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![TerredeJonny]()
TerredeJonny
Top Review
8
Is a Scent like a Song?
... was the 2006 headline of the New York Times [1]. The initially philosophical question, however, did not arise in an artistic context, but in a legal one. The French Supreme Court, the Cour de Cassation, ruled this summer that the creation of the fragrance "Dune" by Dior was primarily an artisanal and not an artistic achievement, since "the fragrance of a perfume resulting from the simple application of expertise does not constitute "the creation of a form of expression which may benefit from the protection of intellectual works" [2]. As a result, the creator and plaintiff could not demand any royalties after her departure from the company for the sale of the fragrance.
What does all this have to do with the scent?
The applicant in this case bears the name Nejla Bsiri-Barbir, who is also named as the perfumer of that fragrance [3]. This is not provable for the time being, the Reyane Tradition brand does not even have a website, and there is little to be found about Mrs. Bsiri-Barbir either.
Anyway, the scent is very unusual. He's cute, a little leathery, vanilla, I mean rosy. I can't really figure out the smell. He is very sweet and lasts forever, yet he is reserved and never kitschy or too heavy, not even at the beginning. Nevertheless, I would tend to recommend him to middle-aged gentlemen. I can imagine him in cold seasons (autumn and winter) in all situations at me.
If the creation of perfume was just simple "mixing", following strict rules, why isn't there another fragrance like this? Of course, a scent is a collection of molecules. That's a painting too, though. And of course you can learn the perfume trade. Just like painting. However, this scent is so unusual that it cannot have been created by simply "tipping substances together" based on experience. There's a creative process behind him. The will to create a sweet fragrance that can be worn at any time. It's a difficult grade hike. This fragrance is something completely new. You could say art.
I don't know whether the creation of this unusual fragrance at a price of 25€ is a planned criticism, a declaration of war towards big fragrance companies. However, with the price, the quality and the peculiarity of this fragrance I can well imagine it, in connection with the history of the supposed perfumer. Also the anonymity of the brand behind the perfume is unusual, a contrast to the all-encompassing marketing of designer fragrances, even most niche fragrances.
Ultimately, it does not matter whether the perfumer is actually Nejla Bsiri-Barbir and whether he is behind the Reyane Tradition brand, averting major corporations and their business demands. A declaration of war in their direction is the perfume anyway.
Is a Scent like a Song? Oui and Non, Elaine Sciolino, New York Times, July 13, 2016
[2] Cass. Civ. June 13, 2006, Propr. Intell. P. 442-443; reprinted in Claire Guillemin, Law & Odeur: Fragrance Protection in the Fields of Perfumery and Cosmetics, p. 167.
3] e.g. at Pillashop, easy to find when searching the internet for Reyane scents, left line of the website
