Whether we know it or not, the perfume we wear affects the way people perceive us. What’s more, it helps shape our own vision of ourselves: it can make us feel happy, boost our self-confidence or even let us take on a different persona. So argues Sarah Colton, an American perfume journalist based in Paris, who encourages us to take advantage of the fascinating powers of fragrances and to use them strategically, picking them according to what we want to achieve – a few drops of the rosy bouquet of Paris to embody innocence, a spritz of Féminité du bois if you mean trouble, a splash of Envy to commit a dirty job of revenge… Although its concept may seem a little far-fetched at first, this concise book turns out to be an inspiring practical guide to contemporary fragrances (featuring more than 400 references) and uses plenty of historical anecdotes to show how “Bad Girls” from Eve to Madonna have used the power of perfume to reach their goals

Bad Girls Perfume, Sarah Colton, Water Tower Books Editions, April 2016, 190 pages, $10 – www.sarahcolton.com/bad-girls-perfume/

This review has been published in Nez, the olfactory magazine – #03 – The Sex of Scent. This issue is available on www.nez-editions.us for North America and on the Auparfum Shop for other countries.