Every year when the winners of the Fragrance Foundation awards (FiFis) are released, I hold my breath. This year I am happy to say that many deserving perfumes received awards. One, in particular, that deserved acclaim was 1922 Lily Sanguine which won for Specialty Brand (women’s) fragrance of the year (Anthropologie).
Arquiste was born out of the experiment to restore a moment long gone or an experience tied to the past to give it a new life. It’s a bit like Frankenstein: reanimating matter through the spark of a scent.
I chose to study architecture and specialize in historic preservation. However, my attraction to perfume has always existed and I have always been very connected to my sense of smell, associating smells to places and people. Olfaction is my most acute sense.
Tama Blough and I have sniffed, tested and worn over 500 new fragrances in 2011, many of the best are by independent perfumers or perfumeries whose work rose above the mediocrity of most fragrances this year
