The scent trail : how one woman's quest for the perfect perfume took her around the world

231 Pages·2014·1.3 MB·English

by  Lyttelton

Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Introduction

CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE

SINGLE-NOTE SCENTS
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Praise for The Scent Trail

“A magical journey of the senses.”—Yorkshire Evening Post

“The Scent Trail is dense with fascinating facts, stories, literary references, and
history.”—The Times Literary Supplement

“When Celia Lyttelton set out to have a scent created solely for her, she found
herself propelled into an adventure that would take her across the world,
investigating the origins, history, and culture of wonderfully exotic ingredients. .
. . The Scent Trail tells her story.”—Woman and Home Magazine
“A fantastic book about perfume and our sense of smell.”
—Times Online

“The intriguing relationship between scent, memory, and place is the underlying
note in Lyttelton’s journey through the history, creation, and business of
perfume. We are whisked to traditional perfumers’ workshops, with their vial-
filled antique cases, to the spice souks of Marrakech, Ottoman houses in Turkey
adorned with necklaces of peppers and chilies, iris farms in Italy, and the mossy-
floored cedar forests of Azrou.”—The Australian
“Have you ever had that overwhelming surge of emotion when even a faint
smell transports you back to another place and time? This is exactly the type of
feeling Celia Lyttelton sets off to explain as she embarks on a journey of
discovery. . . . This book offers an insight into the foreign origins of the
perfumes lining chemist shelves, while taking us on a sensory adventure around
the globe.”—RealTravel
“Artist and journalist Celia Lyttelton has traveled the world to discover the
people behind perfume, from the peasants to the ‘noses.’ ”—Yorkshire Today
“A travel memoir and vividly drawn portrait of today’s exotic world of
perfume.”—Bookcase

“The importance of the scent trade between countries and culture throughout
history is revealed in The Scent Trail—a beautiful travel memoir that awakens
the olfactory senses along with the imagination and longing for faraway
places.”—Travelbeat

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Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Previously published
in a Transworld Publishers edition. For further information contact Transworld Publishers, a division
of Random House Ltd., 61-63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA, England.

First New American Library Printing, February 2007
Copyright © Celia Lyttleton, 2007
eISBN : 978-1-440-68831-7
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In memory of my mother, Margaret Lyttelton
Acknowledgements
MY AGENT, CLARE CONVILLE OF CONVILLE AND WALSH, my editor,
Angela Mackworth Young, and my editor at Transworld, Brenda Kimber, for
their patience and tact in guiding me through several drafts of this book. My
father, Adrian Lyttelton, who read through the book, giving many helpful
suggestions. Stephen for driving me all the way from London to the Sahara and
back, and Tarquin for map reading “toddler style.” Barry Flanagan for his advice
and generosity. Brida McAlinden for looking after her grandson, Tarquin, during
my many road trips abroad.
For the following chapters, I would like to thank:
One: Anastasia Brozler, who guided me (and my nose) to compose a formula
scent.
Two: Roberto Henrichson, for putting up with us, and putting us up in Paris;
Christof Kicherer, for giving me introductions to perfumers in Grasse; Pamela
Roberts of L’Artisan Parfumeur; and to my brother Francis Lyttelton and Dee
Grayling Montgomery, who had us to stay on the island of Ibiza, while we
“regrouped” for our trip on to Morocco.
Three: Cécile and Cyril Commargue, my interpreters and companions for
when I met Serge Lutens and Dr. Belkamil; Professor Martin, an ethnobotanist
who guided me around the medina and its myriad plants, spices and scents in
Marrakech.
Four: M. Roca of Robertet, who gave me an introduction to their Turkish
Rose Factory; and to M. Allard and Mr. Timour for their hospitality at the Rose
factory itself.
Five: Nicola Howard for introducing me to Valeria Rosselli of the Iris Garden
in Florence; and to Matthew and Maro Spender and Charlotte Horton for their
hospitality and Chianti-fueled suppers of roast porcupine.
Six: Mrs. Helga Perrera Blow for her kind hospitality at her hotel, the Folly in
Kandy, and to Julian West for having me to stay at the Old Stone House and
introducing me to the “movers” and “shakers” of nutmeg.
Seven: The late Jeremy Fry and his son Francis for having me to stay up in the
Palani mountains, and to Francis, for being a hilarious traveling companion on
some of my trips around India and Sri Lanka, and for being a superb dancing
partner at the Madras Taj Disco.
Eight: I am indebted to Douglas Botting, who gave me so much
encouragement and advice about Socotra, assuring me that there were no Al
Qaeda cells on the island; Barnaby Rogerson, who introduced me to Botting and
also gave me advice for Chapter 2; and Tim Mackintosh Smith for his advice
and scholarly tips, characteristically laced with jokes.
Nine: I am grateful to my driver, Mohammed, and my interpreter, Jamil, and
to the noble tribes of Socotra for their hospitality. Thanks too to Anthony
Milnroy of the Socotra Conservation Fund for his advice.