1001 Perfumes – The Guide by Daniel Barros 2024

WOO HOO! Posse, you may know that Daniel Barros has been writing 1001 Perfumes – The Guide for a South American audience for years. This is the first year it has been translated so all of us English readers can enjoy it. I have a little brag. When Daniel was writing this book he needed someone to proofread a chunk of the English text. He reached out on FaceBook. I put my hand up and did it. For this Daniel gave me a Thank You in the credits AND sent a copy of the book! So I’m writing to you with all the excitement of a person holding and reading the book that I had a tiny hand in bringing to light. That is a LOT of freaking excitement.

1001 Perfumes – The Guide by Daniel Barros 2024

Pic from Amazon

Daniel writes really well. 1001 Perfumes – The Guide’s easy to read and created in small chunks so you can digest and percolate. I’ve been loving picking it up, reading a sub-heading or two and then falling to sleep with dreams of perfume.

If you’re anything like me then you probably have Sanchez & Turin’s Perfumes: The Guide. I had to buy a second book because my first fell apart. You may also have a couple of shelves of perfumed Fiction and another of Non Fiction. There may be links to 50+ blogs and information pages on your computer and speed dial to a few SAs to help answer the burning questions. I hear you asking if you need ANOTHER tome. Whether you are brand new to perfume or an old hand there will be something for you here. Even if it’s just the fun of seeing if Daniel agrees with your hard thought stances or flies in the face of them. You’ll probably find some of each.

One thing I particularly like is that Daniel updates for reformulation, and he does an honest job. It’s so refreshing to see. Here’s an example: “Habit Rouge EdP (2003) is denser and more monolithic, lacking the great contrasts of the original, therefore less impactful.”

The book is broken up into excellent subsections that make browsing really fun and finding what you want easy.

Not every perfume is in here. That book would have to be the size of a 1980s Brittanica set BUT the curation is excellent and you will find a plethora of your favorites alongside many new houses that will definitely sent a shiver through fragrance lovers and collectors souls. If you remember the excitement of getting your hands on Sanchez & Turin’s Perfumes: The Guide then I think that 1001 Perfumes – The Guide by Daniel Barros will give you a modern and different experience but the same thrill.

Another perfume related book I love is The Perfect Scent by Chandler Burr, just in case it has passed you by. It’s a rollicking read.

Are you a perfume book person? Does 1001 Perfumes – The Guide sound like something you’d read? Can you list some other perfume related (F or NF) that we might like to get our mitts on?
Portia xx