Oldies, but goldies...
In a previous post, we discussed blogs and so-called “vintage” publications. Some readers asked: which blogs or books are we referring to exactly? It would be interesting to read them!
Well, here is a brief list of essential pieces that every vintage fragrance enthusiast should be familiar with.
There are dozens of volumes published in the past, and covering them all would be impossible. Among these, the following are particularly recommended. The first "sacred text" is the very first edition of Luca Turin’s fragrance guide: "Parfums, The Guide" (years 1992 and 1994). It was arguably the first truly authoritative guide to perfumery, and, having been published in 1994, it stands as a remarkable and faithful snapshot of the fragrance world of that era. Read decades later, it now feels unmistakably like a guide to vintage perfumery.
This outstanding volume was followed by several sequels and spin-offs, in which the arrival of hundreds of new fragrances and brands becomes increasingly apparent. The most recent edition, published in 2018 (Turin–Sánchez, "Perfumes: The A–Z Guide"), reviews more than 1000 fragrances, a number that may seem vast, yet represents only a small fraction of the perfumes released over the past twenty years. I strongly recommend the first edition (1992–1994), or at most the year 2008 edition ("Perfumes: The Guide"), when the flood of new fragrance launches was still in its early stages and had not yet overwhelmed the market.
Another indispensable volume (one that in certain respects remains unsurpassed to this day) is "Perfume Legends" by Michael Edwards, first published in 1996. Very rare and hard to find, it covers only around 30 historical women’s fragrances, yet does so with such depth and richness of detail that it remains a thoroughly rewarding read for all lovers of vintage perfumery (updated in 2019, "Perfume Legends II", then followed by "American Legends", the most remarkable american scents, in 2024)
In a similar way, but devoted entirely to Christian Dior fragrances: "Dior: the perfumes" by Chandler Burr (2014).
"Parfums / Perfumes" by Jean-Yves Gaborit (1985), translated into many languages, is a large-format photographic volume. While not especially exhaustive from a textual standpoint, its true strength lies in its outstanding photography. It surveys the most celebrated perfumes of the twentieth century up to 1985, brand-by-brand.
Dating back to 1997, there is a monographic volume devoted entirely to Guerlain: "Flacons à parfum depuis 1828", by Michèle Atlas and Alain Monniot. It is probably the most encyclopedic work ever dedicated to a single perfume house. Plenty of pictures and illustrations.
If you are interested in perfume bottles, "Parfums de Collection" by Bernard Gangler is essential reading. Gangler is also the author of several other works on the subject.
Vintage Blogs
Then, in 2000, the internet arrived… And these are the blogs that every vintage fragrance enthusiast should be familiar with. They may seem numerous, but I assure you they represent only a small fraction of what existed at the time. Unfortunately, many of these blogs have since been taken offline and can now only be found through web archives or specialized search engines.You can read them using the The Wayback Machine. It is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in time" to see how websites looked in the past.
-"Monsieur Guerlain". The blog of “Monsieur Guerlain”, devoted entirely and exclusively to the famous House, was universally acclaimed as “one of the most thrilling perfume blog of all time.” Written with rare skill and remarkable depth of insight, it was unfortunately shut down after a legal dispute. With some effort, however, it can still be recovered, page by page, from the recesses of internet archives.
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| "Monsieur Guerlain", from Wayback Machine |
-"Pour Monsieur", by Shamu. Highly passionate and decidedly old-school in spirit. This blog has also disappeared and can now only be accessed via the Wayback Machine.
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| "Pour Monsieur", from Wayback Machine |
-"Yesterday's Perfume" by Barbara Herman. A must-read magnificent blog devoted to vintage fragrances. Sadly removed, as usual you can try the Wayback Machine to read it.
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| Yesterday's Perfume, from Wayback Machine. |
-"1000fragrances" by Octavian Coifan, written by a true expert and great enthusiast. Very interesting observations, halfway between the artistic and the philosophical. He talks about perfumes from the point of view of a perfume expert, and for this reason alone it deserves to be read and meditated upon. You need Wayback Machine, again.
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| "1000fragrances", from Wayback Machine. |
-"Cleopatra's Boudoir" by Grace Hummel. Vintage fragrances blogging at the highest level, nothing else to add.
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| "Cleopatra's Boudoir", from Wayback Machine. |
-"Ambre Gris", in French, it was a minimalist site but full with precious infos.
Discontinued blogs but still online:
-Kafkaesque One of the most culturally and intellectually sophisticated perfume blogs ever, its fragrance descriptions remain unsurpassed to this day. This blog, too, was sadly discontinued.
-Alfarom's "Neroprofumo" This is a little-known blog, but it was written with rare expertise and enthusiasm. It is well worth taking a look at.
-The Vintage Perfume Vault The name speaks for itself.
Want more? These discontinued blogs don't deal with "vintage perfumes" exactly but, if you search, you can also find many reviews of vintage perfumes with very interesting observations:
Perfumedmaze Ismellthereforeiam Perfumesmellinthings Thenonblonde Thescentedhound Graindemusc Sorcery of Scent "Tè De Violetas"
Modern Blogs.
Modern blogs considering vintage fragrances? Very rare, because text blogs are rare these days and most have moved to video. Here are some:
- John's "The vintage blogs" (text only, but with many empirical and detailed observations about vintage fragrances through the years)
-Eau de Treasure (the thrills that unboxing vintage fragrances can give!)
-Varanis Ridari (very rational, sharp and without unnecessary frills: it gets straight to the point)
-The Vintage Perfumes channel (here you can find videos tagged with vintage perfumes, by various authors)
It is highly recommended that you recover these blogs and spend some time there: you just have to learn.
-GUY LAROCHE perfumes (here)
-CACHAREL perfumes ( here )
-ROCHAS perfumes (here)