Thursday 22 December 2016

If You Can't Say Anything Nice...


One of the reasons that I started my website on 5th May 2015 was as an attempt to put some fun back into the online fragrance world. By this I mean that some bloggers had decided that they would make it their mission to be as vindictive and cutting as possible, thereby single-handedly attempting to destroy a perfume before it even had a chance to gain a foothold. After working in various parts of the fragrance industry I thought this was a very narrow minded approach and, when some of these perfume companies are also family run enterprises, potentially catastrophic. So, what gives bloggers the right to criticise a perfume?

The answer to that question is ... nothing. We give a personal response to something that we buy, or are given, and hope that it will help to guide our readers. The difference is that some bloggers seem to want to STOP people smelling fragrances that don't fall into the narrow tunnel of what they think is acceptable. I know that this sounds a little like a rant but over the past weeks I've seen too many posts and articles damning perfumes and companies. Some reviewers actually have no industry experience, technical experience or, it seems, a view of the real world from their ivory tower.

The blueprint for the acerbic review was Luca Turin, but his observations were always fair and usually humorous. He endeavoured to find a positive in any fragrance, and if he couldn't then he would definitely never make it appear worthless. His comments of Dior's Poison are side splitting, but you are still encouraged to smell the "Sherman tank" of scent. This is the sign of a great writer, they advise but always hold at the front of their mind that their readers have the right to make their own choices. We are all different, we all have varying personal experiences, and we all have a different budget that we can spend on fragrance, so don't make any one of us feel less worthy than the other.

There have been fragrances over the past nineteen months that I have been disappointed with, but that was because they were not to my personal taste. They didn't go far enough with their style or the packaging was a let down, but I would always try to find something positive to say. The other decision that I made right at the beginning of my weekly "musings" was that I would never be vindictive for vindictive's sake. My job is to talk about perfume, but never to make a judgement on the wearer. I've read reviews about fragrances that I wear and at the end have felt insulted by some "writers" comments because the fragrance is personal to me.

So, to wrap up this "festive" rant, my opinion is no more important than anyone else's. I can talk to you about history, ingredients, packaging, price tag, but I can't tell you if you'll like it. So, the next time you read a blogger DAMN a fragrance please go straight out and smell it for yourself because, after all, you decide what you wear.

4 comments:

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    1. Perfume has the ability to illicit strong reactions, but we should all STILL be supportive of this wonderful industry

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  2. Thank you for this! Lately I've noticed a level of cynicism from some reviewers that leaves me speechless. It disturbs me as a small business owner, and makes me dash for the "unsubscribe" link right away.

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    1. Bloggers can sometimes forget the impact of their words. Thanks for reading. Best, Stephan

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