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In Search of 'The Perfect Scent'

Bottles of Hermes' Un Jardin sur le Nil (left) and Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely perfumes, the subject of Burr's book.
David Gilkey, NPR /
Bottles of Hermes' Un Jardin sur le Nil (left) and Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely perfumes, the subject of Burr's book.

When Chandler Burr, scent critic for The New York Times Style Magazine, doesn't like a perfume he doesn't mince words.

Here's an acid appraisal: "A cologne most appropriately worn by electrical appliances."

Or, "This is a scent for a woman who has no taste and absolutely no interest in having any."

Burr is enraptured by the two perfumes that he writes about in his new book The Perfect Scent.

He spent a year inside the perfume industry in New York and Paris following the developments of two scents: one by actress Sarah Jessica Parker; the other by French perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena designed to capture the essence of a garden on the Nile.

Burr discusses the book with Melissa Block.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.