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Photo © Etat Libre d'Orange Tom of Finland is the latest fragrance to emerge from the "space of olfactory libertinage" created by Etat Libre d'Orange, a taboo-averse slightly iconoclastic niche perfumery located in Paris. Named after master draughtsman of homosexual eroticism Tom of Finland, whose real name was Touko Laaksonen (1920-1991), the perfume aims to instill the sense that to be "Gay or straight, it doesn't matter. The frontiers have expanded and barriers have faded to make way for a beautiful and original vision of masculinity." It is a joint project undertaken with the Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles which asked as main guideline that it "does not disturb the odor of men," (see previous post)
The problem from the start for founder and artistic director Etienne de Swardt was, if at all possible, to avoid clichéd representations of homosexuality, "With Tom of Finland, the challenge was to avoid a purely sexual banality, a conventional story of propositions clad in leather and conducted in bathrooms. At the Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles, I discovered a world that was highly erotic, but it was an eroticism presented as art, as a veritable religion. Tom's drawings have a fine, elegant beauty; they are never vulgar. They convey a happy sensuality, a light-hearted debauchery. The viewer is amused, entertained. To create the perfume 'Tom', I thought it would be interesting to go to the antithesis of the cliche, and assign the scent to a 'straight' perfumer, Antoine Lie, who has played up the contrast of subject and viewpoint, in his successful interpretation."
Antoine Lie, the perfumer, added, "Although heterosexual, I must admit that many of the most beautiful souls I've met in my life have been masculine and gay. I'm fascinated by their culture, their talent. This perfume is my way of paying homage to them, to show the straight world that there is much to learn from gay society, to blend absolute purity with outright sensuality all the way to a sexuality without borders."
In a way, it can be seen as playing it safe to express these ideas through perfume. How far could it go in provoking sexual walls to fall? Tom of Finland the perfume, like the drawings of the artist, betrays a playful touch, that humor perceptible in the Kake comics characters, never going as far as the more seriously olfactorily provocative Sécrétions Magnifiques. It offers a simplified image of homosexuality, one that anyone can relate to and adopt as scent. It is understandable that the brand would not want to run the risk of putting out a composition that would be felt to be repulsive, like Sécrétions is often thought to be, as this might deliver a negative message about homosexuality and potentially trigger homophobic discourse. Etat Libre d'Orange want to bring you into their fold and so they have devised an appealing perfume that speaks to the cause of gay men, in particular, the ones that recognize themselves in the Tom of Finland archetypes......
 Image © Tom of Finland Foundation
Continue reading "•• Etat Libre d'Orange Tom of Finland (2008) •• {Perfume Review} {Celebrity Fragrance}" »
Pop singer Mariah Carey has been working on the sequel to M and the result called Luscious Pink is apparently above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty. Described as a sparkling floral, it mimics at one point the high-pitched notes Mariah Carey is capable of hitting while the perfumers say they were more generally inspired by the enveloping sensation of Mariah's voice. Said the singer, "Elizabeth Arden has been a fantastic partner and the end creation of Luscious Pink is beyond my expectations,"
Judging from M, which was good, one can hope that the new collaboration with perfumers Carlos Benaim and Loc Dong has given birth to another inspired celebrity fragrance. The Japanese market was kept in mind this time as Carey wants to reach out to her fan base in that country......
Continue reading "Mariah Carey Luscious Pink (2008) {New Perfume} {Celebrity Fragrance}" »
When, finally, the flacon appeared on the giant screen at the Grand Palais on June 10, 2008
Although details about the new feminine perfume by Lancôme, Magnifique, are still kept somewhat under wrap, we have received more information about the scent. What does it smell like? Who is the perfumer?.... The magnifique Hathaway
Continue reading "More about Lancôme Magnifique (2008) + Party Pictures {New Perfume}" »
Artist Biliana Velkova has something to say about celebrity fragrances, whose impact on pop culture she recognizes by organizing an exhibition called Breathless at the Jeffrey Boone Gallery in Vancouver. All the trappings of a celeb's launch are here except for the jus itself and the celeb herself or himself. What is the point exactly?.....
Continue reading "Celebrity Mirage Perfume {Fragrance News} {Scented Paths & Fragrant Addresses}" »
Queen Latifah in the movie Chicago (2002) Parlux Fragrances, one of the companies specializing in celebrity perfumes with brands like Paris Hilton and Maria Sharapova, and also Jessica Simpson, GUESS, Nicole Miller, XOXO, Ocean Pacific (OP), Andy Roddick, babyGund, and Fred Hayman Beverly Hills, have added a new name and face to their portfolio, Queen Latifah. The singer and actress's first fragrance will debut in the fall of 2009 in the US and then roll out internationally. According to the press release, "Named one of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People in May 2008, she strives to empower women and instill knowledge and confidence with every opportunity. Transcending the “urban” label, Latifah has a passionate following that crosses race, age and gender boundaries. The top Renaissance woman in the entertainment industry, she has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a first for a hip hop artist now turned award-winning actress and singer"......
Continue reading "Parlux Fragrances Signs Deal with Queen Latifah {Fragrance News}" »
 Singer Christina Aguilera, who is no stranger to fragrance developing, will launch yet a new perfume called Inspire on September 1st 2008 starting in the US. Apparently her previous eponymous fragrance Christina Aguilera, which debuted last year, encountered some timing issues with distribution in the US market, so P & G is attempting a new introduction with a different product. This time Inspire is inspired by both Andy Warhol (like Bond No. 9?) and Tokyo (like Gwen Stefani?).
It is striking to see how Aguilera keeps launching fragrances in different markets and always tries to make it sound like a first of something (see A Tale of 3 Christina Aguilera Fragrances). In fact, her older European fragrances are sort of hushed up about in the US mainstream media.....
Continue reading "Christina Aguilera Inspire (2008) {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume}" »
Actor Josh Hartnett will be the face of the upcoming Armani fragrance for men called Emporio Armani Diamonds pour Homme, to be released this summer according to one US source and in September of 2008 according to a French source, a country where the fragrance might make a delayed entry. The new scent is meant to be the counterpart to Emporio Armani Diamonds fronted by singer Beyoncé Knowles, both borrowing from star charisma to seduce new scent aficionados......
Continue reading "Josh Hartnett to be Face of New Armani Fragrance {Fragrance News} {Celebrity Perfumes}" »
Mariah Carey launched her debut signature perfume, M, last year and since then there has been only positive buzz about it as far as we can tell. Celebrity perfumes are always suspected of being crass vehicles for loud branding and sheer money-making, except by their fans, and magic in a celeb's bottle is not expected by most people. M seems to be a case where the famous personality was able to have her say and impact the making of the perfume significantly while the perfumers seem to have intuited her well. Maybe we will learn one day Carey wanted it to smell like a billy-goat and the marketers set their foot down, but the perfume seems to go well with her perceived image on yet another level of synergy, that of the celebrity's image and her or his fragrance. What can catch one's attention at first is the fact that M sounds authentic because it presents blatant idiosyncratic traits: a marshmallow note with a sea breeze accord and then some Moroccan incense? Quid? It sounded like the notes were there for a reason because they sounded rather whimsical thrown into the same mix. We also later thought that it might be a little in the line of Dune by Dior (marine incense) and so were doubly curious as this one is a rather unusual scent below its surface of mainstream respectability........
Continue reading "Mariah Carey M (2007): From Smells to Floriental {Perfume Review}" »
Actress Naomi Watts in Los Angeles on May 5th 2008 Hot off the wire. In a move to link perfume and Hollywood glamor, it has been announced today that actress Naomi Watts will be the new icon for the fragrance Angel by Thierry Mugler starting this fall. As underlined by the press release, previous advertising campaigns for the first oriental gourmand that is Angel were graced in the past by beautiful feminine models but this time, "the new incarnation is more star than ever." Advertising campaign will break in national publications from October 2008. This is an interesting choice and goes well with the image of the perfume, we think, especially if you recall Mulholland Drive. Angel despite its international success still manages to keep a little bit of a strange flavor, a quirkiness in the midst of success and Naomi Watts offers this quality......
Continue reading "Naomi Watts is New Thierry Mugler Angel Icon {Fragrance News - News Flash} {Celebrity Fragrance}" »
According to several news sources (People, The Irish Examiner, Entertainmentwise.com) that we were not able to verify online, Jennifer Lopez has decided to turn her planned TV reality show for TLC channel into a perfume-centered project.....
Continue reading "Jennifer Lopez To Offer Perfume-Development TV Show {Fragrance News} {Celebrity Perfume} " »
Sarah Jessica Parker will launch a limited-edition flanker this summer called Covet Pure Bloom, following her 2007 introduction of Covet. The actress will also be busy promoting her feature-movie adaptation of the popular Sex And The City series opening on March 30th 2008. This time, the scent appears to take the path of a tropical sequel to the original "fougère on estrogens" (Covet) as it features a central note of royal Indonesian Pikake flower together with a popular one of coconut toddy.......
Continue reading "Sarah Jessica Parker Covet Pure Bloom (2008) {New Perfume} {Celebrity Fragrance}" »
Country singer Tim McGraw is set to launch his first signature perfume called McGraw in August of 2008. The simple rather virile name of the fragrance already sets the tone, "Tim resonates with the American consumer — he is admired not only for being a great musician, but also for being a great husband [to Faith Hill] and father [of three]. We see this as one of the most significant mass market fragrance launches since [Coty launched] Celine Dion five years ago.".....
Continue reading "Tim McGraw McGraw (2008) {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume} {Men's Cologne}" »
Gucci have announced that American actor James Franco, who incarnated Harry Osborn in the Spider Man movie trilogy, will be the spokesperson for their next masculine cologne to be launched in September 2008. Artistic director Frida Giannini said she chose him as he “represents [her] vision of the Gucci man: stylish, cool, modern and contemporary with an effortless air” Via Cosmetic News & The Cinema Source
We previously reported about Cuban actress Niurka Marcos preparing to launch her signature perfume. It has been unveiled now in Mexico and is called, without any ambiguity whatsoever, Niurka Marcos con Feromonas (Niurka Markos with Pheromones), unless the ambiguity be that there is a Niurka Marcos without pheromones, which we doubt is what will cross people's minds. She also promises the introduction of a masculine flanker next year titled Elvis con Feromonas. The new feminine scent should make it to the US and Puerto Rican markets next year. Source: Anodis
We all know that Nicole Kidman is expecting...or at least now you know. The impact of this piece of news on perfume history has just been felt. Women's Wear Daily reported on Wednesday April 16 that French actress Audrey Tautou is rumored to be the next spokesmodel for Chanel No. 5 fragrance.....
Continue reading "Rumor, Rumor: Audrey Tautou as Next Chanel No.5 Icon {Fragrance News} {Celebrity Perfume}" »
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