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Culture of Life / Culture of Death: The Scent of Fear article in the new Adbusters issue

For perfumers and perfume-lovers alike, the fear-driven regulations that arise regarding using perfumes is a true threat to their freedom and self-expression (and also, theoretically still, a threat to the viability of the perfume business in the future).


This new issue of Adbusters Magazine features an article title "The Scent of Fear" by the magazine's senior editor Clayton Dach. The article debates the topic of allergens, perfumes, some of the motives/interests of the perfume industry and other organizations, and sheds light on the issue of how much can one expect from the environment (both nature and the people around them) to change itself for one's own convenience and comfort, and also tackle some issues of natural and synthetic materials.

I was extremely impressed with the objectivity of the article - that is what journalism is all about! It is an intelligent, in-depth look at those issues, and is non-biased and thought-provoking and genuine.

The issue is available in selected newstands and bookstores world wide, and unfortunately there is no online version of this article (though you can preview another article online on this page).

This issue is titles Culture of Life / Culture of Death and is double sided... It is visually startling and very well made in the Adbusters tradition. It is well worth getting a print of this issue, if you can. If you can't find it in your country, you can subscribe or purchase the magazines online. For more information about Adbusters visit Adbusters.org.

p.s. I have a soft spot for Adbusters for their critical thinking and powerfully designed projects and media/educational campaigns, and also because I know personally quite a few people that worked with them, including my devoted graphic designer (who also is the brain behind the angel-devil businessman logo for The Corporation).



Obsession.

Obsess
(verb) preoccupy or fill the mind of (someone) continually, intrusively, and to a troubling extent. (Apple Dictionary)

After spending most of the weekend editing my reviews for Jacques Guerlain’s “Grand Quartet”, my main contribution to my blog in the last couple of days was the change in the subtitle of this blog.

I often wonder about the relationship I have with the elusive phenomenon of perfume. I learned to realize that smelling and wearing perfumes is my greatest passion, studying and collecting data about perfume (including the collection of essences and perfumes, of course) has become an incurable obsession. The fruitful result of this all (though the sheer pleasure of perfume leaves hardly any room for justification!) is my choice to make perfumery my profession.

Yesterday afternoon, I was visiting an activist friend of mine, and saw her album of Adbusters’ Spoof Ads. The ones that caught my eyes the most were, of course, their Calvin Klein driven criticism on modern fashion culture. Social and cultural messages put aside, these are profoundly made that they also show the bordering-on-madness connection between art and obsession. I must admit I never made the connection between the full bodied, luscious sweetness of obsession which is bordering on a syrupy oiliness, and the anorexic model. Unless, of course, the perfume is designed as a virtual substitute to a butterscotch cheesecake. I find it quite disturbing to be honest. So I have decided to include my impressions of Obsession as my thoughts for the day, just to make my point of how there is so little connection at times between the perfume’s marketing image and the perfume’s real nature.
That, of course, should be explored by the wearer (aka consumer, hopefully not brain washed by than) and evaluated based on their own olfactory repertoire and experience. This is when one needs to escape Calvin Klein and realize their potential as thinking and feeling individuals.


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