OSCAR SPOTLIGHT Part 1: Classic Fragrances in Classic Movie Moments + ‘Butterfield 8’ CaronTabac Blond Draw

 

 

The advent of the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday, February 27 has pop culture abuzz! Like most, I can get sucked into the vortex of the movie madness it unleashes. After all, the Silver Screen still has magic and good stories continue to be told. For a perfumista, the most compelling–and reoccurring– subplot these days is that of fragrance product placement.

 

In our current era, product placement is a big business. Companies pay a lot of money in order to get their brands shown in the day to day activities of the central characters of big budget films and hit TV shows. Think: Sex and the City and the infamous Coty fragrances contract. These days product placement is valued at billions of dollars per year. However, in the not so distant past, the product placement was more organic and used strategically to illustrate the lifestyle of the character. The following are such Oscar-worthy (and FIFI award winning) examples:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Movie: Pillow Talk (1959)

Character: Jane Morrow (Doris Day)

Fragrance: Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps (1948)

Nose: Francis Fabron

 

 

 

Manhattan girl Jane Morrow (Doris Day) is caught in a love triangle between millionaire Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall) and playboy-songwriter (Rock Hudson) in the stylishly flirty sex-comedy Pillow Talk. When Jonathan tries to woo Jane by buying her a car she refuses to accept the gift on the grounds that it is too personal.

 

“If I gave you perfume or lingerie that would be personal.” Jonathan quips.

 

Then give me perfume next time.” Jane coos back.

 

 

Not long afterward we see Jane seated in front of her vanity with a collection of her own perfumes. She doesn’t touch them as she primps; she doesn’t have to. The impression the viewer is left with is that this well-dressed independent woman has pampered herself with her own fragrance choices. One perfume stands out, proud and tall, with its iconic twin doves: Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps. The fragrance is at the height of its glory and Jane Morrow personifies the quintessential L’Air du Temps woman.

 

Pillow Talk was nominated for 5 Academy Awards. The film won for best Original Screenplay. L'Air du Temps won the FIFI Best Bottle Design of the Century in 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Movie: Butterfield 8 (1960)

Character: Gloria Wandrous (Elizabeth Taylor)

Fragrance: Caron Fountain Fragrance

Nose: Ernest Daltroff

 

 

 

 

The movie’s opening scene is one of discovery: the viewer is discovering what makes Elizabeth Taylor’s character of the Manhattan model-cum-playgirl tick while the character herself is inspecting the Park Avenue apartment of her most recent lover. Upon awaking in a strange bed, first Gloria Wandrous (Elizabeth Taylor) discovers that her lover has already departed. She finds her dress from the night before torn at the zipper from a passionate tryst. Giving up on wearing it she dons her slip and begins to wander about the apartment. Looking in the mirror, she cleans off last night’s makeup from under her eyes (although thanks to Old Hollywood Miss Taylor has awoken in full makeup complete with freshly applied peach gloss and a perfect coif) then proceeds to borrow a toothbrush and rinse her mouth with gin. Finding the vanity table of the wife, Gloria encounters elegant decants of fine fragrance.

 

 

The message is clear that the owner has the means to buy the finest perfumes, those drammed from urns. Due to the fact that they remain unmarked one must make an educated perfumista’s guess as to their origins. Exclusivity is the key and Caron’s storied fragrances come immediately to mind.

 

These fragrances would reflect the taste and refinement of the wife, a WASP-y heiress who has grown up with the best but prefers the most ladylike of scents. Gloria rejects the first two bottles so we must assume she found it  did not find either suitably flamboyant. She settles upon the third, we think it was as smoky and sultry as her charactor, housed in a large flacon and she generously applies it to her arms. Perhaps it is Caron’s Tabac Blond?

 

 

Needing a garment with which to cover herself so that she can catch a cab home, Gloria settles for a mink coat. Imagine her smell? Gin breath, smoking a cigarette and Caron Tabac Blond on unbathed warm skin—all wrapped in a mink coat. One word: decadent.

 

Butterfield 8 was nominated for 2 Academy Awards. Elizabeth Taylor won for Best Actress. She also won for her perfomance in Who's Afraid of Viginia Woolf in 1966

 

 

 

 

Movie: Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Character: Holly Golighty (Audrey Hepburn)

Fragrance: Chanel No. 5 (1922)

Nose: Ernest Beaux

 

The character of Holly Golighty was adapted from Truman Capote’s novella, also called Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In the story Holly Golightly sports the unisex cologne 4711 by Muehlans. This would be in keeping with both the character’s limited budget and her inclination to play by her own rules. After all, this was unisex way before the concept took off in our current consumer culture and her independent lifestyle hinted at a masculine outlook on life.

 

 

Many adaptations to Capote’s story were made to translate it to film, including a Hollywood happy ending. In the movie, Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is painfully chic. She has no food to speak of in her refrigerator but she is seen in gorgeous ensembles (Givenchy) and lavishly sprays a dose of Chanel No. 5 perfume on herself as she dresses to go out. Changing the fragrance to Chanel No. 5 sends a message to the viewer.

 

 

This version of Holly is more aspirational as the fragrance is an affordable luxury. It offers something to Holly more tangible than what gazing into the window of the Tiffany jewelry store can provide. Spraying Chanel No. 5 is a moment of fantasy: a frieze into a parallel universe of privilege!

 

 

 

Breakfast at Tiffany’s was nominated for 5 Academy Awards. Henry Mancini won for Best Score for Moon River by Henry Mancini & Johnny Mercer as sung by Audrey Hepburn won the Oscar for Best Song. Chanel No.5 won a FIFI award in 2010 for Best Women's Advertising Campaign

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Movie: Gypsy (1962)

Character: Gypsy Rose Lee (Natalie Wood)

Fragrance: Mitsouko (1919)

Nose: Jacques Guerlain

 

 

 

 

 A victim of the fall of vaudeville and a controlling stage mother, Gypsy Rose Lee (Natalie Wood) finds a different kind of stardom in the world of burlesque. This may seem quaint to us today during her hey day it was still quite risqué and had connotations of the “loose woman”. However, the gimmick Gypsy Rose Lee employed of presenting herself as a lady with long opera gloves while leaving an air of mystery resonates with the male audience of that day and she is catapulted into international celebrity.

 

The scene where Gypsy’s estranged mother (Rosalind Russell) visits her backstage after a performance illustrates the new world in which she lives. A radiantly beautiful Natalie Wood is clad in a glamorous pink feathered dressing gown while her dresser is adorned with quite a collection of expensive looking perfumes. The collection helps the viewer to see Gypsy’s newfound personal prosperity.

 

 

It is a gorgeous array of fragrances on Gypsy’s vanity. The shapes of the bottles give away their exclusivity. Perhaps some are gifts from admirers? One stands out in its classic Guerlain shape and immediately one jumps to the conclusion that it could be none other than the infamous Mitsouko. It seems fitting that the burlesque queen would smell of this singularly seductive scent.

 

 

Gypsy was nominated for 3 Academy Awards but won none.

 

 

 

 

Since movies are one of our greatest forms of story telling, it is no wonder that perfumes would crop up as props. As character of Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) from the Hitchcock classic Rear Window (1954) declares, “A woman going anywhere but the hospital would always take makeup, perfume, and jewelry. That’s basic equipment!”

 

Alfred Hitchcock won an after Irving GThalberg Memorial in 1967 after six nominations for Rebecca, Rear Window, Psycho, Suspicion, Lifeboat, and Rear Window. Grace Kelly (aka Princess of Monaco) won two Oscars: for Rear Window and for her performance in the Country Girl both in 1954.

 

Liza Wade, Contributor

 

Michelyn Camen, E-I-C: Art Director

 

 

Its a trip down the Red Carpet with Liz Taylor, thanks to Caron Paris. Yes if you missed our first draw for Tabac Blond, here is you second chanceWe are offering a 3.5 ml flacon of Tabac Blond courtesy of WWW.MiNNewYork.com as we honor Elizabeth Taylor's Oscar winning performances. Draw ends February 28, 2011. Leave a comment on your most memorable Oscar moments, Caron Urn Fragrances, or Butterfield 8.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

41 − 33 =

47 comments

  • No need to enter me in this draw since I was the  lucky winner of the first one for Tabac Blond.  I wore it today and it is just astoundingly wonderful.  It did make me feel like a movie star, with eyes as violet as Elizabeth Taylor's.   Wishing similar good luck to all entrants!

  • You can enter me! 🙂
    Fav movie moments include many from All About Eve…Bette in her finest, and having the movie begin with a theater awards ceremony…awesome! Did Bette have a signature scent?

  • I'll never forget John Wayne walking onto the Oscar stage fairly close to when he died – he was so thin from cancer and everyone went wild. Also Patricia Neal coming back after her stroke. Thunderous applause and cheering for both.

  • I don't really have one memorable oscar moment, I am just grateful to be able to watch them. One of my all time favorite actress is Katharine Hepburn such a gracious lady. I did love that she won for On Golden Pond in 1982 then received Lifetime achievement award in 1989.   Hope my luck is better on this draw : )

  • Thank you Kathryn! I hope you are enjoying your TB
    What I like most about the Oscars -call me shallow if you wish- is the Red carpet, but I long for the days when stars didn't have a stylist and what they wore really reflected their personal style. Maybe we could see more mistakes but we also saw more authenticity.

  • I'm not an Oscar follower, so I can't address that. I can say that I loved Liz Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Cleopatra, where her and Richard Burton's passion nearly jumped off the screen. I've only tried Caron Or et Noir, and I love it. I would love to win some Tabac Blond!

  • Elise bette davis only word le de by dior !kathyrn you should see my head shot will send . looks like la liz.  george palance doing pushups, the streaker vaguely, you love me sally fields, chers fab costumes and bjork swan, that kiss between adrien brodyand hall berre  oh and the indians vaguley instead of  marlon brando!!. and as a fashionista elizabeth hurleys safety pin dress and ua thurman wearing the first designer dress by prada lavender

  • Great theme! I have to say my favorite Oscar moment of recent years was the landslide of awards for Peter Jackson's "Return of The King", which of course was really a recognition of the entire LOTR trilogy. I love those movies!  🙂
    Please enter me, I adore Caron scents and I really want some of that gorgeous Tabac Blond! 

  • Oh my … how did you know?!  I've been reading Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman and so had to bring down my copy of Breakfast at Tiffany's to read along with … while sniffing L'Interdit.  And on my mind all of those great old fragrances …  I own Tabac Blond … straight from the Urns … oh how I would love some vintage, but alas that's another draw.  Haaa!  

  • i have a treasured bottle of vintage (and i mean *vintage*) caron tabac blond cologne — it smells divine — and i've always wondered what the perfume would be like (even though this would not be vintage.)
    i suppose i like tabac blond so much because it is so very close to knize ten, my father's fragrance when i grew up.
    this — and also aramis. he later moved through kouros and fahrenheit and landed on vintage — not the vile millissime — tabarome. this, obviously, is where my love for the woody-leathery chypres originates.

  • Claudia Kroyer says:

    Elizabeth Taylor, what a graceful beautiful person. I could see her in some Vintage Caron Tabac Blond. As i could see myself in Tabac Blond. I have not explored many from the house of Caron, but i have tried Tabac Blond and it was love at first sniff. Love the pictures.

  • thanks Claudia. anyone see a resemblance to la Liz and la editrix?  check out my fb page. all us brunettes with deep strange eys look alike anyone like audrey singing moon river. any other suggestios for an oscar song … easy to change

  • What a great bunch of films, and all of them among my favorites! Butterfield 8 was a maudlin moral tale but I loved how beautiful Liz looked. Breakfast At Tiffany's–I think I've seen it about 8 or 9 times now. Audrey Hepburn will always hold a special place in my heart. Buddy Ebsen's character broke my heart…

  • sonia garcia says:

    My favorite Oscar Moment is when Adrien Brody went onstage to get his Oscar and kissed Halle Berry. That was really cool! Please enter my name in the draw. Thank you and have a great weekend.

  • I can't think of a favorite Oscar moment.  I'll probably come up with one, right after I submit my comment.  I would love a chance to win Tabac Blond!

  • Oh, another opportunity! this is so wonderful! I  will never forget a memorable Oscar moment where Cary Grant and James Stewart. They had become aged physically and yet… those years of work , the times gone by, they all appeared in that moment. They would smile, Cary being a bit shy, James very tender, and they even would feel so moved to tears. it was a very memorable moment that i can never forget besides of seeing it from time to time on youtube. xx 

  • Oh, thank you very much for this second chance to try Tabac Blond!
    I haved watched the Oscar Ceremony on TV since I was a child. Living in Spain, the Oscar night I don't sleep, because of the hour difference. In Spain it starts about 2am and finishes on 6 or 7 am.
    I usually love the musical numbers, especially when Disney songs were always winners in the 90's.

  • Tabac Blond!!!!!!!  GAH! Love it!!!
    Although really obscure, for some reason my most memorable moment was the awesome outfit that John Cameron Mitchell wore to the Oscars when he was up for an award for _Hedwig and the Angry Inch_, and how all the fashion pundits badmouthed the outfit later!  

  • ISa_ we love the oscars!!!  its a global event. Sean- those pundits dont have much to say anymore… everyone is toooo tooo beautiful and not risky enough. lets see

  • I love the red carpet and all of the beautiful dresses, hairdos and makeup.  I also love the anticipation of waiting for the winners to be announced.  I would love to try Tabac Blond.  Today I am wearing Farnesiana!

  • I never watch the Oscars.  However, I love Caron and their urn fragrances, Tabac Blond and Farnesiana being my favorites.  Please enter me in the drawing!

  • I can only imagine a dressing table full of Caron urns. Yum!  Great movies all. Just re-watched Butterfield 8 on TCM this month.

  • On one of my NYC visits, I was privileged to have the luxurious experience of being alone in the Caron Boutique one morning, and getting to smell most of the urn fragrances in a leisurely fashion. Then I chose a few to test on my skin. And which fragrance totally captivated me for the rest of the day? Tabac Blond! 

  • I rarely watch the Oscars but I love the Caron's urn Fragrances. Poivre and Farnesiana are beautiful but Tabac blond is gorgeous and naughty. I would love a decant. 

  • I long to spend some time with those urns. Poivre is particularly special to me! Thank you for this additonal chance at the Tabac Blond prize.

  • Loving all these comments! So many favorite Oscar moments myself…maybe I like the reunion of Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman where they are flirting and complimenting each other on how gracefully the other had aged. Cat on a Hot Tim Roof is one of my all time favorite movies…again la Liz looking smashing in nothing but a slip!

  • I enjoyed reading the article, thank you Michelyn.
    My most memorable Oscar moments are happenning on this side of the screen: my friends and I have a tradition of watching those events together – laughing, gossipping, taking our own "Oscar pictures" and guessing who will win in each category.
    Though… Come to think of it, watching Nicole Kidman watching Halle Berry's acceptance speach – priceless.

  • Isa, speaking of Disney songs from the 90s… the first animated product placement of a perfume is of Chanel  No. 5 in Disney's Anastasia!

  • I've had the honor to visit only one store with the Caron crystal urns, and that was Fortnum and Mason in London… I remember photographing them from every angle until I was asked to stop! The idea of decanting perfume into your own special flacon has always appealed to me. I would *love* any measure of Tabac Blond. My EDC is divine, but also short-lived.
    As for the Oscars… we'll be watching… but obviously via delayed telecast! no spoilers please! 🙂

  • I have never tried the urn fragrances but have read so many wonderful reviews. Thank for the chance to enter the draw!

  • This is a fantastical article. I love all the films described and my namesake is Holly Golightly. I love the idea of all the old Hollywood glam and while reading this article I felt as if I was there. The link to perfumed divas was so fun to think about!

  • What a good article – I have never watched the Oscars but you have now  made me interested. I have a small sample of Tabac Blond  and have just put some on – I would love to enter the draw.

  • Ah… My first attempt at a comment failed… however, to sum it up my favorite Oscar moments are those lifetime achievement awards… somehow they always choked me up. Thanks for a second chance at the Tabac Blond!

  • I'm a sucker for the Red Carpet as well…everytime they discuss dress, shoes, hair, and makeup I think to myself…and what *fragrance* is she wearing? maybe one day that will be part of the conversation!

  • Yes, the Brody+Berry kiss was indeed memorable, but Halle's reaction after was priceless!
    Thanks bunches for the draw for Tabac Blond!

  • I just have to say that I think Butterfield 8 is an amazing movie — it sort of blew my mind how risque and frank it was for its time, and that entire opening sequence is just perfect. I've also never smelled Tabac Blond. Thanks for the draw opportunity!

  • I adore Tabac Blond and want to enter the drawing. I picture Elizabeth Taylor wearing Narcisse Noir instead of Tabac Blond. My favorite Oscars moments are scrutinizing the fashion decisions with friends.