Lover (with Bandage for Nose) by Tony Rodrigues

Another year of sniffing has gone by and my nose needs a rest. Every now and then I need to take a break from wondering what perfume to wear, deciding what to review when, testing, testing, and more testing. Even though my nose is resting, my brain is not, so I am offering up a few random rants, raves and suggestions about perfume that may amuse you, inspire you, or annoy you, my beloved readers.

First, a couple of rants  and raves for perfumistas:

Rant: You are not “sick of oud”. You are tired, as are many of us, of perfumes having oud in their names, like it is a badge of honor. There are perfumes named after oud that don’t actually contain any, which would be okay if there weren’t already so many oud-ly named perfumes on the market. Would we be “sick of bergamot” if half the new releases had bergamot as part of the name? We might say we were, but it is such a ubiquitous note, and so useful to add lift and verve to a perfume, that I doubt we would actually be sick of it. We’d just be sick of hearing about it. So it is with oud. Oud is one of the most exotic, evocative ingredients on the market. It can range from honey to bleu cheese to barnyard to sweat and back again. Even synthetic ouds, which are mostly what is used in commercial perfumes, can be equally varied. The hope is that the trend for oud nomenclature will settle down. As a note, however, oud is just getting started.

Elegant Snobbery by Marissa Hopkins

Rant: Many of you already know my biggest perfume mantra: No Snobbery. Once in a while I will see a post from a perfumista on Facebook or a blog that is a timid confession to loving a perfume that has been trounced by reviewers, hated on by perfume enthusiasts, etc. This poor person will often start the post with “Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I really like the new such-and-such.” There is nothing wrong with you! I went through way too many years of having my musical tastes and other enthusiasms pooh-poohed by the hip kids as being uncool to put up with that behavior from the perfume community. Yes, it is fine to not like a perfume, and even avidly express your hatred for it. But to turn that into demeaning another perfumista for not having the same taste as you is ultimately pathetic. There is also nothing wrong with you if you can’t stand the perfume that is all the rage, and you shouldn’t be afraid to say so.

Rave: The biggest thrill for me as a perfumista is that we are a community of people who are passionate about perfume, a luxury item that can be had for more or less reasonable amounts of money, compared to, say, Rolex watches or Hermés handbags. We are an army fighting against those who would see perfume removed from the environment. We are a family who unites in both grief and joy, will reach out to help those in need, and give of themselves and their collections joyfully. It is not a competition to see who is the coolest, I promise.

My next two rants are aimed at the perfume makers, large and small:

Rant: French is a lovely language, there is no doubt. It has become the language of perfume. The other night I was lying in bed, in the midst of that odd pre-sleep cogitation, and I realized that to the French, perfume names are not exotic, and are just Water of Water (L'Eau de L'Eau) or Green Violet (Verte Violette) or Oak (Chêne). To a non-French-speaking person, the French words are more engaging than their meanings. There is a trend for perfumers of all areas and countries to name perfumes in French even when that is not their native language (and sometimes when they don’t even speak it).

Suggestion: Is it so hard to name perfumes in one’s native tongue? English, Spanish, Italian… lovely languages, all.

Rave/Suggestion: Why does it all have to be so serious? One of my favorite perfumers uses word play, humor, and funny little drawings for his perfumes. It has taken a while for the perfume community to learn that good perfume doesn’t have to be all stodgy or modern-arty or foo-foo to be good, but we're getting there. We need more perfume that is fun; named in ways that make you laugh to tell people what you’re wearing, instead of you struggling to pronounce it and they not knowing what the heck you are saying.

Suggestion: Perfume is becoming more global every year, with fragrance houses emerging from such far-away places as Iceland. The internet has made this a very small world, so, perfume houses, please launch your fragrances, no matter which language they are in or where they originate, to your growing global audience. We all hear about your perfumes, and are excited by them. Why make us wait? We want buying them to not have to involve scent mules and bribery of customs officials. Not that we’ve ever done that, ahem.

Specimen (II) Poppy (detail) by Justine Smith

Rant: Can we cool it with the price competitions, already? Do you not realize you have a lovely group of people who aren’t rich who love your perfumes and want to buy them? Yes, perfume is a luxury product, and until recently, it was a luxury we could afford. Now, sticker shock is rampant. For a while $60 was the new “free”. Now it is $100, and that is rising quickly. Jean Patou Joy had the tagline of “The Costliest Perfume in the World” for decades, but these companies have blown by that like a Ferrari racing a VW Beetle from 1965. Established brands are raising prices by many percentage points, and offering new collections at much higher prices. Brand new, untested companies are launching with prices in the stratosphere. Not to mention that it can be like the proverbial blood-from-a-turnip to get a usable sample. We all pretty much know how much this stuff actually costs, so why is this happening? I used to be able to buy a perfume on a whim, and sometimes blind, but those days are gone. Now I will have to seriously consider any purchase, and make fewer of them. I know many who are in the same boat, no matter what their personal finances are. At what point is a glass bottle filled with a few drops of oil and a mess of alcohol worth $400, $700, $1000? I understand the business need to raise prices periodically, of course, but this has gone beyond a cost-of-living increase and into keeping up with the Joneses.

Suggestion: I encourage perfumistas to look to some of the small independent perfume companies who are breaking boundaries with exciting, imaginative perfumes and offering them at reasonable prices, with good sampling programs. These are perfumers who are making perfume for the pleasure of it, for people who love perfume, and they want us to experience and own their work.

Whew, I feel much better now. Onward to a new year of smelling new creations, revisiting the classics, and writing about how they smell and make me feel. Thank you all for reading; you are very much appreciated. Feel free to add your two cents, your rants, raves and suggestions in the comments. I do read them.

Tama Blough, Senior Editor

Note: I want to clarify that I absolutely understand that artisanal, small-batch perfumers (and some larger companies) often work in very costly materials, which have to be reflected in their pricing. My rant was directed at the larger perfume houses that seem to be raising prices more than seems warranted. I also don't mean to detract anyone from spending big bucks on something wonderful that sings to their soul. If it is worth it to you, then it is worth it. We love what we love.