Chanel N.5 Movie Debuts

Chanel debuts the new Chanel N.5 film starring Audrey Tautou today. Called Train de Nuit , and directed by Amelie's Jean-Pierre Jeunet , it's every bit as gorgeous as you expect a Chanel film to be. Audrey is truly one of the most stunning women.

You can view here or on the website set up just for Chanel N.5 http://www.chaneln5.com/

To celebrate the new film and the fragrance New York has also declared May 5 as "Chanel N˚5 Day." Very cool, or I should say ,chic. It's both. Saks will be doing 17 special windows outside as well as Fifth Ave . being named Ave. N.5 for the day. (I have a shot of the street signs, since many of us can't be there in person, moi included).

In another nice touch Chanel & Saks are partnering to create a new arts program at P.S. 5, the Ellen Lurie Elementary School. The donation will provide funding for the arts program, specifically four separate after-school arts classes—graphic arts, photography, chess and drama—as well supplies and field trips to a local museum or cultural institution for each class. Children will benefit from the after school program, which they will be able to attend for an hour and a half four times a week.

I'm a huge fan/supporter of the arts, so I loved reading this.

Let me know what you think of the film? As good as the previous with Nicole Kidman? Yes, No ?

Sebastian Flaunt line- Trilliant & Shine Define

I love Sebastian haircare. I've raved before about Re-Shaper, Shaper Plus ( a must have for years here) and Liquid Steel gel.

Now there's new products for smoothing , shine and heat styling. Called the Flaunt collection, the line includes two new products I've just tried.

Trilliant is a two part liquid that needs shaking to mix( this is fun, you can see the separation of the liquids) and is a light conditioning, shine enhancing spray to be used with heat styling or on damp hair pre-drying. Spray on dry hair before flat ironing or curling. I found it to be nice for me as I like my conditioning to be on the lighter side. I had no heaviness with this and got great style/hold with it.

Shine Define Hairspray holds it all in place after you've styled. I couldn't imagine this delivering the hold of Shaper Fierce but it has strong hold. It may be meant to boost shine, but it also keeps a style in place nicely. It's not a soft hold , but it is a flexible one. This provides heat protection also & can be used before heat styling for good hold and then finished with a misting over.

Beginning in winter,Sebastian teamed with designer Charlotte Ronson to do the hair for her Fashion Week show and she became the spokesperson for this line. Right now you can get a special set of these products with a custom Charlotte Ronson T shirt in a gift box.

The special-offer gift set from Sebastian includes the limited edition T-shirt by Charlotte, which comes as a bonus with the purchase of Sebastian Professional Trilliant and LIGHT Shampoo and Conditioner . A great set for shiny hair.

The set sells for $ 47.00

Trilliant is $ 19.95

Shine Define is $15.95

http://www.sebastianprofessional.com/.

Bond 9 Mother's Day Raffle

Win this and you can gift Mom with a years supply of Bond 9. Now thats quite a gift. Great thing here is this is not just in NYC. You can enter at any Saks Fifth Avenue that has a Bond 9 counter( which is most if not all, I believe).

"During the week preceding Mother’s Day (May 10th), Bond No. 9 is inviting fans to sign up their favorite mother for a unique Mother’s Day raffle gift: a year’s supply of Bond No. 9. This means one bottle per month of the eau de parfum of her choice.

The rules are pretty lenient here. Any Bond No. 9 customer is welcome to enter our raffle—no purchase necessary. All they need to do is stop at any of our counters, at our own stores or at Saks Fifth Avenue, Sunday, May 3rd - Saturday, May 9th.

Just supply their name and contact information on a raffle to be left in a hatbox. At the close of business on the 9th, the winning raffle at each store will be drawn at random and the winner informed that evening—just in time for Mother’s Day.

Who qualifies as an eligible mother? The regular, old-fashioned, all-forgiving, chicken-soup mother, to be sure. But also the career mother, the vamp mother, the shopaholic mother … any female on whom we’d ordinarily bestow a Mother’s Day gift. And hey, self-satisfying types are welcome to enter their own name. (We do not judge.) "

Enter to win at any of the four Bond No. 9 boutiques in New York City:
9 Bond Street · 680 Madison Avenue · 897 Madison Avenue · 399 Bleecker Street
and nationwide at Saks Fifth Avenue stores.

Parfums MDCI Peche Cardinal

Luxury French perfume house Parfums MDCI has released the first of 4 new perfumes, Peche Cardinal. I had the pleasure of meeting the founder,Claude Marchal ,in 2007 on the Sniffapalooza trip to Paris and he was lovely, even remembering our previous correspondence.

I must disclose that I am a big fan of the line and feel Peche Cardinal is a wonderful addition to the Parfums MDCI lineup.

Peche Cardinal, is first, a perfume for the peach lover. If you do not like peach notes than this will not be for you. It is utterly gorgeous to my nose. All ripe, succulent peaches, fresh picked off the tree and crushed lightly in your hand to release their fragrance.

Mr. Marchal calls it " a little olfactory bomb that may be not expected from our little brand". That it is. He feels it is may be more thought of as from a more established house. I don’t know if I agree. It’s different enough to be undertaken by a house not tied to tradition. Tuberose is in there as well, and is such a perfect compliment to the peach. They go together well, both being creamy and rich notes.

As Peche Cardinal dries down, it becomes quieter, the peach is still there but not so heady. It does not overwhelm but the note is still present. The peach plays nicely with other notes, light musk being the most noticeable to me. I only like musk in small doses, and it’s just enough here. There seems to be a tiny bit of soapiness appearing into the drydown as well.
It’s a very fruity fragrance, but the best kind. This is well blended and bears no resemblance to anything you will find in the fruity/floral section of commercial lines. The sillage is medium. You will smell it, but not everyone in the room will. It lasts nicely as well.

Marchal loved the first fruity top note of the rough test sample, smelled in the midst of cold, damp fall weather, when he felt as if "reaching Spring was a vital priority". After much finetuning, he "settled" as he says, on the version now available. " Not the tamest of all". It is not for everyone, but no scent is. Marchal sees Peche Cardinal as the riskiest of his new scents due to the abundance of fruit in it. That said, I can see many people loving this. If you love a scent laden with fruit, any one , then this should be a winner to your nose too.

Marchal says that MDCI doesn’t cut corners on anything and all his perfumes bear this out. You can tell, or well, smell the quality.

Peche Cardinal is currently available at http://www.luckyscent.com/
3 new perfumes including 2 by Patricia De Nicolai are out now as well and equally beautiful.

Full note list:
Top notes: davana, peach, coconut, blackcurrant
Heart notes: tuberose, plum,lily
Bottom notes:cedarwood, sandalwood, musk



*This article orginally appeared in Sniffapalooza Magazine*