Here are two pictures of Acqua di Biella window displays from two different cities, Dresden and Frankfurt in Germany. The first one was picked by the brand and I thought that the second one, part of their collection, was noteworthy, with its kitschy, classical-world theme...
The new ad for Dior Hypnotic Poison with actress Monica Bellucci. The tag line is Dior est mon poison (Dior is my poison).
An advertising that plays to the stereotype or archetype of Eve. The bottle of Hypnotic Poison becomes or rather suggests the (red) apple Eve bit into as she was seduced into it by the serpent in the garden of Eden.
After Eve/Monica Bellucci gets expulsed from Eden she takes on the attributes of the snake in order, in her turn, to ssssseduce unwitting men.
However Dior in their kindness have posted a big enough community warning sign.
Monica Bellucci thus becomes that multi-secular female public enemy # 1 figure at the very same time that her husband Vincent Cassel is playing the role of public enemy #1 Mesrine in his latest movie.
Chanel has started publicizing a sumptuous ad campaign for their latest Eau Première with, surprise, actress Nicole Kidman as its face. The publicity I saw (and which I did not see in their earlier press documentation) is a luxurious four-page spread that looks as if the support were photography-paper quality with a peel-off perfume sample tucked in a glossy enveloppe.
We are showing you the first two pages today as they appeared in Elle Magazine this week...
As a follow-up to our initial announcement, here is a sneak peek at the advert for the upcoming new cologne inspired by actor Tony Sirico titled Paolo Per Uomo (Paul or Paulie for Men). It is inspired by his Soprano character Paulie Walnuts. The tag line is: "Make it known you mean business."...
The Victoria & Albert Museum in London is organizing an exhibition on fashion and sports called Fashion V Sport which started on the 5th of August 2008 and will run until the 4th of January 2009. Within it, sensory artist Sissel Tolaas has set up an olfactory thread that runs through the exhibit, creating a second invisible exhibition entitled Bodisme only discernable to the nose, thus developing further her work on human body odor.
The scent installations on display are to be found in each of the four sections of the exhibition:
"DARE A 'clean' sweaty body without bacterial interaction
DISPLAY A sweaty body overlaid with deodorant/ artificial smells
PLAY A sweaty body's unique 'smell fingerprint' that carries natural messages in pheromones, bacterial interaction,
DESIRE A custom-made simulated body smell as a base scent with added molecules on top to communicate the desired message"...
Ok, so you weren't able to make it to the world premiere of the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace in London yesterday (you wanted to have first dibs on the new Avon fragrance Bond Girl 007 of course).
The next best thing is to listen to Gemma Aterton talking about the perfume, take a peek at the behind-the-scenes and even - surprise! - listen to perfumer Olivier Cresp explaining his ideas for the perfume he helped create. It had to be both attractive and dangerous, says he. I am ready to believe Avon can put the equivalent of some kind of
perfumery glutaminate of sodium in their scents because their Wish of
Happiness seemed to operate exactly at that level.
So we get the addictive part for the drydown but then he adds that the top notes are sparkling. Is that supposed to mean dangerous as in an overdose of champagne?
Watch the commercial and then the interviews after the jump and let us know what you think!
Perfumers: Honorine Blanc and Annie Buzantian Artistic director: Aerin Lauder Gender label: feminine; men could make it their own if they care to remember Macassar oil Notes: Italian Bergamot, geranium oil, cinnamon SFE, Golden Amber, Ylang Ylang absolute, Bulgarian Rose absolute, Honey, Incense, Vanilla and Sandalwood. Characteristics: modern soft ambery oriental with slightly old-fashioned styled florals Personality: soft, sensual, warm, courteous, graceful Wearability: a cinch Price point: $$ (Eau de Parfum) and $$$ (extrait) Bottle: "The parfum
bottle cap is adorned with semi precious stones of tiger eye, smokey quartz
and red agate. The eau de parfum bottle cap was inspired by an exquisite
hammered gold necklace and matching bracelet Aerin received as a gift from her
grandmother Estee." Perfumes discussed: Estee Lauder Intuition, Yves Rocher Voile d'Ambre (just for pointers), Bourbon French Parfums Heliotrope
Estée Lauder Amber Ylang Ylang is the second installment in the Private Collection series inaugurated with Tuberose Gardenia last year. The Private Collection is the equivalent of the concept of the private reserve for luxury alcohols. It aims to bring an enhanced experience of refinement to customers by paying more attention to the raw materials used, letting them speak for themselves if you will.
It is apparent to me now that the collection bears the personal mark of Aerin Lauder: Amber Ylang Ylang just like Tuberose Gardenia bespeaks of a certain brand of soft femininity and social grace. Exotic flowers that could be let loose as unruly, heady and erotic (tuberose; ylang ylang) come here to adorn perfect decoration-magazine pages (or silver-screen imagery) letting go of their reputation for unpredictability in exchange for a touch of gentility. Instead of using the word "polite" I want to use the term "courteous".
Aerin Lauder explained the inspiration for the perfume,
"To me, a perfect evening is a private one, spent at home with family
and friends. So the fragrance captures the essence of an
enjoyable evening in a warm, inviting room filled with the luxurious
textures of wood, velvet and cashmere. "Private Collection Amber Ylang
Ylang represents the relaxed intimacy and quiet comforts that we love
to come home to at the end of the day."
And again,
"For me, there is nothing more inviting and warm than rich browns and gold - brown velvet couches, gold accents in lamps, tables, vases and frames,"...
I am not sure I need to smell this one but it is so fun to see everyone and their neighbors getting to deh-ve-lo-peh a perfume that I couldn't resist posting about Hollyoaks by Hollyoaks, the new indispensable fragrance for soap opera fans...
Here are the new print ads for the fragrance Miss Dior Chérie shot with model Maryna Linchuk. Sofia Coppola has been hired by Dior to film the TV commercial version of the ad featuring the same model but the latter has not been released on the net yet as far as I can tell.
And here is an anecdote about the perfume: last summer as I had feasted on ripe French-bred strawberries and some were left on the table and forgotten, I started smelling Miss Dior Chérie in the air in a very distinct manner after a while. It is only after a few quizzical moments that I realized the strawberries smelled exactly like the strawberry note in the perfume, complete with its chypré overtones. I don't know if the scent of these strawberries have been enhanced or if Miss Dior Chérie just captures the natural scent of this varietal wonderfully, but it was funny.
I have been doing involuntary reverse-associations more and more by the way. I smell this cumin and I think, mmm, it smells like L'Autre or that other cumin and mmm, it smells like Kingdom...talk about living in a different world! It does not happen systematically but it looks like the world of perfumes is taking on a life of its own...
John Galliano perfume ad featuring his muse: the fragrance just launched in Europe. Expect to see it in 2009 in the US and the Middle East
John Galliano by John Galliano
The Skinny:
Perfumers: Christine Nagel and Aurélien Guichard Artistic Director: John Galliano Fragrance company: Selective Beauty Gender label: feminine; could be worn by a man in the spirit of a 19th century men's floral scent thanks to its tobacco and hay nuances; perfect for a modern dandy Notes: aldehydes, violet, iris, rose, musks, woods Characteristics: classic florals perceived through the filter of memory meet real-life realistic atmospheres = arty superimposition of freshly ironed couture dress on powdery lipstick-y floral bouquet and more Personality: soft, tender, romantic and edgy Wearability: easy - the "edge" might be too much for some Price point: $$ Perfumes discussed: Berdoues Violettes de Toulouse, Borsari Violetta di Parma, Creed Love in Black, Editions de Parfum Dans Tes Bras, Guerlain Insolence EDP, Penhaligon's Violetta, Stephen Jones, Lalique Eau de Parfum, Caron Aimez-Moi
The Review:
The Larger Context: Violets Then & Here & Now
Major fragrance and flavors producer Symrise said in February 2008 that the scent of violet would be one of our notes of predilection in the future, and indeed we have seen this forecast, or perhaps better put, industrial push come to realization. They announced, amongst other things, that there would be "...a redefinition of classic notes like vetiver or violet..." I was mildly surprised to have to imagine that one of the signature trails of the 19th century bourgeoisie, when floral bouquets and soliflores were overwhelmingly in was supposed to waft anew in the near future as if reflective of our deep hidden meaningful unconscious need for it, only it just had to be brought to the surface. Why a violet "craze" redux now? What could its meaning be? Is it simply the tail end of the 2007 iris comet (see Galore of Iris Perfumes), a note often associated with it? Was this just a fashion diktat we ought to disobey like the violet, purple and plum colors trend of this fall 2008? And are we really begging to tattoo violet perfume, metaphorically speaking this time, into our skins as was fashionable for some at the peak of the violet mania?
The mid 19th century and early 20th century perfume-history chapter is full of excess and passionate addiction to this scent which was considered to be the epitomy of what "delicate" is meant to express. Violet was perceived to offer an "unsurpassed delicacy", an ideal and naturally refined aroma although many formulas were in fact attempts at capturing the illusion of the real thing. It is thus important to note that despite the label "violet" (soliflores) a good number of people were in fact aware that in many cases violet perfumes were illusory renditions of it. What I find very interesting in this case is that these original sources show that the so-called naturalism of 19th century taste in perfumes was actually linked to a higher level of perception of the abstractness of floral fragrance compositions than our contemporaries commonly think. The idea of a simple violet scent might sound charmingly naïve in retrospect but in fact 19th century perfumistas were much more astute consumers of it than we think...
I love this picture of a flacon of Shalimar being delicately combed at the Guerlain Orphin factory
Joyce.fr has put together a nice photo album to celebrate the 180th anniversary of the house of Guerlain. Some rarer pictures appear, especially those of ancient Guerlain cosmetics.
Don't tell me it's true they discontinued Secret de Bonne Femme! I loved its aerial consistency, its smell, its mother-of-pearl color, not to mention its adorable blue indigo glass jar. It was a feel-good traditional face cream that had managed to survive since the Belle Epoque (1904) into the 21st century.
A Guerlain cream made with bear's fat, la Graisse d'Ours Liquéfiée
You can now contemplate Britney Spears in her new, freshly-minted ad for her upcoming fragrance Hidden Fantasy to be launched in December 2008, as previously announced. It was taken a week or so ago.
The main theme is red, red, red and the fantasy seems to be to spend a fall vacation on planet Mars observing leaves turning from red to hopeful green...
You may have followed the news with us regarding the upcoming launch of I Am King by Sean John, which comes with a message. Here is a sneak peek at the advert for the fragrance that will appear in national books from December 2008.
From the press release,
"Sean John Fragrances introduces "I Am King," the newest men's fragrance
from Sean "Diddy" Combs. A decadent and sensual scent for the power
players of the world - "I Am King" is designed to inspire those who
dream big and want to live large - the ultimate, empowering fragrance
for today's modern man.
A little dose of fairy-tale does not hurt in times of recession as someone was telling me off the record. Paris Hilton has thus turned into the celebrity version of a sweet Tinker Bell to promote her new fragrance Fairy Dust; she seems to have left the branch of the flacon of the latest Van Cleef & Arpels Féérie who were also inspired by the magical world of Disney's pixies this fall 2008. Meanwhile Lolita Lempicka is reactivating a scintillating version of the little mermaid franchise with Fleur de Corail...
This is my favorite masculine ad so far. When Dior Sport pour Homme and Guerlain Homme are trying to capture your attention these days on the airwaves and the street even, and do by the way, but lack a little something, like a real presence, this ad for Gucci by Gucci pour Homme with actor James Franco is able to deliver a concentrate of masculinity.
This must be the first time I pay closer attention to Franco: he is charming, sexy and I realized, looks like James Dean, to whom he is made to resemble even more with his moody, brooding pose. Ah yes, he also bears the same first name. Discovery of the day.
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