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The Ghost Perfumer: Creed, Lies, & the Scent of the Century Kindle Edition

by Gabe Oppenheim (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 159 ratings
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For more than half a century, Olivier Creed, heir to a French fashion empire but out to conquer an adjacent field by himself, created the most compelling and costly perfumes in the world – scents so successful – artistically and commercially – that the world's largest asset manager bought his small olfactory enterprise for nearly $1 billion in 2020.

One could arguably have called him the world’s most capable perfumer.
Except Olivier Creed never authored the scents for which he has long received acclaim and lucre. Gabe Oppenheim reveals the heretofore untold story behind this supposed-cologne colossus of a man – and the eponymous company that became a social media sensation:

That scents were authored by someone else entirely – a brilliant ghostwriter – a hidden, scholarly figure with a great passion for Proust and an unfortunate tendency to doubt the quality of his own compositions.

How these two figures met and the arrangement was struck – how they circled each other warily for the next 40 years – how lies, told often enough, became truths – Gabe Oppenheim examines as he journeys into the heart of an industry mystifying and fanciful, enormous and intimate, sensuous and yet so-damn-insubstantial.

It’s an expedition that takes him to a Creed shop in Dubai and the castle in Normandy where the Ghost resides, having left behind a Parisian world that, in some sense, never acknowledged him. And yet, he’s a legend in a certain section of the scented demimonde for a few achievements so innovative he wouldn’t yield them even to a charismatic manipulator.
Oppenheim explores issues of attribution and artistry, credit and craftsmanship, ingenuity and disingenuousness.

“The Ghost Perfumer” is the story of a genius and a fraud.

And perhaps the greatest con in the history of luxury retail.
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  1. Reading age
    10 - 18 years
  2. Print length
    260 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    January 28, 2022
  5. Page Flip
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  6. Word Wise
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  7. Enhanced typesetting
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  8. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This thing is a page-turner, the first book about the perfumery world I've ever read that makes sense. Just brilliant, and wonderfully written. This will be the reference book on the industry in the decades to come." -- Luca Turin, author of "The Secret of Scent" and "Perfumes: The Guide."
"I believe it is the most intimate look and understanding of the reality and evolution of the fine fragrance business and the perfumer's work ever written." -- Harry Fremont, retired master perfumer at Firmenich and winner of the 2017 Fragrance Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09RH55TX3
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 28, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 18380 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0578964775
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 159 ratings

About the author

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Gabe Oppenheim

Gabe Oppenheim

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Gabe Oppenheim is a NYC-based author of a couple of books and countless articles for The Washington Post, Vice, Rolling Stone and other publications. He covered prizefighting at the highest level before turning his attention to the perfumery scene. Oppenheim is drawn to small, sometimes sad niches. To the dissipation of lives and chemicals both. To those moments of consummate beauty that cannot last -- and yet how pretty would it be if they could?

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
159 global ratings
Fabulous page-turner of a book!
5 Stars
Fabulous page-turner of a book!
Excellent, well written, well researched. The author definitely knows his stuff. I devoured the book in two sittings.This book is catnip for fragrance enthusiasts for sure, but should be of interest to anyone looking for a compelling read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Top reviews from the United States

Potter
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous page-turner of a book!
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2022
Verified Purchase
Excellent, well written, well researched. The author definitely knows his stuff. I devoured the book in two sittings.

This book is catnip for fragrance enthusiasts for sure, but should be of interest to anyone looking for a compelling read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Potter
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous page-turner of a book!
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2022
Excellent, well written, well researched. The author definitely knows his stuff. I devoured the book in two sittings.

This book is catnip for fragrance enthusiasts for sure, but should be of interest to anyone looking for a compelling read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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7 people found this helpful
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eric lee
5.0 out of 5 stars Great CD
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2024
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Great seller. Arrived on time
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MitchellFamily
4.0 out of 5 stars A solid start in perfume for a very promising author
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2022
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And I look forward to more...he actually mentioned that there are a good many storylines out there for him to choose from - some "big picture" and others like this book with a more narrow focus - and I absolutely look forward to more from Gabe. Why? Well, his enthusiasm is palpable, he understands how crucial some research truly is for telling a good story, he thinks deeply enough about his subjects to ask questions that readers may enjoy pondering and answering for themselves, and he's talented and intelligent enough to improve his strengths and clean up some amateurish habits as time goes on.

As far as this book goes it's a must read for any fragrance enthusiast, period. For those simply interested in one heckuva true story, you have found one, I promise. My main knock on this author/work: too much emotional negativity thrown at Olivier Creed with no voice from the other side to combat the onslaught...okay, so no Creed rep wanted to comment, I get it,and I also understand that Pierre Bourdon is Gabe's primary focus(rightfully so) BUT I would have enjoyed a more detailed look into how Olivier steered Creed to the very respectable pre-Aventus point the company had attained. An anonymous source was listed at an important moment in this book, and if that's what it would repeatedly take to learn more about Olivier, fine, I'll take that over zip any day. I have no affinity for Olivier, whatsoever, and I can tell the author is protective of Bourdon, but constantly alluding to Creed's physical appearance as an aging human being is a petty, bush-league, low blow. That said, this story could rile up just about anybody, kudos to Gabe for telling it, looking forward to many more.
6 people found this helpful
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louiej356
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read for fragrance aficionados
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2022
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This has some very interesting insights and references into the world of perfumery. Some long believed truths as well as straight up rumors are also in, and overall, this is a good insight into the under-explored, vastly unknown depths of the fragrance industry.
One person found this helpful
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Mike Owens
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2022
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This reads so much like a novel it's hard to believe it's not. The author does a good job laying the foundations of the industry and then interweaves the colorful histories of the "characters" over several decades, including an education on many big name fragrances, players and even chemicals along the way. There is truth and lies, love and betrayal, beauty and ugliness, high art and bottom lines, comedy and tears. Again, hard to believe it's a true story. One of the best books I've read lately.
4 people found this helpful
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Jane Ann Hoxsey
3.0 out of 5 stars First half was great.
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2022
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The last half of the book read like a long magazine article. Informative read.
3 people found this helpful
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Wesley Clark
2.0 out of 5 stars In bad need of editing
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2024
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While the story about Olivier Creed's duplicity is interesting, this book is poorly-written. Frankly, with all of the colloquialisms like "gonna," it reads more like an e-mail than a published book.

Also, the author needed to home in on what his central story is. Is it the manipulative, lying nature of Olivier Creed or is it about Pierre Bourdon, the title's "ghost perfumer?" It seems badly-organized and badly-developed.
One person found this helpful
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Laurie A. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Great on investigation by the author
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2022
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I realize most people don't care who actually created the scents they use, but some do. Many perfumers are pretty anonymous; the business that puts the juice on the market gets the glory. But it's unusual for a person to put their own name on a bottle and actually claim they created it from the ground up the way Creed has done. Good sleuthing by the author.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Nick K.
5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ FOR FRAGRANCE FANS
Reviewed in Canada on February 4, 2022
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Though a must read for fragrance fans, anyone with any interest at all will enjoy this story. Now can't wait for the movie. Congratulations Gabe.
One person found this helpful
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Mario
5.0 out of 5 stars perfetto
Reviewed in Italy on February 1, 2024
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Libro in ottime condizioni.
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Barry Wa
5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent piece of investigating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2022
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What a magnificent work from Mr Oppenheim. The last time that I was so engrossed in a serious perfume book, was when The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr was first published.

I used to think that I liked Creed, but quite a number of years ago, doubt set in, and I started to think about all the claims that Olivier Creed was making about their scents. All the people that he claimed they were created for, were all dead, and couldn't say whether they were created or not. I also read Maid To Measure, that Mr Oppenheim mentions in the book, and no mention of perfume at all.

Mr Oppenheim has dug out the truth about all these lies and cheats. He has spoken to perfumers, and other people in the industry to prove his point. Mr Bourdon is a star.

His writing style is very friendly, and down to earth, and he gets the points across in a really well practiced manner.

I really can't praise this book highly enough. It's a must buy for any person who knows about perfume.
4 people found this helpful
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Raz
4.0 out of 5 stars Ein muss für Duft Liebhaber
Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2022
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Das Creed nicht so großartig wie die sagen ist, ist für mich keine Überraschung. Gabe ist sehr präziser und stellt hier eine schöne Geschichte dar. Pierre Bourdon ist eine von meine Favoriten Parfumers so ich freue mich mehr über ihm zu erfahren. Kapitalismus und Creed sind gute Freunde, aber so ist auch mit den rest von Firmen. Für Parfumos ist ein good read, für die Leute außer Parfum Welt.. Vielleicht zu detailliert. Ich empfehle es weiter gerne.
3 people found this helpful
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Sam
5.0 out of 5 stars An incisive look into an opaque world
Reviewed in Australia on April 26, 2022
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Oppenheim does an excellent job of delving into the world of fragrance, providing a slew of fascinating insights woven into a gripping narrative. Well worth picking up.
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