155. Rachel Syme Wants to Earn Your Perfume Compliments

Month 12 of 12 is finally upon us which means it's time to flex ye olde gift-giving muscle. Let Perfume Room help you do it with ease and aplomb! Enjoy my official 2024 gifting recs for candles, discovery sets, fragrance-adjacent gifts, non-fragrance gifts, and of course, the highly-anticipated LuckyScent x Perfume Room holiday 10-piece pack (a pack full of my fav LuckyScent discoveries (that you don't already know) from the past year! JOIN BEST OF 2024 SMELL CLUB! 2024smellclubparty.eventbrite.com TUNE IN: Luckyscent x Perfume IG Live Smell-Along - Weds, Dec 18th at 4P EST / 1P PST (on the @perfumeroompod IG) SHOP THIS EPISODE: https://shopmy.us/collections/1086526 SAVE THE DATE: FEB 15 (NEXT PERFUME ROOM LIVE SHOW!)

PERFUME ROOM CANON ALERT. This week, join me on a one-of-a-kind auditory journey with Icelandic Art Collective, Fischersund. This episode was recorded in Seattle at the opening of Fischersund’s brand new multi-sensory exhibit: Faux Flora (which is happening now through Jan. 26 at the National Nordic Museum). You’ll hear all about this special family, the magical olfactive experiences they create, and of course, this incredible brand new exhibit. PLUS - some fun surprises that simply cannot be spoiled here in this description. You’ll just have to listen and find out. hehe.NOW - DEC 31, GET 10% OFF THE FAUX FLORA DISCOVERY KIT:fischersund.com | code: perfumeroom10GET TIX FOR THE FAUX FLORA EXHIBIT (now - Jan 26):https://nordicmuseum.org/exhibitions/faux-floraFRAGS MENTIONED: Fischersund No. 101, Diptyque Fleur de Peau, Trudon II, L’Artisan Parfumeur Vetiver Ecarlate, Fischersund: Útilykt, No 23, No. 54, No. 8, No. 54, No. 3Follow: @fischersund

*TBT* Bringing back this Perfume Room gem: Perfume Royality Hilde Soliani, La Regina dei Gourmand//the Queen of Gourmands, is in the Perfume Room today! At first glance, you might say dessert scents are her bread and butter, but Hilde would be quick to tell you that *bread and butter scents* are also her bread and butter. And for that matter, so are her fish, oyster, and cheese fragrances. Her title bears great responsibility, and in Hilde's kingdom, no food group is left behind. We discuss her inspiration, her fragrance philosophy, becoming a perfumer at age 40, and lots of other magical musings along the way. NOV SMELL CLUB THEME = INCENSE GET TIX: incensesmellclub.eventbrite.com FRAGS MENTIONED: Fueguia 1833: Tierra Del Fuego, Ett Hem, Yaken; Hilde Soliani: Hot Milk, Fraaagola Saalaaata, Stelle di Ghiaccio, Eau de Cuisine, Miss Tranchant, Bell'Antonio, Revlon Charlie, YSL Rive Gauche, Roachas Eau de Rochas, YSL Opium, Shiseido Tactics, Hilde Soliani: Buonissimo, Tulipano Rosso, Io, 24.9.11, Ti Amo Iris FOLLOW HILDE: @iltuotulipano @senshilde || www.hildesoliani.com SAVE THE DATES: Dec 5, 2024 and Feb 15, 2025!!

This week, enjoy the second half of my conversation with Free-Spirit Perfumer Antoine Lie. What is the Antoine Lie Olfactive experience? What excites Antoine? What frustrates him? How does he feel about the corporate industry he left behind? And yes, yes, of course, we discuss Secretions Magnifiques. FRAGS MENTIONED: ELdO: Clean Suede, Rien; Paco Rabanne 1 Million, Armani: Code, Mania; ERIS, Les Indemodables, ELdO: Secretions Magnifiques, Rien; Dior Poison, Avon Natori, Ralph Lauren Romance for Men, Acqua di Gio FOLLOW ANTOINE: @antoinelieolfactiveexperience FOLLOW PERFUME ROOM: @perfumeroompod SUBSCRIBE TO THE OFFICIAL SUBSTACK! perfumeroom.substack.com

Legendary perfumer Antoine Lie is in the Perfume Room this week! Having created blockbusters that range in style from Armani Code to Secretions Magnifiques, Antoine has done it all. Though he spent the first few decades of his career working in the corporate fragrance world, today, Antoine is independent (though he prefers the term 'free-spirited') and runs his own company, Antoine Lie Olfactive Experience.  You are in for a treat because this is a special TWO-PART episode!! In part 1 [this ep], Antoine shares the perfumes that made him want to become a perfumer, how he became one, the downfall of 90s fragrances, his thoughts on the current state of niche fragrance, and what ultimately drove him to pursue a different route.  FRAGS MENTIONED: Caron Pour Un Homme, Givenchy Gentleman, Chanel No. 19, YSL Opium, Revillon Turbulences, Dior Poison, Geoffrey Beene Grey Flannel, Azzaro Pour Homme, Guy Laroche Drakkar Noir, Dior Fahrenheit, Mugler Angel, ERIS Ma Bete, YSL Kouros, ERIS Scorpio Rising FOLLOW: @antoinelieolfactiveexperience WEBSITE: www.al-oe.fr/

New Yorker Staff Writer (and lifelong fraghead!) Rachel Syme is in the Perfume Room this week! Creator of the now-defunct, infamous Perfume Genie Twitter threads, and newsletter-turned-Substack, The Dry Down, Rachel's on the *perfume beat* on and off the clock. Today we chat all about her recent work trip to Paris, where she spent several days with Master Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian and then wrote it about (read below); she shares the contemporary and vintage gems of her personal collection; the perfume hacks that guarantee compliments (and why she avoids them); and most importantly, Rachel discusses how to write about scent! JOIN SMELL CLUB! vanillasmellclub.eventbrite.com FRANCIS KURKDJIAN ARTICLE: https://tinyurl.com/64987c5p FRAGS MENTIONED: H&M Pear, Erbario Toscano Cuore di Pepe Nero, YSL Opium (vintage), Vilhelm Parfum Fleur Burlesque, CdG Series 3: Avignon, Marissa Zappas Honey Rose, Cacharel LouLou, Lancome Tresor, Giorgio, YSL Opium, Paloma Picasso, Van Cleef First, Bijan Bijan, Boucheron, Diptyque: Orpheon, Benjoin Boheme; Molecule 01 + Iris, D.S. & Durga DURGA, PHLUR Vanilla Skin, Hilde Soliani Hot Milk, Clinique Happy Heart, Scout Dixon West, Baccarat Rouge 540, Dior Sauvage Eau Forte, Elie Saab Le Parfum, Papillon Tobacco Rose, Oriza L. Legrand Relique D’Amour, Regime des Fleurs: Nitesurf Neroli, Tears; Parfums MDCI Peche Cardinal, Andy Tauer L'Air du Desert Marocain, Glossier: You, Doux; Papillon Tobacco Rose, Tom Ford Rose de Russie, Marissa Zappas Honey Rose, Diptyque Olene, Indult Tihota, Andrea Maack Coven, CdG Avignon, DS & Durga Burning Barbershop, La Curie Incendo, Vilhelm Mango Skin, Vacation, Bobbi Brown Beach

Finally, a flavorist has entered the Perfume Room! Joan Harvey, Bell Flavors & Fragrances General Manager and R+D Senior Vice President, is this week's guest! Why do certain flavor profiles become gold standards and who are these alleged flavor canons (think: the Chanel No. 5s or Santal 33s of the flavor world)? How is flavor made? How do flavorists train? Did flavorists have anything to do with the rise of gourmand perfumes? Has perfume permeated the flavor world similarly? FIND OUT TODAY! And bonus points if you can guess the one product that is always created in tandem by both a perfumer AND a flavorist. 🤝 SUBSCRIBE: perfumeroom.substack.com FOLLOW PERFUME ROOM: @perfumeroompod

This week, I am helping three special callers on three special perfume quests. ~It's the Perfume Room hotline.~ Want to hear more listener consults? Stick around for part 2, only on Substack, coming out this Friday! SUBSCRIBE: perfumeroom.substack.com FRAGS MENTIONED: Maison d’ETTO Noisette, Binaurale Supersolid, Gabar No, IV Rise (Nolita), Celine Rimbaud, Ex Nihilo Santal Calling, Parle Moi de Parfum Milky Musk, Le Labo Santal 33, BDK Gris Charnel, D’ORSAY Nous Sommes Amants MD, ELdO Remarkable People, Kierin Nitro Noir, Etat Libre D'Orange Afternoon of A Fawn, Serge Lutens De Profundis, Jorum Studio Gorseland, Le Galion Bourrasque, Maison d'ETTO Rotano, Diptyque Tempo 10% off LuckyScent: code 'perfumer00m' 10% off Twisted Lily: code 'perfumeroom10' Follow the Substack and IG (@perfumeroompod) for all Smell Club updates!

Jouissance Parfums is a new niche brand whose fragrances are inspired by erotic texts and the women who penned them. Al fresco sex, sacred submission, and naughty grandmas are just some of the themes explored within the first 3 releases. (And more are on the way!) Founder Cherry Cheng joins me in the Perfume Room this week to discuss her love of erotica, translating these stories into smells, learning to speak the language of perfume, her training under legendary perfumer Antoine Lie, and so much more. SOTD: Tsu Lange Yor Sala (sample gifted) FRAGS MENTIONED: Tsu Lange Yor Sala*, HOAX Die Hot With a Vengeance*, Gucci Rush, Jouissance Le Bague d’O*, Caron Tabac Blanc, Guerlain Mitsouko, Caron Tabac Blond, Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady, Mitsouko, Jouissance Les Cahiers Secrets, ELdO Secretions Magnifies, Serge Lutens Muscs Koublai Khan, Jouissance: Les Cahiers Secret, En Plein Air, ELdo Attaquer le Soleil (*=sample or bottle gifted in PR) TRY THE DISCOVERY SET: stele.shop FOLLOW: @jouissanceparfums Check out Cherry on the Substack post-show (Fri!) perfumeroom.substack.com

Indie Perfumer & Founder Matteo Sanchez (creator of Matteo Parfums) is in the Perfume Room this week! Matteo shares the story of how an article he read in a dentist's waiting room changed the entire trajectory of his career (spoiler alert: to perfumery!). We talk about the smells of his multi-cultural childhood, learning perfumery via apprenticeship and independent studies, embracing imperfection in his craft, and of course, his latest perfume launches. FRAGS MENTIONED: Dior Sauvage Eau Forte, Ex Nihilo Santal Calling, Molton Brown Milk Musk, Parle Moi de Parfum Milky Musk, One Day Taipei, CK One, Bijan Bijan, John Varvatos, Le Labo Santal 33, D&G Light Blue, Matteo Parfums: Celadawn, Lovers' Dew FOLLOW MATTEO: @matteoparfums | matteoparfums.com SUBSCRIBE: perfumeroom.substack.com