The panel and the fragrance

"In the last two decades the practice of selecting fragrances by the use of panels, market tests, statistical analysis of consumer motivation, psychological analysis of consumer buying habits, etc. have become very prevalent in almost all companies. Essential oil houses formerly selected the fragrance to be sold to the finished goods house by simply asking the perfumer to create a new perfume for customer X and abiding by his decision on what to submit. Now even they have fortified themselves with miniature fragrance selection panels which claim to be able to select, because of their marketing intuitiveness and esthetic knowledge, fragrances which will be accepted by the public. […] It is generally recognized that the public will never select a truly novel or original perfume, preferring to select something familiar, mediocre, or both as shown by the use of the statistical method of averaging (compromising) the results of any given survey."
Perfumer & Flavorist, November 1977 (page 36)

30 years after this text has been published we see the results almost everywhere. Guerlain used to be a creator of good perfumes that inspired others. Now Guerlain is the perfect illustration that no creator lives in that "house". From Champs Elysées to La Petite Robe Noire and almost all the range of Aqua Allegoria this reflect the contradiction of our times - big money doesn't support creation if there is no vision (see the first years of Serge Lutens Palais Royal). The scale of a creative brand is usually measured by its adverse effect - how many perfumes you inspire. Chamade, a great perfume, is still sold by Hermès under a different name and with a small modification. It was made about 20 years after Guerlain.
Quoting the book "How luxury lost its lust" a similar book title on the rise and fall of Guerlain would be "How Guerlain lost its nose".

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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art