Scented Reading: Rare Perfumes by Sabine Chabbert and Laurence Férat

by: Miguel Matos

Do you sometimes feel lost in the crowded alleys of the niche perfumery brands? Don't be, for there's a book that tells you almost everything you need to know about the world of the so-called “rare perfumes,” as the authors of this book, Sabine Chabbert and Laurence Férat, prefer to call it.

Sabine is a journalist and the delegate director of the Fragrance Foundation France. Laurence Férat is a journalist, too. Together they spent the last years researching the perfume industry to find the most iconic small brands and writing on their history or achievements. The result is this book, Rare Perfumes (or Parfums Rares in the French version, which is the one I bought). It was launched in March and you can find it at the main booksellers online and Amazon.

Sabine Chabbert

This book is even more relevant now that official information tells us that the niche perfume industry represents nowadays 10% of the high-end perfume business, according to the experts consulted by the finance website bourse.lesechos.fr.According to the Euromonitor institute, competition from the niche perfumes and the exclusive lines from major brands are already affecting fragrances like Ralph Lauren(produced by L'Oréal) or Calvin Klein (Coty), that have been losing market share in North America and Western Europe. So finally it's impossible to close our eyes to the smaller independent brands which are the ones that are keeping the art of perfumery alive. If it weren't for these, we would be swimming in weak waters that smell like shampoo and candy stores.

Back to this edition: after reading it, I find that one interesting factor in this book is the refinement of the concept of "rare perfumes.” The authors prefer this terminology to the more known words “niche” or “author.” This is a subjective view but also an important statement because the authorship or the independence of the brands are not the keys, it seems to be their opinion. There are very small independent labels here, but also big sharks with smaller, exclusive lines that offer the perfumers a space of freedom to create. The results are as stunning as the product offered by the so-called “niche brands.” So, the selectivity of the distribution and the seriousness of the products are the crucial defining elements for the "rare perfumes” nomenclature. This way we can have under the same umbrella very different brands divided by chapters such as: Pioneers, New Wave, Foreigners (it's a French book after all), Major Brands, Vintages and Labels and Distribution (where you can find Différentes Latitudes, Jovoy or Marie Antoinette).

Of course we have the obvious choices such as the classics Annick Goutal, L'Artisan Parfumeur and Diptyque, and the conceptuals État Libre d'Orange, Humiecki & Graefor the renewed vintages Caron and Robert Piguet. But the authors also included some big names from the mainstream market that are launching exclusive lines such as Les Exclusifs de Chanel, Armani Privé or Les Heures de Parfum de Cartier, to name just a few.

This book tells us, in a very refined and appealing language, almost everything we need to know about the basics of most brands available in the market and is seriously capable of making us run to the next niche boutique. There are some names missing but I guess the pages were limited to a budget (and the authors could do a sequel in the future). There are numerous images and selected bottles from each brand with respective descriptions of the fragrances. This is, after all, a curator edition. There's a personal choice in every aspect and this makes it interesting too. Rare Perfumes is not meant to be a bible or the complete list of niche brands available, but instead it offers a personal vision of two insider authors who are passionate and serious about perfume. The edition was sponsored and supported by the Osmothèque and there is also a foreword by its president, Patricia de Nicolaï, herself one of the main characters of this narrative.

Rare Perfumes is an enchanting and beautiful book, but also a very useful tool than can cut the chase on the pursuit of the perfume of our desires. It is also an inspiring work that tells us the recent story of the perfume business, a field that is changing since the end of the twentieth century. The investigation made by Chabbert and Férat can be continued and extended since it focuses mainly on French perfumery, having also a final chapter with boutique addresses of the houses mentioned in the book, main niche perfumery shops around the world, reference books, fairs and exhibitions. Of course, there is also an important word here and there about the websites and blogs that represent the main vehicle of information in this corner of the perfume industry. (And yes, Fragrantica is included in the list, thank you.)