In Search of Perfumes: A lifetime journey to the sources of nature's scents

By Dominique Roques and Stephanie Smee

'[An] immersive debut... with detailed accounts of his trips and vivid descriptions of the scents ... [Roques'] rich travelogue will transport readers' Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

In Search of Perfumes is a fragrant journey across the world, revealing the beauty and mysteries of the perfume trade.

Fruits, flowers, spices, bark, leaves, and branches are just some of the natural ingredients from the plant world that are used in the creation of perfume. Dominique Roques, travelling from Andalusia to Somaliland by way of Bulgaria, Laos, El Salvador, Indonesia and Egypt, describes his search to find the best natural ingredients, precious to perfumers everywhere.

In Search of Perfumes demonstrates how the prestigious multi-million-pound perfume industry may begin its life as a single plant harvested by producers surviving on ancestral traditions and techniques and often risking their lives in the process as they combat the rising threat of climate change. Roques reveals the beauty and mysteries of a familiar trade; a return to the source of the world's scents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mountain Leopard Press
• Release date: Oct 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781914495175

Dominique Roques

Dominique Roques has been sourcing essences and extracts for the perfume industry for over thirty years. He was the head of sourcing at Firmenich, a leading developer of perfumes for the world’s top fragrance luxury brands. He lives in Paris, France.

Reviews for In Search of Perfumes

[1randal-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There are subjects and their practitioners that just fascinate me. Experts on wine, food, and yes, even perfumes. I am in awe of people who can identify an object by taste or smell. It's always been a dream of mine to go to Grasse, France, and explore the perfume industry there. So....this book is right up my alley! Fascinating stories about perfume, the sourcing of it's materials, and the efforts to bring them to the public. It's like a great detective story, without the blood and gore. The author writes very well, and the book reads excellently. I really enjoyed it!