Scent and Subversion

Reviews / Votes

"I believe that the effective use of perfume is a vital stepping stone in the art of creating glamour, and I've always sought out rare and distinctive perfumes. In Scent & Subversion, Barbara Herman weaves an enchanting tapestry of words about the world's most spectacular perfumes, a must read for any sensualist or maestra of glamour." --Dita Von Teese, the queen of modern burlesque and creator of the fragrances Dita von Teese, Rouge, Fleurteese, and Erotique"It's impossible to overstate the importance of scent in your glamour arsenal. In Scent & Subversion: A Century of Provocative Perfume, Barbara Herman tells you how to slip into multiple identities, define your narrative, and star in your own life." --Mx Justin Vivian Bond, international cabaret superstar; author of Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels; and co-creator of The Afternoon of a Faun perfume for Etat Libre d'Orange"Scent and Subversion collects Herman's reviews, but its genius lies in putting them in chronological order based on when each perfume was first produced. This allows Herman to develop a theory of perfume's evolution in the course of the past century: review by review, evidence piles up. The story is about evolving gender roles and societal norms, from the smoky, sharp, groundbreaking fragrances of the twenties all the way to the watery, unisex 'office smells' of the nineties, and beyond . . . . According to Herman, when you pay attention to the narrative of how perfume actually smells, rather than how it is marketed, the story becomes delightfully non-linear." -- Emily Gould, The New Yorker"Barbara Herman is an oracle of social history, and her sacred vapor is vintage perfume. For Herman, perfume is a time machine that reveals each decade's particular obsessions with gender roles and sex. Scent & Subversion explores how in the space of a century, women went from smelling like animals while behaving like ladies--to smelling like detergent while pretending they weren't animals. A rip-snorting olfactory perspective on 20th century culture, Scent & Subversion is entertaining reading for fumeheads and casual sniffers alike, and destined to become a classic of perfume research." --Katie Puckrik, journalist, broadcaster, and perfume writer of katiepuckriksmells.com "Like writers who have understood history through painting, architecture, and music, Barbara Herman has laid out the 20th century through one of the most fascinating, personal, and innovative of lenses, the evolution of its olfactory art." --Chandler Burr, author of The Perfect Scent and creator and curator of the Department of Olfactory Art, Museum of Arts and Design, New York City"Illustrated by vintage ads, Herman's decade-by-decade study is followed by engrossing interviews with 'scent visionaries,' and tips on boosting expertise and creating a collection of classic scents. The book will delight perfume lovers." --Publisher's Weekly"Barbara Herman's Scent & Subversion (Lyons Press) is a tidy overview of perfumes and their marketing." --Cathy Horyn, The New York Times"Herman is a deft and inventive writer whose talent is to make the scents come alive in your mind's nose. To a literary genre still hung over after an early overindulgence in bitchy snarkitude, her approach is welcome as a fresh breeze. This splendid little volume (it fits easily in the hand) is beautifully produced and generously illustrated with original color advertisements." --Avery Gilbert, FirstNerve.com and author of What the Nose Knows "Barbara Herman has written a delightful book that offers a great value to anyone interested in perfume of the past and present. She educates us without preaching . . . and provides a treasure trove of information, both in prose and in images, as she has included a large number of vintage advertisements that are entertaining, revealing, and often very satisfying for those of us who are interested in design and culture of decades past." --Gaia Fishler, TheNonBlonde.com"In this book you will read about perfume set to music; this book is perfume set to words, erudite words that bespeak a mountain of research. Barbara has walked a long path, searching and researching. This is the book of her heart." --Jordan River, thefragrantman.com "Barbara's book may be one of the more informative as well as entertaining books on the subject of perfume to come out yet. She covers many aspects: why the siren song of vintage fragrances spoke to her senses, aesthetically and viscerally; how she became embroiled in the Perfumed World; her examination of trends in the twentieth century, with examples/descriptions/impressions of several benchmark perfumes; the future of 'scent subversives,' including the more avant garde scientists/perfumers/seers among us; a beginner's guide to animalic notes from an historical perspective--and pointers on how to start one's own vintage collection." --Ida Meister, Fragrantica.com