Brad Pitt Speaking Seductively to Chanel No.5

'To keep a legend fresh, you always have to change its point of view,' President of Chanel Fragrance & Beauty, Andrea d’Avack, tells WWD. 'It is the first time we’ve had a man speaking about a women’s fragrance. We think very much that the perfume is a seduction between a man, a woman and the perfume. No.5 is our leading fragrance, and we are willing to make the investment to keep it on that level.' Brad Pitt was thus chosen to be that investment, as we announced a while ago.

 'For the first time, a man will give his view on the most feminine and legendary of fragrances,' the Chanel invite to view the premiere of the new "film project" on October 15th reads. The commercial is shot by Joe Wright (who also did the Coco Mademoiselle ones), featuring the famous actor (who was recompensed with £4.3 million for his services) speaking to the viewer as if he was speaking to a woman. Actually, though, he's talking to the perfume...

 I'm already scratching my head how this will unfold. Our French speaking readers will enjoy the following promo video about No.5's "history" (I'm using it in quotes as the real history is somewhat different than the carefully constructed myth...)

 

Tableau de Parfums Loretta: new fragrance by Tauer & Pera & draw

Loretta comes as the second chapter in the Tableau de Parfum series (introduced by Miriam) from the creative forces of Andy Tauer and Brian Pera (in perfumery and film-making respectively). In this ongoing collaboration, Pera and Tauer engage in a discourse about perfume, film, people and emotions. In addition to the fragrance line Tableau de Parfums, the collaboration involves a related film series called WOMAN'S PICTURE. As per Andy: "Sometimes, I create perfumes inspired by Brian's films; other times, Brian reflects on the scents that I create using his medium. Our goal is to explore the possibilities of both arts and their related effects on the imagination".

The fragrance Loretta was inspired by the world of a short film of the same name from the Woman's Picture film series. For the launch of the Loretta fragrance, Brian and Andy wanted to present their version of "perfume spots". We wanted to see how the moods and themes of Loretta, the fragrance and its companion short film, might be further interpreted within this condensed and recognizable format. Loretta Perfume Spots

Brian filmed three spots, which the duo hope to share with perfume lovers as the centerpieces of a DRAW.





 Brian Perra and Andy Tauer will personally present Loretta on October 19th at the Scentbar in Los Angeles (late afternoon, 7405 Beverly Blvd Los Angeles CA 90036).

 Availability and price
Loretta will be available by mid October on:
www.luckyscent.com
www.firstinfragrance.com
www.scentsandsensibility.com
www.marieantoinetteparis.fr
 It will retail in the US for 160 $ (50ml packaged with a DVD of the related short film, LORETTA) and 40$ (7ml travel size purse spray).

 By October 15, all three Loretta spots will be uploaded on Evelyn Avenue (www.evelynavenue.com/blog). We invite readers to rate and comment the videos, favorite to least favorite. Brian will draw three winners. The winners get a Tauer fragrance of her/his choice from the entire range of Tauer, a DVD of the first three stories in the Woman's Picture series, and the vintage-style poster for the Loretta fragrance!
 Timeline and conditions for the lucky draw The draw starts October 15 and ends October 25. The creators pick a winner from all comments, there are no restrictions. Brian and Andy will inform the lucky winners and Andy will ship the prizes from Switzerland.

New Perfume Book: Le Snob, Perfume

Don't let the seemingly elitist title deter you: Le Snob is a series of books on eclectic lifestyle little luxuries (whiskey, champagne and shoes...) and it so happens that perfume is the latest tome coming from none other than a friendly voice in the Internet, the man known to Net fumeheads as Persolaise, who's being wittily and successfully writing for the homonymous blog and for Basenotes.

 ‘A well-chosen scent can have a private conversation with its wearer for hours; it can punctuate the day with moments that range from moving to surprising to heart-breaking. The more we are able to understand the language in which perfume has this conversation with us, the better equipped we will be to discover and enjoy the experience of new fragrances.’

Thus was the book introduced to me by Dariush, politely and effortlessly, as befits his whole demeanor, who distilled his experience and his independent opinions in a slim volume out this October from the publishing house of Hardie Grant in the UK. To my understanding it's a guide into the most sought after fragrances, but also rich in advice on practical subjects such as storing fragrances correctly and learning about fragrance families and production techniques. Surely, a handy little tome like that that can serve as both a delightful distraction and as a helpful introduction into savoring perfume never comes out de trop.

 May you have heaps of sales, dear Dariush!

Puredistance Opardu Perfume Giveaway

You have read about the upcoming (gets released in November 2012) new scent from Puredistance, Opardu on these pages. The kind people at Puredistance were excited about the feedback of readers on these pages and decided to give away 35 luxe extrait de parfum samples to them.

 via innerearthsoaps.blogspot.com

Since the scent is both delightful and light, I decided to group these into 10 lucky packages and a mega-package for one lucky reader (who will receive a pack of 5 samples, a sufficient quantity to last them a while!). All you need to enter is leave a comment under this post, saying what appeals to you in retro-like compositions of modern design (and if you have a favorite in this style, do mention that too). Draw is open internationally till Friday midnight.

The winner of the draw...

...for the newest Lutens fragrance is Memento1981. Congratulations and please e-mail me using Contact  with your shipping details so I can have your prize out in the mail for you soon.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and stay tuned for the next giveaway very very shortly! (actually in a few hours)