“Perfume is a language whose speech is worth learning and unpacking as one would a poem, book, or film. Scent is a path to getting closer to our senses, to instinct, and to our bodies and the earth at a time when those attachments are threatened.”

Barbara Herman, Scent & Subversion: Decoding a Century of Provocative Perfume

Barbara Herman is a writer, vintage‑perfume historian, and the founder of ERIS Parfums, a fragrance house inspired by the bold, unconventional beauty of classic perfume styles. Her journey began with collecting and researching vintage fragrances, which led her to create the blog Yesterday’s Perfume and later write Scent and Subversion: Decoding a Century of Provocative Perfume, a book exploring the cultural and artistic history of scent . Her fascination with the expressive power of perfume eventually evolved into creative collaboration with perfumer Antoine Lie, resulting in ERIS Parfums — a brand known for its daring, boundary‑pushing compositions that pay tribute to the past while speaking to a modern audience.

In this episode, we explore the nuanced world of fragrance through vintage perfumes, challenge expectations as well as personal politics, and act as a form of artistic subversion.

Fragrances mentioned:

Lauren - Ralph Lauren

Grey Flannel - Geoffrey Been

Polo - Ralph Lauren

Madeline de Madeline - Madeline Mono

Nuit de Noel - Caron

My Sin (Mon Peche) - Lavin

Baghari - Robert Piguet

Writing discussed:

Scent & Subversion: Decoding a Century of Provocative Perfume - Barbara Herman

Lolita - Vladamir Nabokov

Alice’s Adventure In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll