BBC Perfume Documentary | Part 1

After completing my fist ever module at university, I am now preparing for the next which is based around fragrance. I am currently home from uni for 2 weeks worth of reading weeks and as preparation for this next module, I have been asked to watch a series of episodes from a documentary 'Perfume', which was aired by the BCC back in 2011.

Today I watched part 1 of this series 'Something old something new'. This title seems suitably fitting for the documentary as it focuses on the production and release of a Tommy Hilfiger fragrance (something new) and looked into perfume brand Guerlain, which has been around since 1828 (something old).

Throughout the documentary viewers are given an insight into how Guerlain differs from other fragrance brands. Perfumers are now forced to use fewer, cheaper ingredients in order to maintain profits, however for Guerlain this is not true. Guerlain's perfumes are made to ancient recipes and unlike the many brands that are constantly introducing their newest fragrance, Guerlain very rarely release new perfumes. As I'm sure you're aware, many department stores these days heavily push fragrances, Guerlain is much more dignified 'the ladies of the first floor salon don't do flirting or squirting, they're here to gently shepard'.

The documentary follows the creation and production of a Tommy Hilfiger fragrance 'Loud' which was the most interesting part for me. The fragrance was to have a rock and roll vibe and Hilfiger had made clear that he wanted the bottle to also portray this same rock and roll feel. I found it incrediby intersting that the perfume bottle was created before the perfume itself which really highlights a point made within the documentary 'scent is invisible so the packaging has a lot of work to do'. A lot of work and thought definitely went into the designing and production of the fragrance bottles, from the 'rock and roll' inspired mood board to the LP inspired sleeve packaging.

I've always found it fascinating how perfumes can drop from being in such high demand to being available on the bargain store shelves in such a short space of time, you could be paying a considerable amount of money for an admired perfume one month and the next it's available at Wilko's at less than half of its original price. Within the documentary scent critic, Chandler Burr visits a local bargain store to take a look at the fragrance on offer. He explained that the fragrances found on sale within discount stores have previously been at a prestigious level, but once they have dropped and become unpopular for two years they will often end up here. Burr then pointed out a Calvin Klein fragrance and explained that although having this product available within a discount store could cause a 'slight fall in lustre' of Calvin Klein as a brand, this is outweighed by the money that can be made by doing so, as it allows consumers who wouldn't normally purchase from the brand to do so.

I plan on posting about each of the two remaining episodes I have left to watch of this documentary, these will be up on my blog over the next week or so, so stay tuned!

Love, Isabella x

Photo Credits: Google images