Episode description

Dominique Roques visits Google to discuss his book “In Search of Perfumes: A Lifetime Journey to the Source of Nature's Scents.” The book contains a mix of history, travelog, and memoir from one of the perfume industry’s leading scouts of natural ingredients, as he tells the story of the precious plants needed to make our favorite fragrances.

Do you know how many flowers it takes to produce a kilo of rose oil? One million roses, each handpicked. When it comes to nature, Dominique Roques is a unique authority. He has spent the last thirty years working closely with local communities across the globe to establish a sustainable supply of natural ingredients crucial to perfume making.

From resin cultivated by traditional methods in El Salvador to rose oil distilleries in India as old as the Taj Mahal, his network reveals an elusive trade built on the fault lines of tradition and modernity. Roques tells the story of seventeen of the industry’s most precious ingredients–where they come from, their cultural and historic significance, and why we love them—from Indonesian patchouli to the "Damask rose,” interweaving his own recollections and reflections on his life and work.

Entertaining and eye-opening, and decorated with beautiful black-and-white illustrations, “In Search of Perfumes” is an irresistible exploration of the smells that fuel our nostalgia and suffuse our fantasies.

Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.