Nowhere does scent come alive quite as magically as in the mind of fragrance historian, taxonomist, expert, and author Michael Edwards. If perfumers are the orchestra, Edwards is its conductor, directing their output as to have the most profound effect on the listener. With a deep timbre and animated intonations, an engaging flow of dates, names, and anecdotes, hearing him speak about scents makes the bottles themselves come to life; the intertwining swirls of myth and legend, inspiration and creativity, history and future promise dancing in front of one’s very eyes. Evelyn Lauder dubbed him “the perfume expert’s expert,” but Edwards humbly calls himself a “backroom boy” who builds professional tools for the industry.Those who have come across his written work can attest to his talent in conveying the intricate political, social, and historical backdrops to the evolution of fragrance. Using perfumes like pit stops in a sensory history of culture and creation, Edwards’ conversations with the most revered talents of the industry are transformed into a thrilling joyride through the fragrances of the decades.A biochemist by trade, he began as a product manager at a global multinational, the Beecham Group in the 1960s, intrigued by fragrance’s potential to set a product apart, particularly while working on shampoos. Later, as fragrance director at Halston in the 1970s, customer conversations led to him creating The Fragrance Wheel featuring 14 different fragrance families, from dry woods to soft amber.