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The Forum: Making Scents: The Story of Perfume

Making Scents: The Story of Perfume

30/12/2017

BBC Radio 4 - The Forum, Making Scents: The Story of Perfume

Bridget Kendall and guests explore how fine fragrance became what it is today.

Bridget Kendall explores the making of modern perfume with scientist and critic Luca Turin, writer and curator Lizzie Ostrom and the perfumer Thomas Fontaine.

For millennia people have used fragrance to scent both their bodies and their surroundings. With just one drop, perfume has the potential to stir memories, awaken the senses and even influence how we feel about ourselves. But what's the story behind this liquid luxury in a bottle, now found on the shelves of department stores - and homes - worldwide?
In this programme, Bridget Kendall explores the modern history of perfume from its ancient roots to the scientific discoveries that have made it what it is today, with scientist and critic Luca Turin, writer and curator Lizzie Ostrom and the perfumer Thomas Fontaine.

Photo: Perfume bottles and smelling strips (Getty Images).

Producer: Alice Bloch

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