The Guide To Perfume
Perhaps what's most surprising
about perfume today is how much the whole concept has evolved in recent years.
The first modern perfume — the first to use a synthetic, rather than natural,
scent — was Fougère Royal, created by the French house Houbigant
is 1882. And you're probably familiar with some of the landmark scents of the
20th century: the classic, powdery-floral Chanel No. 5, introduced in 1921; Shalimar,
introduced by the famed French house Guerlain in 1925; or Opium, the scent launched
by Yves St. Laurent in 1977 that's still a top seller.
Perfumers are still
putting out gorgeous, startling scents, from the giant Dior with its contemporary
green-floral J'adore, which debuted in 1999, to the reimagined and updated rose
of Paestum Rose, introduced in 2006 by the tiny Italian house l'Eau d'Italie.
A recent introduction from Estée Lauder, Pleasures, will recalibrate your
concept of what perfume is; based on a breathtaking extraction of pink peppercorn
— made possible by a new technology — it's emblematic of the next generation
of scent.
Such an array of choices demands patience. Never buy a perfume
you haven't worn and smelled over a 24-hour period. And look for stability, great
evolution on skin, and nice diffusion. And, of course, something you love.
Once
you've found your scents, keep them in the fridge; the cool, consistent temperature
and lack of light and oxygen exposure will do them good. The worst place is on
your bathroom windowsill. Apply to the tops of your forearms — forget "pulse
points" — because that's where you create your scent space. And of course,
always watch the volume.
Animal
Attraction
A
century ago, natural animal-derived raw materials were an important component
of perfumes. Some of the most commonly used included castoreum (taken from a wild
beaver gland), tonkin musk (extracted from a gland of the tonkin musk deer), ambergris
(produced by sperm whales), and civet (from the glands of the Ethiopian civet
cat). None of these are common ingredients today, although synthetic versions
are still used.
To
Your Health
In the 18th and 19th centuries, perfumes were made primarily
with vinegar, not alcohol, and many were meant to be drunk as well as worn. In
fact, French perfume originated as a kind of medicine.
Start Making Scents
Launches of new scents have skyrocketed in recent years. In all of 1950,
there were 10 new launches. In 1990 there were 70. Last year saw almost 1,000.
The
Essence of Art
Chanel
No. 5, possibly the world's most famous perfume, is also an icon of the art world.
Its unique bottle was added to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New
York in 1959, and in the 1980s, Andy Warhol further established its status as
an art object with a series of silk screens.
The
Nose Knows?
Synthetics are crucial to modern perfumery
— on average, scents today are a mix of 80 percent synthetic and 20 percent
natural. Some of the most popular include Ambrocenide, a radiant, woody,
amber scent by a company called Symrise; Hedione, by Firmenich (like the
smell of jasmine-scented halogen light); Serenolide (olfactory velvet);
and Helvetolide (warm skin).
Not
for Women Only
Many serious perfumers are making extraordinary,
innovative scents for men. They include Hermès' modernist abstract work
Terre d'Hermès — which women should wear too. Dior Homme Sport is
an iris for men; iris is the root, not the flower, and the product has a woody
scent. By the way, perhaps the best-kept secret is that some "feminines,"
as the industry calls them, make for great "masculines" as well. See
Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue for Women, a spectacular citrus/green apple/cedar
that works for guys too.
0
The
number of synthetic scents in the perfumer's palette in 1880.
1500
The
rough number of synthetic scents in the perfumer's palette in 2009.
—
Chandler Burr
Photographs: Getty Images (flower, whale); Andy Warhol Foundation/Corbis(Chanel
bottle); iStockphoto (halogen light, jasmine flower)
