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How to Speak Scent
Colognes, perfumes and fine fragrances
Brief Description
Colognes, aftershaves, perfumes, fragrances, scents: there are so many ways to describe those little bottles of fine-smelling liquid that we dab, spray and mist on ourselves every day. But our love of fragrances runs so much deeper than just buying a scent because we like the...
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Format: Hardback
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See moreYour essential guide to the world of fragrances, explore everything from what notes to look for to what scent to wear for special occasions, and what scents say about you.
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Description
Colognes, aftershaves, perfumes, fragrances, scents: there are so many ways to describe those little bottles of fine-smelling liquid that we dab, spray and mist on ourselves every day. But our love of fragrances runs so much deeper than just buying a scent because we like the way it smells. Scent is so evocative, yet so personal; the fragrances we choose tell a story, saying much about us and how we want to be perceived—from subtle, floral notes to warming oud, our obsession with scents runs deep.
How to Speak Scent takes you on a journey into this fascinating world, explaining how to tell top notes from mid notes, base notes, dry down and lingering dry down, how to choose a fragrance for special occasions, what different scents say about you, and breaking scents down into their distinct themes: woody, floral, amber, fresh. Featuring some of the most renowned and innovative perfumes from powerhouses such as Chanel, Guerlain, Jean Paul Gaultier, Tom Ford, and Issey Miyake, this book is an essential companion for anyone with a passion for fragrance.
Contents include:
- Scents of time
- Meet the families
- From strength to strength
- Do you speak scent?
- A world of ingredients
- From field to flacon: the making of a perfume
- What the noses know
- How the magic of scent works on the mind
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781804194140
Publisher: Octopus Publishing Group
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 30 July 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Octopus Publishing Group
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 18.0mm
Width: 134.0mm
Height: 178.0mm
Weight: 279g
Pages: 128
About the Author
JO FAIRLEY is a journalist and author of 25 books, including The Beauty Bible series of books with Sarah Stacey, and The Perfume Bible with Lorna McKay. Over three decades of writing about perfume for a wide range of publications, Jo has won 10 Jasmine Awards, the perfume world's 'Oscars' for fragrance-writing. Jo has juggled her writing with her entrepreneurial career, founding - among other businesses - Green & Black's organic chocolate, with her husband Craig Sams. josephinefairley.com | @jofairley
LORNA McKAY qualified as a teacher before moving into retail, spending 14 years at Harrods, where she created Harrods Own Label and became a buyer in the prestigious Beauty department. She later worked as an industry consultant, launching innovative concepts, including the first Beauty Hall at the Liberty London department store, devising a pioneering computer programme to steer customers to their next scent love.
Together, Jo and Lorna established The Perfume Society in 2014 to help people navigate the perfume world via discovery boxes, events, and social and online channels. Today, both Jo and Lorna remain passionate about the fragrance world, its magical ingredients and the perfumers who weave them into the scents that we wear and love, and about sharing that passion with longstanding perfume lovers, as well as those who are at the start of their perfume journey.
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