I am a huge fan of refreshing orange colognes. So far I’ve tried: Orange Sanguine and Grand Neroli by Atelier Cologne, Eau d’Orange Verte and also the Concentré version by Hermès, Arancia di Capri by Acqua di Parma, and an old brand 4711 cologne.
Dodgy gender politics in vintage perfume ads
Let’s get the worst out of the way. Two 1970s adverts for Love’s Baby Soft, going hard for the Lolita market.If you are strong enough, watch this 1975 advert (subtitles available) which features the woman on the left basically fellating the lollipop. Profoundly wrong and horrible. I am so glad I did not grow up […]
Rive Gauche by Yves Saint Laurent
Silvery seventies chic Got a 50ml eau de toilette for £33 from Boots. This is an iconic one. It launched in 1970, so is now fifty years old, designed with arty, assertive, metropolitan intellectual Parisienne Left Bank ladies in mind. The fab silver black and bright blue striped metal tin is instantly recognisable and looks […]
“Eau de Homophobie”, Withnail and I, 1985
I want to kick off a little series about scent in the movies. In this short scene from Withnail and I, beautiful young Paul McGann (“I”) strides in a full length leather coat with his lovely curls across a grotty Camden pub to the toilet. A waft of whatever cologne he is wearing brings him […]