Fall, autumn, whatever you choose to call it, is probably my most favorite season of them all. It might have to do with being born in it, with getting a relief from the heat that broils the city in the summer (I wouldn't mind being called a pluviophile) or the fact that I spent the vast majority of my life counting time in academic years. Whatever it may be, I rejoice in the feeling of renewing my mood through the changing scenery, the changing smells and the changing feelings: from languor to dynamism and from gallivanting playfulness to stimulating sensuousness.
For this transient period I chose 5 new fragrances which fit the season and promise new beginnings. They came, they made an impression, they seduced me one way or another. Please find the selection of Top 5 New Fall Fragrances on this slideshow with beautiful pictures.
Perfect for a season of cardigans, big cashmere scarves, lush jewelry and wonderful nappa leather boots. And please feel free to add your own discoveries among the newest crop of fragrances in the comments!
Not one but two dedicated articles with gorgeous images of older and newer advertisements of Chanel perfumes are making an appearance on Fragrance.About.com
The first one tracks and reviews a top 5 of Chanel classics (excluding the largely unknown ones to the average consumer, I'm afraid, we will revert to that later on) and is posted on this link.
It's no secret that the American line Fresh, founded by Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg in Boston in 1991, who are famous for their apothecary aesthetic, innovative at time of launch, and their simple but not simplistic concept, have been bought by LVMH since 2000. (Is there any brand who has escaped their acquisitions I wonder)
the London Fresh boutique
With that fact in mind LVMH decided to open a dedicated counter of Fresh at the beauty space of Galleries Lafayette Haussman, the biggest Parisian department store, after years of absence from the French market.With 23 boutiques globally and counting Fresh is growing strong. Will the brand become the next Acqua di Parma?
In an advertisement from the 1950s where l'eau de parfum is advertised as nouveau et magnifique, to stress its "being talked about by the French" concept, Revlon Inc, purveyor of such timeless things as Cherries in the Snow lipstick, sells the idea of Intimate. Intimate launched in 1955 and was from the beginning advertised as premium stuff.
late 1950s
Even in the dark...he'll know it's you. Intimate never shouts, but oh! how it whispers.
One can almost picture the Madison Avenue ad men working on these lines with all the gusto of Don Draper's team from Mad Men.
And yet, despite the rather anachronistic (and sexist) implication that women wear perfume to appeal to men, isn't that tag line what fragrance is about? Creating an invisible mantle, I mean, marking your presence into space and into perception via an emanation that is denoting both your taste and your intentions, whatever those may be.
1968
By the 1960s it seems like the mood of the fragrance had become less cocktail hour, long dresses and stoles with compact clutches under one's arm, and more "intimate" companion to every day occasions.
Its message also became ambivalent.
Intimate, it's really a man's fragrance said the slogan., making you imagine that it championed the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the transgression of sexual and social mores.
Until you read beneath it and discovered it prompted men to buy their girlfriends this in order to enjoy it themselves. So in essence it still made woman purchase perfume to use as a sexual predator.
Even in 1971 Revlon said "Intimate communicates". This sexy animalic chypre fragrance did communicate. A ferocious appetite for intimacy of the horizontal kind.
1964
Intimateby Revlon also appeared in another ad form the 1960s fronting a college types couple at the library in the 1960s, which was tagged thus: "cherished as one of the world's 7 great fragrances" Makes you wonder which were the other six! Care to guess? Please do so in the comments. ads via vintageadbrowser and ebay
The end of August signals both the end of summer vacation "in vivo" (because the in vitro experimentation continues) and the anticipation of autumn. Therefore expectations and feelings are quite mixed, though the first days of September invariably put a spring to my step. Here are some of the things I do, think, use these days; more to come come September when all the exciting things launch. Please share yours in the comments!
Wearing
I'm on a strict T-shirt diet. They're plain with no fussy details, they have a scooped neck and quite short sleeves for maximum coolness and they come in a wide array of cool colors: aqua, salmon pink, fuschia, canary yellow, white of course, emerald green, Prussian blue...They've been a god-sent during the hot days of August. and they go with everything.
Putting an impressive bib-necklace on top is enough to make an outfit. This one I've worn a heck of a lot of. It looks ultra cool up close since it's glazed and looks like liquid glass is overlaid over the snake print. Lots of compliments on it.
I intend to follow through with this practical fashion trick during the cooler autumn days opting for thin jumpers with long sleeves.
Reading
Derrida, Between the Blinds. It's anyone's guess why I chose to read this in English and not its original French or in a Greek translation (oh wait, probably because there is no Greek translation of this one AFAIK). I found it on Amazon and it looks intimidating enough to keep people off my back during commutes. I might even learn a few things! :-D
Listening
I discovered the Montreal Guitar Trio and the California Guitar Trio just a little while ago. Here they perform one of my favorites (on many levels) from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (originally by Ennio Morricone)/Reel Matawa (by Richard Matawa) at Montreal in 2009.
Sniffing
Acqua di Parma Colonia Ambra
A gorgeous interpretation of ambergris (and woody notes) mixed into the structure of classic Cologne. It doesn't smell citrusy though, instead it smells like a stranger you want to jump his bones. It's unisex and very appealing packaged too. Review to follow.
Narciso Rodriguez L'Absolu For Her
Another variation in the endless variety of NR perfumes, this one takes the familiar musk core and injects a healthy dose of jasmine and tuberose. It feels the way it sounds and will have Rodriguez fans perking up their ears this autumn I bet.
Prada Infusion d'Amande
As soft and purring as a kitten by the fire, this once limited edition has made a re-appearance. With come-hinter tonka bean, velevty heliotrope and bittersweet almonds, it's a great transition into the soft textures of the fashions for Fall 2015.
Preening
I'm testing out a new thing for the following months: a copper plum eyeshadow. I'm using Oriflame Copper Plum eyeshadow (these are singles and inexpensive so experimenting comes cheap). This is the effect I'm aiming at, surrounded and deepened by a little greyish taupe in the crease. Isn't it pretty?
And now on to you. What are you doing at the moment?
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