The winner of the draw.....

.....for the Fifi awards nomination party draw decant, Jubilation 25, is Sue! Please mail me with your addres using the email on the Contact link above and I will have this in the mail soon.

Thank you all for your participation and prepare for the next one!

Chanel No.5 Through the Years

The renewed interest in Chanel No.5, due to the new advertising campaign with Audrey Tautou, reaffirms what has been a shared secret: "The powers that be at Chanel claim that a product bearing its name (be it in the form of scent, soap or bath oil) is sold every six seconds". And that the production, shot before the unfolding of the current economic crisis spared no costs: "A crew of 25 people reportedly worked on it for three weeks last May, filming everywhere from Paris to Limoges and, of course, Turkey". [source: Independent]

The new commercial {presented here} is a more haunting version with a nod to traditional values compared to the all dancing, outright-glamour-and-paparazzi-escaping of the one with Nikole Kidman some years ago. Shot by Baz Lurhman the fiary tale "I'm a dancer" routine was a modern, upbeat version ~with more thigh shown~ of the Roman Holiday scenario: VIP who finds true love at the side of a mere mortal, if you recall your Audrey Hepburn collection correctly. Funnily enough, Kidman looks nothing like Audrey Hepburn in her super-tall frame and attenuated blonde features, although Tautou does bear a passing resemblance thanks to the immense doe-eyes of both brunettes.
The current No.5 commercial reprises the romantic scenario "feminine classique" with a nod to the story-telling fantasy unconventional style of the OVNI, aka an anything-goes-style in which a sense of parody might be injected or the fantasy materializes. The latest Jean Pierre Jeunet commercial for Chanel No.5 uses angle-shots, photography and editing style which err on the side of romanticism, rather than the parody he had exhibited in Delicatessen or the follow-the-pale-faced-gamine-with-doe-eyes of Amélie. The invocation of the bottle in the reflections of lights from the window panes of the Orient Express train however, the warm saturation of colours, the bird's eye angle at the end showing the protagonists hugging while the interlocking CCs are left to shine on the mosaics through the fade-out are all masterful choices of film direction. The final shot reminds me of the bird'eyes shot of the fateful couple shot by Francis Ford Coppola in his Dracula (a film full of intertextuality in itself).

Chanel always paid a lot of attention to how they presented No.5 to the world and I took the initiative to present a little retrospective through the years a propos the latest:

The first illustration for No.5 featured famous illustrator's Georges Goursat/Sem stylised silhouette of a flapper, the fashion for liberated women being to embrace the new fragrance; the flowing dress in typical 20s flapper style, the bobbed hair, the ecstatic hands in the air. This was not an advertisement nevertheless (Sem was known for satirizing Chanel in his previous attempts) but an acknowledgement of the popularity of the new scent to its intented audience: the fashion-conscious and the hip.

© ADAGP

Next Coco Chanel herself posed at the Ritz Hotel suite where she stayed to photographer François Kollard in 1937, the grandeur of the suite and the majestic fireplace echoing the luxury of the fragrance.

The tradition of pampering connected to No.5 persisted through the years through advertisements which hinted at the rapture and sense of luxury which its use provoked.


Marilyn Monroe ~although never chosen by Chanel herself as a spokeswoman for the fragrance~ became the best ambassadress and advertising vehicle of the brand in 1960. She revealed in an interview which asked her what she wore during her schedule that Chanel No.5 was her choice of bed attire. A indelible memory was scratched in the flummoxes of people's minds to this day and No.5 became legendary to people who had never thought of perfume before! Certainly not in those terms!

Ali Mc Graw and her more down-to-earth strong beauty took the torch in 1966 when she posed with her dark features as the face of Chanel No.5. The choice showed the emphasis which Chanel placed on their American audiences even then.


The 70s were scattered with print and TV ads of classically beautiful Catherine Deneuve (once upon a time face of Marianne, the French national emblem), the one who has been more closely related into people's minds with No.5. Ironically Deneueve was opting for Yves Saint Laurent for her clothes and for Guerlain for her perfumes! It doesn't matter: think of Chanel No.5 and some old ad depicting Catherine Deneuve is certain to pop up in your mind.


Unknown beauties were continuing to feature in advertisements or Chanel No.5 but the glamour and joie de vivre were always featured when the famous number was brought forth.


The last French face to front Chanel No.5 in the late 70s (in memorable Ridley Scott directed commercials) and all through the 80s, was Carole Bouquet. The French actress wasn't the most talented one to come out of the country but her beauty and chic radiated through the pages in classy sexiness.


It was the bottle itself which took center stage in the pop images reminiscent of the Andy Warhol technique before the Nicole Kidman contract in 1985. Actually Warhol never made any reproductions of the No.5 bottle: it was a gesture of homage.

Estella Warren, swimmer, model and actress, was the early 2000s face for Chanel No.5 in what was an unforgetable campaign of commercials filmed by Luc Besson reprising the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale in a most imaginative and creative melange. The print ads were visually striking, but not the same thing at all.


And then there was she who was at the height of her Hollywood career after worthy choices following an infamous divorce from Tom Cruise: Nicole Kidman had arrived and securing a contract to front Chanel No.5 was its apotheosis.

Please look at Perfume Shrine posts on Chanel No.5 commercial short-films through the years, clicking this link: Advertising Series part 1, I don't want to set the world on Fire.

She Spoke about Perfume in a Very Unconventional Way

The Chanel commercial we have been waiting and commenting on previously is finally here, the magic enfolding aboard the Orient Express en route to Istanbul. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring French actress Audrey Tautou and mole model Travis Davenport on the soundtrack of Billie Holiday's "Im a fool to want you".
Please be sure to check out the official link of Chanel as well as it presents the back-story and the details on the making of as well as commentary by Taurou and Jeunet.



According to the director Jean-Pierre Jeunet:
"I've always loved night trains and their magic: its the perfect opportunity to create an encounter in suspended time. I really liked the idea of a woman meeting a man. They both think about each other, but continue on with their own lives, left with the regret that they didn't make contact with the other person. I love to play with destiny and coincidences... I knew that the story would revolve around the mesmerizing effect of the scent in the womans wake. We had to give voice to the intangible."

Excellently done and we will return with another Chanel post with commentary very soon!! In the meantime, you can read more on Chanel on Perfume Shrine following this link.


Clip originally uploaded by ROPtv on Youtube

In Which I Fragrance Consult

I don't mean professionally this time (although it has been done); this is about a spontaneous and completely monetarily-disassociated consultation with a young woman I casually met at Sephora. (Contrary to my uncanny instincts and my hard-earned experience I continue to do this sort of thing when I see an aimlessly wandering soul amidst the aisles of department stores: When will I learn??) But it's a fun little story and worth mentioning in detail to illustrate a point or two.

Sephora happened to have a 20% sale for select VIP (?) customers and yours truly was invited through a post-office delivered mail:"Only for you and only for two days, everything 20% off, blah blah blah". My default question on examining such a proposition up close is "What ISN'T discounted?" I reckon eliminating all the non-possibilities makes for an easier list than trying to retain all the discounted brands info. The one brand that features on each and every one of those "Isn't-on-sale-despite-all-others-being-so" lists is Chanel (along with -brace yourselves- Mugler and Miyake: I attribute the latter two to the extreme popularity of their bestselling perfumes in my local European market). This time the reply from the SA was rather suprising; and probably borne out of a meaningful roundtable discussion concerning the economic recession and the repurcussions on the average Sephora-maniac's purchases at some central branch office of the esteemed firm. "EVERYTHING is discounted at 20% for you, EVEN Chanel!" she emphasized. Hmm...it was getting rather interesting!

Intent as I was on securing any batch of older Chanel's fragrances I could find still tucked away in some of those deeeeeeep drawers full of old stock they have at Sephora I came across her: She was a slip of a girl, a very young woman in her early 20s, skin to paint a Boticelli with, natural honeyed curls in a messy cute updo, casual attire that showed some care (a military pair of trousers with a neat, khahi T-shirt and a nice white denim jacket on top). The "wall" of Chanels above me loooked particularly enticing to her and I don't really know whether the VIP invitation reverberated in her pocket as well with the dire command "use me for something good!" or not, but she seemed intent on finding a Chanel for herself. Usually I don't really pay attention and I only notice such things as an inward nod to the power of successful marketing. Someone who is obviously ignorant of how things smell at Chanel, is clearly being led by her eyes, not her nose...This time was different, though and I was soon to find out how.

Spraying a bit of Chanel No.19 on those paper strips, she instantly exclaimed "Ewww, that's AWFUL!" with such passion in her grimace that it was hard not to take notice from 10 paces away. I feel such occurences literally beg to be addressed (and not just because I love No.19 to bits) if only to show what a profound difference the whole testing experience makes when one actually tests things the proper way. So lo and behold I stretched my crouching self and replied confidentially "Oh no, that's their very best" with a tone that implied I was at the very least sharing Pentagon secrets. It was completely understandable that she belonged to a generation who had been raised on Light Blue and Burberry Brit, while her mother would be probably still wearing L'eau d'Issey, so embarking on a diatribe on the matter of good taste or art would be sorely wasted; plus it was plainfully obvious No.19 was as completely alien as if she was given to taste Pluto-dust-laced dirt-balls. After all, I don't believe good taste is a generational thing and art is too often non quantitative. So I chose not to embark on such diatribe.
Apparently the trick of laconic pronouncement caught on: She paid attention and looked at me with quizzical eyes. "You just need to give it lots of time on the skin to mellow out the bitter start, it becomes very sensuous...", I quipped with almost a wink. Thus appeased she showed some signs of recognition of someone who really appreciates perfume.

Confidences then gust forth with all the gusto of Perfumistae Anonymous. She was emotionally tied to Bulgari Omnia Amethyste (I'm afraid she got a blank stare from me at this profound confession despite my best effort to look deeply engaged), but she was "so bored with all the perfumes on the shelves", she liked to change perfumes all the time, never sticking with anything for long because "they often got on her nerves". Clearly the customers are not complete morons, do note, dear perfume companies; by the end of a bottle of current juice they come to realise just how bad and utterly trite it was, not wanting to replenish ever again!

Sensing she was desperate for iconic black-and-white austerity, bearing cross-stiched glamour CCs (aka Chanel) I suggested Cristalle Eau de Toilette (this is usually a perennial safe bet on blind tests I conduct with friends from time to time; no one seems to hate it) , as well as hastily suggesting No.5 Eau Premiere, when I saw her tentatively reaching out for that bottle of No.5 Eau de Parfum. (I swear I didn't want to embark on that "old lady" conversation this time, I have heard arguments from both sides so many times and I disagree with each and every one of them). My recs rested on two salient -in my humble opinion- points: 1) Summer is coming and 2) Modern tastes like lighter juices. "This is quite modern, young, optimistic", I said. Although she showed signs of mild interest, I couldn't see her too impressed by either and she did test on skin this time. I fear that teenagers and people in their early 20s have been sadly conditionned to expect instant gratification that surpasses even the speed of making an instant Nescafe (that is nanoseconds to pour cold water on the granules, btw)! How low can you go, right?

Still, as a dare, I suggested Lolita Lempicka L Fleur de Corail, a floriental variation of the original and lovely salty-sweet L de Lempicka, which nevertheless left me rather cold personally, but which I could use as a litmus test regarding sweet-teeth-factor. I even mentioned how it is a "gourmand" with a nod to gustatory delights. Foody is a big word with very young people judging by what they buy and I was honestly curious to see if her tastes ran to the sweet-and-fatty despite her lithe physique. Apparently, there's hope yet. With a disenchanted look she dismissed it as "too sweet for her", almost apologetically, changing stance however when her eyes lighted up upon recalling "But I adore Lolita Lempicka in the purple, apple-shped bottle for the winter!". Brava Annick Menardo, I inwardly thought, but time was ticking away for me and we left it at that.

She didn't seem like she found the Chanel she was looking for on that day. But I came out feeling that young women are not complete airheads and just because they don't know how to properly test fragrances (and who is there to teach them anyway?) and they often can't seem to find a Chanel to claim as their own, doesn't mean they should be relegated to wearing something by Paris Hilton. Perfume people, present them with something really good to wear for a change!

Emma Watchon photographed by Karl Lagerfeld from Crash magazine. Photo by Steven Meisel (2007) via fashionmag.com

Roundtable discussion with perfumer Sophia Grojsman

Check out this link for a roundtable discussion on Perception and Imagination: Masters of the Senses, which engages Greg Calbi, Sophia Grojsman, Mark Mitton, Nils Noren, Philip Pearlstein, and Frank Wilson, from The Philoctetes Center.
Their other related links are also quite interesting!

Uploaded by philoctetesctr on Youtube