WRITER'S MONDAY: DONNA HATHAWAY

Donna Hathaway is a Portland-based perfume writer who has graciously contributed her thoughts on perfume writing. This is the first installment of a multi-part series.

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How and why did you decide to write perfume reviews?

It was all in a very roundabout way, really. I have always been an avid reader, and a lover of words, but I never did much writing in my younger days except for assigned work and some very bad poetry. Much later I wrote a few articles for my garden club, mostly on practical subjects, but I managed to insert something about fragrance when I could; I love scented flowers and my interest in all things fragrant began early in my life. My passion for perfume has been developing for a long time, and it intensified more than thirty years ago when The Perfume House opened here in Portland, and I discovered what classical perfumery was all about. I always thought I was nearly alone in my obsession, but more than a decade ago, I discovered the emerging phenomenon of perfume blogs. Blogging itself was in its infancy then, so there were not many of them at that time, and I read them all with fascination; here was a world I understood, and there were others like me who loved perfume! I learned a lot, and some of the best of them have endured to the present time, now joined by many others.

In 2006 I was having a personal crisis; I was grieving over a major romantic disappointment and some other stresses in my life were not helping matters. I needed something to get my mind off my own troubles, but I didn’t know what to do. Around this time, the owner of one of the blogs I read, Aromascope, put out a message that she was looking for a guest writer, and invited people to submit samples of their work. By this time I had read a lot of blog posts about fragrance and I figured I had nothing to lose by throwing my hat in the ring, so I sent in one of my garden club articles. Much to my surprise, she chose me! I had a wonderful experience writing for Aromascope and I received a warm welcome from its readers. When the owner decided to pursue other interests and let it go dormant, the wonderful Marina asked me if I would like to join her group of guest writers on Perfume-Smellin’ Things, and that has lasted for about nine years now. I found that writing about perfume was the perfect outlet for my passion and added a much-needed creative aspect to my life, since my day job is in the insurance industry. I enjoy my job, but real creativity in the insurance biz is about as welcome as “creative accounting.”  I have grown as a writer and I really love it.

Why did you choose or create the venue(s) on which you publish your reviews?

It’s funny, my first two blogging gigs both fell into my lap, and then a few years later another perfume friend alerted me to the new Examiner.com news aggregator site, which was looking for writers in major cities to write about various subjects. I passed muster and became the Portland Fragrance Examiner in 2009. So that was pretty lucky as well. Examiner just announced that it is shutting down, but I have plans for a future writing project that will be all mine, no holds barred on what I can write about, featuring perfume reviews and more. I just need to find the time to finalize it, as I am currently pursuing an associate degree while working full time, so it will be a little while before that all comes together.

What purposes do you think perfume reviews serve, and how do you think your reviews serve all of some of these purposes?

There is so much information out there and so many perfumes both good and bad, and I hope that honest reviews help people separate the wheat from the chaff. Ironically, the rise of perfume blogs and social media attention has also given birth to a new audience and many new perfume brands, and therefore more confusion. People are bombarded with facts and images on blogs and social media, and it can be hard to navigate through it all.

[Headshot provided by Donna Hathaway; perfume painting by J W Godward, 1914; lost love painting by Charles A Collins, 19th century; fog on the mountain photo from the local ski area webcam, threshing grain poster early 20th century]

PERFUME AND WRITING: GUEST POST BY AZAR

Last week I wondered what to do to replace the Monday review feature, and had the idea of "interviewing" people who write about perfume from many different points of view and in many different types of venues. Azar is almost a neighbor, and a good friend, so I asked her to kick it off because I knew she could write something quickly. Here is her post!

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Why review perfumes?  I've been wondering about that lately. I certainly don't do it for money or even for free fragrance. As an amateur guest contributor with no blog site of my own, I receive no press samples or other industry perks.  Occasionally, a few comps or gifts of scent come my way via friends, perfumers and fellow bloggers.  I tend to review these fragrances before others, but consider my reviews strictly a hobby.

Like any hobby, writing perfume reviews can be more costly than anticipated. I "pay as I play" with time and money, part of my entertainment budget. Believe it or not, it can take several hours to sniff correctly, search a back-story and edit information and impressions into 500 words or less.  Hard cash is also laid out for decanting supplies, packaging and the outrageous postage required to send prizes to international destinations. Am I purchasing attention or approval by paying for the "privilege" to sound off about products that already receive more than their fair share of paid advertising?  Perhaps, but there are better reasons why I review perfumes.   

First of all, I am fascinated by everything related to the experience of fragrance, both in nature and from a bottle.  I have an extensive collection of perfumes dating from 1930 through 2016, years as an enthusiastic consumer and a pretty good memory for scent.  I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but, from time to time, I do have something to say.

The second reason is probably the most telling.  I write perfume reviews simply because I love to play with words.  Decades before personal computers, search engines and apps, during my high school days, I was a member of the National Forensic League (now entitled the National Speech and Debate Association).  This NFL was just as competitive as the other one!  My favorite league competition was the "extemporaneous speaking" event.  Participants drew three current topics and were instructed to choose one.  We were allowed 30 minutes to research piles of periodicals and then 7 minutes to give a coherent, logical, informative presentation, without any written notes, subject afterwards to questions and criticism.  Ex-temp taught me that, with correct, concise preparation I could talk (BS?) convincingly, about almost anything. I also learned that a presentation could fly or flop based on the placement of a single word. My ex-temp skills also enabled me to write with confidence, on demand, about any subject, interesting or otherwise. 

These days, playing with words is an excuse to indulge in my fragrance addiction (or is it the other way round?).  But there is a more compelling reason that I continue to write about scent - the perfume community I've discovered online.

Writing posts for Perfume Project NW and Australian Perfume Junkies has introduced me to an entire new circle of friends, intelligent, literate perfume pen pals from around the world with similar interests but very different viewpoints and preferences. I love reading their posts and sharing opinions and comments.  Writing reviews has changed my world, opening it up in so many ways.  Every day I learn something new, not only about perfumes, but also about gardening, cooking, entertaining, traveling and living!

Azar xx

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I have to agree with Azar that talking to people about perfume has resulted in many wonderful friendships and interactions, and I'm grateful for all of them!

[Vintage perfume ad and debate poster from Wikimedia; Woman writing by August Mueller 1885; conversation image by Petrona Viera, early 20th century]

THE BLIZZARD, FLEURS DE GLACE, AND THOUGHTS ON WRITING ABOUT PERFUME

It appears that as we in the Northwest enjoy our usual interminable stretch of cool, damp weather, the rest of the US is being frozen solid and buried under a massive blanket of snow. In a serendipitously timely post, John Reasinger of Cafleurebon just wrote a review of Fleurs de Glace, a perfume that I was in the process of discontinuing.  His description of it is so eloquent and evocative that it makes me have second thoughts about pulling it from my line!

It also made me think about the symbiotic relationship between perfumers and reviewers. It’s fascinating to see how a talented writer can make us see our creations in a new light, and perfume reviewers are especially adept at doing that. Perfume is like poetry. Everyone gets something a little different from it, and every interpretation is right. A good reviewer shows the perfumer aspects of their creation that they had not thought of and translates the perfumer’s intangible work into tangible words for the public to enjoy.

This may sound strange, but it reminds me of what happens in the relationship between a playwright and a director. Having been on both sides of the process and caught in the middle as an actor, I’ve always marveled at the transformations that invariably occur depending on the interpretation of the director and cast. Even though the words written in the script don’t change, their intent and message inexorably evolves on its own unique trajectory as rehearsals progress. Each production is a completely different entity that picks up on different aspects of what the writer intentionally or unintentionally put in the script. Sometimes the writer is surprised to find that what they thought was a fluffy comedy actually makes some profound statements, or what they thought was a serious philosophical and conceptual piece actually comes across as uproariously funny.

I hadn’t thought of this before, but perfume reviewers really do interpret the perfumer’s “script” for an audience, with many audience members doubling as actors, extending the interpretation with their informal reviews and comments. No one should ever underestimate the importance of perfume writers at every level in making our creations come to life. There can never be too many writers because each brings something unique to the process of understanding a perfume.

Writing this makes me realize how thankful I am to everyone who writes about perfume, whether they are professional journalists and bloggers or consumers who post informal reviews and comments. I learn something from each one of you, and that is the more valuable than I can express.

I’d like to end this by pointing out that there’s a drawing on Cafleurebon for a full-sized bottle of the reader’s choice of Olympic Amber or Fleurs de Glace for readers in the US. 

[All photos are mine. Snow and ice photos are from the last time we had a significant snowfall in Seattle. I don't remember what year it was.]