Some of you will no doubt be aware that perfumer Andy Tauer has entered into an intriguing collaboration with film-maker Brian Pera (of Evelyn Avenue). Over the course of the next ten years, the latter is going to release a series of movies, each of which will be accompanied by a Tauer scent inspired by the film’s central character. In order to celebrate the release of the first film and the first fragrance – both entitled Miriam – a few blogs, including Persolaise.com, have been invited to participate in a cross-site presentation of perfume-related interviews and articles.
Andy and Brian write, “Miriam features Ann Magnuson as a home shopping network saleswoman whose life has reached a point of crisis. This crisis culminates in an episode involving a very important fragrance in her life. The Miriam short is the first in an ongoing series called Woman’s Picture. The first three episodic shorts in the series inspired their own perfumes, and these will be released over the course of the next year (Miriam: October 2011; Loretta: March 2012; and Ingrid: October 2012). The shorts will broadcast on evelynavenue.com, at luckyscent.com, and through other online participants. Each perfume is packaged with a DVD of its related short (we call them portraits) and a novelette related to the character in question. The portraits of Woman’s Picture, though mostly contemporary in setting, are inspired by the women’s films of the thirties, forties, and fifties, and focus on the subjective experience of strong female characters and their interaction with fragrance.
“For the blogging event, we’ve conducted a series of interviews with women about their childhood memories of the perfumes their mothers and grandmothers wore, all of which relates directly to the thematic content of Miriam.”
I am very pleased to present the first of these interviews and to host a give-away of 5 samples of Tableau De Parfums’ Miriam, a rich, aldehydic floral. Please note each sample is packaged with a DVD containing extracts from selected Evelyn Avenue productions.
To enter the draw, please read the terms and conditions below and then leave a comment on the subject of the link between the worlds of film and fragrance. (On this occasion, I won’t reply to every individual comment.)
Please don’t forget to visit the following blogs over the course of the next few weeks for more interviews and more opportunities to win samples of Miriam:
Finally, please be sure to re-visit Persolaise.com after a week or so for the give-away I wrote about here and for my own review of Miriam.
My thanks to Andy and Brian for providing the prizes for this give-away.
Give-Away Draw Terms & Conditions:
i) the draw will be open until 10 pm (UK time) on Tuesday 13th September; ii) 5 winners will be selected at random and announced on this blog; iii) if a winner has not made contact with me before Tuesday 20th September to claim his/her prize, an alternative winner will be selected; iv) readers from anywhere in the world are eligible to enter; v) by entering the draw, you indicate that you are willing to pay customs charges (if applicable) and that customs regulations in your country permit you to receive an alcohol-based perfume / perfumery product and DVD posted from the UK; vi) if the prize is lost in transit, it will not be possible for a replacement to be sent; vii) the address of the winner will not be kept on record, nor will it be passed on to any third parties; viii) I take no responsibility for the composition of the perfume, as regards potential allergens and/or restricted materials.
Good luck!
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And here’s the first of the Evelyn Avenue and Tableau De Parfums interviews, the subject of which is one of my all-time favourite feminine scents. If you have trouble watching it, please click on this link to be redirected to Vimeo.
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I am very excited about an Andy Tauer aldehydic floral. I wish there was a greater link between the worlds of film and fragrance. Did you see Page 8, the David Hare film on BBC recently? I thought it was excellent. Bill Nighy's character (a spy) at one point recognises Bel Ami on a woman and I spent a long time trying to explain to my perfume philistine husband how unusual and unlikely that was and what it said about his character.
I'm sooooooo curious to smell this one! Floral aldehydic scent as olfactive image of a film character….and this done by Andy Tauer!!!
Miriam does sound fantastic. My sister-in-law's name, too.
This is such a wonderful and exciting project! I too wish there was a greater link between film and fragrance. The BBC film 'Page 8' had a great fragrance reference which gave a nice insight into the character and on a light note, the comedy 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil' has a blind man recognise a woman as the perpetrator of a crime by her Shalimar perfume. I always like to try and spot familiar bottles in movies and love when blogs run a thread asking you to choose a fragrance for a particular character. As a moviegoer I think about what fragrance I will wear to go see a particular film – for instance, I wore Bulgari Black to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 as it seemed to go with the darker themes yet has a sweetness and calmness that is at the base of it, like the film as well. witchypurple@yahoo.co.uk
very interested in Miriam- the project is difficult and darring
please, enter me the draw
thank you
Such a fantastic undertaking. Please enter me in the draw
the movie and the perfume both sound excellent. Please enter me in the drawing.
Please enter me in the draw, as I'm always interested in whatever Andy concocts. I've never much thought of possible connections between film and fragrance. I usually think of fragrance in terms of music. But I suppose both film and fragrance have dimensions of light/dark, and both should have some kind of development, a sense of plot advancement. Of course, too many modern fragrances miss that element.
I think there is a connection between a rose aldehydic floral and a story about a strong woman who is having a crisis. Personally, I love aldehydic perfumes and I also am not alien to a concept of a crisis. When I was a teenager, my only way of cleaning the room was dumping everything on the floor and rearrange. Cleaning did not mean to me putting things in set places. Cleaning meant getting rid of the things I did not want or use, stash away the ones I did want to keep and come up with a completely different arrangement. I got my room to a place where I wanted it to be by the time I started dating and yes (cringe) I used a similar approach to dating. I was always looking for signs for the future stored in the past. I am looking forward to trying the perfume and seeing the movie. Seems like I would like both.
I have been following this with interest. In any movie, I always am on the lookout for perfumes or anything alluding to a fragrance.
Please enter me in the draw. thank you.
I'm happy to see film and fragrance artists collaborate and provide consumers of both with a new and creative direction!
Kate S.
I enjoyed listening to the interview. the part where she talked about how when her grandma put on the perfume it meant they were going somewhere good. I wish she could have remembered the names – especially the medicinal one.
The film and fragrance connection is not always an obvious one. I do love the black and white films of the '30s and '40s, showing silk satin bias-cut gowns, mile-high sets with yards and yards of draperies, the leading lady's boudoir set with crystal jars and bottles scattered about. In 1981, I saw John Waters' film, Polyester. Each viewer got a strip of scratch & sniff scents on a card. Waters called it Odorama. When a numbered icon flashed on the screen, you were supposed to scratch the corresponding scented patch. I recall that the first one was a rose. But after that, the icons got significantly less appealing to downright disgusting…LOL! True to Waters' bizarre aesthetic. I wish I still had that card–what a hoot!
It's really a brilliant marketing idea, hope the scent will match it!
If we are loud enought, maybe Brian will make new "Perfume" movie. 🙂
What a fascinating collaboration! –AnnieA
The original Miriam — Moses's sister — knew how to bang her tabourine. I'm sure this new Miriam will emerge with a bang, too. Please enter me in the draw.
This sounds like a very fascinating project. I am not familiar with the filmmaker, but I beginning to believe that Andy Tauer is such a creative force. I am curious about what kind of bottle / packaging AT has chosen.
Please enter me into the draw.
I've seen the French movie "La Petite Lili" based on Chekhov's play The Seagull.
So, the main character (Ludivine Sagnier) receive as birthday gift… one of the Serge Lutens's bell-jar. Don't know what exactly perfume was in the bottle but, I guess, it should be Ambre Sultan.
Anyway, can't wait to meet the new Tauer's frag 🙂
I always choose very carefully which perfume I will wear when I go to the movie. Sometimes it fits so well it's like a movie out of the movie. I remember a scene of Tm Ford's film where the main caracter guess the perfume of the secretary of the university where he teachs, and whispers: Arpege. I felt as disconcert as the woman, as I was wearing Le Dix vintage extract.
First thought is that it reminded me of the long running cafe adverts…am I being a bit mean here?
On the other hand, I have always wanted someone clever to select perfumes to accompany 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'… colour.. smell…sounds…visual perfection…
hmmm…drawing a blank right now on fragrance in film. Loved the Alicia short, what did her grandma wear?
I've been following Brian's comments about this project on his blog, and it sounds very interesting.
Thinking about fragrance in film brought to mind that scene in Gone With the Wind, where Scarlett gargles with cologne to hide the smell of brandy on her breath from Rhett. I always thought she should just have drunk the cologne, as it was probably alcohol-based!
whenever I see a female character applying perfume in a film, I always try to see what it is or imagine what it could be. It adds another dimension, another facet, it brings us closer, maybe too close, to the character. With the films of the 50s, I smell Miss Dior and when watching Shanghai Express only Mitsouko captures Marlene's mystery. One of my favourite films is Notorious and i have found its perfume partner in DSH's Mata hari. I cannot wait to smell 'Miriam.'
I do not always associate movies with smells…and watching actors or actresses in boudoir moments when they might spritz something does not conjure any olfactory spark either. But the look of certain movie sets has a sort of mental smell. Usually desert or sumptuous interior sets causes me to imagine the rich smells of an environment. The movie Gladiator always gave me a leather/musk/incense vibe. Lord of the Rings smelled of moss/incense and amber.
I remember being deeply affected by the scene in Untamed Heart where Marisa Tomei applies perfume by spraying it in front of her and then ducking through the mist. 🙂
Can't wait to try this one!
This should be some different Andy creation and I would love to try Miriam.
I'd love to try this new perfume by Andy. Please, enter me in the draw! 🙂
When I see a bathroom on a movie I use to look for perfume over there. It's interesting to know which perfumes the character loves.
I remember perfectly that Juno (from the movie Juno) had a bottle of Clinique Happy.
That helps us to know a little more about the character.
I am a big Andy fan and look forward to this new collaboration and inspiration. I love the idea of being remembered or recognized by your scent. I think it is romantic when a love scene includes generous amounts of neck sniffing leading up to "the kiss"–ah the power of perfume. Please enter me in the draw…fingers crossed.
There is no forgetting of Sir Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal. You know, the scene where he is in the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica Santa Maria Novella in Firenze. Priceless. Or him again in the Silence of the Lambs smelling through the glass window the perfume Jodie Foster was wearing sometimes, but not on that particular day. It was L'air du Temps, by the way . It would be too obvious to talk about the film Perfume with an excellent Alan Rickman. And I could go on and on…
Thanks for entering me in the draw. Andy is my favorite perfumer and I'm so excited to try Miriam!
I love to make up a "persona" for the perfumes I review. Usually it's a person but lately I reviewed YSL Opium as how it would be if it was a movie. Out of general decency, I'm sparing you the details involved concerning that one 😉
I'd love to be included in the draw for Miriam!
What an exciting and unique project! Obviously, Brian & Andy have found in one another's creativity a kindred spirit. I look forward to the fruits of their collaboration. Please enter me in the drawing.
I'm not sure I make many connections between perfume and film, unless there is a scene in a film which specifically involves perfume. But, I think this is a fascinating project and the perfume sounds so great. Would love to be entered in the draw, and thanks!
The link between the film and the fragrance are only as strong as the imagination of the creator(s) – and Brian-plus-Andy equals fireworks!! Hello Julie Ellen and Fernando!! 🙂
I am always seeking multi sensory experiences such as this, where one sense evokes feelings in another sensory modality..
would love to be entered in the draw!
I agree with above – I live a good multi-sensory aesthetic
experience, and am always looking for perfumes etc in bedroom or bathroom scenes in movies. I also enjoy the leading ladies that front certain frag lines, and if they are wearing those scents while filming certain roles. Thanks for the entry for the draw! I can't wait to get my hands on Miriam to sniff while watching the film 🙂
Briefs are often abstract, but the colors of a person's story, as reflected in film…perhaps it gives the perfumer something more substantial to go on ? I know there are some other niche firms working from photos rather than words : an interesting direction to find things going.
This will definitely be the start of something beautiful. The merging of two art forms, one interpreting the other. I'm just glad that it's Andy that's pulling this off. Looking forward to it, please enter me into the drawing.
I am glad "London" noticed the perfume reference in Page Eight . I felt I must be getting along in my appreciation as it used to be gorgeous knitwear in films that moved me !Brian's idea is brilliant and Andy is the icing on the cake.
Perhaps movies can't even reach the evocative strength of a perfume or fragrance in general. With their images and through your eyes they put the viewer's brain into a cage, whereas the nose gives to everybody the possibility to "build" thoughts and emotions thanks to one's own "Proustian" memory.
That's why Miriam, the project itself with the film and perfume toghether, is actually the most complete product ever, giving you both the image from the author's mind and the stimulus to make it personal, by the perfume.
I think the link between film and fragrance is moving ever closer to each other. Or at least "scent". One of the first to "start the ball rolling" was director John Waters, when he supplied "scratch & sniff" cards with various scents linked to scenes in his movie Polyester. Other people have played with the concept since, but none have yet perfected a method of successfully delivering scents to the audience linked to what's on screen, for a more authentic experience.
However, I believe that in the not too distant future, 3D film glasses will be equipped with the technology to deliver scents & fragrances so that we're able to smell scents linked to whatever's on screen, or the director intends us to smell.
So finally, if a character were to spray some perfume onscreen we'd actually be able to smell exactly how it/she smells. … (And just imagine how cool perfume adverts would be then !)
~ Now how cool would that be ? (Mark my words, it's only a matter of time ….. !)
Please enter me into the draw. ~ (Thanx !)
I think it's exciting when creative people get together for a collaboration. I love Andy's perfumes, so I would love to smell this one. I don't make many identifications of scent with movies. It seems like they did this more in the old black and whites, where women were shown shopping in the beauty counters, or at a beautiful dressing table surrounded by their bottles and creams. Things moved slower in movies (and in life) then, and beauty was more of a ritual. Now if there isn't a murder, car chase, or explosion in the first 10 minutes of a movie, half the audience would walk out. Sorry, just being a grumpy old lady!
Listening to these interviews have brought the project to life for me and I agree with Cynthia: it is truly exciting when creative people collaborate! Hearing these women speak of their memories of the influential women in their lives brings to mind that really perfume is deeply intertwined with our own memories. Perhaps this is why some of us try so hard to find vintage scents that would bring back an era gone by~
Anyway, really excited to sniff this Tauer creation as always =)
Andy Tauer fragrances are my very favorite and I am interested in trying them all. I think the concept of the movies and perfume is one that is full of promise and intrique. Thank you for the opportunity to be included in this draw.
I would love the chance to smell Tauer's new frangrant adventure, but as to a link between film and fragrance, I'm not really sure I see an obvious one. You need to create an atmosphere through pictures which will feed your imagination into sensing a scent. I think, perhaps I prefer documentaries (loved the bbc programmes) which don't pretend to smell through the screen. Having said that, some films like Babette's Feast manages to make the feast come alive, also through sense of smell, but then of course, food is not invisible like perfume.
Wow, the film is fantastic, the perfume must be as well. Alica – alica@cleis.net. Thx!!!
The art director and costume designer for a movie share in creating a character-the character's wardrobe, home, workplace, lifestyle are carefully crafted to make a visual whole. Certainly we must imagine the fragrance, but we get the idea of that fragrance from the rest of the film's visuals and the portrayal of the character. It all adds up. Somebody living in a Manhattan loft in 2011 won't smell like someone living in antebellum Tara. Tauer's genius here lies in creating the character's back story through fragrance. I can't wait!
*** THE DRAW IS NOW CLOSED ***
Thanks to all of you for your wonderful entries. Please come back to http://www.persolaise.com on Friday to find out who the winners are.