This isn't a stuffy, highbrow examination of the evolution of the great perfume houses one of the book's more interesting points is that it includes old, new, cheap, expensive, mainstream, and niche fragrances. 'There's Bad Vulgar (Louis Vuitton handbags, wood veneer in a brand-new car), there's Good Vulgar (flames painted on aircraft engine cowls, John Barry's James Bond theme), and then there's Great Vulgar: Vanilia.' For example, here's the opening line of their review of Vanilia by L'Artisan Parfumeur: This book contains descriptions of their 100 favorite perfumes and is written in their typical smart, humorous style. These authors, Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, are the only consistent, or at least consistently intelligent, perfume critics. Perfumery is the least-appreciated form of art, and bewilderingly so, since smell shortcuts all logic centers on its way to emotive response. I don't agree with Turin's or Sanchez's ratings or reviews most of the time because our individual tastes don't overlap-they think musk and spice are sexy and seductive, I think they're overrated and suffocating-but their writing is always fun to read. This book is a 'short' list of all the perfumes that received 4 or 5 stars in The Guide, with added updates and commentary of new formulas and compositions. But if you don't mind spoilers, read them however you like. I did it backwards, so that kind of spoiled The Guide for me.

If you're new to the world of perfumes, read this book after Perfumes: The Guide by the same authors. I mean, why else make a best-of list if not to piss people off? Seems like a petty hill to die on, but I've seen pettier.

What pleasurable conniptions attend the discovery that someone has ranked Hellboy II above Casablanca or thinks Let It Be trumps Revolver! In fact, probably the best reason to make such a list is the easy satisfaction it provided of infuriating so many with so little effort. Every buff has a list: the hundred films you must see before dying, the top three cheeseburgers in the northern hemisphere, the ten most overrated paintings, the twenty most idiotic reviews in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, etc.

Luca turin perfume reviews