Having been in the perfume business, I’ve done my share of professional sniffing, sat in on fragrance evaluation meetings, and managed consumer sensory panels to determine which samples to present to a client. At FirstNerve my focus is on smell, science and society; and while I write about the industry, analyze traffic on fragrance-oriented web sites, and even discuss the philosophy of perfume reviewing, I’ve never posted a perfume review.
So when the Natural Perfumers Guild approached me to take part in The Mystery of Musk—an internet project to celebrate their fourth anniversary—I hesitated for a moment. There are lots of perfume bloggers covering new launches, especially in the increasingly important niche area; many of them are well-informed and more current with stylistic trends than I am.
Still, the idea of smelling specially-commissioned creations by twelve of the natural perfumers I’ve been reading about for the last couple of years was too good to pass up. I agreed to take part.
For two weeks now I’ve been getting surprises in the mail—padded envelopes and small boxes, each containing a lovingly wrapped and adorned perfume sample. I’m still working my way through them and will be posting my evaluations soon.
Besides me, nine other bloggers are evaluating the submissions. To keep myself unbiased I’ve decided not to read their comments until I’ve posted my own. That doesn’t have to stop you however; here’s the batting order:
Bitter Grace Notes—Maria Browning
Ca Fleure Bon—Michelyn Camen
First Nerve—Avery Gilbert
Grain de Musc—Denyse Beaulieu
I Smell Therefore I Am—Abigail Levin
Indie Perfumes—Lucy Raubertas
Olfactarama—Pat Borow
Olfactory Rescue Service—Ross Urrere
Perfume Shrine—Elena Vosnaki
The Non Blonde—Gaia Fishler
6 comments:
Dear Avery, where can I get information about the development of the sense of smell in pre schoolers and children from the age of 5 to 12?
i need to know when the sense of smell develops more, when it should be stimulated more etc...
xx
From what I know, the sense of smell is there right from birth...very strongly so. A Newborn baby can identify it's mother by scent alone...it's sense of sight isn't very developed yet, so the sense of smell is more important.
I remember reading a fascinating study done useing pads soaked in breastmilk...and infants immedieatly reacted clearly to the sample from their mother...
not sure about the development after that, but it has always seemed to me that children have very strong likes and dislikes when it comes to smells from an early age....
hey, yeah!
where are your avereviews?
i haven't seen them
am i part stupid?
ANSWERS, NOT MORE QUESTIONS!
No battles here !
So far, it's been a true lovefest...
Looking forward to your impressions, as always.
Keep coooool, in this abomination the call a heat wave;-0
Your "I Smell Therefore I Am" link presently goes to the Perfume Shrine site, instead. Just so you know . . .
Nathan Branch:
Link fixed. Thnx.
[Only your friends will tell you when you've got lettuce stuck in your teeth . . .]
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