Perfumes: The A-Z Guide

From Barnes & Noble

Americans have an obsession about scent: Each year, we spend more than $5 billion on cologne and perfume. Sixty-six percent of men and 72 percent of women wear perfume or cologne. More than 500 new fragrances are launched each year. With all these "can't sniff at" statistics, the need for a definitive guide to the world of perfume should be nearly self-evident. Presiding over this authoritative, beautifully illustrated reference are two noted specialists: Dr. Luca Turin is a leading scholar in the field of olfactory science, and Tania Sanchez is an avid perfume collector and expert who has written hundreds of perfume reviews.

Dallas Morning News

After spending the better part of a weekend reading a galley – often aloud to anyone willing to listen – I'm convinced Turin and Sanchez offer some of the most stylish, erudite and hilarious criticism in any subject field.

New Yorker

While the authors embrace point systems and science, they also offer vivid, funny, evocative descriptions of the smells they write about...To enjoy Perfumes, you don't need to know, or even to like, perfumes, such is the brio of Turin's and Sanchez's prose...This is fun to read – and a rare pleasure, too...The joy of Turin and Sanchez's book, however, is their ability to write about smell in a way that manages to combine the science of the subject with the vocabulary of scent in witty, vivid descriptions of what these smells are like. Their work is, quite simply, ravishingly entertaining, and it passes the high test that their praise is even more compelling than their criticism...Its blend of technical knowledge and evocative writing is exemplary in the strict sense: people who write about smell and taste in any context should use it as an example.

Publishers Weekly

Less a guide in the sense of helping people choose the perfect fragrance than a wide-ranging, critical review of some 1,200 perfumes, both famous and obscure, this comprehensive book is unfailingly entertaining. A collaboration between Turin, a well-known olfactory scientist, and Sanchez, a perfume collector and critic, the book brings their exquisite connoisseurship to life in a contagious manner. 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. French perfumery Guerlain is subject to both: 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." Other startlingly evocative metaphors abound, especially those comparing perfumes to people, whether someone real (Amy Winehouse, Paris Hilton) or a general type (socialites, someone ill with bronchitis). This will be a must-have for anyone who already loves perfumes, though many of the reviews will cause violent disagreement, and those who aren't utterly perfume-obsessed will still appreciate the opening essays on olfactory science, the history of perfume, general types of fragrances and how to choose perfumes. (Apr.)

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Library Journal

In this guide to fragrance selection, renowned fragrance biophysicist Turin (The Secret of Scent) and writer/editor Sanchez (a frequent contributor to MakeUpAlley.com) review more than 1200 men's and women's fragrances in highly accessible, occasionally snarky, richly descriptive language. Sanchez's introductory essays are both illuminating and highly engaging. She brings a witty, intellectual edge to her account of the changing industry and the complex process of choosing scents. Sanchez and Turin employ the star-system and offer two-word synopses for each scent. For all fashion-focused collections.
—Savannah Schroll Guz