LUCA TURIN

A polymath polyglot scientist rebel genius who has challenged the prevailing theories of how we smell. It’s about Vibration, not Shape says he. Fascinating reading or listening (TED talk link below.) His encyclopedic, sharp olfactive critique is as frighteningly and dazzlingly smart as his scientific research. It is also hilarious and humbling. When touching upon perfume history (not his focus), he tends to write about more recent French approach. Turin quotes René Laruelle as saying, “synthetics are the bones of fragrance, naturals are the flesh”. (p32, Perfumes, The Guide, Viking 2008).

Kannauj is of course an older perfuming tradition that that of Grasse. It would be incorrect to reduce that tradition to a therapeutic one. But the French revolutionized and internationalized their art of perfumery.

France’s use of synthetic molecules transformed perfumery in the late nineteenth century with compositions could become more abstract. Between that innovation and their wily commercial/ branding ability, how lucky we are that French perfumery introduced a novel and vibrant new dimension to the old art of perfumery. https://www.ted.com/talks/luca_turin_the_science_of_scent/transcript?language=en