There are a lot of things I miss about New York. I miss stepping out of my apartment and stumbling into a gallery opening. I miss Waffles, the enormous calico shop cat that guarded the vintage shop up the street. I miss my friend Daisy. I miss the big pool in the Egypt exhibit at the Met.
Most of all, I miss the Strand. On bad days (and there were a lot of bad days in New York), I had my routine down. Take the 6 to Union Square. Chocolate pizza at Max Brenner. Finally, an hour or two at the Strand. I know it’s touristy. I know it’s crowded. Between the books and the chocolate pizza, I left feeling full in every way.
A good half of my perfume book collection comes from the Strand. Chandler Burr’s The Perfect Scent was hiding down on the basement floor- $6! My all-time best find was Collete Fellous’ Guerlain, an incredibly detailed history of Guerlain’s perfumes through 1987. It was $50, an outrageous splurge for an unpaid intern. I returned it the next day. I wish I had kept it. Books are always worth it.
What’s your favorite book about perfume? What’s the next one you’re planning to read? I’m dying to get my hands on La Cuisine des Nez, a cookbook of perfumers’ favorite recipes. I bet it would be worth learning French to be able to try Thierry Wasser’s crawfish chicken.
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SCENTS OF SELF 
I miss you too, Ari! I believe in you and your vision. I know that you are going to be successful because you have already made your dream of having a store come true. Whatever you set your mind to, you will accomplish … your mind is set on an NYC penthouse with a private chef named Daisy, right? 🙂
I hope you’re ready to cook a LOT of beef, my beloved future private chef!
Bring on the grill!
My stomach contracted with faux pain that you took that Guerlain book back. Ack Ack Ack.
Next time you have a treasure that needs a home please drop me a line Arielle, that would have been a gorgeous addition to the frag library.
Oh, and an invitation to dinner in the NYC apartment for dinner will be lovely too.
Portia xx
Ari, if you missed it check out the Givaudan story “An Odyssey of Flavours and Fragrances” released in March in France and translated for the English market.
and there’s this unbelievably rich and beautifully designed book-magazine called “NEZ”, first issue just out this spring. you can have a look here: http://www.nez-larevue.fr/ – just 19€, thanks to the Kisskissbankbank crowdfunding platform. next one is coming up in October.
you’ve said your French is ancient but you know very well that, being in this field, this has got to change… lucky you: learning a foreign language is always so rewarding – we should always have one the way.
cheers.
I just picked up “Cult Perfumes” and read it in one day. It was fun! I didn’t see it in your stack but I’m guessing you have it… 🙂
Daisy is indeed the best.