Would you Like Some Brut with your Scented Memories sir?

"Brut - launched in 1964 by boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper and famously worn by Kevin Keegan, who liked to splash it all over - this week celebrates its 45th birthday and its combination of sandalwood, bergamot, citrus and lavender is still instantly recognisable". {a perceptive reader tells me it's actually Cooper who was appearing on ads advocating splashing all over, there are factual mistakes on the quoted article from the Daily Record linked below}
They seem to be forgetting the crucial essence of this macho typhoon by Fabergé with the dog-collar chained on the distinctive green bottle ~the intense nitromusks garlanding it with all the bravado of a man who didn't have to try too hard and which made for several ones who did try too hard by overapplying this strong and memorable potion onto their burly chests in the hopes of "getting some". The now banned synth musks that were all the rage in the 70s have been replaced and Brut doesn't smell as daring. (please note the stuff in plastic bottles is a watered-down version as opposed to the glass ones)
But it's this masculine cologne anniversary that prompted several well-known people to reveal what reminds them of their youthful Saturday nights in an article in The Daily Record.
The replies vary from the (very British) Vimto drink to classic perfumes (Ma Griffe, Tweed) to simpler and predictable aromata (honeysuckle or newly-cut grass) all the way to more unexpected stuff (Elnett hairspray ~a scent I love myself and the only hairspray I use~ and sheep dung, a smell I do not but which is everywhere in Britain). One of them was basking in Bono's aftershave. Pity he didn't identify it for us.

Pic of Brut classic via 99perfumes.com

Praise for Sierra Solid Gold by Roxana Illuminated Perfume

Roxana of Roxana Illuminated Perfume makes some lovely botanical fragrances with which we have occupied ourselves on this venue before and her super-duper cuties of solid minis have pride of place on my very own desk as we speak. (she also sends them encased in either a lovely velvet green pouch or a papier mâché box that is too sweet for words).

It's therefore with joy that I discovered someone else also found one of her creations worthwhile while perusing the Net. Praising the virtues of solids (they don't spill, they slip into a handbag, are travel-friendly and discreet) Erin Flaherty remarks on The Frisky that "This botanical scent, Sierra Solid Gold, is not going to make people a mile away sit up and smell you. Instead it’s a clean yet well-rounded blend of green conifers like spruce, fir and pine, mixed with warm notes of vanilla, tonka bean, spice and orange. It’s the perfect fragrance to take from late summer well into fall". Couldn't have said it better myself!
Super affordable on Etsy.

"When You’re Young, you Don’t Really Understand the Idea of Less is More"

There is a peculiar sense of style running with Ann Hatahaway it seems. According to My Fashion Life the 26-year-old actress is so brand-loyal/icon-impressed she even opts for things she doesn't really, really like!

“I will always love Chanel and I am completely irrational when it comes to their clothes. I will see a dress and not like it but when I hear it’s Chanel, I suddenly have to have it.” This apparently has earned her a place on the Best Dressed List recently, although one has to wonder: if you don't actively like what you're wearing does that make you stylish? She has also been famously known to opt for Maresha, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, Nina Ricci, and Marc Jacobs among others. Ann reverts to simpler fashions for everyday life, following the lead of Kate Winslet.
Could fragrances be far behind, we wondered? According to our Celebrity List not, since Ann seems to have been opting for Chanel's Chance for some while now. Is it because she likes it as much or is it because it's Chanel? Therein lies the question (with many others too I bet), still her fragrant reminiscences are interesting: “I remember being given my first fragrance when I was 12. It was a peach body spray and when you’re young, you don’t really understand the idea of less is more. Now, as the face of Lancome’s Magnifique I have to say that it’s one of my favourite scents. I love the smell of fresh roses.”
What happened to Les Exclusifs to which I am sure she has free access along with her Chanel gowns? I will ascribe this one to a diplomatic reply.

Pic of Ann Hathaway in Chanel look from the film The Devil Wears Prada via replicasreview.com

More advertising watching: Mariah Carey, preview for Forever, new celebrity scent

With not one but two signature scents under her belt, M by Mariah Carey and Luscious Pink, and a third one, Forever, just about to launch this September, Mariah Carey seems more set on perfumes than music albums it seems. She’s debuting her ads online exclusively on PEOPLE.com, from where the pic is weaned from. According to Mariah:“Fragrance is so personal and Forever captures that glamorous feeling that I want to share with my fans.” Forever is described as an "opulent floral scent, which will contain notes of lotus blossom, tuberose, gardenia, exotic woods and white musk". The fragrance will retail for $42 for a 1-oz. spray.

What I have to note concerning the imagery chosen by Elizabeth Arden, the company under the aegis of which Mariah's perfumes are materialised, is that the picture looks a little skewed and quite Photoshopped to make Mariah a bit ...unrecognisable. Maybe not as heavily Photoshopped as this ad for Chanel with Keira Knightley we discussed the other day, but messed with, at any rate.

I love the 30s satin dress in ivory and the choice of glitzy art-deco jewelry to match the style like a silver screen siren (shades of Jean Harlow), but the pose of Mariah looks unnatural ~whose hair would adopt such an angle, since if you notice she's not really leaning on the cushions~ and her face looks weird; I've seen her in better pics, honestly! The bottle of the fragrance also looks a little...hmmm....
Anyway, best of luck to her I suppose and hope she gets back to recording her amazing voice.

Pic of bottle via Upscaleswagger