num_pages: 306
description: From the New York Times perfume critic a stylish fascinating unprecedented insider's view of an industry and its charismatic characters No journalist has ever been allowed into the ultrasecretive highly pressured process of originating a perfume. But Chandler Burr the New York Times perfume critic spent a year behind the scenes observing the creation of two major fragrances. Now writing with wit and elegance he juxtaposes the stories of the perfumes--one created by a Frenchman in Paris for an exclusive luxury-goods house the other made in New York by actress Sarah Jessica Parker and Coty Inc. a giant international corporation. We follow Coty's mating of star power to the marketing of perfume watching Sex and the City 's Parker heading a hugely expensive campaign to launch a scent into the overcrowded celebrity market. Will she match the success of Jennifer Lopez? Does she have the international fan base to drive worldwide sales? In Paris at the elegant Herms we see Jean Claude Ellena his company's new head perfumer given a he must create a scent to resuscitate Herms's perfume business and challenge le monstre of the industry bestselling Chanel No. 5. Will his pilgrimage to a garden on the Nile supply the inspiration he needs? The answer lies in Burr's informative and mesmerizing portrait of some of the extraordinary personalities who envision design create and launch the perfumes that drive their billion-dollar industry.
language: English
title: The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York
publisher: Henry Holt and Co.