Writing Scents
Denise Hamilton ’81
Published: January 17, 2012
By LMU Magazine Staff
Denise Hamilton ’81, whose latest work of fiction is “Damage Control,” is not just a national best-selling writer of crime novels. She also writes a column on perfume for the Los Angeles Times Magazine (“Uncommon Scents”). Perfume has been an obsession for Hamilton since childhood. We asked her how her extensive knowledge of scents is intertwined with her noir fiction. Hamilton was interviewed by Jennifer Pastore ’13.
How does a bestselling crime novelist become a perfume columnist?
I've always loved/been fascinated with perfume. One day I had coffee with the editor of the LA Times Magazine. We got to talking about perfume, and I suggested offhandedly that they launch a perfume column. I'd brought the editor — a fellow perfumista — some of my rare and vintage gems to sniff, and after listening to me blather on with arcane knowledge and odd perfume geek factoids, she said, "Would you like to write it for us?" As soon as the editor asked me, a light went off. In retrospect, it was a natural fit.
What makes you qualified to write a perfume column?
I have a passion and childlike obsession with it. It makes me happy. I consider it an art form, alongside painting, haute cuisine, music, wine making, sculpting. A great perfume makes a statement. It has legibility and intelligence. It develops over time. It is coherent. Anyone can become an expert in perfume. All it takes is a decent nose and a willingness to work your way through the world's perfume oeuvre.
What’s the number one perfume on the market right now?
Chanel No. 5 is a classic perennial bestseller. Has been for almost 100 years. There's even a biography/history of Chanel No. 5! But whatever celebrity/starlet/reality star/boy crooner has just released a new perfume is probably the current bestseller. Chances are it's also cheap, synthetic and awful, and everyone will forget about it and run lemming-like to the new scent of the moment when the next "Bigface Perfume" launches. But it'll probably make $50 million.
Is there a difference between a $100 bottle of perfume and a $5 bottle of perfume?
There are plenty of awful $100 bottles of perfumes. And there are some good perfumes under $30. Balmain de Balmain is my current cheap thrill. It's a lovely green chypre. Some spendy brands that I think are worth it: Serge Lutens, Frederic Malle, the Chanel "Les Exclusifs" line. A lot of small niche perfumers offer bargains. SmellBent in West Hollywood has quirky, good quality fragrance. For mainstream, Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx are all places to find discounted but authentic perfumes. But as Smokey Robinson sang, you gotta shop around.
Do you ever write perfume columns in the stereotypic hard-boiled, extremely spare noir style?
No, but I DO want to write a column on femme fatale perfumes.
How has perfume scents changed over the time?
A lot of the natural ingredients once found in class French perfumes - ambergris, civet, castoreum, animal musks, Mysore Indian sandalwood, oud - are no longer available due to scarce resources, deforestation and new regulations concerning endangered animals. Some synthetic musks have also been outlawed because of health and safety issues. In many cases, chemists now produce synthetics that mimic these scents, but some people say they aren't the same. Many classic perfumes have also been cheapened over the years as the firms are sold and new owners try to cut costs. Coty is a perfect example of a once great, classic perfume house that is now a cheap drugstore product. But great new perfumes are constantly coming out.
What’s your favorite?
Bottega Veneta just released its first perfume, and it's my fave of all the 2011 launches. I don't have a signature scent, I have dozens.
Does your work as a perfume columnist ever inspire story lines in your novels?
Yes, my new book, “Damage Control,” has a perfumista heroine, and fragrance provides a clue as to the killer's identity.
Have your fiction fans told you what they think of your perfume columns?
Some of my fiction fans read my perfume columns because they love perfume. Others say they don't care about perfume, but they like the way I write so they read it and often learn new things.
Is there a particular scent associated with characters in crime novels?
Fire and brimstone. Old stone cemeteries. Recently disturbed soil. Coppery metallic blood. Cordite from just-fired guns.
How is the writing process for a perfume column different than writing mystery novels?
Nobody gets killed.
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Comments
First off, many thanks for having sent me this wonderful email on LMU's anniversary float, etc. Pray tell how the 100th year was calculated. My class ring ('57) shows 1865 as Loyola's founding year, and I know that LMU came into being in the second half of the last century. So, please explain the year 1912. Could it have been the founding of Marymount?
In any case, congratulations to LMU!
Fletcher Phelan
Thank you for your comment. The year 1865 marks the founding in Los Angeles of St. Vincent's College, run by the Vincentian Fathers. The Jesuits launched Los Angeles College in September 1911, thus the centennial celebrations in 2011–12. Although the Jesuits did negotiate with the Archbishop Thomas Conaty of Los Angeles about taking over St. Vincent's College, they decided to launch Los Angeles College instead. Marymount College was founded in 1932.
A very brief version of this is history can be found here. A more extensive version is in Kevin Starr's history of Loyola Marymount University, and you can find out more about the book here.
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