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Perfume

Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala explore our culture of consumption through products that have changed the world. Today - they try to make scents of the perfume industry.

From the artisans of Ancient Egypt, to the revolutionary parfumiers of Renaissance France and the designers working digitally in the dungeons of petrochemical labs, perfume is one of the most available and affordable luxuries. Initially exclusive to the halls of royalty, it's now available for Β£15 from your local chemist - the perfume industry continues to grow with our consumer culture. Are you smelling a story?

In this first episode of All Consuming, hosts Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala make scents of the perfume industry. They sniff out why fragrance films are so fantastical, catch a whiff of how industrial perfume producers manufacture at industrial scale, and hold their noses as actors take β€œmethod” to fragrant new frontiers.

Charlotte meets the perfumer to the stars Azzi Glasser and takes the chance to smell bespoke fragrances designed for Hollywood A-listers. Amit introduces us to nose-in-the-know Luca Turin, a biophysicist who moonlights as a fragrance author. And smell psychologist Rachel Herz reveals why the smells of those we love can sometimes become repulsive.

Producer: James Tindale
A Whistledown production for ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4.

Available now

25 minutes

Last on

Thu 25 Aug 2022 12:32

Broadcast

  • Thu 25 Aug 2022 12:32

Podcast