Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend The Perfume Society’s talk with Luca Turin at Les Senteurs in Marylebone. Mr Turin spoke about his early days of perfume writing and recounted some of his hilarious misadventures in perfume land.
Plus, he seems like a pretty cool guy.
On Wednesday 6th May, I was invited to a very special afternoon at Bloom Perfumery’s new space in Covent Garden where Carlos Huber, Creative Director of Arquiste Parfumeur, spoke to The Perfume Society’s Josephine Fairley, Amanda Carr from The Women’s Room, and myself about the four floral fragrances in the Arquiste collection.
I’ll get into that and all things Arquiste, including what we can expect in Fall 2015, in a minute though. There’s something I need to get off my chest first.
Last Thursday, 12th June, I had the pleasure as a member of The Perfume Society to attend a Q&A with Guerlain’s Head Perfumer, Thierry Wasser. I have transcribed my audio recording of the Q&A for you to read below, but I am afraid it just does not do justice to what a privilege it was to hear Mr Wasser answer Jo Fairley’s questions with not only humor and wit that kept the audience engaged and laughing throughout the duration of the Q&A session, but also with real insight garnered from his experiences attained through his position at Guerlain. I was really surprised at the lengths he goes to to expertly fulfill his role, and what I really loved was his pragmatic, common sense approach to it.
To celebrate World Smell Day yesterday I made myself an appointment to explore Angela Flanders’ range of perfumes at her boutique on Artillery Passage in Spitalfields. Although I had read much about Angela’s fragrances I had never ever actually been to her shop in Spitalfields so today being World Smell Day seemed like the perfect excuse for a trip to East London. I met with Rachel, who works at the boutique, and she was a fantastic guide in helping me to get acquainted with the line. She was super knowledgeable and really down to earth and lead me through sampling the fragrances. There is something about taking in scent with another person that I always find to be a bit of a bonding experience.
Last week I received this wonderful little parcel from The Perfume Society…
A tiny treasure trove packed with samples of Versace Crystal Noir, Paco Rabanne Lady Million (arguably one of my favorite commercials of all time), Nina Ricci L’air du Temps, Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Noir, Chloe eau de parfum, Salvador Dali Wild, Atkinsons 24 Old Bond Street, Miller Harris Fleurs de Sel, and a handbag sized Crabtree & Evelyn Lily ultra-moisturizing hand therapy. There is a specially printed card to accompany each which details each sample’s fragrance family, top, heart, and base notes, a bit of history about the fragrance, and some ideas to consider while you are trying each sample.
Also included the box is a book of perfume blotters which is very useful when out sampling fragrances, and an adorable robin’s egg blue Perfume Society note book. What can I say?? I love stationery. 🙂
bgirl rhapsody 