Not Everyone Is A Perfumista {The 5th Sense in the News}
In the Times, Hilary Rose offers a refreshing perspective on the allure of fragrance. Not everyone is meant to be die-hard fan of perfumes and fragrance can be boring. However, if Ms. Rose feels no need to contemplate the infinite nuances found in scents she does love, instead, to think about the infinite shades of a good foundation,
"The truth of the matter, if I look into the dark recesses of my soul, the bit where Serious Opinions should be, is that perfume bores me. I can think about all the nuances of tinted moisturiser for ages. It’s how I know that Chantecaille’s raved-about Real Skin is too barely-there for me, but its Future Skin is genius and, once I’ve got over how much it costs, I’m excited about trying its new Just Skin. It’s why I’ve had lengthy disputes with a friend who insists I should get over my dislike of Clarins’ packaging and embrace the products within. But perfume? Perfume shouldn’t be a problem. Perfume should just be. So for the time being I’m sticking with the Chanel."
Finding the Perfect Perfume.....
Image: {Fiat Lux}
Previous Posts in The Fifth Sense in the News:
Dzintars: Long Lost Soviet Scents
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Comments
I don`t get that article.
You aren`t interested in perfume, you don`t write about it. The end.
Posted by: benvenuta | April 22, 2008
I think that the article is motivated by the writer's perception that perfume is important to others and that she does not get it. Feeling this peer/cultural pressure, she tries to get more involved in fragrance but then goes back to her baseline which is that she is happy to settle on 2 favorites rather than embark on a quest.
Perfume has more of an artistic connotation than beauty products a priori but we discover that for true lovers of beauty products, it very much sounds like the way perfumistas talk about perfume.
Rose may be aware of the perfume-writing sphere on Internet, with all its passionate inflexions, and decided to voice her difference.
Personally I think that this take feels a bit more honest than the types of portrayals of perfume and perfume lovers in some media which seem to aim essentially for comic relief and sensationalism about the level of addiction of so-called "perfume sluts" or "addicts".
I have to say that I sometimes ask myself questions about these articles being motivated by industrial interests or traditional media vs. new media ones since developed, 24/7, and critical perfume appreciation and writing is largely a web 2.0 phenomenon. Even print perfume writers count on internet publicity to sell their books, as they should, and court forums and weblogs to reach a motivated fan base with a longer attention span for the topic at hand than the general public.
Posted by: Marie-Helene | April 22, 2008