Love them or hate them it’s hard to ignore One Direction. With their catchy tunes, fun matesy boys club attitude and perfectly produced handsome, on trend good looks they are a force to be reckoned with. I quite liked their first offering Our Moment, the sweet but not disgustingly cloying opening to the lingering forever toasted almond dry down. It was way better than I expected.
I haven’t tried the new one but the ad came out yesterday. Sadly Zane has moved on but the remaining four guys are here and camping it up again, my favourite is Niall anyway.
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Green notes, mandarin, peach, basil, bergamot, lemon Heart: Spices, coriander, sandalwood, orange blossom, jasmine, oakmoss, cedar, rose Base: Amber, musk, civet, vanilla, vetiver, incense.
It’s the damp herbal first blast of Obsession that I adore. Yes, there are softer, easier things to come, but that dark, slightly bitter opening is for me, addictive. After that I get spices of course, although not the florals.
The base for me is mostly amber and vanilla, with incense keeping things cool and dry. The vanilla is far from being sweet and foodie – which is just how I like it. I wear the modern EDT, the stuff you can get for a song just about anywhere perfume is sold.
Obsession is usually classified as an oriental, but through its marketing, Obsession rejects conventional oriental fantasies and metaphors. We get no lacquered spice jars, no souks, no Buddhas or Indian princesses etc. Obsession does not weave sentimental fairy tales; it is about nothing but sex.
The early TV ads were directed by Richard Avedon and make you feel as if you have wandered on to the set of some weird modernist play. Everything is in monochrome, but clearly the scene is vibrant with sexual obsession. In one, an older man laments a young woman (played by South African model José Borain) who has left him (“Was it me? Did I somehow driver her away?”).
In another, that woman is the object of obsession for a beautiful teenage boy (“ … the whispers at my bedside … her arms … her mouth … her amber hair … and oh, the smell of it.”).
The early print ads were shot in Puerto Villata, Mexico, by Bruce Weber and feature, in blue sepia, two (or three) naked, entwined bodies.
Famously, Kate Moss also modelled for Obsession, but that came later, in 1993 when she was 17. Shot by Mario Sorrenti and still in monochrome, the location was a shack on the beach: “Just me and him and loads of film,” Moss later recalled. The ads speak to the photographer’s obsession with his model. Moss was his girlfriend at the time but the relationship did not survive.
All of these ads are edgy. “You walk a fine line, especially in advertising,” Calvin Klein admitted, “if you try and do something sensual.” Sometimes I find them more disturbing than, say, Tom Ford’s quite sexually explicit ads for his perfumes.
Imagine. You’re 18 years old, valedictorian of your class with a 4.5 average and you are about to give your Valedictorian speech to your school. Just before the ceremony starts your headmaster tells you that you are unwelcome to speak because in the speech you out yourself as gay. He also rings your parents and outs you to them. This happened, in 2015, in Boulder Colorado USA.
See how well he speaks and his community responds when he finally gives the speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser.
http://democracynow.org – Eighteen-year-old Evan Young was supposed to be the 2015 class valedictorian of Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado. But his principal prevented him from giving his graduation speech after learning he would announce he is gay. Instead, two weeks later, Young got to give his speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser before an audience of hundreds, a number of them politicians who congratulated him for his bravery. We air Young’s full address and speak to him about his experience.
Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving
Hermès, even the name conjures images of wealth and luxury. Now the designers at Hermès bring us a beautiful tablewear set inspired by the ancient art of Ikat.
From Hermès: Inspired by ikat, an exceptional weaving and dyeing technique originating in Asia, Voyage en Ikat celebrates intermingled uses and an ongoing dialogue between East and West. More than twenty hues centered on sapphire, ruby and emerald, are enhanced by 24-carat matte gold and come to life in designs composed ‘thread by thread’.
I hope you enjoy the under 2 minute mini movie of the Hermès inspirations for their new porcelain,
Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water Jason Morgan comes along and heats it up. Acqua di Giò was created by Alberto Morillas in 1996 and has been massively popular ever since. It’s favoured by sporty suits in Australia and still smells good on the right person.
No matter what you think about Justin Bieber, he has charisma and having been to his concert in Sydney a couple of years ago I think he also has some talent. The show was fun and he danced his pretty little ass off. I like him even more now he’s doing all the stuff a regular wealthy teenager/young adult does, and doing it large.
I hope you like this little bit of B&W advertising. I think it’s cool.
If you loved the previous DIOR Secret Garden movies then be aware that they are day compared to this vision of night. Rihanna is the model and both she and the soundtrack are beautiful and ethereal and menacing. She is like the perfectly dressed and presented evil queen wandering through her deserted palace in the black of night.
This is a well loved sentence from the more dude-ish of the fragrant communiry and a few of us were chatting about it the other week which inspired me to write a post both serious and completely tongue-in-cheek. I am so proud to be writing for My Perfume Samples and I think they have a wonderful business model and are a super great crew to work for.
Please drop over and have a little laugh at my Panty Dropper post. It comes with a 15% Discount Code across the entire store too. My Perfume Samples<<JUMP
One of my great loves is the house of DIOR. Here we see the making of a DIOR handbag. It’s a beautiful thing and one day I shall own me a DIOR handbag, probably a second hand one but nevertheless.
Galerie de Parfum in Myer Melbourne held Australia’s first niche Perfume and Cocktail Masterclass in May. The event paired niche winter fragrances with bespoke cocktails designed by passionate mixologist Justin Ryann Forsyth. I travelled to Melbourne especially as it sounded like far too much fun!
Guests experienced fragrances whilst tasting the partnering cocktails. Presenters Lucy Borland, Training Director and Ricky Katyal, Business Development Manager for Galerie De Parfum explained the fascinating history of niche, the fragrance wheel and seasonal fragrances in focus.
Galerie de Parfum
Niche Winter Perfume and Cocktail Masterclass
Cocktail/Fragrance Menu:
– L’Artisan- Batucada lime, Jamaican rum, fresh muddled barbequed pineapple with roasted coconut rim. The beaches of Brazil inspired the fragrance, like a holiday in a bottle.
– P. Frapin & Cie -1270 combined intoxicating Drambuie honey scotch, whisky, lillet rouge and orange. Frapin first planted vines for champagne and cognac making in 1270, making them the oldest family run business in the world. The gourmand and woody fragrance proved popular with guests.
– Keiko Mecheri – Loukhoulm contained chocolate and cherry liqueur, amaretto, almond syrup, Campari and orange. The fragrance itself is inspired by Turkish delight and has notes of almond -a flawless selection for dating.
– Juliette Has A Gun- Gentlewoman champagne based, with peach liqueur, aperol, lemon and orange blossom to capture the Eau De Cologne style perfume which has a surprise additional note of almond.
– Penhaligon- Empressa dry brut based with muddled strawberry, lemon and vanilla. Already a seasonal hit, Empressa has recently launched in Australia. Classed as a woody oriental – Chanel Mademoiselle fans will undeniably love.
Empressa Cocktail:
60ml Belvedere Vodka
30ml Lemon Juice
30ml Vanilla syrup
1/2 muddled strawberry
Place strawberry in bottom of cocktail shaker, add vanilla syrup and lemon juice. Muddle strawberry thoroughly until liquid becomes pink and small bits of strawberry are visible. Add vodka. Fill with ice, and shake hard for several seconds until ice softens. Single strain into crystal champagne flute filled with ice. Pour only half way up, and fill the rest with chilled sparkling wine. garnish with a strawberry slice and a red striped straw.
Alongside the theatrics of cocktail making, fashion blogger and illustrator Alexia Petsinis demonstrated her fascinating artistry skills, illustrating live, the exquisite bottle packaging of niche fragrances – with Loukhoum and Batacuda as her subjects. Absolutely amazing, I promise to write more on her soon!
Each guest left with a generous niche goody bag and cocktail menu booklets. The majority of guests made purchases from the hand picked niche selection – taking with them a special keepsake of the night.
As you can see from the pictures, it was well worth the trip! Stay tuned for some fragrant cocktail recipes you can make for yourself over the next few weeks on APJ
Australian Perfume Junkies 