We are constantly adding new, exciting, information-packed content to our site. That's what we believe will keep you coming back often!
For clarification, the numbers at the bottom of the page link you to newest articles (#1) to older articles as the numbers get larger. The older articles are excellent too, so happy reading!
Published on: 11/14/ 2008 | By: Pala Copeland and Al Link
| Rating: Unrated | Total Views: 478
One of the dimensions of body freedom is the delightfully subtle and at once extraordinarily powerful sense of smell. Here are some resources to explore this body freedom to awaken fully to the sensual, sexual erotic world of perfumes. Few things can be as irresistibly seductive as the perfect scent uniquely suited to a particular man or woman. With the resources below you will be empowered to find exactly the right scent just for you.
See below at the end of this article to find scents just right for you.
Luca Turin is the author of several books on scent, including Perfumes: The Guide; The Secret of Scent; and he is the subject of Chandler Burr's book The Emperor of Scent. Burr is now the New York Times perfume critic. Turin also writes a monthly column of perfume criticism for the prestigious Folio Magazine of the Neuer Zurcher Zeitung. He is a biophysicist and research fellow at MIT.
“Their passion for a few scents and their outrage at the others' failings make for entry after entry of hilarious, catty comments interspersed with occasional erudite, eloquent disquisitions…Jicky is an object lesson in perfumery... a towering masterpiece, while Aqua Allegoria Pivoine Magnifica is like chewing tin foil while staring at a welding arc.” Publishers Weekly
This book is a critical survey of the world of perfume, one bottle at a time. Rather than "lists of notes" or categorizations into "fragrance families," which may conceal more than they reveal, you will find opinions and descriptions that sort the good, bad, and ugly of 1,500 fragrances, plus essays and supplementary material that cover the what, how, and why.
Turin wrote the first perfume guide in 1992, in French. The revised edition from 1994 is available as a free download in pdf format. Although out of print his guide has achieved cult status among perfume aficionados.
His new book is updated and far exceeds his first publication, and is now the definitive guide to selecting and using perfumes for men and women. Tania Sanchez is a writer of poetry, fiction and essays, as well as a perfume collector and critic.
Examples of Topics in the Guide
• What is the difference between eau de toilette and perfume?
• How long can I keep perfume before it goes bad?
• What's better: splash bottles or spray atomizers?
• What are perfumes made of?
• Should I change my fragrance each season?
Examples of Advice in the Guide
1. Smell top to bottom
Perfumes usually unfold in three (often very different) stages: the sparkling first few minutes are the fragrance's top note, followed by its true personality, known as the heart note, and ending with the base note, aka the drydown, hours later. Something you love at the counter you may loathe by the parking lot. We recommend top-to-bottom tests on skin and on paper, since some scents that disappoint on the heat of skin may shine on your shirtsleeve.
2. Write it down
Bring a pen to write names on paper test strips, so you're not in anguish hours later, trying to recall which is the third scent from the left that transports you to Shangri-La. Keep a cheap, possibly extremely trashy paperback on hand, so you can store strips between pages to keep them separate.
3. Rest your nose
Noses tune out, which is why you can smell your friends' homes but not your own. Smell no more than five scents per day on paper strips and try on only the best one or two, to keep your nose reliable.
4. Check the radiance
To get a good sense of how the perfume will smell to other people as you walk past, try spraying a test strip and leaving it in the room while you step out for a bit. Come back fifteen minutes later and breathe in: that's the radiance.
Other Turin Resources
Perfume Blog
This blog is not currently active but you can view the archive in pdf format; well worth a look.
Lots of resources to explore the wonderful world of perfumes. You can sign up to receive the free newsletter and you can download the latest issue in pdf format..
The Secret of Scent is a book about science by way of art, in which the author's passion for perfume leads him to the scientific mystery of what makes one molecule smell of garlic while another smells of rose. Turin explores the ongoing debate between two competing theories of smell—one based on molecular shape, the other on molecular vibrations. Turin describes in detail the science, evidence, and long history of this debate, from the beginnings of organic chemistry to the present day.
"Nobody knows for sure what makes our noses work the way they do, not even the $20-billion-a-year perfume industry's legions of chemists, whose jobs depend on appealing to those noses. So what happens when Luca Turin, a likable scientist who happens to possess an unusually sensitive nose, proposes a new theory of smell that promises to unravel the mystery once and for all? That's what readers find out in this often funny, picaresque expos‚ of the closed world of whiffs, aromas and odors-and the people who study them.” Publishers Weekly
“In this absorbing book, Burr describes the fragrance industry and how scents are created and marketed, weaves a "scientific morality tale" of professional "corruption in the most mundane and systemic and virulent and sadly human sense of jealousy and calcified minds and vested interests," and attempts to explain and defend Luca Turin's novel theory of smell.”By D. Cloyce Smith on Amazon.com
What's the science behind a sublime perfume? With charm and precision, biophysicist Luca Turin explains the molecular makeup -- and the art -- of a scent.
Biophysicist Luca Turin studies the science of smell. He's a leading proponent of the vibrational theory of smell -- the idea that when our noses pick up a scent, we're reacting to the vibrational properties of the molecule we're smelling. (This is in opposition to the shape theory of smell, which imagines smelly molecules fitting into conveniently shaped receptors in our noses.)
This is the story of a monster and a genius. Suskind’s novel, already a classic (first printed in the US in 1986), explores the world of scent and perfumes in a way that can only be done in fiction (as opposed to Turin’s scientific enquiry). The ending is as extraordinary as any novel I have ever read. A completely thrilling, utterly absorbing, and highly erotic read. Warning: contains graphic violence.
Here is the description from Amazon.com.
“In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift-an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"—the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.”
"A fable of criminal genius.... Remarkable." —The New York Times
"Mesmerizing from first page to last.... A highly sophisticated horror tale." —The Plain Dealer
"A supremely accomplished work of art, marvelously crafted and enjoyable and rich in historical detail." —The San Francisco Chronicle
"An original and astonishing novel." —People
"An ingenious story...about a most exotic monster.... Suspense build up steadily." —Los Angeles Times
"Immensely seductive.... Storytelling at its best." —The Kansas City Star
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Ben Whishaw, Francesc Albiol
Director: Tom Tykwer
The Hollywood movie version is a pale and unsuccessful attempt to translate the novel for the silver screen. As a stand alone movie, it is average, but if you have read the book first, it will disappoint you almost certainly.
FragranceNet.com offers free US Shipping on all orders over $70. Use the search box below to find the perfume or cologne you are looking for. FragranceNet.com supplies only original brand name products, not knock-off imitations, at up to 70 percent off retail.
This is the rating scale for perfumes and colognes used by Turin and Sanchez. It is possible to find high 4 and 5 star quality ratings for moderately priced scents. We present a few examples below. Consult the free guide newsletter for full reviews of these selections, then use the FragranceNet.com search box above to find that scent online, order it and have it delivered to your home at a significant saving over regular retail.
This is one of Pala’s favorites and one of Al’s favorites when Pala wears it. Al’s review: Supurb, pure sensual, sexual delight, irresistible!
The No 5 collection…Eau Première is the most compact of the lot, with less emphasis on flowers and more on citrus, first fresh lemon and later warm orange-peel, so much so that it briefly comes within the orbit of Baghari before retreating into powder-puff plushness. This is abstract, classical perfumery at its best, revisited by people who do not see modernization as an excuse for screwing up. I still find 31 rue Cambon more immediately affecting, but the restrained elegance of Eau Première is of the sort one never tires of. Would also make a tremendous masculine.
Acqua di Giò (Giorgio Armani) melon muguet $$
Amoureuse (Parfums Delrae) green lily $$$
Baldessarini (Hugo Boss) woody fruity $$
Beach (Bobbi Brown) lemony jasmine $$
Cabaret (Grès) woody rose $$
Cardinal (Heeley) incense citrus $$$
Cuir Pleine Fleur (Heeley) floral leather $$$
Cèdre Blanc (Heeley) fresh cedar $$$
Début (Parfums Delrae) citrus chypre $$$
Dior Homme Sport (Dior) ginger soap $
Eau de Jatamansi (L’Artisan Parfumeur) floral spikenard $$$
El Attarine (Serge Lutens) apricot woods $$$ Paris boutique only.
Escale à Portofino (Dior) almond cologne $$$
Esprit du Tigre (Heeley) tiger balsam $$$
Figuier (Heeley) fig hologram $$$
Giorgio (Giorgio Beverly Hills) fruity tuberose $$
