mark behnke

2 min read 2021-12-01 12:09:34

New Perfume Review Sarah Baker Loudo- A Cherry Cordial Goes Trekking

One of the things which most interests me about perfumery is watching its evolution. Probably my favorite perch is observing the continuing expansion

2 min read 2021-11-30 12:29:25

Some of my favorite interactions with perfumers begins with them telling me about a cool ingredient they are using for the first time. In the

2 min read 2021-11-29 12:21:37

I have a close friend who has a thermidor of fine cigars. She doesn’t smoke. She has them so she can take one out to feel the texture on her

1 min read 2021-11-15 11:55:45

Perfume dork that I am there are things which happen in my head as I try perfumes. One of them is when I encounter a particularly intriguing base

1 min read 2021-11-12 12:04:50

I remember going to my local Neiman-Marcus one day in 2007. The head of the fragrance department was excited to see me because she had a new line to

1 min read 2021-11-09 12:20:02

One of the earliest examples of independent perfumer thinking came through a set of perfumes by Comme des Garcons. Over a course of years, they

1 min read 2021-11-08 11:42:50

It was New Year’s Day 1967. One of my Christmas presents was tickets to the new Cinerama movie, Grand Prix. In those days going to these event

1 min read 2021-10-25 10:48:04

As I watch new brands begin to define their aesthetic some common themes come up. Most often a creative director will choose to work with a small set

1 min read 2021-10-23 11:17:13

As we begin the sprint towards the Holidays the seasonal limited editions are beginning to arrive. It always produces a mixed bag of happiness and

1 min read 2021-10-20 11:03:43

It took me a while to appreciate what independent perfumer Francesca Bianchi was doing with her perfumes. I have found a frame of reference which has

1 min read 2021-10-19 11:04:55

We live in a society which always seem to want to move at the speed of a bullet train. Consumers want everything fast and lots of it. Fragrance is as

1 min read 2021-10-16 11:21:28

Life is full of comings and goings. When a long-time friend makes the choice to move far away it is bittersweet. You are happy that they are moving

1 min read 2021-10-14 11:09:39

From the moment I started writing about perfume I was inextricably bound to the beauty industry. What that has meant is when I would attend a large

1 min read 2021-10-13 11:23:52

When I first started paying attention to the world of fragrance, I carried a healthy disdain for flankers. I saw them as money-making efforts meant

1 min read 2021-10-12 11:16:49

As I’ve watched the best independent perfumers over the years there has usually been a learning curve. The earliest creations are good but as time