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How do you say…? A handy guide to pesky perfume pronunciations

We’ve all done it, you know – professional fragrance journalists, practiced perfume bloggers and scent-loving members of the public alike… Sometimes, you come across a brand that’s new to you, or perhaps even a long-established house you adore yet always seem to shy away from giving voice to your emoitions about.

Not always an attempt to keep your favourite a cherished secret, it could simply be a case of taking a run-up to the pronunciation of their name and tripping over every hurdle. It’s a social nightmare, dah-ling! Especially if you happen to be at a launch or one of our fabulous VIP Subscriber exclusive events, and find yourself pretending to choke on a canapé instead of confidently declaring the name of the perfume house you want to talk about.

Step forward Basenotes and their handy guide to those pesky perfume pronunciations so often worried about or mistakenly mangled…

In this first of the guides available on YouTube, the names of such luminaries as Comme des Garçons, Etat Libre d’Orange, to Givenchy, Guerlain, L’Artisan Parfumeur and beyond are pronounced correctly for your edification.

There are a further two videos up thus far, and Basenotes founder Grant Osborne is looking for people to add their suggestions in the comments, for more fragrance-mouthfuls to cover in future editions of the guide.

Written by Suzy Nightingale

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