Very HelpfulApril 4, 2008 R. McLaren(Kentucky, USA) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I pretty much knew nothing about perfumes before I read this book. I know quite a bit about aromatherapy, but not perfumes. For me, this book was easy to read/follow and I liked the history that it included. The recipes in the book were pretty basic and were fun and easy to try out. A "must read" for anyone wanting to start learning about perfumes.
Great BookJanuary 3, 2007 Joy-Cafe(Arkansas) 1 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book arrived on time and was exactly as described. It's been fun playing around with making my own fragrances and not having to pay top dollar to smell good (smile). Will purchase from this company again!
Good Basic Text on PerfumeJune 27, 2006 Masha(Miami, Florida) 5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Good exposition of history of perfume, basic types, and so on. Good instructions on how to start making your own.
Lets think a little, before ratingMarch 18, 2006 M. Mello(Brasil) 30 out of 33 found this review helpful
Some Amazon reviewers seem to miss completely the point of the books they are rating. One example: among the reviews of a book on yoga for (very) fat people, some commentators criticize the author for changing some of the classical positions. If one can work out the correct positions, why is he(she) meddling into, and messing up, the references for less fortunate people?
This book is another case. It clearly states that it is for beginers (and, by the way, never claims to be solely about 'natural' perfumes). A couple of reviewers criticize it for containing a classification of popular commercial perfumes into the categories of scents that is used in the text.
Is it really that difficult to figure out why such a table is useful for someone that is seeing a perfumes classification scheme for the first time? For those that still don't get it: it's because you exemplify each category with a scent that the reader either very probably knows (since he's reading a book on perfumes, chances are he knows the most common commercial ones) or can easily go to a nearby drugstore and try it.
Not only that, but we can all presume that one of the pleasures of learning the basics of perfume-making is when, for the first time, you make a "perfect copy" of commercially successfull product.
This is the sort of explanation that naturaly comes to anyone that approaches a book with a clear, good-natured mind. People who are unable to put themselves into the targeted audience's shoes would do better avoiding the confusion they create with their self-centered opinions.
Good for one who is familiar with synthetics AND naturalsJanuary 10, 2006 Jay Bee(Jackson, California) 6 out of 13 found this review helpful
I am only writing this as a guide for people who have read the other reviews. I am going to buy this book, as well as some other ones, because I used to make perfume for a major U.S. candle company, and it is maddening to not remember what I used to make!!! I feel that for aromatherapy, natural oils are essential, but there is nothing wrong with synthetics for sachets, candles, and other non-topical applications. If you shine sunlight, or a flashlight through a prism, are the colors any different? Such is the quandry concerning synthetic versus natural. And many people would benefit from knowing the various groups, or families, because everything smells different on different people. I once had access to an out-of-print, French perfume chemical handbook, costing hundreds of dollars, and also, hundreds of handwritten french perfume formulas, made obsolete by modern methods. So I am trying to replace that lost information, and begin to identify the scents in perfumes all over again. There is a nice selection of books available - a good place to start!
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