In Search of Perfumes

'[An] immersive debut... with detailed accounts of his trips and vivid descriptions of the scents ... Roques' rich travelogue will transport readers' Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) In Search of Perfumes is a fragrant journey across the world, revealing the beauty and mysteries of the perfume trade. Fruits, flowers, spices, bark, leaves, and branches are just some of the natural elements used in the creation of perfume. Dominique Roques, on his expeditions to Andalusia, to Somaliland, Bulgaria, Laos, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Australia and Egypt, tells of his search to secure the best natural ingredients, precious to perfumers everywhere. He meets flower pickers in Bulgaria and India, gum distillers in Andalusia, patchouli and lavender growers, sandalwood planters, vetiver and bergamot distillers - who all belong to a three-thousand-year-old industry which offers perfumers rose and jasmine, oud and incense, benzoin and vanilla.