Though typically secretive, two major perfume creators invited the New York Times critic to sit in and watch the creative process firsthand. Over the course of a year, Burr saw the step by step process it took to bring Hermès' Un Jardin sur le Nil and Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely to market, and he chronicles the experience in his The Perfect Scent: A year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York.

In Paris, powerhouse Hermes brought in perfume designer Jean-Claude Ellena to help create a scent that could hold its own against similar luxury brands like Bulgari and Chanel – its iconic No. 5 is referred to as “le monstre” by its Parisian competitors. Across the pond in New York, Coty, Inc. – the largest fragrance house in the world – worked closely with Sarah Jessica Parker throughout the creative process, something Burr says is unusual, as most celebrities rarely even smell the scents that bare their names before they hit the market.

Burr also looks at the chemistry behind perfume making and why everything has to be kept so tightly under wraps, fueling Girlawhirl's need for knowledge about just how a perfume is made.

For the full in-depth look at the perfume industry, Girlawhirl picked up her copy of The Perfect Scent: A year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York in her online shopping mall at barnesandnoble.com.