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Consolidated Chandler Burr on Basenotes thread: Q+A and Excerpts

post #1 of 8
1/28/08 at 9:09am
Thread Starter 
Thought it would be useful to have a place to to discuss all the recent Burr bits in summary (especially as the Q+A doesn't seem to have a thread)

For my part, these have been really interesting, enjoyable and informative. They have thoroughly won me over; I like the man, his candidness , attitudes and passion. I was not a fan previously based on his NYT writing.

The new book arrived this morning and I am very much looking forward to reading it

Much kudos to Basenotes for organising this.
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post #2 of 8
1/28/08 at 7:38pm

I finished the book last night (couldn't put it down) and contrary to some rather snippish reviewers I enjoyed it thoroughly. I learned a lot about the perfume industry - Grasse, Paris, New York, marketing, perfumers, suppliers, concepts, and I like Mr Burr's writing style.
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post #3 of 8
1/29/08 at 1:29am
I look forward to reading it, when I find the time. The "deletions" were promising and I just won't take his metaphors too seriously.
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post #4 of 8
1/29/08 at 10:30am
Just got my copy and am looking forward to reading it.
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post #5 of 8
3/14/08 at 2:13am
One month and a half later, I thought I'll pick up this thread to ask you guys for your opinions. There has been a relatively strong campaign for 'The Perfect Scent' in perfume forums and the press, and people 'couldn't wait for the book to arrive'. However, since its delivery I have read little to zero in publications and elsewhere how this book has been received by the reader and whether it met the expectations raised in him.
This book is quite different from 'The Emperor of Scent', and I felt no urge to finish it in a few days only. But then, perfume, as a topic, was totally new to me five years ago. In the meantime, my approach to the subject is less naïve. I have read and heard so much during the past years, and not all of that was really necessary to consume. My fire is still burning, but it's more controlled now. Nevertheless, I am finished reading TPS, all of it! I am now curious about your impressions and thoughts.
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post #6 of 8
3/14/08 at 2:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by narcus View Post

However, since its delivery I have read little to zero in publications and elsewhere how this book has been received by the reader and whether it met the expectations raised in him.

I have the impression that most people enjoyed The Perfect Scent. You'll find my NST review (January 24, 2008) here:

http://nowsmellthis.blogharbor.com/b...4/3483759.html
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post #7 of 8
3/14/08 at 5:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello View Post

I have the impression that most people enjoyed The Perfect Scent. You'll find my NST review (January 24, 2008) here: http://nowsmellthis.blogharbor.com/b...4/3483759.html

:toppie:Yes, Google found that one for me recently, but I neither checked it's date nor did I realize who wrote it , even though your name is right above the text. Your review has been written with great care and pointed to some aspects I hadn't even defined myself yet. And you received some interesting comments (I hadn't read those before): - 'recycled material' on Parker, too ? I had expressed a similar premonition concerning Jardin du Nil in January, and I wasn't all that wrong. But I still have to catch up on what Burr has written on Lovely before it got into his book. My own analysis has actually not even started. I finished reading two days ago. And I want some of the debris* to settle first.

*) I should perhaps explain debris: Hadn't we been led to believe that we can follow the development of a marketable, 'excellent' perfume on the basis of clear ideas of a modern American customer, a woman known and loved by people in many parts of the world ? Well, nobody had given me any pre- warnings, that 'Lovely', the perfume was not at all the subject of this book. It's some kind of a cosmetic that just smells of Lovely which itself has little or nothing to do with SJP (we'll never r e a l l y know). In German commercial language, there is a slang expression for this kind of thing: 'Etikettenschwindel'. I do not know if fraudulent labeling [Am.]is a good translation for that. It's the best I can come up with.

ps: are there sources where we could find out how Lovely and Jardin du Nil are faring in 2008 (commercially and on charts) ?
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post #8 of 8
3/14/08 at 8:01am
I haven't started reading my copy yet. I think I have to get to it soon.

My friend (an SA in the 'business') read it and recommended all of his co-workers read it - he loved it. Now he's a Burr groupie.

Most likely I will start reading it closer to the release date of Turin & Sanchez's Guide, so that when I finish TPC I can just pick up the Perfumes book right afterward.
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