Karen Gilbert

As a person greatly interested in perfumery, I was delighted to come across such a gem that served as the perfect introduction to the "art and craft of fragrance". When it comes to self-study, I find it best to begin with the most basic, fundamental concepts regardless of whether or not you already have some background knowledge. This book proved to be a brief yet thoroughly encompassing read on perfume and its many aspects including its recent history, terminology, and nature.

On the back cover, Perfume has been classified under the genre "gift", which I think is quite accurate: this book would make for a perfect gift for a mother on Mother's Day, as it is a light, short read that would suffice a creative, DIY-driven person who has little intention of going full force into perfumery. However, that is not to say that this book fails to draw in amateur perfumists, because it certainly does as well. Perfume is a great place to begin one's journey in the field of perfumery, and it has been written for that purpose. Those who are already rather decent perfumists will undoubtedly find this book lacking, but they are not the target audience of Gilbert's work.

Aesthetically, the book is very well put together, with a different design and layout on each page. Whoever designed this book made a smart choice about its dimensions --- the first thing you notice when picking this read up is that it is almost a square, capturing your attention. Its chapters are well-rounded and provide a sampling of the multifaceted nature of perfumery, some of their titles being "A History of Perfumery and Fragrance Icons", "Natural and Synthetic Fragrance Materials", and "Creative Perfumery Techniques". For those who love creating scented bath products, there is also a set of pages dedicated to that.

With such a clarity in its writing, you could certainly read this book in less than an hour, but the pages are inarguably rich in information. For those who are just getting started with perfumes or have always been captivated by the world of scents like myself, Perfume is certainly worth your time.

If you want to read more of my reviews, check out my book blog!… (mehr)