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On fragrance and literature. . .

post #1 of 17
4/29/12 at 11:04am
Thread Starter 
Being a fan of good literature and good smells, I'm wondering how many fragrances have literary allusions attached to them. By this, I mean, how many fragrances use allusions to literature or literary characters in their names, notes, etc. Immediately, Portrait of a Lady comes to mind. I'm sure there are others!

Can you name them?

Also, which fragrance would you pair up with your fav piece of literature? For example, Carnal Flower always brings to mind Rimbaud and Whitman for me.

P.
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post #2 of 17
4/29/12 at 11:39am
Gatsby by Pacoma Parfums
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post #3 of 17
4/29/12 at 11:48am
Jicky or Mouchoir de Monsieur for 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'.
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post #4 of 17
4/30/12 at 4:19am
Vol De Nuit....A.De Saint Exupéry
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post #5 of 17
4/30/12 at 7:00am
Mitsouko was a character in a now forgotten novel of the era (forget which one). Chamade is the title of a novel by Francoise Sagan. And Coriolan is the Shakespeare character.

For one where the inspiration is a bit also in the smell itself, I'd say Virgilio (Diptyque), the Latin poet, where the simple herbal quality likely refer to the rustic poems Bucolics and Georgics.

Interesting on Whitman and Carnal Flower - to me it's a little too tropical for New England. Rather, I'm thinking the deep forest-like Ormonde woman.

cacio
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post #6 of 17
5/1/12 at 4:29am
Guerlain's recent Arsene Lupin fragrances where inspired by the stories of the French gentleman / thief.
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post #7 of 17
5/1/12 at 8:52am
Thread Starter 
Cacio, for Whitman I was thinking more in terms of "Scent'd Herbage of My Breast." He was something of a dandy in his times, though he was an odd sort of Slumming Dandy. I saw something recently from Bryedo (?) with a connection to Baudelaire.

I'd forgotten about Coriolan. . .and I have a bottle of the stuff!

Here's a challenge: what frag goes with Faulkner's Sound and the Fury?

P.
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post #8 of 17
5/1/12 at 9:45am
double post
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post #9 of 17
5/1/12 at 9:47am
Byredo has a scent called Baudelaire, but it is rather uninspiring, nothing like the poet. Since we are at that, Histoire de Parfums initial range carries the name of historical or literary figures, but, while most are excellent, I don't think there is much relation between the scent and the character: 1725 Casanova, 1740 Marquis de Sade, George Sand, Colette, etc.

I didn't know the Faulkner novel. Seems like an experimental, shifting novel. Thus something experimental, complex, that smells different over time. Don't know, right off the top of my head, Breath of God, a mix of completely different notes, smoky plasticky vetiver, artificial fruity, etc. But as said, I haven't read the novel.

cacio
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post #10 of 17
5/1/12 at 9:51am
The creator of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's scents uses a lot of literary and artistic references in naming her frags.
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post #11 of 17
5/1/12 at 10:21am
I've recently got very into Vie de Chateau by PdN, and I could associate that with Whitman, as to me it's the smell of fresh air, moss, and soil, with a very human element to it.

I thought Carnal Flower must be related to Carnal Knowledge (ok, a movie), which of course starred Candice Bergen, who was married to Louis Malle, who was Frederic's uncle (I think). In any case, that perfume is more The Postman Always Rings Twice to me - the book, not the movie.

Wearing AA Flora Nymphaea today, which reminds me of George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss. It wants to be a sweet, innocent floral but its repressed romance and sexuality keep shining through.
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post #12 of 17
5/1/12 at 11:04am
Madonna of the Almonds by Floris
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post #13 of 17
5/1/12 at 11:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by franeri View Post

Being a fan of good literature and good smells, I'm wondering how many fragrances have literary allusions attached to them. By this, I mean, how many fragrances use allusions to literature or literary characters in their names, notes, etc. Immediately, Portrait of a Lady comes to mind. I'm sure there are others!

Can you name them?

Also, which fragrance would you pair up with your fav piece of literature? For example, Carnal Flower always brings to mind Rimbaud and Whitman for me.

P.

Th_l'S$ •±•
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post #14 of 17
5/1/12 at 11:26am
Most Creeds have fiction attached to them

Mona di Orio's Vanille is poetry in a bottle; as the scent develops, to me, so does a story. I buy into the picture she was painting of a ship full of precious cargo!
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post #15 of 17
5/1/12 at 11:34am
@ Fraghead - Mona di Orio's genius will be sorely missed.
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post #16 of 17
5/1/12 at 11:36am
...not to forget 'Das Parfum' [1985] by Patrick Süskind (English: 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer')...!
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post #17 of 17
5/1/12 at 12:48pm
Thread Starter 
For Sound and the Fury think: corrupted, incestuous southern aristocracy (social prestige but no money); earth, heat, humidity, sweat; stream of consciousness/atemporal narrative; early 20th c. shaving oils and aftershaves; and honeysuckle (a motif in the novel) along with magnolia, ivy, cotton, and gin.

P.
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