The Perfumed Plume and its co-founders, Mary Ellen Lapsansky and Lyn Leigh, hosted an awards presentation and cocktail party in April to celebrate the winners of its third annual fragrance journalism competition. The event was held on Manhattan’s upper East Side at the Society of Illustrators.

See scenes from the awards presentation and cocktail party in this slideshow.

The awards were established in 2015 to honor and recognize fragrance stories and the many talented writers and visualists who give the reader an inside view of the cultural, historical, scientific and personal approaches to fragrance design — and what it takes to create an evocative scent.

Westly Morris, sr. vice president, Fine Fragrance, Mane, comments, “It’s wonderful to see the Perfumed Plume Awards build on their mission to encourage and promote creative fragrance writing. We are delighted to continue as the founding sponsor.” Beauty Packaging is the Perfumed Plume’s media sponsor. Other sponsors are Verescence and Groupe Pochet.

Lapsansky says, “We are thrilled that Perfumed Plume’s focus on creative fragrance writing has garnered such a positive and enthusiastic response from the fragrance media community, as well as fragrance enthusiasts and connoisseurs overall.  We are committed to continuing this mission with events and forums dedicated to the art of fragrance writing.”

Leigh adds, “It’s all about how these virtuosos of fragrance writing can take the reader on a journey of discovery into the magic world of perfume. Finalists, winners and everyone who submitted are truly deserving of recognition and our thanks.”

This year’s award winners were diverse — and interesting. Beauty Packaging’s publisher, Jay Gorga, presented an award to Rachel Syme for the article, Scent, Memory in Racquet Magazine. Syme often writes about the “scent of tennis” for Racquet Magazine. (See her winning article at the link below.)

Marc Rosen, Marc Rosen Associates, presented the award for Visualization of Scent Stories. The winners are Scentury’s photographer Per Zennström and art director Helder Suffenplan for the story, Summer EscENTIALS 2017. (See this story at the link below.)

Scents for Healing

Ida Meister won for the article she wrote for CaFleureBon — Scent and Healing: The Transformative Power of Perfume. (See this story at the link below.) Meister works with patients that have various medical conditions, and uses fragrance to help various conditions improve. Her winning article (linked below) explains how ‘fragrance therapy’  truly helps, in various ways.

Meister has been researching the use of scents for medical issues for years. There are proven “scent therapies” that have been tested in various research studies, some of which Meister lists as sources in her article. When we called her to find out more, she pointed out a few examples, saying, “Jasmine can work like valium for anxiety. There is also something very healing about the complexity of a rose scent.”

It’s not all an exact science, however — partly because scent and memories are so closely connected. “Everyone has very strong likes, dislikes, and personal preferences,” Meister adds. Instincts help, Meister explains, saying, “I get a sense of who someone is, and what types of fragrances they might need to feel better.” 

Perfumed Plume’s 2018 Fragrance Book Award Winner

The Perfumed Plume’s 2018 Fragrance Book Award winner is “Perfume Legends: A Selection of 30 Drawings” by Pierre Dinand, written in collaboration with Michael Edwards. All the winners recieved a signed copy of this book, along with a monetary prize — and, an invitation to create their own scent at OlfactoryNYC.

Pierre Dinand has been designing fragrance bottles for 60 years, and is responsible for more than 1,000 fragrance bottle designs — for some of the most iconic scents. Michael Edwards spoke about Dinand’s book, and more, at this recent event hosted by Perfumed Plume for fragrance industry insiders. Lapsansky says, “Michael is a master in the fragrance world, a guardian of its history and a conduit to its future. His publications, recognized worldwide as masterpieces of fragrance history and research, go right to the heart of our mission to support and encourage fragrance journalism in all its forms.”

See all the complete winners’ list below — click to read the winning stories.

THE 2018 PERFUMED PLUME AWARD WINNERS


SCIENCE OF SCENT STORIES — Mainstream Media / Magazines / Newspapers (Print and Digital)

CaFleureBon: Scent and Healing: The Transformative Power of Perfume by Ida Meister, art direction by Michelyn Camen


VISUALIZATION OF SCENT STORIES - Overall Design Presentation
 
Scentury: Summer EscENTIALS 2017 - Photography by Per Zennström, Art Direction by Helder Suffenplan


SCENT STORIES — Mainstream Media - Print (Magazines / Newspapers )

Racquet Magazine (Quarterly Tennis Publication): Scent, Memory by Rachel Syme

 
SCENT STORIES — In Digital Media (Blog Postings, Webzines, Digital Magazines)
 
Keap Matchbook Blog: Fragrance Transparency: The Incredible Artistry Behind The Creation of a Fragrance by Stephen Tracy + Christophe Laudamiel


FRAGRANCE BOOK AWARD

“Perfume Legends: A Selection of 30 Drawings” by Pierre Dinand (of Ateliers Dinand) in collaboration with Michael Edwards, author of "Perfume Legends: French Feminine Fragrances"

Photo: Lyn Leigh, Mary Ellen Lapsansky, co-founders, Perfumed Plume Awards, with Westly Morris (center), sr. vice president, fine fragrance, Mane — a founding sponsor of the Perfumed Plume Awards. 

Read More

Slideshow: Guests Gather at the Perfumed Plume Awards’ Celebration 

Online Exclusive: Michael Edwards Talks About Fragrance Bottles, and His Next Books 

All the 2018 finalists are featured here: Announcing the Finalists in the 2018 Perfumed Plume Awards

Slideshow: Celebrating the 2018 Perfumed Plume Finalists - Scenes from the Party