パルファン サトリの香り紀行

調香師が写真でつづる photo essay

"Poison" by Dior    Perfumes and novels-3

110208ポワゾン.jpg

There are several interesting perfume selections in modern literature as well.

In Yasutaka Tsutsui's novel "Paprika" (1991), The main character, Atsuko Chiba who is a psychiatrist entering her patients dreams, wears the perfume "Poison" by Dior (not natural toxin but chemical poison).

With its sensational name, this perfume had a dominant influence in Japan at that time. "Paprika" was one of my favorite books but to be honest, I could not quite understand the selection of this fragrance. Was it selected for its name? It is in fact difficult to express an image to the readers by choosing a maniac perfume.

That is what differentiates an image expressed by a perfume fragrance and the one expressed by a flower fragrance.

The character Saki who appears in one of a Japanese well known novel "The fragrance of jealousy" by Hitonari Tsuji, wears "Jardin Bagatelle" by Gerlain. The sweet fragrance of tuberose and white flowers is a little too loud for Japanese people.

This type of fragrance need to be made with the right high quality ingredients or it will end up being a cheap smell like a vulgar woman wearing an underwear made of synthetic fibers. "Jardin Bagatelle" (meaning the garden Bagatelle) was not sold in Japan but appeared on the market with the hit of this novel.

There is also the opposite case, where we barely know the fragrance but become curious about it as we feel empathy with the character, makes us want to smell the fragrance.

Adding to this, a famous perfume is often a legend by itself.

 

 

 

Copyright © PARFUM SATORI All Rights Reserved.