Perfumes inspired by books

The power of the storytelling of the perfume industry in general is not just a tale, is a fact. Fragrances sell better if they have an inspirational story behind their creation. Books are an expression of the unlimited human's imagination, then why not to use them as an inspirational story for perfume making?

Portrait of a Lady by Editions de Parfum Frederic Malle is named after the novel by Henry James. Initially published as a serial in two magazines from 1880 to 1981, in 1880 is published as a book - The Portrait of a Lady and it's one of James' most popular novels. The Portrait of a Lady is the story of a young American woman, Isabel Archer, who after inherits a large amount of money falls as a victim into the hands of two mischievous American expatriates.

B612 and respectively Vain&Naïve by Nishane are inspired by the book The Little Prince. Vain&Naïve is a sheer woody rose and represents the flower that grows on the Little Prince planet and doesn't smell like anything else he experienced before, and B-612 (a personal favorite of mine) is a beautiful aromatic fragrance, mixing lavander with cedar, sandalwood and a touch of tonka and oakmoss in order to recreate the ambience of the planet of Little Prince, which was actually an Asteroid called B-612 first discovered by a Turkish Astronomer according to the book.

Forever Amber is a new fragrance by Technique Indiscrete inspired by the historical romantic novel by the same name, written by Kathleen Windsor.
In 1644, after breaking her engagement since childhood with her neighbor John Mainwaring  for political reasons and war matters, during a break from war Judith is visited by John and they consummate their relationship. Being pregnant, Judith has to leave her family and move to a farm under another name. She dies giving birth to her baby daughter, but not before naming her Amber after the colour of her father's eyes. This is when Amber's journey begins...

Baudelaire by Byredo is inspired by Baudelaire 's Fleurs du Mal "... A lazy isle to which nature has given singular trees, savory fruits, men with bodies vigorous and slender, and women in whose eyes shines a startling candor ... "
(Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal, Parfum exotique, 5-8).

Most of Jardin d'Ecrivans fragrances are inspired by books or authors that left their prints in the history of the writing.
George, the first fragrance of the brand, was inspired by the most modern woman of the romantic age - Amantine-Lucille-Aurore Dupin, known as George Sand. 

Gigi is inspired by Colette's novel, published in 1944. Gigi is about a young woman groomed to be a courtesan and her relationship with a wealthy man named Gaston who falls in love with her and eventually marries her. Gigi was taken to the cinema in 1949 and later, in 1951, was adapted for theater by Anita Loos. The main character was played by a young and not known at the time Audrey Hepburn.
Wide was inspired by Oscar's famous aphorisms to express an olfactive figure of speech. "So that man thought that the important thing was to have, and did not know that the important thing is to be."
Orlando is the scented interpretation of Virginia's Wolf, Orlando: A Biography, a novel published in 1928 a satire inspired by the history of Virginia's lover family.
In 1953 William S. Burroughs publishes under the name of William Lee, Junky: Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict, a semi-autobiographical novel inspired by his experience as a drug addict and dealer. In 2014 uses this novel as an inspiration for a perfume with the same name, Junky.
Marlowe, Christopher also known as Kit Marlowe is a fragrance inspired by the bad boy of the  Elizabethan era. Playwright, poet and translator, he influenced William Shakespeare.
Ajar is a chameleon-like fragrance that speaks about reincarnation, as described by its nose. Inspired by Romain Gary, pen name Émile Ajar, which was a French diplomat, novelist, film director and World War II aviator of Lithuanian Jewish origin and also the first novelist to have won the Prix Goncourt under two different names.
La Dame aux Camélias inspired by a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils first published in 1848, adapted by same author for stage and later Giuseppe Verdi set about putting the story to music.

Although inspired by imaginary authors and books "Imaginary Authors is born from the concept of scent as art and art as provocation. Like a good book, these scents are meant to inspire you. In these bottles are layered narratives that are sure to generate stirring conversation, fragrances that might be capable of changing the course of your own personal story. The hope is that they not only invigorate and intoxicate, but also take you to new places."