The Philosophy of Perfume

“A perfect pocked-sized olfactory guide to all things perfume — inhaled at a single sitting!” – Richard E. Grant

Perfume is intoxicating: a wearable scent journey, a cultural touchpoint, a piece of art and design, and a deep expression of individuality. You can be nine or ninety, tall or small, wearing simple rosewater or a rare iris-infused concoction and your scent will still be your own.

From its ancient, ceremonial roots to the starry allure of modern celebrity fragrances, perfume has long been associated with the almost-alchemical power to transform and bewitch. Perfumes have defined what an era’s luxury, personality and mood smell like, while even a lingering scent of someone’s signature perfume can be enough to send our minds reeling back through our memories. Today, perfume has found an active online community of connoisseurs ready to scour the earth for niche, gate-kept and unattainable scents.

In The Philosophy of Perfume, fragrance writer and journalist Alice du Parcq takes us on an opulent journey through the mysterious world of perfume. The book includes chapters on perfume’s history, the figures who have acted as perfume’s great muses, the psychology of scent, the obsessive search for ever-rarer ingredients, notes on dissecting scents, the most iconic bottle designs and how to find your perfect scent.