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

by Gabe Oppenheim

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

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, History

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 28, 2022

Reviews

[Saatwik Katiha · Rating 3 out of 5]

TL;DR - 5 stars for the research and material, -2 stars for the errors, strange descriptions and convoluted writing.

Pros:

*Unquestionably* well researched, putting a stamp on "facts" that are usually part of fragrance mythology but have rarely, if ever, had the certification of good research and/or a horse's mouth account. The author has dug appreciably deep into the rabbit hole and come up with some fantastic findings, many of which are downright bombshells.

Cons:

Gabe Oppenheim's writing style is almost unintelligibly convoluted at times. Especially the ostensible flair of his nasty nesting of clauses, which makes it sound like he's falling over himself, unable to collect his thoughts. This book need not have been such an annoying read.

There are certain omissions; to state a couple - no mention of Original Santal vs Individuel, no mention of Cedrat Boise in the multi-page list of Aventus inspired fragrances.

There are a few errors as well, such as saying Luca Turin gave Aventus 4/4 stars. He actually rates out of 5 stars. That's a big deal because a full star rating from Luca Turin does have a certain weight in the eyes of fragrance aficionados.

The physical descriptions of people are often bizarre and completely unnecessary. The cherry on the cake is the footnote section of the final chapter where the author refers to his own genitals as "wrinkly and unspectacular" and a "reproductive pouch"; I'm not sure I see the humor despite the context.

It's quite apparent that this book should've been run by some contemporary fragrance nerd, which could've addressed *some* of these issues.

This book does do a service to the fragrance community by exposing hitherto speculated facts. I just wish it had the t's crossed and i's dotted. I'll certainly get my hands on the fragrance related books that Gabe Oppenheim apparently plans on releasing in the future.

[Shakir Zufairie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odd writing style holds back an otherwise great book. The writing sometimes goes into strange tangents, and unnecessary detail. The intent, though, is not missed. The author sometimes successfuly weaves in narratives, storied pasts and history into his writing. To anybody somewhat into perfumes, this is a good bridge in the gap and a good look into the fragrance industry. The writer clearly shares the same passion, referencing some forums and youtubers perhaps familiar to many. To those deep into history, the basic story is nothing too deep, there is no great extravagant conspiracy or the like. But it makes for decent reading nonetheless.

[Dimei · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf like 50%, interesting story but ugly try-hard writing and you can tell what happens in the story after the first few chapters

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

First rating! This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the inner workings or history of the perfume industry. The Ghost Perfumer sets the stage with insight into how briefs are fought for by perfumers (and their oil company backers) and how existing or slightly altered formulas make their way into other briefs. The key story here may not be the exposure of Creed, which in broad strokes shouldn't surprise any serious perfume enthusiast (though it's great to finally see documented proof and the author went above and beyond). This is as much an ode to Bourdon's genius, including a search for answers to the naturally arising question of how a genius ended up on the receiving end of manipulation. Making this book potentially worth reading for non-fragheads with an interest in psychology. One thing is clear by the time you reach the end; Creed might've held the (crooked) crown, but the land it conquered is all but free of sins. Can even the biggest of sins take away any of the magic of perfumes? I don't think so (and it certainly isn't the intent of the author). Curtains will be lifted while reading, but no perfume will be spoiled. As in the book's epilogue, it concludes with a note of love and hopefully that will translate in a second exploration of this intricate niche by this author.
- Nose Knows No Notes

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I agree that some of the descriptions are strange, as someone who works at a fragrance house as an evaluator this book really unlocks the true behind the business. It gives a real glimpse of the intricacies, connections and stories of the life of a perfumer.

[Alec Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

As others have said, the actual content and discussion, as well as the information, is superb. However, the writing is just abysmal. There's a clear sense that the writer fancies himself a bit too much and the writing is full of surface-level wit (e.g. Du côté de chez Bourdon). The writing itself has errors at times as well and is just written very confusingly. I'd also say that the organisation of the book was done quite poorly and confusingly and there's an overall patronising, fedora-neckbeard vibe to the writing that makes it off-putting. Even though he mentioned he was an author many times in the book, I refused to believe it because of how poorly written this was.

For anyone with even a passing interest in perfume, I'd say this is a very worthwhile read. But if not, you're better off waiting for a better book to come around. Even if that wait takes awhile.

[AURORA RU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent non-fiction!
Very Y2021/2022, as we have the Apocalypse (Revealing) in different fields, crowns are falling, secrets are exposed, fraud corruption is showing up, royalties are naked etc.
Now it is the time to reveal also the story behind the legendary Maison Creed.
Not sure if this book will be interesting also for those who are not into perfume-mania, not into fragrance rush of 2010-2020, who haven't heard of Aventus Creed, but for me this one is the best book about this crazy industry of superoverpriced "luxury" liquids. Very refreshing!

"Perfume is a lover always in the process of leaving.
A good fragrance is addictive for a chemical reason or simply for the complexity of its unfolding over time. A great one has both qualities and something extra besides - or neither, by daring intention.
A perfumer interprets the present, so as to stimulate a particular future.
We, the users, aromatic enthusiasts, may have turned to fragrances not for the purposes of seduction. But instead out out of loneliness, heartbreak, physical pain (I know a small something about the first two and a great deal more about the third). We become reliant then on the flood of feel-good neurotransmitters attendant to our every depression of the atomiser. Next we required darker, deeper, more complex creations to obtain that rush - ever more sniffs of the new and exotic, though we'd settle in desperate moments for the bottles locked behind Plexiglass at CVS."

[Verónica Frágola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un libro muy interesante por varias razones: por un lado la relación de Olivier Creed con Pierre Bourdain, el ghost perfumer. Pero también es interesante para conocer cómo se manejan en el mundo de la perfumería, donde vemos a las grandes marcas copiándose unas a otras sus creaciones, cambiando o agregando notas para conseguir algo “nuevo” que al final no lo es tanto. Y no hablamos de perfumes dupes, sino de marcas como YSL copiando a Estee Lauder, o Lancome a Hermès.
Es un libro muy interesante, súper recomendado.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting read for anyone interested in fragrances. There are some aspects of the writing style and personality of the author that comes out that I am not a huge fan of but the message of the book itself is interesting. The author crafts a story of how Olivier Creed pretty much passed off Pierre Bourdon's work as his own. He mentions in passing how he got the information he did but we, as readers, can never be sure. Still worth a read in my opinion.

[Seth M Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an enjoyable dive into one of my favorite hobbies. It exceeded my expectations in writing style and voice and held my attention all the way through. I would love to read more by the author on perfumery.

[Olena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Badly written ( is the author a native speaker after all?), but still the topic is so rare, so for the public interested in perfume world, it will be fascinating. I enjoyed it, learnt a lot new for myself.

[Lena Svärdsjö · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and fascinating story, and the ending chapter was pure bliss to read!
However, the extremely complicated writing style makes it 5 stars - 0,5 stars. It's the content that counts after all.

[Jofli Delcoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book about a charlatan and an exploited master perfumer

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening tale with great insight into the world of fragrance

[Moussa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

super fun read, the last two chapters were a joy

[booker g · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. I’ve loved Creed forever - much longer than my friends - and while they saturated my glands with scent, this book opened my eyes.

[Steve May · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone that has a decent collection of men's fragrances, I found this to be a fairly interesting book.

[Mateus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long. So many details are irrelevant to the story... Who cares if you stole bottles of perfumes at your internship.