Sak's Fifth Avenue, NY Fragrance Library

When trend forecasting 2015 fragrance predictions, I wanted to not only look at the fragrance itself, but also the way in which brands promote and appeal to the consumer in new and exciting ways.

In 2014, Sak's Fifth Avenue in New York created an innovating concept to which has never been seen before. The company created a 'Fragrance Library' to which consumers could visit and find out about the tradition and heritage behind different fragrance notes, as well as the meaning that they hold in order for the consumer to make a more informed decision when purchasing or personalising a fragrance.

I really like the idea of the Fragrance Library as I feel that it is an idea that has not been seen before and also promotes the idea to the consumer that a Library is a fun and exciting place to visit, which stereotypically people believe it is not. The way in which you can go and relax as well as find out about different fragrance notes adds a personable feel towards the consumer, to which will ultimately make them feel that they have been a major component in the creation of the product.

Categorising fragrance ads

Black and White

The consumers eye: product is placed in the bottom right hand corner of the page as the consumer is immediately drawn to this framing of the page

Object of desire: The bottle is the main feature of the advertisement

Oversized bottles

Nature & Purity

Multiple models

Pink, Feminine themes

Bottle as main feature: no use of models or other distraction, focus is purely on the product itself

The future of perfume bottles

The days of the basic square clear perfume bottles seem to be coming to a head as brands begin to create more complex and over the top designs than ever before.

60's retro vibe with juxtaposing parallel black and white lines against the curved exterior of the bottle itself.

All black bottles, blacked out liquid with matte black cap. Minimal and simplistic.

Half moon shaped bottle in sphere black packaging. Colours of both the bottle and packaging represent wealth and dominance.

Neutral tones of beige and white signifying purity. Liquid itself is white and is surrounded by a perspex glass border that forms the bottle around the outside.

Kanye West x Adidas Originals

Kanye West's latest Adidas originals collection is said to have been inspired by the 2011 London riots.

West discussed his fashion inspiration and influence in a new interview with Style in which he also opened up about how he does does not read reviews of his designs. At one point in the interview, West describes himself as "the Robin Hood of fashion" as he feels "there's some information in it that can help people have better lives".

On the subject of the London riots, however, West says that spending time in the capital in 2011 and seeing what happened on the streets as violence broke out across the city inspired his take on fashion.

"I was living in London at that time and saw the way that the kids wanted the clothes and I didn’t have the skill set to do the more inexpensive clothes," West said. "This designer said to me one time, we were looking at something online, "This looks like a really bad couture designer that no one knows.” Think about the idea of a really terrible couture designer, which there are a lot of. I didn’t have the skill set to do inexpensive clothes."

Ciate nail polish

Everyday, I seem to find myself constantly on the look out for new brands that are offering unique products into the market. When recently looking at LOOK magazine I came across a nail polish brand that immediately caught my attention.

Ciate is a London based nail polish brand who offer exciting and engaging nail varnish sets. The company have a "Geltox" nail range to which has the ability to change any nail polish to a Gel nail polish in 60 seconds! As well as this, Ciate has recently unveiled its Liquid Chalk range with a finish that is neither glossy nor matte, perfect for those indecisive consumers who can't make up their mind! Ciate has many powerhouse famous fans such as Rihanna and Jessie J, making it even more appealing..

I think that what Ciate as a brand is offering is a fun and exciting way to get creative with new nail designs that you can do in the comfort of your own home, and at a very reasonable price (£9.00 per polish), rather than wasting money getting a manicure at a nail salon that you could have probably done as just as well yourself!

Celebrity fragrance endorsements

Natalie Portman is 'Miss Dior'

I feel that pint sized American actress Natalie Portman was the perfect choice to become the iconic 'Miss Dior' for Dior's famous narrative fragrance campaign.

Her doll like petite features represent what the fragrance is all about..sweet, feminine scents with a fairytale-esc aura. The fragrance itself is presented as a story through the sequels of the 'Miss Dior' campaign to which follow Natalie Portman through different scenarios in her life, as she takes on the role of the iconic Dior woman, something that I feel is what makes this campaign so successful, as it is memorable and relates to the target consumer who would be buying the product and following the Miss Dior journey.

Celebrity fragrance endorsements

Alicia Keys for Givenchy

Singer/Songwriter Alicia Keys as the face of Givenchy's Dahlia Divin womens fragrance? Do I think it was a good choice? Not so much..

As much as I enjoyed Alicia Keys music back in my teenage years, I'm not overly enthusiastic about Givenchy's decision to use her as the face of this fragrance. It all seems very random and badly thought out to me. The fragrance promotes itself to be classy, sophisticated and somewhat royal...not words that immediately spring to mind when thinking of the R&B sensation that is Alicia Keys.

As beautiful as she looks in the campaign, I can't help but feel that Givenchy are giving mixed signals as to which consumer they are targeting the fragrance at. The style of the campaign, the bottling and fragrance itself present the idea that the fragrance is aimed towards the slightly older woman with its simplistic and traditional looking presentation. Yet Alicia Keys is an artist who I believe most older women probably haven't even heard of..(I know my mum definitely hasn't!). Leaving me thinking that perhaps a more traditional face would have been  a better choice..

Fragrance advertisement analysis

This is a double sided advertisement for Marc Jacobs womans fragrance 'Daisy'. The two images display themselves in an understated abstract way, through the ways in which the oversized perfume bottles are positioned within both images in an off centered and sculptural manor. In the second image, the figure of the girl seems to reciprocate and run parallel to that of the shape of the perfume bottle itself, with her knees, torso and arms creating a box like figure, which mimics that of the actual bottle, and her hands mimicking that of the shapes of the petals seen on the cap of the bottle. The way in which the models head is tilted towards the perfume bottle, acts as a guide to the person looking at the campaign, and therefore helps to lead their eye to the product that is being promoted.

The bright, soft and natural colours in both of the campaigns present the idea of purity and all things natural, this being the focal point behind the name of the fragrance, 'Daisy', a flower well known for its fun and girly connotations that link in with the childhood memory of making daisy chains. 

Marc Jacobs as a brand is presented through these campaigns as the flower cap to the fragrance bottle acts as a recognition to the brand, as Jacobs is known for his floral themed fragrances, as well as the way in which he uses a non-fussy clear rectangular bottle and juxtaposes it with a loud and busy floral cap presents the brand as what it is known to be, fun and witty. 

Tradition & Heritage

With this moodboard, I wanted to keep it simplistic and mainly focused on the brand itself. I used fragrance campaigns from brands such as Chanel, Dior and Guerlain, as these are all famous brands known for their classic interpretation of fragrance through the way in which they advertise, package and create their products, something that I feel is what makes them such well known and desirable brands to consumers. I used a scroll like, black font to which connotates the idea of wealth and tradition, evoking the romantic and upper class aura of the moodboard.

Humour & Kitsch

There were no rules during the creation of this moodboard. I wanted it to be over the top, exaggerated, fun and theatrical..all of the things I think of when it comes to humour and kitsch. The images used are fun, witty and completely unrealistic. The font used, I feel almost represents that of a circus, due to its bold and full exterior and wacky letter shaping. I used the colour orange as orange is generally considered to be a "happy" and playful colour, which humour and kitsch is all about. 

Trust & Honesty

Within this moodmoard I wanted to keep it very clean and crisp, to mimic the idea of all things natural. The borders and spacing around each image help to reciprocate the non-fussy and fresh connotation of purity. I used a simple, black, non-complex font to represent the
understated element of nature.

Sensuality & Indulgence

For this moodboard I chose images that I felt evoked the feeling of seduction and passion, within the relationship between the models used within the campaign and the way in which they are connected to the product. I used a soft and flowing text to present the idea of a hand written letter..something considered to represent lust and romance, which runs parallel with the deep red writing to which has the connotation of love.

Categorizing fragrance advertisements

When looking into different fragrance advertising campaigns, it is easy to notice that there is a clear differentiation between each one and the way in which the brand are choosing to sell their product.

There are 4 main categories to focus on when looking at the ways in which a fragrance ad is presented:

1. Sensuality & Indulgence : Forbidden/ seductive/ exotic/ passionate
2. Trust & Honesty : Purist/ spiritual/ authentic/ natural (air/water/fire)
3. Humour & Kitsch : Camp/ wit/ ironic/ theatrical
4. Tradition & Heritage : Romance/ nostalgia/ vintage/ class

Rihanna for Harper's Bazaar - Killer Fashion

Pop Art: The Movement

For part of our reading week task, we were asked to create a moodboard to which reflected a certain fashion era or movement. I decided to focus on Pop Art, The Movement as I love the vibrancy of the popping primary colours and how they clash against one another. In order to create my moodboard I collated images from online sources to which I felt best represented Pop Art in my eyes.

The magazine caricatures add a fun and playfulness to the moodboard where in contrast, the Marilyn Monroe collage adds a sense of history of one of the fashion industries most influential women. The red lips concede the 'rock and roll' era of the pop art movement and show how it was a fashion movement that was all about stepping out of the box and portraying the idea that the wackier and more out there you were, the better.

Overall, I am pleased with the moodboard as I feel that it truly represents what the Pop Art movement stands for with its overpoweringly busy aura and bold colour palette.

Hegarty on creativity: There are no rules

When we were first assigned to read this book during reading week, I was originally skeptical as I wasn't sure whether it was going to be one of those over the top and exaggerated creative books that once you've finished reading you're left wondering what it was all about.

But I have to say I was extremely surprised at how much I actually enjoyed the book! The tone of the book is lighthearted, humorous and witty, yet jam packed full of positive outlooks and handy hints into the creative world, all of the elements that I feel make for the perfect easy read.

The reason I believe that the book was a lot more interesting for myself, was due to its non biased tone of voice to which the author is basically saying that there is no right or wrong answer when creating an idea, it is all based on what you personally believe to be right. The language used is conversational and un-structured, which I liked as it made the reading seem to be almost a conversation rather than having an opinion of what is right and wrong thrown at you in black and white.

The use of the funny and somewhat unexpected innuendo's, "Collaboration is great for sex but not for creativity", made for a much more enjoyable read to which he author addressed the reader as an adult, which is something that I feel to be a major contributing factor to the enjoyment of a book, as I feel less inclined to be interested in a book when the author patronizes the reader and makes them seem of less value than themselves, this something that the author of this book contradicted as they made themselves out to be no different to you nor I, explaining the theory that we are all on the same page and it is your individuality to which makes your ideas the best, "Remember there are no rules!".

However, as well as telling the reader that there are no rules within the creative world and that it is all down to personal choice, the author also helped to give out handy tips on how to "get your creative juices flowing". This being something that I feel is very useful, as sometimes coming up with original and innovative ideas can be stressful, but it is important to remember that by making simple changes to your daily routine, just how much it can effect you and help you to feel more motivated and in control.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book as it made for a very interesting and engaging read from start to finish.

BBC perfume documentary - Part 3

"The smell of the future"

The third installment of the BBC's perfume documentary was all about taking fragrances to Brazil, a country to which perfumers see to be the future of scent.

Anne Gocleves, founder of "Axe" (AKA Lynx to European market) was looking to create a brand new fragrance to which she felt best represented Brazil, as well as reaching the demands of her male consumer (16-25 year old boys). Anne explored how she used scents to represent a region; Russian - rich and heavy scents, Chinese - light and airy scents and Arabia - musty scents. She wanted to show how fast the fragrance market is moving and how it has evolved to main cities such as London, Paris and New York are now being dictated by places such as Shangai and Mumbai. Anne worked alongside Russell Taylor who is the brand manager of "Axe" as he explored Brazil and their fragrance market. Taylor discovered that Brazil was well ahead of europpean countries as they have taken the desire for a scent to a whole new level. Car dealers such as Aston Martin have now developed their own scent to which is sprayed within the store so that then consumers come in looking for a car they become transfixed on the smell of wealth as well as the actual product.



The documentary also looked into Julianna Defelina and Anna Elfarez, both marketing executives at Avon. The two were also looking into how each scent is represented in different countries, for example, they found that the scent of Vanilla was presented as heavy and overpoweringly sweet in Europe yet juxtaposing this, it was seen as a light and fresh scent in Brazil; two completely opposing opinions of exactly the same produce.

Overall I found the third installment of the documentary to be engaging as it helped to get a better understanding of how the perfume market is moving forward in the future and the regions to which perfumers predict will be the most exciting in years to follow.

"A fragrance must appeal to be the mouth and the nose in order to create the perfect sensual scent"

BBC Perfume Documentary - Part 2

"Bottling the memory"

Part 2 of BBC's perfume documentary was all about revealing how a certain scent can take you back to certain places, spaces and people.


New York's perfumer Christopher Brosius was the proud owner of the "I hate Perfume" gallery to which he believed transported you to a memory as you smelt the scents. His scents were not that of the ordinary sweet and subtle fragrances that are sold on a daily basis, but he liked to think of his scents as magic. Roast Beef, magic markers, musky unwashed bodies were just a few of the bizzare fragrances to which he was selling in his store, scents that Brosius believed excavate "beauty from what is real". We followed Sean Crowley, an English enthusiast on his journey with perfumer Brosius as they worked together to create a fragrance to which presented Crowley's lust for old English traditions. The pair worked together on including elements such as shortbread biscuits, cobbled streets, smoke from pipes, old books and whisky in order to try and create the perfect fragrance to which in their eyes mimicked that of 1930's England (at the high end price of $2000!!).


Running almost parallel to the style in which Brosius worked, was french perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena who created his fragrances based on fantasy. Ellena lived a life to which was very excluded from the outside world and somewhat life in general as he worked with only one other lab helper and was described as the "Obi-Wan Kenobi of fragrance". Ellena worked on the "surprise" element of the fragrance, each of his perfumes were entirely unique and he created his fragrances on what he felt was right in the moment, even the brands he would work for would not know what he would be creating until the very final moment; perhaps the reason as to why he was in such popular demand by high end brands such as Hermes.

The documentary also explored the Givodan "perfume school" to which Jean-Claude Ellena attended in his younger years. The school only selects very few applicants each year and are very specific with whom they choose, on year they were so underwhelmed by the applicants that they took on 0 students. Within the 3 years that the students study at Givodan they will not make one fragrance, but instead learn about the depths and discovery of how the perfect perfume is created. Givodan is famous for homing students who went on to create fragrance masterpieces in the consumer's eye such as; One million by Paco Rabanne, Obsession by Calvin Klein as well as other works by Givenchy and Dior.

Overall I found the documentary fascinating to see how despite the two perfumers working on opposing sides of the world, their technique of creating something was infact very similar, within the way in which they both saw the relationship between scent and memory to be the most important, as well as both wanting to inspire memories of the future through scents that they both felt needed to represent the person whom was wearing it.

"Time is a luxury that is not cheap" - Jean-Claude Ellena

BBC Perfume Documentaries - Part 1

"Something old, something new"


Part one of the BBC's perfume documentaries explored Famous french perfumer Paul Guerlain as they followed his journey of creating a perfume using his old school and very personable methods and marketing approach to creating a perfume. Guerlain's philosophy for his consumer was to "Get them young, keep them for life" to which he explained that he believes the brand to be very family orientated within its target consumer, as a mother introduces their offspring into the perfume world with Guerlain and his outlook that "perfume should be seen as a fashion item..something to be changed regularly". Guerlain was transfixed on the way in which a perfume represented a woman and how she wanted to be portrayed "take off her dress, whats left? Her charm and perfume".

This juxtaposed that of the opposing perfumer Varelique who worked for Tommy Hilfiger in the creation of their multi-sexual perfume "Loud". Varelique explained how she wanted the fragrance to represent "liquid rock and roll" by mixing both music and fragrance together to adapt to a younger generation of consumers. The creation of Loud was very clever with the way in which they linked the scent and title of the perfume together; The paper strips to which are usually used for consumers to test a perfume in store where in this case formed into a music ticket to match the vibrant movement of the bottle of the perfume and the ragged guitar like top to the bottle. Varelique believed that the bottle had to represent an invisible scent to which the bottle must sell the fragrance before he consumer smells the fragrance, she believed that design and advertising was key to achieve an admirable fragrance that people will continuously invest in. Valerique invested in the band The Ting Ting's as well as famous UK model Daisy Lowe to be the ambassadors for the brand as she felt that their rock and roll aristocracy made the perfume more relatable to a younger clientele.


Overall the documentary was extremely interested as it allowed you to get a feel for the fragrance market from two different sides of the spectrum; Paul Guerlain believed that no expense should be spared in the creation of a perfume, precision is key within his old world perfume to which included both ingredients from nature and the famous "Guerlainard" to which is presented as the DNA behind Guerlain that has been a key element of all of Guerlain's perfumes from the start. This differentiates to that of Tommy Hilfiger's process of the creation of "Loud" to which saw it being heavily advertised with the help of famous faces and clever bottling of the perfume to help reel in the target consumer with its interlinked ad campaigns and packaging to which I feel almost forces the consumer to believe that what they are smelling is "rock and roll" due to the way in which it has been sold to them.

Design in a Nutshell

As part of the reading week task, we were asked to watch 6 videos titled "Design in a Nutshell" to help us to get to grips with Fashion from the past as we move in to the future.




























These were the 6 elements to which each 2 minute long video explored..

1. The Gothic Revival (Medieval Times-5th to the 15th Century).
2. Arts and Crafts - The movement (1880).
3. Bauhaus (Germany- 1919-1933).
4. Modernism (20th Century).
5. American Industrial Design (1920's America).
6. Post Modernism (1972).

As a whole, I found each short video to be exploding with knowledge of the key elements of each of the eras, however due to the quirky and fun illustrations and animations that coincided with the factual information, I found myself actually paying attention and being interested in past fashion history to which I would usually find difficult to keep interested in, had it just been written down in black and white.

The way in which each clip was created was in an almost childlike element with cartoon characters and comical tones, this I feel is a very clever way of keeping people interested as the creative ideas behind it know that this is a way to interact with people best. Also, the way in which each era was being explained was simplistic and easy to digest, making for a very fun and enjoyable short video to which you actually learn some very valid information!

Here are the links to each of the short videos described above..
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsfL8KpM7Qs
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBq73yxha0o
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQa0BajKB4Q
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDCEtnXlA4Y
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceKmkvOLD3Q
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKomOqYU4Mw

FCP Reflection - Stop/Start/Continue

Reflecting back following on from my first ever Uni module hand in, I have learnt the aspects to which I feel I am best at, the things that I feel I could do more of, as well as what I feel I need to stop doing, start doing and continue to do as the course progresses.