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Chandler Burr Untitled S01E05 - Page 3

post #121 of 128
11/14/12 at 12:23am
Lian, I agree completely.

In another thread here, someone referred to a scent we both own as being fun. But it doesn't smell 'fun' to me at all! So, who's right? Answer: We both are. We each perceive things differently. We each experience things differently.
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post #122 of 128
11/14/12 at 9:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lian View Post

I don't think art history and perfume work well together,right now, because perfume is fleeting and physical arts are not. How can you study a perfume made 300 years ago? You can't. So you don't know if what follows is a reaction to it, or a continuation of a theme.

Not to get all cynical, but I'm coming to think that it's difficult to study even contemporary fragrances. I look at many of the wonderful reviews in the directory, and if they are more than two years old, I wonder if I were to go out and buy the same- named fragrance today, and attempt to review it, would we be talking about the same thing at all ?

I suspect there are prior themes that perfumers would hope to develop, but given the ever-shifting practical constraints that modern perfumers are being forced to deal with, it's almost as though we are living during one of those troubled periods in history where things are in tumult, and artists, if they hope to survive, are being forced to react as much to the fearful politics of the times, as they are to their own sense of esthetic expression.
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post #123 of 128
11/16/12 at 10:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Birdboy48 View Post

I suspect there are prior themes that perfumers would hope to develop, but given the ever-shifting practical constraints that modern perfumers are being forced to deal with, it's almost as though we are living during one of those troubled periods in history where things are in tumult, and artists, if they hope to survive, are being forced to react as much to the fearful politics of the times, as they are to their own sense of esthetic expression.



I think I agree. It's the lucky or the (monetarily) poor perfumer who gets to compose exactly as (s)he wishes.
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post #124 of 128
11/18/12 at 6:49am
Not sure I agree with this. The more I meet the creative directors of a lot of the niche houses the more I've come to realize the creativity of a perfume is not solely in the domain of the perfumer. The best of these creative directors work diligently to create the vision they are going for alongside the perfumer. My experience has been that it is both the creative director and perfumer who come to an agreement when the development is done. All that I just said is really only true of the best niche perfume houses.

For the mass-market the commercial and the regulatory issues which are becoming a perfect storm of restraints are leading to a dumbing down of what is being sold as perfume. I am wondering if we are coming closer to what Luca Turin's suggestion was a few years ago of labeling things as room fragrance and carrying a warning label which says "Not to be worn on skin." I would be happy to but a room spray which somehow makes its way onto my skin by accident if the perfumers would be free to use all of the restricted ingredients.

This combination has lead to what I think is the worst year since I've been paying attention in the mass-market releases. There have been a couple of good ones but few memorable ones. In year's past as I start to make my short list for the end of year "best of" lists there have been anywhere from 6-10 mass-market fragrances I am considering this year on my short list right now there are two. As I look over my list I am struck by how good the niche and artisan offerings were this year. Usually paring down the list is pretty easy but I think this year will be very tough and I am going to feel bad about some I leave off the list because I think they are really good.

All of this is a long way of saying I think that the leading edge of olfactory art is happening at the niche/indie/artisan level of things and like any artistic endeavor there will be one of these creations which will catch fire and break out of our community and into the mainstream at some point. When that happens things will change dramatically. I just wish i knew when that was going to happen.
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post #125 of 128
11/18/12 at 3:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Somerville Metro Man View Post

Not sure I agree with this. The more I meet the creative directors of a lot of the niche houses the more I've come to realize the creativity of a perfume is not solely in the domain of the perfumer. The best of these creative directors work diligently to create the vision they are going for alongside the perfumer. My experience has been that it is both the creative director and perfumer who come to an agreement when the development is done. All that I just said is really only true of the best niche perfume houses.

For the mass-market the commercial and the regulatory issues which are becoming a perfect storm of restraints are leading to a dumbing down of what is being sold as perfume. I am wondering if we are coming closer to what Luca Turin's suggestion was a few years ago of labeling things as room fragrance and carrying a warning label which says "Not to be worn on skin." I would be happy to but a room spray which somehow makes its way onto my skin by accident if the perfumers would be free to use all of the restricted ingredients.

This combination has lead to what I think is the worst year since I've been paying attention in the mass-market releases. There have been a couple of good ones but few memorable ones. In year's past as I start to make my short list for the end of year "best of" lists there have been anywhere from 6-10 mass-market fragrances I am considering this year on my short list right now there are two. As I look over my list I am struck by how good the niche and artisan offerings were this year. Usually paring down the list is pretty easy but I think this year will be very tough and I am going to feel bad about some I leave off the list because I think they are really good.

All of this is a long way of saying I think that the leading edge of olfactory art is happening at the niche/indie/artisan level of things and like any artistic endeavor there will be one of these creations which will catch fire and break out of our community and into the mainstream at some point. When that happens things will change dramatically. I just wish i knew when that was going to happen.

Good points, Mark.

I know this bothers me, but maybe it's just something we have to accept - the bifurcation of perfumery into "art scents" and "commerce scents".

I love the suggestion of room fragrance being code for "good, old-fashioned fragrances". I'll be honest - if that is the choice that the regulators force us into, then let's just suck it up and do it. It's *SO* Soviet Union.

The Diptyque John Galliano room scent was a great example of something that was basically too good to *not* wear. We need some more things like that.

Here's a trick that the industry can try. Take some classic fragrance that has basically been gutted by IFRA, and release a room scent in its old glory. Don't even touch the issue of wearability. Just note in the fine print that it's the "original formulation".

Then just stand back. We'll figure it out.
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post #126 of 128
11/22/12 at 8:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Somerville Metro Man View Post

Not sure I agree with this. The more I meet the creative directors of a lot of the niche houses the more I've come to realize the creativity of a perfume is not solely in the domain of the perfumer. The best of these creative directors work diligently to create the vision they are going for alongside the perfumer. My experience has been that it is both the creative director and perfumer who come to an agreement when the development is done. All that I just said is really only true of the best niche perfume houses.

For the mass-market the commercial and the regulatory issues which are becoming a perfect storm of restraints are leading to a dumbing down of what is being sold as perfume. I am wondering if we are coming closer to what Luca Turin's suggestion was a few years ago of labeling things as room fragrance and carrying a warning label which says "Not to be worn on skin." I would be happy to but a room spray which somehow makes its way onto my skin by accident if the perfumers would be free to use all of the restricted ingredients.

This combination has lead to what I think is the worst year since I've been paying attention in the mass-market releases. There have been a couple of good ones but few memorable ones. In year's past as I start to make my short list for the end of year "best of" lists there have been anywhere from 6-10 mass-market fragrances I am considering this year on my short list right now there are two. As I look over my list I am struck by how good the niche and artisan offerings were this year. Usually paring down the list is pretty easy but I think this year will be very tough and I am going to feel bad about some I leave off the list because I think they are really good.

All of this is a long way of saying I think that the leading edge of olfactory art is happening at the niche/indie/artisan level of things and like any artistic endeavor there will be one of these creations which will catch fire and break out of our community and into the mainstream at some point. When that happens things will change dramatically. I just wish i knew when that was going to happen.

I love end of year lists, and am eager to see which fragrances made critics and writers lists for 2012. Off the top of my head, I can say that I liked JM White Lilac & Rhubarb, Chypre Palatin and AA Lys Soleia. My biggest disappointment was LAP's Seville a la Aube. I love orange blossom, and am a big fan of Bernard Duchafour. I found the honey in it strong and the incense non-existant. I've decided to order a different sample, as the description and other opinions are so compelling.

My least favorite release in 2012 was the bottle used for Nickii Minaj's scent. I can't comment on the scent because I didn't try it.

Has anone else started thinking about their favorites this year?
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post #127 of 128
11/29/12 at 11:02am
Hoping we hear about E06 in the coming few days.
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post #128 of 128
11/29/12 at 6:12pm
E06 will be announced on december 3 on Open Sky
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