Olfactory Observations with Lizzie Ostrom

I love perfume. I love it as much as a person on a pretty stringent budget can – I usually can’t afford it, thusly, I love to read about it. I spend an inordinate amount of time trawling on fragrantica.com, and if I’m honest I feel that my profile there is the most revealing profile of myself on any social media forum. I think knowing that I *will* wear Autumn/Winter scents in Spring/Summer, that I am definitely not above wearing Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy, and that I suffered an addiction to Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium during my formative years is pretty much all you need to know about me.

Perfume can say a lot about a person – about their real or imagined selves, or at least whether or not you could stand being in a tight space with them.

In Lizzie Ostrom’s Perfume: A Century of Scents, you learn that it can say a lot about people in a much broader sense – politically, socially, geographically and more. As a harbinger of cultural developments and nuances, perfume is convincing and enthralling. Via a selection of 100 perfumes spanning 1900-1999, Ostrom waxes philosophical about their meaning, function, and creation and there is some interesting and still very relevant content – for instance, the façade (and ensuing mark up!) of ‘natural’ products (newsflash: a lot of toxic chemicals are natural), the cult of the celebrity and the ever-present devices of the advertising industry – how it has changed, and how it really hasn’t changed.

As a cultural investigation, it is impressive. But it’s also just fun to read, especially if you’re like me and are a person who loves perfume, and finds themselves asking strangers “Are you wearing Kenzo???” or slightly unnerving them by guessing which scent they’re wearing (I do this to patrons frequently, I’m not sure if they’re actually unnerved but I will definitely suggest Ostrom’s book to them in the future).

Whether you grew up during the 40’s and wore Madame by Rochas, or the 70’s when Jovan Musk was all the rage, or the 90’s when everyone wanted to smell fresh and preppy and loved Tommy Girl (memories of walking down Jervois Road with my mother as child come flooding back whenever I smell this!) – I think you will enjoy it. I remain heartbroken that Cacharel’s LouLou didn’t make the list, but I am willing to forgive.

Enjoy! And P.S - isn't Lizzie Ostrom gorgeous??? You can marvel at her here.

 

Stalking the catalogue: Inventory

"Why does a book of lists need an introduction?  Isn't this book specifically marketed to people who like lists because they hate reading?  And doesn't everyone hate reading?  Isn't that why Eli Whitney invented the internet?  Absolutely."
 - Chuck Klosterman (introduction)

Read this book on your own. That's about the only advice I can give, really. You will scream chortle, giggle until you choke, guffaw, wheeze until you expire, sigh, spray coke out of your nose, snicker, belly laugh until you cry, gasp, pee your pants, wince, hoot and holler. Not necessarily in that order. And you certainly won't want people around to see your reactions.

The very talented writers of the A.V. Club have compiled pop-culture lists that are so specific in some instances you'll wonder why the heck you never thought of them yourself, or perhaps wonder why some sicko would think of them in the first place. The oddball part of it is, I found myself agreeing with quite a bit of the content, and wow are there some obscure books/films I'd forgotten I'd ever read/seen and am sure I never want to read/see again. How can I resist a list such as 'Keanu Reeves movies somehow not ruined by Keanu Reeves'? He may look hot but whenever I watch his movies I feel like I'm watching a wooden puppet who delivers everything in the same deadpan monotone and I'm always looking for evidence of strings. That's not to take away from his movies, hell no, some of them are pure effing genius (look at The Matrix) but whether that's about the writing or the fact that he looks hawt in leather I can't tell.

In the interests of 'research' (aka timewasting) I spent much time in YouTube, IMDB, local videoshops and in our library catalogue putting together any list I found even remotely noteworthy.  Why?  Simple.  How else can I say I agree/disagree if I don't have the foggiest idea what they're on about?  Certainly caused quite heated discussions between family and friends (everyone had differing opinions that just had to be voiced loudly because obviously, right?).

My most favourite list is 'Play it again, only better: 14 cover songs that outdo the originals.'  I had such a blast looking up most of them on YouTube just to compare them (sometimes for the first time, sometimes for the umpteenth time).  I can't name my next favourite lists as most, if not all, have swearing in them.  In closing, I'm not a fan of movies, books, film or tv series that are considered totally 'high brow.' Seriously, classy is wasted on me. I definitely like to mix it all up and, sometimes, the trashier the better as far as I'm concerned, so I really enjoyed the fact that you'd find the classics (film, music, book etc) rubbing shoulders with the trashy. If you're a fan of pop culture mixed with lashings of tongue-in-cheek humour interspersed with tonnes of curse words - then come right ahead. This is your kinda book.  Which is probably just as well because I don't think we have another book of its kind in our branches.

Title: Inventory : 16 films featuring manic pixie dream girls, 10 great songs nearly ruined by saxophone, and 100 more obsessively specific pop-culture lists
Editor: Josh Modell
Published: Scribner, 2009