Fun, informative and insightful. ( )

I read this for the Aussie Readers group non-fiction challenge. It was already on my to-read list. Chandler Burr is a journalist and the story of the two scents he followed - one for French design house Hermes and the other for Coty for Sarah Jessica Parker - is an eye-opener into the perfume industry. Burr has definite views on some of the colognes and perfumes that are available and details his opinions in no-nonsense language, perhaps to the annoyance of the design houses they come from. The story was originally written for newspaper publication and is detailed on conversations, meetings and the people involved and is in a chatty style. I did find some of his explanations in parenthesis a little tiring, but given his newspaper audience these are probably understandable. The articles had to reach a wide audience, many of whom may never have considered reading it in book form. As a non-French speaker I was glad of the translations however, though whether he needed to include so much conversation in that language in the first place is another matter. But these are minor points. This was a book I picked up and read in short bursts in between lighter fiction and thoroughly enjoyed the journey. ( )

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as [b:The Emperor of Scent: A True Story of Perfume and Obsession|14546|The Emperor of Scent A True Story of Perfume and Obsession|Chandler Burr|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166639403s/14546.jpg|49010], but it was pretty enjoyable to read about Sarah Jessica Parker's involvement in the development of her perfume Lovely. The other storyline, about the development of the first Hermes perfume following the hire of an in-house perfumer, was not quite as engaging. ( )

Excellent business story. I was looking for the details of revenue, costs and profitability of luxury goods ... and they are sprinkled throughout a bit, but rather indirectly. ( )

As the very long title suggests this is a nonfiction account of the perfume industry discussing everything from the conception of the famous No. 5 to the process from beginning to end, of getting a perfume into the marketplace. It follows the new Sarah Jessica Parker fragrance. Despite the fact that some parts are very “chemist technical” I found the book an interesting read, with a few juicy tidbits of information thrown in about those famous fragrances (men’s and women’s) that we know so well. ( )