The Ghost Perfumer: Creed, Lies, & the Scent of the Century

What a magnificent work from Mr Oppenheim. The last time that I was so engrossed in a serious perfume book, was when The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr was first published.I used to think that I liked Creed, but quite a number of years ago, doubt set in, and I started to think about all the claims that Olivier Creed was making about their scents. All the people that he claimed they were created for, were all dead, and couldn't say whether they were created or not. I also read Maid To Measure, that Mr Oppenheim mentions in the book, and no mention of perfume at all.Mr Oppenheim has dug out the truth about all these lies and cheats. He has spoken to perfumers, and other people in the industry to prove his point. Mr Bourdon is a star.His writing style is very friendly, and down to earth, and he gets the points across in a really well practiced manner.I really can't praise this book highly enough. It's a must buy for any person who knows about perfume.

If you love perfume or have the slightest interest in its world, this is the book for you. It’s incredible investigative journalism uncovers the successful duplicitous schemes to rob the world’s most successful perfumer from his creations. And the incredulous lies continue to this day on a certain famous brand’s website. Well done Gabe for opening the eyes of many unthinking supporters - whose loyalty has now ceased.

This book will be made into a documentary or major motion picture one day: the story of Creed, how the perfume industry works, and the relationship between Pierre Bourdon and Olivier Creed, that Gabe uncovered, left me unwilling to sleep until I had read every page. It’s cliched to say, but I’m writing it nonetheless, it’s a page turner.If you're at all interested in fragrances, Creed specifically as a perfume house or just the story of two people who worked together to create great art, and not just one, then give it a read.

I'm an avid perfume collector. I've spent a lot of time and money finding my signature scent, it's taken years to get there but in the end, the search has been worth it. My signature is not a Creed perfume, however, on my journey, I have encountered Creed and its catalogue of olfactory creations. There are some I take kindly too and others that I do not, as is the case with any material item.Having heard of this publication, I decided to purchase and read the author's writings. It's a detailed book with a vast volume of research clearly committed to the project. I appreciate this effort and feel that 2-stars is a fair gesture of such. However, what lets this work down (badly) is its bitter quality.Reading through, I get the impression of an author who is not writing to express their interest in the history of the Creed house, rather their bitterness and resentment. Perhaps the author purchased a recent batch of Aventus and felt the need to express their displeasure at its longevity (or lack thereof)? The book certainly reads that way.Ghost-writers/producers/artists have always been a part of creative industries and they always will be. Tom Ford markets his Private Blend fragrance line as his own, private exploration of scent - yet they are crafted by in-house/out-of-house perfumers. Thinking of it, aren't most fragrances created by external perfumers, not by the manufacturer itself? With that being the case, the question ultimately remains: what is the point in this book?One has to wonder how many people are genuinely interested in reading about how Creed operates as a business, as much as I wonder how many people would be interested in reading a similar book but on the matter of how Amouage or Dior goes about the same. Most people, I would think, are aware of the role that 'ghosts' play in the production of luxury goods, meaning that this publication is only a point of interest to people who are pre-disposed to dislike Creed for one reason or another and whom, similarly to the author, wish to spend their time turning a molehill into a mountain.If ghost-production is as shocking to the author and fans of his publication, I'm not sure where to start on the matter of the creation of fragrance, music, film and other creative arts. I was hoping for an exciting and interesting read, what I found was a series of rants, a lack of solid evidence and sensationalist ramblings that the author thinks are valid simply because "Creed has not asked for any of this information to be redacted" (I paraphrase). That is simply not enough to hang a publication on.