Perfume

    My thanks to Margaret Powling for mentioning (in her comment on yesterday's post) the documentary series Perfume which begins on BBC Four tonight at 9.00pm - follow that link for the details. I for one shall be watching as it sounds very interesting indeed, and if you were one of the many who contributed to this fun post, no doubt you will be, too, if it's a channel you can receive.

Later: tonight's programme is now available on iPlayer.

Comments

[Dark Puss]

I made lots of comments I see! Whether they were a contribution is up to others to decide. Flute practice beckons (it is now 21:01) so do tell me whether I should catch it later on iPlayer.

Fragrant Cat

[Cornflower]

Do watch it; I found it very interesting and am looking forward to next week's programme (which looks as though it will be about the chemistry and 'noses').

[Darlene]

Oh how I hate those black banners that say "not available in your area" *sigh*. I'll have to stay in a state of ignorance until the program makes its way over here, fingers crossed.

[MelD]

I shall have to hope for a repeat but appreciate the phrase "if it's a channel you can receive" - so many people forget how international the internet is! Although I do now get a lot of British channels on live digital TV (yay!), we don't get iplayer outside Britain - apparently to do with licensing laws...

[Margaret Powling]

Darlene, the programme was mainly about two roads to promoting scent: (a) the American way, in which Tommy Hillfigure (sp? as I'm not familiar with his clothes/stores but know of him) set about launching a new fragrance called Loud. It was done in a very brash and in-your-face way, trying to combine fragrance with music, in this case a fragrance which was representative of the rock 'n' roll era, so that even the bottle for the new fragrance resembled an old LP (pink bottle for the females, black bottle for the males.) (b) the French way via the House of Guerlain which has been producing fragrances for almost 200 years. This was more about women who had always used perhaps one scent, a 'signature' scent, all their adult lives then bringing along their daughter to choose her first fragrance, and where the young girl was made to feel special rather than going into a store and having assistants squirt 'juice' (what scent is referred to in the trade) all over you. It also showed the then head of Guerlain and his chosen successor (for the first time, not one of the Guerlain family.) I thoroughly enjoyed the programme. The next one will focus on how a fragrance is created.
I would add that Guerlain still use natural ingredients, some of them wildly expensive. But I have to say, being a Guerlain fan, I do love some - if not all - of their fragrances, such as L'heure Bleue and Mitsuko. They have an elegance and a timelessness that modern, chemically engineered scents just don't have.
Margaret P

[Margaret Powling]

PS I forgot my manners: thank you Cornflower for drawing attention to my comment, i.e. drawing readers' attention to the Perfume programme.
I would like to add that for those who, like me, don't wish or cannot afford to spend £50 or so on a new scent, one they haven't a clue as to what it smells like, L'Occitane (and they have a website) have some travel sizes for between £9 and £13, which shouldn't break the bank. I have sent for Verbena and Mimosa, two new (to me) fragrances for around £20.
Floris of London have their Summer Sale starting on 1st July, too.

[Margaret Powling]

PPS One last message. The perfumes from L'Occitane arrived this morning. Mimosa very, very sweet. Nice, but not overwhelmingly so. I'd not buy it again. Verbena ... well, the first spray was like dousing myself in lemon juice, straight from the fruit. But then it mellowed and is very nice and citrussy. But it doesn't 'last'. I do think, overall, you can't really beat the good old fragrances which have been around for years. I shall just save my pennies and buy my favourite in due coures: Hermes' Caleche. But excellent service from L'Occitane.

[perfume online]

My not so secret addiction however lies in my passion and craze for shopping, specifically perfumes. I just love perfumes! It's been my passion since I was given by my grandma my first bottle of Cacharel and the addiction keeps on growing, year by year.