Went on a bit of an online shopping spree last week and among other things I purchased this amazing book!

I’d been eyeing it for some time but the price put me off for a while but let me say, in the humble opinion of this aspiring perfumer in training, that it’s well worth every penny.

Monsieur Malle has become one of my perfume heroes for the fearless way he speaks his opinion about the IFRA’s heavy-handed, bull-in-a-china-shop approach to dealing with regulations in the perfume industry.  I applaud his courage and honesty in the face of a powerful lobby (sorry, self-appointed governing body) such as the IFRA.

That said, the book is a magical introduction into the world of some of the great masters of molecules with a glimpse into what inspires and motivates some of their creations. Masters such as Pierre Bourdon, Jean-Claude Ellena, Olivia Giacobetti and Dominique Ropion just to name a few are highlighted.

The next best thing to being in the same room with some of these icons is the opportunity to peer over their shoulder on paper into their artistic world and I can’t get enough of books like these that give me a chance to explore yet another facet of the wonderful world of perfume making.