Enjoy!

Carolyn

After much talk and preproduction hell, the Coco Chanel biopic, Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel), is finally slated to begin filming. Unlike the Lifetime biopic on Coco, the Warner Bros. film painstakingly recreates Chanel’s life. French gamine Audrey Tautou was cast last year to play the young designer, and she’ll be clothed in costumes from the Chanel archive. Even Kaiser Karl Lagerfeld is set to supervise the recreation of key Coco pieces worn by the designer herself. The film will start a 12-week shoot on September 15 in Paris, aiming for a 2009 release. Possibly a lock on the best costume Oscar.

Two decades ago, Peter Philips never realised you could get paid to put lippy on; now he’s got the biggest budget in make-up and the world is his compact.

They say that nail varnish, like chocolate, is a treat women can still afford when the economy stumbles. If that’s the case, there’ll be a stampede when the most indulgent crunch-busting purchase of the day, Chanel’s Gold Fiction, hits counters at the end of the month. Chanel has made blood-coloured, black and even navy-blue nails the very definition of chic (for under £20 a pop). Its latest colour isn’t for the faint-hearted either. Paint it on and your hands appear literally gilded. But it’s not only what’s inside that counts. Packaged in a heavyweight glass bottle with a glossy, black squared-off plastic cap, the Modernist sans-serif letters on each and every product spell out a name that, to women everywhere, translates as grown-up glamour: C-H-A-N-E-L.

The closest most of us get to owning a piece of Chanel, one of the world’s most successful and fiercely guarded luxury brands, is its lipstick, nail polish or a bottle of its bestselling No5 perfume. So the person who creates those desirable items is, in artistic terms at least, in charge of the greater part of its business.

That person is now Peter Philips, the new global creative director of Chanel make-up, a softly-spoken Belgian with dark blond hair and a calm demeanour. Replacing Dominique Moncourtois and Heidi Morawetz, long-time co-directors of Chanel’s beauty division (Moncourtois had been the last employee to have been hand-picked by the late Mlle Chanel herself), Philips has inherited a legacy of luxurious packaging and technical innovation.

In many ways, he’s not the obvious choice. A graduate of the prestigious Antwerp Academy (where a generation of Belgian fashion talent, including Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester, studied), Philips abandoned fashion design to take up a career in make-up after working as a “dresser” backstage at the prêt-à-porter shows in Paris. “I saw the make-up teams and realised you could make a living out of doing that. For me, make-up had always been associated with beauty parlours. I always did my friends’ make-up in the 1980s; they’d ask, ‘Can you do my eyes?’ and I was good at it. So when I realised that in fashion you could also do make-up, I was intrigued.” Philips began to work on shoots and at shows, although he notes he was “very selective” with whom he collaborated.

After a decade at the top of the industry, he had gained a reputation as one of fashion’s best avant-garde talents – albeit one associated with menswear shoots (he’s close friends with men’s fashion star Raf Simons) and the edgier style mags. Forget cover girls with pretty-pretty pink cheeks and smoky eyeshadow; one of the most enduring images Philips has produced was a portrait of a male model, his face obscured by an enormous cartoon Mickey Mouse. “It was spontaneous,” he recalls of that session. “But when we showed the picture to other people, their jaws just dropped.”

Until now, itinerant hardly sums up Philips’s lifestyle as a hard-working session artist – “I don’t know where I live really. Hotels…” In demand by every star photographer, the 40-year-old was not in the market for the quiet corporate life of an in-house role at a beauty brand. But the top job at Chanel is a mantle that Philips treats very seriously, not to say emotionally. The prolonged period of negotiation he had with the company was, he says, akin to “an engagement. It’s a commitment. But now we are married. Everything at the house of Chanel is intimate, it’s like a family.”

Working from an airy studio in Paris and the company’s laboratory, Philips now collaborates with Karl Lagerfeld on Chanel’s catwalk shows and advertising imagery. He’s bubbling over with excitement at the R&D side of his new job. With the infinite budgets of Chanel at his disposal, Philips can now develop new products “from scratch to end product, so if I have an idea – say, a ‘floating foundation’ – I can get people on to doing research into that. Or if I want to change the pigments we use, I can get our team to work on the formulas. I’m not a chemist – but now I’ve got a team working for me to do that.”

The first of his products for the brand, including that gold nail polish, go on sale later this month. Don’t expect a radical revision of classic Chanel products. Any visible changes to the brand will be “very subtle – unlike the other beauty brands, Chanel doesn’t have to reinvent itself every five years, because it’s so classic”.

Instead, he promises his labs will continue to produce the hysteria-inducing “star” products that set trends everywhere. “I remember when they did Rouge Noir, I was a kid in those days, and you couldn’t find a dramatic red. Suddenly, Chanel did Rouge Noir – a colour that other brands would be afraid of. When Chanel did it, it was a classic. The same with the black polish.”

One of his predecessors, the genteel Moncourtois, stayed in this job for several decades. Does Philips believe this could be a marriage for life? “I never really plan anything,” he insists. “Three years ago I would never have dreamt that I’d be at Chanel. But, if I’m happy with it, maybe I can stay here till I’m 80.”

Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel dazzled the fashion world and changed how women dress. If you love Chanel, observe the 125th anniversary of her birthday on Aug. 19.

What seems like a million years ago, I wandered the streets of Paris. Truthfully, it was 1993, and I was in the City of Lights for the first time on high school spring break.

Parts of the trip I don’t recall well, but I distinctly remember my first trip to Chanel’s flagship boutique. I had first seen the store in the documentary “Madonna: Truth or Dare” and wanted to pay homage to this brand I knew so little about back then.

The store’s namesake, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, lived a remarkable rags-to-riches tale filled with plenty of fodder to make TMZ editors squeal with delight.

She was outspoken and controversial. During World War II, she shuttered her fashion business and shacked up with a Nazi officer; she also was a homophobe (although she had a couple of bisexual trysts); and she was anti-Semitic.

The French designer’s strong sense of style and elegance ultimately outweighed the drama, and her designs revolutionized women’s wear.

On Aug. 19, fashionistas can pay tribute to the outspoken designer and celebrate the 125th anniversary of Chanel’s birth. Like another figure of her time, Eva Perón, little was ever expected of Chanel, who once lived in an orphanage after her mother died and her father abandoned the family. She was a seamstress during her teenage years and later had a stint as a cabaret singer.

Fashion came into play when she opened a hat business, thanks to her beau’s backing. She moved on to his friend, Arthur (”Boy”) Capel, who is believed to have been the love of Chanel’s life and who supported her expansion from hats to clothes and from Paris to coastal resorts.

Decades after her death, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, and in 1957 at a Dallas fashion event, she was hailed as the most influential designer in the previous 50 years, and rightfully so.

Chanel was a maverick for her time, mixing masculinity and femininity and finding new interpretations in everyday fabrics such as jersey and wool. Today, her admirers seek out the brand’s hidden luxury, and Chanel’s subtleties can be seen playing out in works from fashion’s major stars including Miuccia Prada and Austin-born designer Tom Ford.

Chanel women of the moment range from “Sex and the City’s” Carrie Bradshaw to Madonna, who wore Chanel on the cover of Elle earlier this year and to her induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I caught up with a couple of Chanel lovers, including Austin multimillionaire Robin Campbell, who scours vintage shops and auctions in New York and Europe to find vintage Chanel pieces.

“She was an outspoken person and definitely had controversy that followed her throughout her life, and despite all of that, succeeded,” says Campbell, who owns the charity and shopping Web site Cupidz Clozet. “It’s great that her legacy has continued on.”

Those legacy pieces included the art deco-clad Chanel No. 5, which was launched in the early 1920s and is considered the first fragrance to bear a designer’s name. Other Chanel staples are the little black dress in black chiffon, the classic tweed suit whose hem was weighed down by a gold chain, strands of pearls, costume jewelry, sling-back pumps in ivory with black toes and quilted handbags with shoulder straps made of gold chain.

Why she returned to fashion in 1954 – her name was still muddied – isn’t exactly clear. Some publications and Chanel followers believe the designer, then in her 70s, was bored. Another camp says she didn’t like the direction fashion was going. I’m a sucker for a comeback story, even though in the book “Chanel: A Woman of Her Own” (1991), Chanel dismisses her story as a comeback tale.

Her postwar collection included relaxed suits trimmed in braid; her signature monochromatic colors as well as strings of fake pearls and brooches; and the return of her little black dress.

In the United States, her name found fresh acclaim, and her signature jersey suit became popular. The following year, one of her more well-received accessories — itself still a staple of the collection — was introduced: the quilted bag with shoulder strap, simply known by Chanel lovers as the “2.55″ bag, named after the month and year of its creation. (The original bag doesn’t feature the iconic double-C Chanel logo of other handbags.)

Chanel died in her private suite at the Hôtel Ritz Paris in 1971. Thankfully, her legacy and style have lived on for decades through the grand interpretations of Karl Lagerfeld, who was hired in 1983 to design Chanel and has since turned it into a mega-luxury brand. As Chanel once said: “Fashion fades; only style remains the same.”

From left, K-print bag, Idol quilted slim tote, Snapshot Large Sak

Karl Lagerfeld has a new bag line launching in spring 2009, and we scored the first line sheets for you to preview before they launch (oh, bless Market Week). The collection took a year to develop, and the Kaiser himself approved each of the 42 designs. And you know what we found? Laptop cases! Which is funny, because last we heard, Karl said he didn’t even know how to use a computer: “I don’t use a computer; I do research with my brain. And if I want or need to — I get people to do it for me.” For a man who is notorious for being a technophobe (well, he does have that iPod nanny), this seems like quite a jump into unknown territory.

But why should that stop him from making chic cases for us common folk? Of course, the press release doesn’t name technology as inspiration, rather the line is “inspired by the designer’s passion for modern architecture and photography, and especially by his spirited lifestyle and iconic personality.” But that’s close enough! There are quite a few slim totes in the collection, perfect for commuting with a laptop in style (probably made with his assistants in mind). There are also bags with grommets (inspired by the grommets on his glove), bags with leather-covered chain handles (inspired by the chain he wears), and bags with sunglass lenses beneath the handles (inspired by his shades). Buyers are confirming orders this week, but come spring, expect to see these available in high-end department stores for $595 to $3,000. We’re especially taken with the slim satchel featuring his handles cut out in the shape of his sunglasses, appropriately named “Idol” (but sadly not pictured). Check out more after the jump. 

From left, 15-inch Roller, Idol Slim Satchel, Click Double-Zip SatchelPhoto: Courtesy: Accessory Network Group

Idol tote, Click micro-embossed slim zip tote, Click laptop case in silverPhoto: Courtesy: Accessory Network Group

With Over 1 million members worldwide, Chat-Date.net offers chat and dating services featuring normal email services plus PC to PC phone calls and Video Chat.

JOIN NOW FOR FREE - NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

Find Chat, Dating and Love — locally or across the world. With millions of members worldwide you can JOIN FOR FREE right now NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED. Look HERE.

Karl Lagerfeld
As his trademark dark-sunglass visage might imply, Karl Lagerfeld rarely looks around to see what other designers are doing. While his peers whip up frothy cocktail numbers and futuristic separates, Lagerfeld stuck to his own signature style for fall. The collection featured trim-fit blazers, starchy white shirts, and a smattering of darkly glitzy accents—from black bow ties to patent booties—all of which bore a slight resemblance to items in the designer’s own wardrobe. But then again, who wouldn’t want to be, or dress like, Lagerfeld? So legendary is his boldly iconic taste that it trumps any season’s trends.

Early Use of Perfumes

There has always been a trade in scents and by the year 2008 perfume had become a $10 billion industry. Today women have fragrance wardrobes of at least six different perfumes, rather than a single signature perfume, keeping one special perfume for occasion moments.

People have used perfume, oils and unguents on their bodies for thousands of years in lesser or greater amounts dependant on fashion whims.  The early Egyptians used perfumed balms as part of religious ceremonies and later as part of pre love making preparations.  Myrrh and Frankincense were exuded gums from trees used to scent the atmosphere in rituals.  Other plants such as rose and peppermint were steeped in oils until a perfumed unguent formed. The unguent was then rubbed into the skin.  It’s interesting to note that perfume has come full circle today as more and more of us seek out high quality aromatherapy perfumed oils to use in exactly the same way as our ancestors did.

Products that enhance the feel of skin and the smell of the body have been highly valued in every culture.  Trade routes introduced spices to other parts of the world and a wider range of scents could be made.  In the past people often mixed their own potions using home methods creating their own aromatherapy products.  Many homes had a still room where essences were steeped out of flowers and herbs. 
Left - Lavender field in Grasse France.

Perfume fell out of use during early Christianity, but was revived in the medieval period. By the 1600s scents were applied to objects such as furniture, gloves and fans.  In the Georgian Era non greasy eau de cologne was developed and it had many uses from bath essence to mouthwash.

Chemical Advances in Perfumery

The late 19^th century was the first real era of perfume as we know it when new scents were created because of advances in organic chemistry knowledge.  Synthetic perfume products were used in place of certain hard to find or expensive ingredients.  At the same time a similar chemical knowledge development happened in textile printing dyes.

Grasse in Provence, France became a centre for flower and herb growing for the perfume industry.  The men who treated leathers in the same area found the smells so bad they perfumed themselves and the leathers.  They were knowledgeable about making the botanical essences and were the early perfume noses.  But it was only in the C20^th that scents and designer perfumes were really mass produced.  Before that, the few trade names that existed were Coty and Yardley who made fairly light scents with familiar smells.

What Is Perfume Made From?

Perfume is made from about 78% to 95% of specially denatured ethyl alcohol and a remainder of essential oils.

Perfume is the costliest form of fragrance with 22% of essential oils.

Eau de Parfum (EDP), comes next with between 15 and 22% essential oils.

That’s followed by Eau de Toilette (EDT) with 8 to 15% oils.

The weaker Eau de Cologne has just 4% essential oils.

For those who crave super subtlety Eau Fraiche with 1 to 3% essential oils, is the lightest dilution of fragrance.

Many new perfumes are promoted as EDPs and an EDT is not always produced as there has been a vogue for Eau de Parfum as individuals want a more lasting signature.

There are major fragrance categories - Floral, Oriental, Floriental, Chypre, Green Marine and Fruit.  Typical plant products include anise, bay leaf, bergamot, cardamom, cedar wood, eucalyptus, frankincense, gardenia, geranium, iris, jasmine, lavender, lemon, lilac, lily, lily of the valley, magnolia, moss, neroli, orange, orris, patchouli, pine, raspberry, rose, sage, sandalwood, tuberose, vanilla, violet and ylang-ylang. 

The memory of a scent left by violets.

Typical animal products used in perfume include musk from the male musk deer, ambergris from sperm whales, castoreum a secretion of the beaver and civet from the civet cat.  All are used as fixatives and add an indefinable mystery to the smell at the same time.

Tips for Wearing Perfume

When you apply perfumes apply them to pulse points such as the folds in the crook of your elbow and back of knees, wrist, neck and cleavage.  Make sure you do not rub wrists together as this crushes the smell.  Spraying a little into the air is also good if you walk straight into the perfume.  This helps to diffuse it over your body.  Do not simply apply to the neck always work up the body as the scent rises.  Also consider wearing in your bra a small ball of perfume impregnated cotton wool.

Consider layering perfumes. Use all the same perfume in various products.  Begin with shower or bath gel and then rub in body lotion or spray with a matching after bath spray.  Finally apply the scent preferably as perfume or EDP.  I find that the use of body lotion makes you feel really scented and it is probably to do with starting at the feet and applying the scent all over allowing the scent to rise.  It also makes you feel extra special and very pampered.

Keep bottles tightly stopped, away from direct heat and out of sunlight.  You will certainly know when they have gone off as you’ll notice that you do not get that lovely boost of heavenly scent when you spray or dab and the fragrance will look darker in the bottle.  Some perfumes come in blue or opaque bottles and these store perfume well.

Try to choose perfumes that suit you, not your friends or family.  Test a perfume in a store and then walk around for a minimum of ten minutes.  Some perfumes take more like half an hour or an hour to truly develop.  For example, Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood, Jicky by Guerlain and Must de Cartier are all ones I love after an hour, but am not convinced on first sniff.

Put a few drops of perfume onto an oil burner to scent your bedroom.  At Christmas use musky oriental room fragrances in the form of perfumed incense sticks, candle or sprays to enhance the familiar associated yuletide seasonal smells of cinnamon, orange oil, pine, frankincense and myrrh.

Famous Early Perfumes - Chanel No 5

Ernest Beaux created Chanel No. 5 for Coco Chanel in 1921.  It has a floral top note of ylang-ylang and neroli, with a heart of blends of jasmine and rose all above a woody base of sandalwood and vetiver.  Chanel believed women should wear perfume wherever they hoped to be kissed.  Today Chanel No.5 sells a bottle every 30 seconds.

In recent years Chanel No. 5  has been marketed as a spray with two refills in an effort to have it recognised as an essential everyday finishing touch rather than a precious scent to be used sparingly.

Chanel fans and fashionistas will soon be able to live a high-style life in homes designed by Karl Lagerfeld.

Mr. Lagerfeld signed an exclusive deal with Dubai Infinity Holdings to design 80 homes in what aims to be the most fashionable address in the world, the man-made Isla Moda (”Fashion Island”) in Dubai. The development will include a mix of penthouse apartments and two- to four-bedroom homes.

“We cater to a very exclusive clientele who are highly fashion conscious,” said a spokeswoman for Dubai Infinity Holdings, which is owned by a group of local, private investors. The company launched in December 2007; Isla Moda is its first project.

The first stage of development of the homes will begin next year, with an expected completion date of 2012. Sale prices were not disclosed, but the spokeswoman said the haute houses will be available by invitation only. Mr. Lagerfeld will focus on interior designs.

“It’s more than an interior design concept,” Mr. Lagerfeld told BrownBook magazine. “I see it more as a fashion lifestyle concept.”

“The metamorphosis of art and beauty is my passion,” Mr. Lagerfeld added in a July 8 statement. “[Dubai] is alive with culture and rich in personality, making it a perfect place for aesthetic, fashion and design to flourish.”

Isla Moda is set in The World, a development of man-made commercial and residential islands off the coast of Dubai. Isla Moda will style itself as a world-class resort and luxury destination, featuring a fashion hotel, residential villas, design studios and event space. Dubai Infinity Holdings plans to sign on four other designers in addition to Mr. Lagerfeld.