STYLE FILES: The scent of success

Mark David Boberick

Info: theperfumemagazine.com

Shickshinny native Mark David Boberick is a graduate of The Art Institute of Philadelphia, where he studied interior design and architecture. Boberick, who now lives in Cape May, N.J., is the managing editor of The Perfume Magazine, an online publication that launched Sept. 10. Four months later, the website is now read by thousands of people in 116 countries and Mark has been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

The Weekender chatted with him to learn a little more about the magazine and the perfume industry.

WEEKENDER: How did you get your start?

BOBERICK: From a very young age, I always paid attention to how certain things smelled. I knew my mother wore Halston by the time I was 2, and I was familiar with my neighbor’s Shalimar perfume by age 4. I started sampling perfume around 12 years of age and shortly thereafter, began accumulating quite a few bottles. In 2007, after many years of self-education — reading everything I possibly could on perfume, I began writing for Raphaella Barkley, who is the editor-in-chief of The Perfume Magazine. I have been published internationally and have appeared in Men’s Health Australia. I’ve given workshops on perfume and have continued the process of educating myself by continually smelling everything I possibly can. Recently, Raphaella asked me to join her in launching a new magazine, and of course I said yes.

WEEKENDER: What can people expect when visiting your website?

BOBERICK: ThePerfumeMagazine.com offers a little something for everyone. We recognize that our audience ranges from serious, longtime fragrance lovers to people who are just discovering their appreciation for fragrance, so it is important that we offer a wide variety of content that addresses this. Readers can expect to read profiles of specific fragrances, both new releases and classic fragrances, some familiar, but many of which may be unrecognizable due of their rarity and obscurity. Introducing our readers to hard-to-find fragrances that are worthwhile is important to us, but we also provide content that covers fragrances at all levels, from great drugstore finds to expensive, limited-edition perfumes and everything in between.

We love to celebrate the art of fragrance through articles on trends and perfume notes as well as interviews with perfumers and individuals who work in the perfume industry. Our reader, however familiar with perfume, will come away having learned something new and that is our ultimate goal.

WEEKENDER: What interests you about the perfume industry?

BOBERICK: I love the art of fragrance, and I love the power of our sense of smell. It is the most evocative of all our senses, and yet, it is most often the last sense that we choose to pamper. The majority of people will upgrade the seats in their new car to leather before they will think of buying a bottle of perfume. I don’t understand why more people don’t feel that our sense of smell is worthy enough to pay attention to. The ability that our sense of smell has to transport us to an exact moment in time, a moment that we may not have thought about for decades, is utterly amazing to me. No other sense can do that.

WEEKENDER: You’ve interviewed many perfumers. Who were some of your favorite interviews?

BOBERICK: In 2009, I had the great fortune to interview international fragrance expert, Michael Edwards, who literally wrote the book on perfume classification, “Fragrances of the World.” He hadn’t agreed to an interview in over 10 years. More recently, I spoke to Fragrance Designer Raymond Matts in a series of recorded video conversations. He is responsible for legendary fragrances such as Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds, Clinique Happy and several fragrances for Tommy Hilfiger.

Yann Vasnier, who has created several bestselling fragrances for Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford, gave a wonderful interview in our October issue which told of the moments in his life that inspired him to become a perfumer.

In that same issue, I spoke with Miriam Vareldzis, who recently launched her own perfume line, 40notes, after many years working in the design industry and later in the perfume industry. Miriam is perhaps my most favorite interview yet.

WEEKENDER: How do you choose the scents you personally wear?

BOBERICK: For me, it is instinctual. The bottles in my collection were all chosen by me because I knew they would satisfy a specific part of my personality and so, whatever my mood is at the time I’m applying a fragrance, will dictate what scent I am going to wear that day. I have a collection of well over 400 bottles and many think that it must take me a long time to choose, but really, I know my fragrances so well that I can usually decide even before I get to my perfume cabinet. Price has no influence in my decision, if it feels right for the moment, then I wear it. I might wear a rare Guerlain fragrance around the house, and I might wear a $16 fragrance from Bath & Body Works to a wedding — the deciding factor for me is always the personal response that I know I will get from a particular fragrance at any given time.

WEEKENDER: If you were to create your own perfume, what scents would you combine? What would it smell like?

BOBERICK: Just one? It would probably be a green, woody floral. My favorite note in perfumery is French narcissus absolute, which has an incredibly complex floral scent. A bespoke fragrance for me would feature a high concentration of narcissus and might include fresh-cut grass, hay, iris, moss, Bulgarian rose, frankincense, tobacco, sandalwood, ambergris, and tonka bean.

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