(Turin published a perfume guide in French in 19, but this is his first-and the most comprehensive of any-in English.) A handy guide-at least it will be, when it comes out in paperback-to help the novice navigate the scary dodgems of spray girls (and boys) on the department-store floor, the book provides a good introduction to the science and history of scent, followed by some 1,500 reviews of everything from Jicky (launched in 1889 and still around) to whatever spritz has been endorsed by someone whose 15 minutes has just about been used up. Coauthors Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez have collaborated on a conceit so simple that it is a spark of genius. This issue is available on for North America and on the Auparfum Shop for other countries.Perfumes: The Guide is intriguing and maddening. This review has been published in Nez, the olfactory magazine – #06 – Body and Mind.

Perfumes: The Guide 2018, Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, Perfüümista ÖÜ, 2018, 336 pages, $16.99

The two essays opening the guide, one each by Sanchez and Turin, are must-reads for insight on changes in the perfume world. The Guide 2018 differs from the original in that it contains many more reviews by Turin than Sanchez, and also – since it covers only the past decade – niche houses receive the most attention among the more than 1,200 fragrances reviewed. But they’re useful bases for exploration. Both guides share similar features: a 5-star rating system followed by a two-word description of each perfume and a review, it’s terrific writing that’s sometimes poetic, often cranky, and rarely pulls punches, a fanboy treatment of a few noses, and entertaining, with educational digressions.Īs with the original guide, you’ll want to keep this one on your nightstand to dig into at random. Perfumes: The Guide 2018 focuses on fragrances released in the decade since. When Perfumes: The A – Z Guide was released in 2008, it was a sweeping review of the perfume world to date.

Perfumes the guide luca turin