

The brief descriptions and ratings of perfumes are extremely helpful, but only perhaps if you have some experience with some of the scents. Fortunately, expense is not one of the authors' biases. I have used Tabac for years and it is very cheap. Dr. Turin rates is highly (4 out of 5). And I must confess, that I agreed with most of his choices for men's colognes (Eau Savage, Guerlain's Imperiale, Homme Dior), so perhaps I am favorably inclined toward this book. But, like the authors, I have been sampling scents for over 40 years, so I was able to conjure up the smells as they described them. This would be a distinct advantage in reading this book.


If you have never been to a symphony hall, you will not recognize the description of the music when reading the review in the morning paper. Similarly, if you are new to perfumes, it will be difficult to understand some of the terminology. That noted, the rating guide serves as a good filter to avoid expensive mistakes. If you just noted the 4 and 5 star perfumes and made a point to experiment with them, you will connect the terms to the scents pretty quickly. A middle C on a timpani and a piano are the same note, but reading about them does not demonstrate the difference in sounds. And so it is with scents. This book will help guide you through the amazing variety of them.

This book was a secret vice to me, almost like sneaking exotic candy behind doors, so you will have to share with no one else. I don't know any of the scientific babble; I only know I love beautiful smells. The mechanics of them leave me cold, frankly. But...this book was so compelling, and pure fun to read--of course I hurriedly looked up all my favorite scents first, to see how they were rated. I was thrilled to see some of my favorites with 4 or 5 stars, but nearly reduced to tears (!) to see one of my all-time favorites garner not only a 1, but jeering derision as well. I felt personally stung...but no matter, the reading of the whole thing was still a garden of delight. I actually wrote Luca and Tania a 'fan letter', and I will include some of it here: "...due to life-long financial difficulties, I've never been able to access much in the way of expensive perfumes...but your book was the 'unbreak my heart' key to my unrequited love of perfume. I could not embrace my own affair, but I got to look through a peephole at the avid lovers. What a feast! Your lyrical, outrageous, hysterical, insane descriptions spoke to my soul like David's harp--I could almost smell them vicariously...." I did find a website that sells "minis" and I picked out the ten most delectable scents in the book (to me, by description) and ordered them. What a banquet of riches. I am still caught up in smelling them all and deciding daily what I shall wear...oh, heaven! And I also discovered what will always be my 'signature scent' from this day forward--Tocade. Sweet dreams, perfume lovers.

Tentoone's excellent review says it all about this book. I bought it. I read it. I should not have bothered. Go to an online perfume sales company and read the buyer reviews. It's free and more useful in judging the perfumes. This book is a collection of this married couple's personal opinions. Ho Hum.

I bought this because I was looking for the inside scoop on what makes a great perfume, as well as ratings of perfumes I currently use and have not yet tried. On the first count, the book delivers rather well, with plenty of anecdotes and learned musings. On the second count, the book reads less like a guide to perfumes and more like a gossip session wherein the authors wax rhapsodic about everything they adore and heap sneering scorn on everything they do not adore. Even when I found myself agreeing with them, the aftereffect of reading the book is much like having sat in on a particularly vitriolic conversation about someone you barely know, and then realizing all too late that you should have stood up and walked away.

I highly recommend this book. I have always worn perfume, enjoyed perfume, and been interested in perfume without perhaps knowing why exactly. This book, with it's witty and descriptive writing, entertained me greatly, taught me so much, and most of all piqued my curiosity. The writing in the book is at times spectacularly evocative and just plain amazing. If you have ever tried to describe something and been at a loss for the proper words, you will be seriously impressed by the effective descriptions of over 1500 different perfumes in this guide.

My only issues with the book were the omission of some well known perfumes, incomplete indexing, and a few far too abbreviated reviews (generally of the negative variety), which were not particularly helpful. I think it would be just as informative to read in depth about why a perfume fails as it is to read about a well done perfume. Hopefully these issues will be taken care of in the next edition.

Inspired by the book,I have now added several new scents to my arsenal and spent wonderful hours in department stores spraying various scents on strips, then taking them home to smell over and over in the next few hours, days etc. (one caveat, I didn't have a good time trying this experiment in Nordstrom, as I was constantly hounded by salespeople and made to feel rather eccentric and tacky).

I understand that some people have felt offended when their own favorite scents were panned, and have felt the need to point out that this sort of critical writing is merely personal opinion. I too felt a bit stung at the pan of Versace Man, which I bought for my husbad and really love.

However, these two critics, particularly Mr. Turin, have excellent credentials. Generally, when we read art criticism of any kind, we are looking for articulate and educated opinions to help guide our own, not to make all decisions for us. I see this book as no different from books of critisicm on film, food, wine etc, and found it very helpful in that way. And I believe that Mr. Turin's assertion that Perfume is Art is true. The notion that one can buy and enjoy a masterpiece of fragrance for a pittance compared with the cost of other types of art is very provocative.

Indeed, since reading this book I have purchased Bulgari Black and Femme, Lolita Lempicka, and New York. I am very curious about the drugstore classic Stetson and will undoubtedly try that one too. I was definitely inspired by the witty writing, and never would have finished the book if I didn't enjoy the strong opinions so much...so to all those who feel it's too negative and not a worthwhile contribution because of that, I have to say...how can that be so, if it arouses such curiousity in the reader? Anthing that creates controversy and discussion around a particular topic is usually a good thing. Buy this book and see if it doesn't inspire you to aquire a new piece of art!

This is a delightful and truly fascinating book. My husband and I took turns reading it aloud (he said, "It's like wine, isn't it?") and it even got him interested in one of the five-star Masterpiece feminines-to-be-worn-as-masculines. The idea of smelling like a Vietnamese beef-mint salad ("Diorella") is just too appealing for him... Myself, I'm tickled by the fact that "Stetson" is a heady feminine floral oriental (in a box bearing a photo of a rumpled Tom Brady in shearling) and "Anais Anais" (pitched to lissome teenage girls in the late '70's) is dry enough to be a suitable masculine. Turin and Sanchez's enthusiasm for this little-explored subject is contagious and they are not total snobs -- they like "Vanilla Fields" better than "Lalique", "Lady Stetson" better than "Chanel No. 22," "Old Spice" better than "Polo Black." Their writing is witty, erudite, and downright Nabokovian when they are sufficiently moved to wax eloquent about a Masterpiece. Be prepared to take an immediate trip to the mall (as I did, bearing a little notepad with all the interesting scents with pithy tags like "hot rubber" and "cilantro floral") and get a headache from sniffin' all the stuff. This book made me seek out scents from the past that I would have otherwise avoided, like Estee Lauder's "Knowing", Dior's "Dune", and Clinique's "Aromatic Elixer" (all 80's Masterpieces which deserve a second chance), and venture into the new world of artisanal fragrance. I ended up exchanging phone numbers with the perfume lady at Barney's after an intense 20 minute powwow with Le Labo and Lutens. And at Neiman's, I experienced the divine confluence of Chanel's "Cuir De Russie" on my right arm and Serge Luten's "Five O'Clock Au Gingembre" on my left, both of which lingered deliciously all night long. What fun! And I'm someone who formerly was fine with a drop or two of lavender oil here and there... My only complaints are for the lack of a proper index and I'd like to know what these guys think of the popular thing of mixing and layering different scents (such as a client of mine who smelled like a luxurious Lutens-something which was the result of "CK One" and patchouli oil *yikes!*). Does it ever work and if so, how and with what? And okay, yeah, I can see how someone could be a little miffed if these guys dismissed their personal favorite as "total crap." I am by no means in agreement with all of their recommendations (you couldn't pay me enough to wear a Masterpiece like "Opium") but still they seem to know what they're talking about... so I'm looking forward to Volume 2 for all the rest (like Roget and Gallet's "Lotus Bleu", Aveda "Love", "Kai", Caudelie's "Eau du Vigne",etc).

This is a delightful and truly fascinating book. My husband and I took turns reading it aloud (he said, "It's like wine, isn't it?") and it even got him to not-too-grudgingly agree to try wearing one of the five-star Masterpiece feminines-to-be-worn-as-masculines. The idea of smelling like a Vietnamese beef-mint salad ("Diorella") is just too appealing for him... For myself, I'm tickled by the fact that "Stetson" is a heady feminine floral oriental (in a box bearing a photo of a rumpled Tom Brady in shearling). Turin and Sanchez's enthusiasm for this little-explored subject is contagious and they are not total snobs -- they like "Vanilla Fields" better than "Lalique", "Lady Stetson" better than "Chanel No. 22," "Old Spice" better than "Polo Black." Their writing is witty, erudite, and downright Nabokovian when they are sufficiently moved to wax eloquent about a Masterpiece. Be prepared to take an immediate trip to the mall (as I did, bearing a little notepad with all the interesting scents and their pithy tags like "hot rubber" and "cilantro floral") and get a headache from sniffin' all the stuff. This book made me seek out scents from the past that I would have otherwise avoided, like Estee Lauder's "Knowing", Dior's "Dune", and Clinique's "Aromatic Elixer" (all 80's Masterpieces which deserve a second chance), and venture into the new world of artisanal fragrance. I ended up exchanging phone numbers with the perfume lady at Barney's after an intense 20 minute powwow with La Labo and Lutens. And at Neiman's, I experienced the divine confluence of Chanel's "Cuir De Russie" on my right arm and Serge Luten's "Five O'Clock Gingembre" on my left, both of which lingered deliciously all night long. What fun! And I'm someone who formerly was fine with a drop or two of lavender oil here and there... My only complaints are for the lack of a proper index and I'd like to know what these guys think of mixing and layering different scents (such as a client of mine who smelled like a luxurious Lutens-something which was the result of CK One and patchouli oil *yikes!*). I'm looking forward to Volume 2 for all the rest (like Roget and Gallet's "Lotus Bleu", Aveda "Love", "Kai", etc).

This is a delightful and truly fascinating book. My husband and I took turns reading it aloud to each other this weekend (he said, "It's like wine reviews, isn't it?") and it even got him to not-too-grudgingly agree to try wearing one of the five-star Masterpiece feminines-to-be-worn-as-masculines. The idea of smelling like a Vietnamese beef-mint salad ("Diorella") is just too appealing for him... For myself, I'm tickled by the fact that "Stetson" is a heady feminine floral oriental (even whilst bearing a photo of a rumpled Tom Brady in shearling on the box!). Turin and Sanchez's enthusiasm for this little-explored subject is contagious and they are not total snobs -- they like "Vanilla Fields" better than "Lalique", "Lady Stetson" better than "Chanel No. 22," "Old Spice" better than "Polo Black." Their writing is witty, erudite, and downright Nabokovian when they are sufficiently moved to wax eloquent about a Masterpiece. Be prepared to take an immediate trip to the mall (as I did, bearing a little notepad with all the interesting scents and their pithy tags like "hot rubber" and "cilantro floral") and get a headache from sniffin' all the stuff. This book made me seek out scents from the past that I would have otherwise avoided, like Estee Lauder's "Knowing", Dior's "Dune", and Clinique's "Aromatic Elixer" (all dated 80's Masterpieces which deserve a second chance). I ended up exchanging phone numbers with the perfume lady at Barney's after an intense 20 minute powwow with La Labo and Lutens. And at Neiman's, I experienced the divine confluence of Chanel's "Cuir De Russie" on my right arm and Serge Luten's "Five O'Clock Gingembre" on my left, both of which lingered deliciously all night long. What fun! My only complaints are for the lack of a proper index and I'd like to know what these guys think of mixing and layering different scents (such as a client of mine who smelled like a luxurious Lutens-something which was the result of CK One and patchouli oil *yikes!*). I'm looking forward to Volume 2 for all the rest (like Roget and Gallet's "Lotus Bleu", Aveda "Love", "Kai", etc).

This is a delightful and truly fascinating book. My husband and I took turns reading it aloud to each other this weekend (he said, "It's like wine reviews, isn't it?") and it even got him to not-too-grudgingly agree to try wearing one of the five-star Masterpiece feminines-to-be-worn-as-masculines. The idea of smelling like a Vietnamese beef-mint salad ("Diorella") is just too appealing for him... For myself, I'm tickled by the idea of wearing "Stetson," which is, indeed, a truly feminine floral oriental in the old-fashioned 50's style of "Youth Dew" (even whilst bearing a hunky photo of Tom Brady on the box!) This is absolutely required reading for those of us addicted to the boards on makeupalley.com (to which TS attributes much of her new-found knowledge!). The writing by both TS and LC is very witty, erudite, and downright Nabokovian when they are sufficiently moved to wax eloquent about a Masterpiece. Be prepared to take an immediate trip to Sephora (as I did, bearing a little book with all the interesting scents and their pithy tags like "hot rubber") and get a headache from sniffin' all the stuff. My only complaint is the lack of a proper index and they need a volume 2 for all the other scents out there (like the one I wear, Roget and Gallet's "Lotus Bleu"). Still, a fun, fun read!

This book is a delight to read. Both writers know thier stuff and make a convincing case for taking perfumes seriously, and when not to take them so seriously! They are lyrical when reviewing masterpieces, and deliciously catty when confronted with a dud.

I will certainly take this book with me next time I go to the perfume counter.

I would have liked some more comprehensive indexing, and it would have been handy to group perfumes by type, rather than strict alphabetical order.

Apart from that this is both an essential reference guide for getting exactly what you want in a perfume purchase, and a pleasure to read in and of itself.

I bought this book after reading a review commenting about the evocative writing. I agree with it all. This book is positively orchestral in the way it describes perfumes. If you are searching for away to understand perfume options without having to be sprayed by all of the possibilities, take a look at this book. I went out and bought small samples of 12 new perfumes after reading this book, and each one was a new experience heightened by what I had learned. My only concern, and the reason I didn't give the book 5 stars, was that it occasionally assumed a level of perfume knowledge at times that I don't have, and I could have used a more basic introduction to terms and concepts.

After hearing several interviews with the authors in support of "Perfumes a Guide", I gave it a look-see. Several reactions:
1. Maybe there's just something I'm not comprehending, but I don't get how these reviews can be anything but completely subjective. Yeah, I know, I read the authors' credentials, PhD in biophysics, "avid collector and expert" (whatever that entails), but I still don't get how this can boil down to anything other than "I like- I don't like."
2. The terminology (even with a glossary in the back) is really almost incomprehensible.
3. The prose is beautiful and often quite funny in a snobby/ snotty way, but in the end, it was completely unhelpful in making me understand what a fragrance smells like or what I might like to wear.
4. The authors seem to be totally biased toward classic (and often French) fragrances such as Chanel and Guerlain, all of which smell very old fashioned and well, perfumey to me. Not something I would ever wear. My favorite fragrance in the world, on the other hand (which shall remain nameless), they condemn as "terrible" and "hideous". I suspect it's because it doesn't smell like their idea of a classic perfume. To me this is akin to only liking Beethoven and being unwilling to listen to Bernstein (let alone the Beatles).
So my recommendation is, get it from the library and skim through it for the fun of the writing. Don't take it at all seriously, and DON'T let it influence your very personal choices about how you smell!

Two months ago I had zero background or interest in perfume. A recent New Yorker review peaked my interest, and I am hooked! Sanchez and Turin are witty, likable, informed, and fabulously entertaining critics, and I feel I have been given an unexpected gift to enjoy for the rest of my life - the beginning of an educated appreciation of perfume. For example, based on one of their recommendations, I got a good deal on eBay for a bottle of Black (Bulgari) and it arrived today. Over the last few hours, I was able to experience it's complexity with an educated nose - it was an awakening to be able to appreciate this magnificant scent and to have some insight into its nature. I can't remember a book I have enjoyed more. I do have two recommendations for the future editions that will surely be published. One is that I would love for the glossary to be bit more complete. Also, the Top Ten Lists (I loved those), and the Index of Star Ratings were great, but additionally, a cross-referenced index would be very useful. There were many perfumes, ingredients, perfumers, etc., that were discussed in multiple places, and it would be fun to more easily explore those topics using an index. Enjoy!!

Luca Turin and his Wife Tania Sanchez do an excellent job of letting the
reader know what they like or dislike about 1500 fragrances. Use it as a guide to acquire some samples for testing yourself. I discovered a couple that I would have never even tried on my own searching. That was worth the price of the book alone. Beyond Paradise Men by Estee Lauder and Yohji Homme were the two great discoveries for me . Now go buy a copy and discover some treasures for yourself. If you need some samples of some of the more esoteric frags go to www.theperfumedcourt.com - they have most everything.

My only bitch about the book is they don't rate the fragrances with sillage and longevity ratings. Longevity is important to me because I have dry skin and live in the desert. Alot of scents just don't last unless they have major sillage and longevity. A very important factor for perfume enthusiasts that didn't get addressed. Luca and Tania, will you please rate sillage and longevity on the next 1500 fragances.

Thanks,

thebeck@basenotes.com
Ken-from Reno, Nevada

Perfume is the "unknown art", very expensive, and very mysterious.
People want to buy it, and to use it, but are not really interested
in what goes on back stage. This is an excellent introduction to that
world, but of greatest value in giving a kind of "buyer's guide" to
the range of both men's and women's fragrances.

I am fascinated by scent, and was looking forward to this book. But it seemed to be just a blog of personal choices. The focus was definitely on the "artistic", unusual or skillfully crafted perfumes.

Almost none of the highly recommended fragrances "move" me, and it was hard to catch onto their passions. I appreciate that they have strong views, but we are so far appart, it's was like reading reviews of Avant Garde films, when I just want help deciding on which Blockbuster movie to see tonight. And there wasn't quite enough behind the scenes info to make it interesting for that dimension of the perfumes profiled.

Not for me.

Five stars for the writing. I cannot remember a book that gave me more pleasure. It's a great read, rich with fascinating details about scents I've never tried. I'm not a perfumista, don't read the myriad perfume blogs, and frankly, don't even know why I like the perfumes I like. Besides reading this book for fun - especially the hilarious one-star reviews -- I'm using it to learn. It's a road map to hundreds of perfumes to try. I spray those little sniff strips, later seal each in a plastic snack bag so I can re-evaluate it for days and attempt to understand the experts' points of view. Then I sleep with one strip on my pillow for one night, hoping for wonderful dreams. Aromatics Elixir produced technicolor giggles. Had I not read this book, I would never have looked to Clinique for a fabulous perfume. Another discovery is good ole (manly) Stetson, described here as "a crisp classical feminine oriental...gorgeous, as rugged and masculine as the lingerie level at Saks..." Who knew? I'm now using this wonderful el cheapo as air spray in my musty book lined office.

I've admired Luca since stumbling upon Chandler Burr's The Emperor of Scent at the library (and still like vibrations better than molecules), then read his Secrets of Scent, at least the civilian-friendly first half, and ordered my Amazon copy of this guidebook months ago. Who wouldn't gravitate toward a scientist who, as Burr reported, was scrambling for a Nobel Prize on one hand and on the other describing an iconic perfume as something that should be hanging in a Moscow taxi.

Luca has major creds, but who is this Tanya person? She won me over on page 12, describing how people get interested in perfume. For me, it's the Tabu factor: Mumsy always wore it and from my earliest days I thought the world smelled of (the old) Tabu, Lucky Strikes, martinis and snowflake-sprinkled fur. And then of the wonderful old greasy green Replique, Joy, Zizanie and Ma Griffe my father brought home from Paris and my first purchase, Jolie Madame. What was not to love? I appropriated the Replique and wore it to grade school and on into adulthood, miss it still, and have no idea what it was I loved about it. As Tanya said, all perfume lovers have long, fond memories. It's sad that so many older perfumes have been discontinued or reformulated beyond recognition and I agree with an earlier reviewer that critiques of some discontinued classics would have been welcome.

I may not understand the structure of perfume, but I do know about the structure of books. This is reasonably good but another few months of work might have produced a masterpiece. I wish the publisher's production people had thought harder about a few things: First, the white cover may be striking but it's impractical for a book designed to be schlepped back and forth to the store. Ditto the page size. I'd prefer a wider page with room to make notes. Actually, a trade paperback with a binding that lies flat would have been ideal. The 12-page star index is jammed and nearly unreadable. I miss having a real index. Eliminating some inconsequential perfumes that garnered only a one-sentence critique would have freed up space for an index, an opportunity to list by type, by company, and by designer.

But that's technical stuff. I love this book enough to give it five stars anyway.. It contributes color, wit, and delight to an increasingly unrecognizable world where control freaks nail "fragrance free zone" signs on far too many doors and wearing perfume is considered as undesirable as smoking. In my city, anyway. Thanks to this book, perfume sales surely will increase.

Let me explain. When the JOS came out, (no pun intended) It was like a nice pictorial guide for the uninitiated, and a refresher for those who had perhaps been thrown into the water without lessons.

That's what Perfumes: The Guide is like, but it's funny too. The talent that both Turin and Sanchez have is the ability to not merely describe the source scent (lemon, incense, musk) but put character and location to it. For those of us who have a secret closet of 100's of scents, this is delightful and insightful and great fun. I actually giggled my way through the section on the 'Clean' line, having found the very same results.

More that that these two authors are also appreciative art collectors. One can admire and be completely awed by a 17th century painting that began a genre' and was ahead of it's time without wanting it hanging on one's wall. The same can be said for a fragrance. I can hate the actual smell and wouldn't put it on a rodent but absolutely admire the composition and art of it. (Angel, Angel, Angel)

And just like JOS, maybe there are some new things you might want to try, and maybe there are some things that are just entertaining to, er, hear about.

I enjoyed the book as a fun and humorous guide through the world of fragrance, but it isn't the end all word. There are several other excellent books that go into the history and producing of fragrance as well. All of which make fabulous reading for the novice or officially obsessed.

And just like JOS, there are special shops to get supplies, online and off, and they don't have to be in brown paper bags.

This book is encyclopedic!
The references are provided in various format, making it easy to locate the answer being sought.

"Perfumes: The Guide is an impressive volume of perfume reviews which would be perfect even for the beginner. I do not consider myself a perfume connoisseur, but I really enjoyed reading the reviews. Highly entertaining and enjoyable! I am now curious about some of the fragrances I have read about."

I am thrilled to have this book on my shelf. Even though I do not agree with all of the reviews, it has been lots of fun to look up my favorite scents as well as those I am considering purchasing. I have been taking the scent pages out of magazines and looking them up so the book is filling up with lots of those 'sniff' samples sticking out of it. The reviews are smart and witty; an imaginative use of language adds to the enjoyment.
It is a great combination of information and fun.

This book would be important even if it weren't great. But it is! Most of us who wear fragrance make choices in an information wasteland, absent, until now, consumer reports. Perfume lovers, perfume likers and "who me, perfume?" people, read it and rise to the next level.

Those who enjoy the visual and performance arts, couture, wines and other pleasures take for granted that critical reviews anchor our understanding and increase our enjoyment of the art. A good movie will get raves and a bad one will be panned.

Turin and Sanchez transform the industry by talking straight about specific scents. Unlike the women's beauty magazine articles that promote a list of scents, all equally wonderful - just choose one based on your sexy, romantic or sporty personality - these authors tell you What It Smells Like.

It is a relief not to be the manufacturer of scents earning these distinctions: "short-lived sugary fruity blah in a hilariously cheap blinged-out bottle that looks like a toy designed for a six-year old and made in China...like getting lemon juice in a paper cut...synthetic citrus, green-herbal, and woody-amber horror...rubbing alcohol mixed with Palmolive dishwashing liquid...death by jasmine...like chewing tinfoil while staring at a welding arc...wear it at home exclusively, and tape the windows shut...mercifully, doesn't last."

Praise is more detailed and effusive than the bashings, however, and this is where Turin and Sanchez shine.

My complaints are few in number. I waited too long for this book, having followed Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez in perfume blogs for years and loving Turin's French, and much shorter version of the guide published in 1994. Searching the guide for certain scents I've loved, hated or wondered about, I found them not. Hopefully, Perfumes, The Guide Volume Two is not far behind.

Are they snobs? Yes and no. All talk of subjective perception and interpretation aside, these two know that there is such a thing as "good." Quality exists, whence the one to five star ratings. They recognize a place for Elvis on Velvet, but want better for you. Despite occasionally savage criticism - some sins of perfumery are unforgivable to Turin and Sanchez - the playful spirit prevails in the end.

Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez are brilliant, both masters of the notes and the meaning of scent. They serve up a reader-friendly meal of chemistry, fashion, culture and language with a generous helping of mischief.

I hoped for so much more from this!

As a guide, it's a mess. There's a crying lack of indices and solid information about the perfumes reviewed. Classic scents are overlooked as the authors review endless number of flankers and "here today, gone tomorrow" scents.

Much has been made of the tone of the reviews and I agree. This is not a seamless collaboration. Where LT has the heft of years of experience and an academic background, TS's reviews sound like the forum opiner she was until all too recently. She tries to emulate LT's tone, but without his knowledge, it's too meta, too pointless, and too snarky for its own sake.

A shorter book of reviews by Mr. Turin alone, concentrating on scents that have or will stand the test time to the extent of at least more than 6 months of faddishness would have been so much better. In fact... why not just publish a translation of his "Parfums: Le Guide"? It would be much more informative and enjoyable than this hodgepodge.

I got an e-mail from Amazon (not that it's personal) to write a review of this book. After looking over the others, I don't really see what I can add, but here's my four cents:

1. It's a bit sad to me that folks are so insecure. So what if Turin and Sachez have a different opinion than you? I have heard people say they were devastated that The Guide doesn't say "their scent" is great. It doesn't say some of my favorites are either, and I could care less.

2. Why is everyone saying it's bitchy? Yes, it's scathing, but it's not bitchy. There's a world of difference. Turin and Sanchez love scent and this comes through. They are having fun, I would imagine. And what do we do when we're having fun? Make jokes. Overstate. No, it's not bitchy, for it's never mean just for the sake of it.

3. These folks are professionals in their field. Dr. Turin designs new scent molecules. It is no wonder that they both go for the unusual and even the unwearable. The vast majority of the mid-scale department store scents smell the same: how would you like it if you had to test these on a regular basis? I'm sure your taste, too, would become more refined and gravitate to more bang than, say, yet another quiet white floral.

4. Folks, have some faith in your own opinions and just enjoy. The bottom line is this: this book is a great deal of fun. If you're looking for a list of ingrediants, google it.

Disappointing. Completely mis-named as "The Guide". Inconsistent in the treatment of each of the perfumes -- some so called reviews are 2 pages long, while others are one sentence. Star reviews do not match up with the comments made, e.g Chanel Coco Mademoiselle.

Considering Luca Turin's well publicised experience with the fragrance industry, I was expecting a series of balanced analyses of perfumes on the market -- instead the "reviews" are biased towards some brands or perfumers and rely more catchphrases and name dropping.

Sure, at times I agreed with the star rating of say, Ange ou Demon (one star), but reading the comments was like watching someone pull the wings off of flies. Mean spirited and cringeworthy.

Would have been more helpful if they'd actually gone into what was wrong/right with the fragrances....e.g "The lemon/herbal clashed with the sweet vanillic base note." Instead of going on about cough syrup and how many coats of paint a ferrari needs.

I would not be using this to choose (or avoid) my next perfume. Opinionated schlock which is useless as a guide.

Turin argues in his earlier book, _The Secret of Scent_, that smell is not so much about memory and biology, as is widely believed, as it is about beauty and imagination. He believes, furthermore, that one of the highest achievements in perfumery is what he terms "abstraction," that is to say, the creation of olfactory accords that, while perhaps alluding to natural smells, are novel and resistant to definition. These aesthetic axioms (which he presumably shares with co-author/wife Tania Sanchez) are the basis of the evaluations in this book, and we, as readers, have no choice but to take them or leave them. These axioms lead the authors to prefer complex fragrances over simple ones, fragrances that develop over time to linear ones, original and/or unique fragrances over skillful executions of old ideas, "interesting" (even if vaguely unpleasant) fragrances over boring (even if pleasant) ones, etc. In a nutshell, they apply the same standards to perfume that other critics usually apply to other arts. They want perfumery to be taken seriously as an art form, and say as much.

This is a legitimate view, and one to which I am highly sympathetic. That said, I think the authors overlook (or deliberately ignore) some of the factors that render the purely aesthetic appreciation of perfume difficult at best. First of all, perfumes are made to be worn. The final aesthetic effect of a fragrance is inseparable from the time, place, and person(s) involved. Of course this "framing" or contextualization effect is at work in all art forms, but it is arguably more important for perfumery than for others. Given the fact that perfumes are mixtures of chemicals, factors such as temperature, humidity, skin pH, decomposition, underlying body odor, age-related hyposmia, differing olfactory thresholds, etc., make this state-dependence even more crucial. And, regardless of what Turin might say, it is simply impossible to separate a fragrance from the associations (read: memories) it may evoke. Perhaps it's possible to "see" the Platonic form of a perfume behind all of these contingencies, but I highly doubt it. Our reactions to smells are visceral before they're intellectual or aesthetic, no doubt because our sense of smell is our primary sentinel against many toxins and pathogens. Individual differences in sensitivity to certain aromatic chemicals are highly significant and render any kind of objective discussion of fragrances impossible. We're not even working with the same equipment--it's like a society of people who are all partially blind to different colors trying to discuss color coordination. The fundamental variability of our olfactory apparatus, even before differences in taste are taken into account, makes the arrogance of some of the pronouncements in this book a bit galling.

People *wear* fragrances (as opposed to sniffing them on strips--decidedly a minority pastime) for a variety of reasons: to make a statement, to find comfort or stimulation, to complement a particular ensemble, to seduce (and here the tastes of the quarry count far more than Apollonian meditations on beauty), and even, in some parts of the world, to mask the fact that they haven't bathed (it's no wonder that perfumery reached its pinnacle in Europe, where people didn't--and sometimes still don't--bathe regularly). Most people simply want a fragrance to make the day a little more pleasant for themselves and for those around them, not because they want to wear a work of "art" whose complexity and depth are going to make heads turn or spark a discussion about the relative merits of gourmand chypres and aromatic fougeres. Hence the incomprehension and hurt feelings that have greeted some of the harsher reviews in this book.

Assuming that one buys into the premise that perfume is a pure art, the authors, in general, seem to have excellent (i.e., informed, refined, and considered) taste--except when it comes to reviewing the work of their friends. Turin, for example, rates Calice Becker's Beyond Paradise Men as one of the top ten masculines currently in production. Since it isn't very expensive I decided to take a chance and buy it blind on his recommendation. The highly synthetic headache-in-a-bottle I got stuck with isn't terrible, I suppose, but if it's one of the top ten masculines that money can buy in early 2008, then I'm Jacques Guerlain. In a different part the book I discovered that Turin is good friends with Becker. Ah ha... I don't mean to suggest that Turin was cynically shilling for a friend, but rare is the man who is immune to the tender, insidious persuasions of friendship. I'm certain no one else on the planet would rate that fragrance quite so highly. Such are the dangers inherent in taking the word of a consummate industry insider without a huge grain of salt. Turin also awards points for historical importance to fragrances he can't even stand to be around--Opium, for example. This, I think, is taking the "perfume as art" shtick a little too far.When reviewing fragrances that knock their socks off (especially a fragrance saturated with some deep personal significance) both authors (but Sanchez in particular) tend to wax poetic and come off the rails in terms of actually describing the fragrance. Some of this lyricism is quite affecting, but alas too much of it sounds like an exercise for a creative writing workshop, and the straining for effect turns tiresome. The humor, too, is witty in spots but tends consistently towards juvenile mockery and inane plays on perfumes' names.

All of these caveats aside, this is a very informative and often entertaining book. If you love fragrances, it is clearly a must-buy because it offers an excellent idea of which to sample next. If it educates consumers to stop buying and chides producers to stop making the cheap and and often hideous potions flooding the market, it will have done its job. I've learned a lot from the book and am grateful to the authors for having written it, but in the end it's more trustworthy as a Baedeker than as a Michelin.

I don't just like fragrance, I am OBSESSED with it. Portioning part of my monthly income to one or two fragrances, spending the majority of my time on the computer on fragrance blogs and sites. That said, I don't believe you have to be a fragrance fanatic to enjoy this book. I do think, however, that you need a thicker skin than some people who have found themselves offended by this book for some reason. Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez have both high praise as well as blaring scorn for some of my favorite fragrances. This does not bother me a whit. I have immense respect for Turin and Sanchez but I also understand they are critics. They are more than entitled to their opinions, especially considering their knowledge and expertise in the industry. I am delighted that they have come out with this (mostly) comprehensive book of perfume reviews. I have been waiting for something like this since I really became involved with fragrance as a teenager. And that they have actually made this witty and fun to read as well as useful is a bonus.

The only reasons I give this four stars are as follows: 1) I find the star rating system a bit confusing compared to the reviews (as others have stated) - but I believe they mean to give stars according to the technical feats achieved in the making of the perfume. The review is more informative and useful than the rating. But follow whatever method seems to work for you. 2) I do wish they had included the notes with each review. I know perfumers dimiss the pyramid of top, middle and base notes, but it is helpful to us laypersons. (I'm sure this would have made the book twice as long.) 3) I know this is really too much to ask for, but I also wish discontinued fragrances could have been included as well. That is another book entirely, which I hope will be forthcoming!
A thoroughly entertaining and informative read. I will keep a copy in my handbag at all times now.

I don't just like fragrance, I am OBSESSED with it. I portion part of my monthly income to one or two fragrances. I spend the majority of my time on the computer on fragrance blogs and sites. That said, I don't believe you have to be a fragrance fanatic to enjoy this book. I do think, however, that you need a thicker skin than some people who have found themselves offended by this book for some reason. Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez have both high praise as well as blaring scorn for some of my favorite fragrances. This does not bother me a whit. I have immense respect for Turin and Sanchez but I also understand they are critics. They are more than entitled to their opinions, especially considering their knowledge and expertise in the industry. I am delighted that they have come out with this (mostly) comprehensive book of perfume reviews. I have been waiting for something like this forever. And that they have actually made this witty and fun to read as well as useful is a bonus.

The only reasons I give this four stars are as follows: 1) I find the star rating system a bit confusing compared to the reviews - but I think they mean to give stars according to the technicals feats acheived in the making of the perfume. The review, I think, is, as usual more useful than a rating. But follow whatever method you prefer. 2) I do wish they had included the notes with each review. I know perfumers dimiss the pyramid of top, middle and base notes, but it is helpful to us laypersons. I'm sure this would have made the book twice as long. 3) I know this is really too much to ask for, but wish that could have included discontinued fragrances as well. But that's another book entirely. Which I hope will be forthcoming!
A thoroughly entertaining and informative read. I will keep a copy in my handbag at all times now.

Smell is a highly individualistic sense. Humans, unfortunately, have a very poor sense of smell, and some people perceive certain scents in an entirely different way than others do. What smells good to one person may smell terrible to another. The authors gave rave reviews to Bandit and Angel, two fragrances which I consider to be among the most vile ever created, and gave bad reviews to many of my favorites. The book, however, is written in an amusing fashion and can be informative as long as you keep in mind that these are opinions.

This book is a very useful mine of precious and interesting information not only about parfumes, but about culture and lifestyle as well. The authors did a huge research, and their considerations are to be kept as new interesting perspectives on the wide, and till today poorly studied, world of essences. I believe many people will enjoy it, will be happy to try new paths out of their traditional habits, and will really find the right perfume. Best compliments!

Beatrice Nicolini (Pier Angelo Vincenzi's wife)
Italy

And why should I care what they think? Turin is a biophysicist and Sanchez is a web critic. In the book's "Acknowledgements" they thank other online review sites, which is where the authors' reviews belong. This book seems more a vehicle for their self-styled wit than anything resembling objective evaluations of popular scents. Some reviews go so off track with rambling prose that the reader can forget what they're reading. I suspect this book is a vehicle for turning their OPINIONS into cash! If you want to know about fragrances, go smell them. The authors can't convey the essence of scent anymore than you can describe a color. You can only smell for yourself.

This book wasn't all that I'd hoped but I'm still happy to have it in my library. I enjoy wearing fragrance and find it to be an essential part of my "wardrobe". Many of the fragrances that I wanted information about (history,notes, etc.) were missing and yet many that I'd never known of were brought to light.

I have, since reading this book, ventured into unkown perfume territory and I look forward to the experiences that I will undoubtedly have, both good and maybe not so good.

Though I don't always agree with Luca Turin's taste in perfume, he certainly knows what he is talking about. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and have discovered some new fragrance favorites as a result. A guide to the wonderful world of scent for those who are enchanted by fragrance.