BBC Perfume documentary Part1 "Something old, something new"

A fragrance isn't bottled luxury, it is bottled past, it is like photography.

“Perfumes that used to whisper now have to shout.” Couldn’t be further from the truth. Old perfumes contained enormous amounts of high quality ingredients compared to perfume today. It is all synthetics now, and everytime a perfume is reformulated because ingredients are banned (thanks to IFRA) or no longer available they become weaker, more watered down, and the original formulas are changed.

The loud bottle looks like something I’d find in a Walmart or target

Guerlain is more than just a perfume house to me, its a whole inspiration, a legendary into perfumery, Thierry Wasser is a living legend

There are countless wild flowers and herbs that is totally unknown to the west from Asia. On a few occasions, I have come across tribal people making some amazing perfumes with those authentic raw ingredients. Fascinating field to explore and experiment!!

this situation where boss comes in to judge perfume, and then they all agree how fantastic it smells , and the woman..she looks so important to herself, music and a perfume,  LOUD what a forced situation without any creativity and imagination from the inside......

The development of that Loud frag made my skin crawl.  So many people so full of shit.

I wonder if the marketing industry will ever learn that the one thing the "youth" don't like is being pandered to. The whole Tommy Hilfiger crap is cringy as hell.

Hilfiger spent less than half an hour with those people, it shows in the final product.

As a self taught perfumer, I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary. I started my brand about a year ago and have loved every second of it. Being able to make fragrances how i wish big brands would is such a unique experience. I am so happy to be able to share these fragrances with the world.

My first perfume was Shalimar by Guerlain. It was my grandmother's velvet purple shadow box with the crystal cut bottle inside from the 1950's. It was so gorgeous. It started my perfume addiction!

Duuuuuuuude! This comment section is FIRE! You've attracted the most fascinating, creative, funny, articulate and critical fragrance lovers here, well done! I hope this video gets picked up by the algorithm once more and does another viral round, picking up more new viewers who will leave their two cents below. Thank you so much for the upload. 😃 I got a real kick out of Chandler's segments in this-- his books are fantastic.

I spent over 30 yrs in this elegant industry. I miss it

Absolutely enthralling documentary, especially for a fragrance lover such as myself.  I love the luxury, the rich history associated with fragrance.  Absolutely fantastic.  -HP

Patchouli is like one of the most commonly used base notes along with Amber, Tonka, musk etc. also as a cook I see so many similarities in the making of a fragrance to the making of a dish. Great chefs can learn from perfumers, even if just to realize that many of the "notes" used in perfumery should be used in cuisine as well.

I can’t believe that this Guerlain’s old books with formulas are kept in such a ugly box...

What a brilliant production, too bad the BBC themselves do not upload it in Full HD. It is golden, golden I tell you.

41:22 I love how 50 year old Trudy is briefing her team of 20 year old people about what young people are like! Then it goes in to a song from 1972 called "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony". LMAO! The team looks like they want to say get a clue Trudy. We know what we are like and this ain't it!

We tend to remember perfume gifts from older people.  A man who liked me, an older man, gave me SHALIMAR by Guerlain.  It was already very old-fashioned in the late seventies in the USA.  I was intrigued by the vanilla notes, and now that I live in Paris, I know that the French associate vanilla with security and goodness.  I loved the book PERFUME and notice that I change scents every few years.  At least.  I enjoy travel and there is a lot to learn here in France.  Thanks for posting this.  I have two degrees in the sciences, and there are a lot of organic reasons for scent preferences and what we find repellent.

" The most important thing is the bottle" -- funny thing is that some of the most successful perfume brands have the simplest designs of perfume bottles (and consistent too)... Guess the whole point about perfume business is all about the scent rather than the bottle design.