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Mother's Day always had the feel of something uncontroversial cooked up by the UN at the end of a long session, after difficult things are taken care of like whether 2008 is going to be the Year of the Potato or that of Sanitation (both, actually). It is in fact no such thing, more likely the remnant of an ancient rite to Cybele, and occurs on different days in each country. This pleasantly suggests that a woman of means could avoid housework and get presents most days of the year simply by dragging her family from Nicaragua (May 30) to Mongolia (June 1) and from there to Luxembourg. Like most bland rituals, it can be done either as a gesture or as a heartfelt gesture. The hard bit these days (I speak as the son of a feminist) is to locate a mother who will accept a present on that day, with all the implications it carries that no presents will be forthcoming the rest of the year. I have developed a strategy: give the MD present several days early, seemingly at random, to suggest that a mad vein of profligacy and filial piety is taking root. Then, the next day, suggest that the present will serve equally well for Mother's Day. That way, convention is respected but without any hint that this is, in fact, it for another year. This year, however, is special: in the spirit of the old saying "teach a mother to fish," a novel opportunity has emerged in the form of a brilliant guide to perfume written by myself and my co-author. It overcomes an age-old problem. Instead of spending hours trying to remember what your mother's perfume is without asking and looking silly, or smelling hundreds of celebrity fragrances trying to remember whether your Mom said Paris Hilton (or was it J-Lo?) was a nice girl, you can give the gift that keeps on taking, and help your mother embark on an online spending spree that will likely end up bankrupting the whole family. And when the UN next year cooks up a Son's Day, she'll give you the Beckham's she mistakenly clicked on, thinking it was a girly perfume on account of the cute bottle.
Tania Sanchez
Luca Turin
Perfumes
guide
scent
fashion
smell
expert
Penguin Books
books
Perfume and the internet
Guest blogging--now that's a great gig! The Penguin text indicated we can submit (unrelated) questions to one of your posts, thus: Clearly the internet / web has been a boon to buyers of perfume, enthusiasts, etc., and may even have amplified the pre-existing community of same. It seems however that the commercial houses have not really leveraged its power to expand their market and promote their creations (unless perhaps they find the online communities and blogs sufficient for their purposes). How do you think houses (or even small proprietorships) can make best use of the internet? Thank you both for your extraordinary writing and brio. I am buying the book (you see-- it works!) Yours sincerely, Mary Guillemette, Chicago Illinois
Perfume and the Internet
Dear Mary: Thanks for your post and question. For small outfits, of course, the direct sales potential of the Web is a boon, and many would not exist/survive without it. I am not sure how the big brands view the online community, save as (obviously) free market research. It's probably fair to say that >95% of fragrance buyers are unaware that there are committed perfume lovers out there, so it may be too early for them to worry. However, in my opinion, great successes are made from repeat sales, and online users may be a good indicator of which perfumes actually elicit love, as opposed to once-only impulse buying . All the best ! Luca