It's not often that I'm completely head over heels for a specific marketing campaign. Cartier's adorable panther cub totally got me, as do Budweiser's animal ads - I have a thing for furry beasties :) - but sans cute-ables, I'm generally picky about the ads I go head over heels for. One that did not escape a tumble was the new Chanel No. 5 campaign. "You know me. ...But you don't." It makes me think of a whole barrage of ideas ranging from the truth of the statement to my last ex to Lita - it reminds me of her entrance audio "You think you know me, but you have no idea". The concept resonates strongly with me - how often do people think they completely "get" us, when really they are seeing only one side of the triangle, a superficial glimpse at a much deeper cavern? The phrase encapsulates the moment of being so much more than is recognized, even by those intimately familiar with you. Take Lita. We saw the tats and the wrestling prowess and the grungy tough-as-nails-chick who could take on the boys. But it wasn't until much later that we saw her stylish side and the confident woman with clear ideas of where WWE needed to take it's Women's division. We thought we knew her. But she is so much more than we knew. I've been on the inside of that position on an individual basis, being with someone who seemed to know almost intuitively who I was, but then did things that were antithetical to the truth of me. The No. 5 campaign taps into this and the unity of paradoxes within us: we are so many opposing ideas, moments, feelings, experiences. As different as they are, they are united in us, so that - as Jane Austen wrote in Pride and Predjudice - "there is something new to be observed...for ever". The variations of No. 5 and, in particular, the original and its newest sister, capture some of this polygon-esque quality. First, there was the original: the always classic, now iconic No. 5. Then, there was Eau Premiere, a slightly lighter, fresher, perhaps a smidgeon powdery-er take on the original, but similar in essentials (e-scent-ials? ;)). Now, there is L'Eau. It echoes the elements of the original, starting with citrus top notes (the first scent to be released on the skin and generally the shortest-lasting). Ylang-ylang is the focus of middle notes (2nd to be released and of lengthier duration). No. 5 added iris, lily of the valley and rose as well before segueing into the base notes (the scent that anchors the blend and called a "fixative" because it tethers the other scents to the skin, giving them longer scent-life than they would have alone) of vetiver, patchouli and musk. L'Eau repeats the musk but incorporates cedar instead of the other two wood notes. (Fun fact: although vetiver smells like a wood oil, it actually is made from the leaves of a grass). L'Eau represents a new side of the original -similar and yet unique, familiar and yet unknown - like us.
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AuthorBrie (Hi!) More re: me under About. I'm the moving spirit behind this little life-meets-fashion fairy tale world, the home of my non-wrestling-related style musings and loves. Archives
August 2019
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