“Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in paintings, poems, films. And books. Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives—or to find strength in a very long one.”
- V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
What happens when a novel about being forgotten meets an art form built on being remembered? In this episode, Daylesford perfumista Rhiane Schroder brings V. E. Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue to the table, and together we explore how fragrance can hold time, how memory shapes identity, and the deep human longing to leave a trace. Rhiane matches perfumes to the novel's many eras and moods, turning Addie's centuries into a trail of scent.
A hair and makeup artist by day, Rhiane may be a fresh voice in social media perfume reviews, but her nose has been leading her for a lifetime, from her earliest scent memories in the garden to travels that have shown her how different cultures wear and celebrate fragrance. For her, a perfume is never just the final touch of the day, but an experience that conjures pictures, colours, textures and moods. So it's no surprise her bottles double as memory objects, and we talk about the very real anxiety of finishing a beloved perfume, and the joy of revisiting scents from different stages of life.
Fragrances mentioned:
Giorgio - Giorgio Beverly Hills
Iris Silver Mist - Serge Lutens
Mon Nom Est Rouge - Majda Bekkali
Librido - Olfiction Lab Editions
Violet Empire - CB I Hate Perfume
Vetyver Bucolique - Mad et Len
Wearing Scars Like Jewels - One Way Bridge Perfumes
Absince of Nothing - One Way Bridge Perfumes
Haute Horopito - One Way Bridge Perfumes
The Typographers Daughter - One Way Bridge Perfumes
Book discussed:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V. E. Schwab
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Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records
