Spring Anticipation-a Joint Project from Two Sides of the World

Where I live spring has already come and it’s raining sunray upon sunray on us to the delight of the inner child that wants to come out and play. So in an anthem to spring, these are the things I anticipate to enjoy in these next few months, arbitralily noted down in varied categories. The Non Blonde joined me in this list, so you might want to check it.
I hope you find them inspiring!

Art

I am eager to see the exhibition of one of the artists I follow, John Psychopedis, founder of the New Realists group using ready-made elements from advertising, cinema and press in combination with concepts inspired by History of Art and Marxist doctrine.
It opens today and will run through the end of April.(pic:"rereading Odyssey")

Books

1.The retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" is a book with watercolors by Angela Barrett. It’s filled with ethereal pictures, of which the two-page spreads in particular are trully beautiful! And while we're at it, the illustrations on this version, are also gorgeous.

2.Sometimes spring can be lenient with a little light reading, for which I look forward to French Trysts: Secrets of a Courtesan by Kirsten Lobe. It doesn’t pretend to be too serious and I deem this a virtue.

3.Les Amants Papillons (aka The Butterfly Lovers) is a French book by the children's book illustrator, Benjamin Lacombe. The visual aspect of it with its glowing colours and shadowy little corners had captured my eye the moment I stumbled upon it on French Amazon. I plan on reading it spraying Mitsouko on my clothes first.

4.Under the smart recommendation of Vidabo/Lou from Perfume of Life, I am anticipating reading a book by Carl Wilson, who explores both his dislike of Celine Dion and the wider socio-cultural phenomenon of 'taste': aptly called "Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste". Sounds like my kind of thing.

Fashion
Wearing bright, happy colours again!



{dress by Diane Von Furstenberg, from New York magazine Spring Fashion 08}

Films

1.The Other Boleyn Girl: predictably I will be annoyed by historical innacuracies, but I am sure I will love the sumptuous costumes created by awe-inspiring Sandy Powell.
The line "Our daughters are being traded like cattle for the advancement of men" gives the gist of the story. But you knew that.

Watch the trailer here:


2.Lust, Caution by Ang Lee: I managed to miss it when it aired, it’s by Ang Lee, it’s a love tale cum espionage thriller in times of peril, the actors are sooo pretty, I just want to see it…Enough with the excuses!
Watch the clip here.


Food

Good, fresh strawberries with thick, unsweetened cream on top. Yum!
Ladurée macaroons in cassis-violet flavour: someone is sending me some! I love how the fruity tang compliments the sweeter aspect and the colour appeals to me.



Fragrances to wear and enjoy

I have missed my florals...So these come out to the front of the rotation.

~Czech & Speake Mimosa: the true essence of “clean” ~trully lovely!
~Christian Dior Diorissimo: innocence and fraility of style never goes out of fashion and this is one extrait de parfum worth seeking out
~L'artisan La chasse aux papillons: another study in innocence, a watercolour of spring snapshots
~Stella Rose Absolue: for the sultrier moments, a great bridge scent from winter to spring
~Guerlain Flora Nerolia: the sentiment of walking under bitter orange trees and jasmine vines
~Carthusia Fiori di Capri: a chypre floral that emits woody hues of carnation
~Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle: a twist in the nubile hand of spring, a masterpiece of evil composition
~Serge Lutens Sarrasins: because I reserve A la Nuit for warm summer nights...
~Chanel No.22: its crepuscular tonality suits cool evening breezes when the sun melts into the horizon
~Chanel No.19: because a little je m'en fou in the mornings , donning crisp white shirts and lots of silver bangles, never hurt anyone. "L'audace a son numéro!"
~DelRae Debut: because I am smitten with its green rush
~DelRae Amoureuse: because I am smitten fullstop. I would, wouldn’t I?

Fragrances to sniff:

~Serge Lutens Five O'Clock au Gingembre: the new fresh oriental with bergamot, vetiver, ginger, beeswax, cistus labdanum and vanilla. I don’t know if it will deliver, but it’s got its own little appointment.
~Chanel Sycomore: the latest member in Les Exclusifs, reportedly a vetiver interpretation that bears no relation with the original from the start of the 20th century. Still….

Home
Fresh flowers in the house, preferably lilacs and violets: they remind me of Easter.
Diptyque Mimosa room spray: the closest to the real smell of mimosa!

Jewels

1. I love the bold look of this season: my chance to get out the trully striking pieces.
The pics shows a Dries Van Noten Tiger Eye necklace, $1,060, an amber layered necklace, $1,210, and a jade necklace on yellow ribbon, price upon request; Go to driesvannoten.be for more information. From New York magazine


2. I just knew perfume lovers would appreciate this!
Perfume tray story box by Sweet Romance

3.And this one as well….the perfect amulet against day to day evil, n’est-ce pas?
Florentina Perfume Flask Necklace by Sweet Romance

4.I am getting my Van Cleef & Arpels bracelets with the butterflies out for a stroll...


Makeup

Guerlain Parure Powder: Because I want to see just why they decided to discontinue the homonymous fragrance for this!

Nature
Butterflies flying around (caterpillars are everywhere now!)
Cats having kittens
Bitter orange (citrus aurantia) trees blossoming
Lilacs happily blooming in April (despite T.S Elliot's famous verse)
People having a spring in their step due to spring's magic
Babies squinting in the sun

Project to be undertaken next for my own enjoyment
Movies that reproduce art paintings. I got the idea and got started from this page.

Skincare

Goutal Crème Splendide with rose extracts. Smells divine!

Soap

I just bought a travel case of Roger & Gallet Magnolia soap and I am admiring it in its box, secretly opening and taking a whiff every now and then. I am already dreaming of the pink suds.

Stationery

I had never paid enough attention to my stationary and I decided I should remedy that. These hand-pierced cards look dreamily elegant and I already imagine them scented in serene Extrait de Songe.

Travel
Tuscany...hopefully soon!



For more things to anticipate this spring, please click over to The Non Blonde.


What are you anticipating this spring? I'd love to hear!

Pics personal and courtesy of Photolife, eikastikon, New York magazine, amazon.fr, garden.co.uk, Ladurée.

Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum: fragrance review

It's hard for me to speak of Paloma Picasso perfume and not implicate the obliviously innocent in this. Because it happens to be the signature choice of someone I knew, someone who is most probably unawares of this blog, its writer and musings. I doubt I had even registered much in her mind back then when her scent made an impression on me. A really young novice I was at the Conservatoire, accompanying her vocal classes on the piano.

Anna was a creature of fire and spice, long tresses of chestnut trailing her back in thick curls, a straight, impressive nose under austere dark brows, but with a gregarious, roaring laughter that dared to flirt with anyone within a 10-mile radius. She dressed in full bohemia, just about 10 years after its heyday or about 20 before its resurgence, any which way you choose to see it. She wore dangling earrings made of ethnic beads and smoked heavy Gitanes. And her scent seemed to preceed her; which was not all that au contraire to the mood of the era, if only because there were numerous others, men and women alike, who followed a fragrance cloud rather than the other way around. That was the 80s, that was when Paloma Picasso launched Mon Parfum, a powerful chypre fragrance meant to embody her unique style.
Anna did not wear white shirts with black skirts, though, nor painted her lips in a crimson bloodfest that recalls the picadors in the tercio de varas. No, Anna was beyond such clichés...

The Ritual Fire Dance by Spanish composer Manuel De Falla conjures up comparable images in my mind. (the cello soloist is Julian Lloyd Webber and the clip was uploaded by gindobray)

The pungent green and dry chypré opening was like a bruise, aching long after the blow has been hit. And then roaring spices came cascading down in quick succession: clove and coriander, bold and proud, unashamedly pronouncing their presence before the hazy drop of flowers smelled at a distance was perceived, with a little hedione brightness. Rose was musty, musky, playing hide-and-seek with an effluvium of patchouli leaves with a little powder, much like that in Aromatics Elixir.
The gaunlet however was only thrown after the base notes develop, like the hides of dead animals, rich castoreum with more than a touch of the masculine, at a tannery on a warm day. The funk of a big animal in its ammoniac glory used to cure the hides is there and it dares you to bypass without closing your nostrils for a while, doubting if this is supposed to smell good or bad. A conundrum!

It came in a glorious soap formula that was made for bathing meant to make you smell dirtier than what you started with and didn't you love this, back then.
The eau de parfum was Anna's preferred concentration, encased in a black glass bottle from what I recall (current versions with lightned up base -due to restrictions in animalic ingredients used- are in plastic). And upon resniffing for the purposes of this review I couldn't but wonder how it was possible to tolerate, -nay, love madly- such a potent mix! It would take a very sparing application in this modern day and age to make it smell acceptable. But it is worth trying to find the perfect balance. The parfum/extrait which comes in a white splash bottle is perhaps the way to go as it is meant to be dabbed and not sprayed.
It's interesting to note that some modern day scents such as Sisley's chypre Soir de Lune were even inspired by Paloma's approach.

Paloma Piccaso, the daughter of Pablo, codenamed this scent Daphne 19, which puzzling as it is it is reminiscent of my own experience. Perhaps she knew someone named thus, while at her stint at Tiffany's as jewel designer, echoes of which are evident on the elaborate bottle, shaped after a pair of earrings made of petrified palm wood she designed for the brand? Or did she merely refer to the odorous plant? Dubious...
Mon Parfum was composed by Francis Bocris in 1984 with Paloma's guidance and includes the following notes:

Top: bergamot, lemon, hyacinth, angelica, ylang ylang, clove
Middle: Rose de Mai,jasmine, lily of the valley, orris
Base: Oakmoss, castoreum,vetiver, patchouli, amber, civet, musk, cedarwood, tobacco, sandalwood

.

The touch of a masterful persona that purposly discards social rules to do their own is evident in Mon Parfum by Paloma Picasso. Anna wore it amazingly well. Not all do.

Pics from parfumsdepub

I just might have to take it back…

Remember when Perfume Shrine was the first one to report on the new Chanel ad campaign for Coco Mademoiselle featuring Keira Knightley? It was the first one to meow about it too.
Much as I hate to do it, I might have to take it back (well, only part of it, as there is no love lost between me and ms.Knightley) and eat humble pie, as I came across the videos and making of of the new campaign and I have to admit it is looking much better than expected and actually has a cool edge to it! Rather like a F.Scott Fitzerald heroine, Keira bobs her hair and dons 20s style dresses with especially cool jewels adorning her lithe physique.
Of course Chanel has always paid great attention to its commercials and it shows, but it's nice to see that they are not abandoning the tradition. Especially after letting go of Kate Moss, who to Jacques Polges was a great choice for the representation of Coco Mademoiselle. And with a surname to beat all others in the realm of fragrance to boot. But fashion isn't anything if not fickle. (You can however click here and here for great nostalgic pics of the campaign with Moss).

There are two clips in rotation with the same song, by two different artists.

The Joss Stone version



And the original Nat King Cole version



And on top of that there is this clip that features some great shots from the campaign and of the wonderful jewels, albeit scored by a completely different premise of city. Ah well...


Chanel had the good sense to set up a new site just for the occassion and I urge you to explore it. Click here for lots of fun!

And to top it all, Chanel have launched new products in the Coco Mademoiselle line, available through their official site, such as the elegant limited edition gold compact of solid perfume depicted above (120$) and a 7.5ml/0.25oz solid white flacon for the purse of pure parfum/extrait(100$).

Can't wait to see the commercials running on my TV screen. Will hold definite judgment till then.

Clips from keiraweb.com and uploaded by Knightleyfan, pics from Chanel official site and okadi.