The New York Times appoints first ever perfume critic
fragrances, The New York Times has appointed Chandler Burr as its
first columnist to review and rate fragrances.
Burr, a journalist who has written features about fragrance and a book about the history of perfumes, will head up the column, called Scent Strip, as part of the newspaper's fall issue of T: Women's Fashion, published at the end of August.
According to the newspaper Burr will review and rate new and classic perfumes as well as a range of other scented products such as essential oils and household fragrances.
'He will ascribe a four-star rating system to each perfume, similar to those awarded by The Times to restaurants, ranging from no stars for a poor or satisfactory perfume to four stars for an extraordinary scent', the newspaper said in a statement.
Drawing attention to his belief that fragrance is an art, Burr says that his column will do much to bring about the credit that thos involved in the industry deserve.
"This column is about treating perfume as the art that it is," Burr said. "Every other true art has a serious criticism. I believe perfume should as well, for the benefit, and I hope enjoyment, of the Times reader and the industry expert both."
Although Burr is undoubtedly filling a niche within the fragrance field, the industry has not been without mediums that provide independent assessments of new launches on to the market.
One such forum is the US website www.perfumecritic.com, of which Burr has been a contributor in the past. The site reviews all major scent launches on the US market, as well as providing valuable insights and tips into fragrance development.
According to market information provider Euromonitor L'Oreal had a 12.9 per cent share of the $20 billion global fine fragrances market, while P&G comes in second with a 12.2 per cent share.
The third biggest player is luxury goods group LVMH with an 11.2 per share of the market, while Coty has a 3.9 per cent share.
