14 Monday Oct 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
This advertisement for Écusson by Jean d’Albret (1947, now discontinued) set off an art historical spark in my memory.
The unknown artist who worked on this ad for Écusson (which translates as “shield”) was obviously inspired by Hans Holbein the Younger’s portrait of Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry the Eighth…
27 Friday Sep 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent, Perfume Bottles
As we drift closer to Fall (day by day, degree by degree…), let’s pause to admire this bottle of Poupre d’Automne from Parfum de Violet. The fragrance was launched in 1923. The stoppered bottle was designed by Lucien Gaillard, a legendary French jewelry who worked in the Art Nouveau style…
09 Monday Sep 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
Every fall season should include days like this, with companionable strolls down leaf-strewn paths under brilliant foliage and clear skies.
This advertisement for Prince Matchabelli Golden Autumn was published in 1964. I wish I could get closer to see the details of the couple’s outfits — sweaters? tweeds? — but even without sharper resolution, the mood is clearly conveyed…
04 Thursday Jul 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
Spacious skies, amber waves of grain, the open road…this print advertisement for Perry Ellis America (1996, now discontinued) has everything.
“It’s Big. Really Big.”
I’ve never tried either of these his-and-hers fragrances in their eagle-embossed bottles. I doubt that either of them would have thrilled me as a perfume when they were still available. However, looking back, I can’t help but admire their Clinton-era optimism. So much has changed since the mid-90s.
Wishing you a happy Independence Day, however you’re celebrating it.
21 Friday Jun 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
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Here’s a 1994 advertisement for Ô de Lancome to mark the summer solstice. It’s time to break out those citrusy Eau de Cologne or “eau fraîche” splashes!
(The echo of “Suddenly, Last Summer” in the copy throws me off a bit…but I’m sure Lancôme’s creative team wasn’t counting on us to know much about the plot of Tennessee Williams’s play.)
17 Monday Jun 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
Tags
Gloria Vanderbilt, photographed by Horst P. Horst, 1966
Today we heard that Gloria Vanderbilt has died at the age of 95.
The headlines are interesting — since Vanderbilt lived such a long and kaleidescopic life, every one begins with a different signifier.
Socialite. Heiress. Fashion Icon. Artist. Actress. Anderson Cooper’s Mother. Writer. Designer. Jeans Queen…
05 Wednesday Jun 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
Australian actor Rebel Wilson is the face of InStyle‘s May 2019 issue, and for this cover and interview, the magazine photographed her in a series of shots inspired by classic (if occasionally over-the-top) perfume ads of the 1970s and 1980s.
Here’s Rebel wearing a slinky black gown and reclining on a couch with a bouquet of orchids at her head…
26 Sunday May 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
Headed out of town this weekend?
On May 27, 1910, an ad for the Rosenbaum Company store in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania newspaper made some suggestions for toiletries that its customers might want to pack for their Memorial Day outings. These items (on sale!) included facial cream, hydrogen peroxide, “Lusterite” emery boards, and tinted face powder (and “powder leaves,” which do sound useful for travel, if they’re similar to the “papier poudre” blotting papers still available today)…
13 Monday May 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
Emporio Armani, the diffusion line from Giorgio Armani, released this duo of his-and-her fragrances in 2017. Are they still around? I haven’t even bothered to check. The scents themselves were pretty run-of-the-mill. Their promotional image is the only reason I remember their launch, since it seems to be a nod to an iconic New York City photograph…
