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Monthly Archives from March 2006

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The Readers Talk Back Archive

January 23, 2011

Discussion on Inspiration Source for Louis Vuitton Ad with Keith Richards: Lillian Hellman for Blackglama {The Readers Talk Back} {Beauty Notes}

Reader Carole McIntyre left an interesting comment about a possible source of inspiration for the 2008 Louis Vuitton ad with Keith Richards, who by the way just published his (juicy) autobiography, Life. The picture of Lillian Hellman for the Blackglama ad is still so unconventional after all these years that I thought it would be enjoyed by all and here it is above. A commentary by the Errant Aesthete sheds further light on the behind-the-scenes for this 1976 shoot. And yes, on top of everything, she is holding a cigarette, which is by today's standards, a little taboo.

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August 17, 2010

Understanding Fragrance (2) {The Readers Talk Back}

So, I wanted to prune a bit the trees of ideas first by bringing to the front what had already been said on the blog about the question of what it is to understand fragrance and the limits of this movement as I had expressed ideas with readers in a thread but felt it was not the best place for them to be showcased. For the first installment, see Understanding Fragrance (1).

I concluded a post on Are Perfumistas Spoilt Brats? by raising the aesthetic, moral and practical issue of "opening up to fragrance." It seems to me a necessary first step which is the attitude of the cultivated instead of the response of the instinctive person: everyone can continue to use their olfactory sense to reject - bad, foreign, different, strange, hard-to-place, and what not scents. It's what it was made for...

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May 9, 2009

Daybreak, Guernica, Serge Lutens La Myrrhe, L'Artisan Parfumeur La Haie Fleurie du Hameau {The Readers Talk Back}

We got a really interesting comment by a reader named Nlb/Angela on a post published in May 2006, so I decided to reproduce it in the section The Readers Talk Back.

The two posts that preceded that comment are:

On Comparing Perfumes

On Comparing Perfumes II

Since a blog is also a diary, I am keeping those posts as reflective of a state of mind and reflection early on in my journey as a perfume blogger, but it is manifest to me that I have evolved on a number of the points evoked then. I am grateful though that the blog medium allows you to keep that quality of the daily life and the ephemeral that are so important to me.

From reader Nlb/Angela:

This post fascinated me enough that I'm compelled to comment years after you've posted it. It reminded me of what some art critics say of what's patronizingly considered "decorative art" and "illustration" rather than "Fine Art"; there's always this distinct hierarchy of importance, where some art is deemed significant and provocative, while others just "pretty...only pleasant to look at". While "Guernica" by Picasso might be important for what it tells us about humanity, how does "Daybreak" by Maxfield Parrish tell us any less about ourselves?...

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May 5, 2008

Winners of the Guess by Marciano Prize Drawing!

The winners for the new Guess by Marciano bottles of perfume are: Christina H., Stacy, Jonathan R., Jennifer, and Deborah.

Please hit the contact button and send me your address. I will forward it to the Guess PR service and they will send you your prize.

(Note: the bottle is darker than on the picture and has an interesting three-cornered shape.)

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February 7, 2007

Roundup of Comments: The Reformulation of Mitsouko by Guerlain is Publicly Confirmed {The Readers Talk Back}

One of the comments we received lately is about the reformulation of Mitsouko. A reader, Twitchly, wrote to Guerlain and received an answer from Isabelle Rousseau from Customer Relationship. Here is the comment and the correspondence:

"Guerlain recently confirmed in email to me that they have indeed reformulated Mitsouko. If you read between the lines, it's apparent that they have removed the oakmoss, at the very least. Here is the text:.......

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January 21, 2007

Round-Up of Comments: Mitsouko's Formula, Address of Parfums de Rosine in Paris {The Readers Talk Back}

We thought that it would be worthwhile to call your attention to comments that were posted on TSS this week which are of general interest to readers:

Jean-Noël commented on Te Deum for Mitsouko:

"Mitsouko has a very short formula (10 lines). My guess is that they have changed real "amber tincture" for a synthetic substitute. Another change coud be in a substitute in the C14 or C18 aldehyde for an IFRA compliant product."....

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