Etat Libre d'Orange- Like This (Tilda Swinton)

I showed my husband the bottle of Like This, Etat Libre d'Orange newest perfume, and told him it was created by collaboration with Tilda Swinton. Apparently he's seen and smelled enough, including from ELdO, so he didn't even blink. His only question was: How weird did they make it?

Maybe the oddest thing about Like This is that it is not weird at all. It's just very very good.

Tilda Swinton, she of the immense talent, intriguing personality, fascinating personal life (she lives openly with two men) and no eye lashes might be the last person you'd associate with the idea of a celebrity perfume. Then again,  the previous celeb scent fro Etat Libre d'Orange was created with the equally wonderful Rossy de Palma, so you know we're not in Lindsay Lohan's universe here.

Ms. Swinton's idea of an ideal scent was "Place and state of my mind...Certainly state of ease. ...The experience of the reliable recognizable after the exotic adventure: the regular, the natural, turn of the seasons, simplicity and softness". Her inspiration came from this poem by Rumi:

"how the perfect satisfaction
of all our sexual wanting
will look, lift your face
and say,
Like this.

...If anyone wants to know what “spirit” is,
or what “God’s fragrance” means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.
..."

Isn't this beautiful?

Like This was officially launched in March but it's not exactly a traditional spring/summer scent. The "turn of the seasons" element is much more fall-like, especially considering the pumpkin accord and the rest of the pie-like elements. Like This is a pretty much a gourmand scent, and one of the most interesting perfumes in this overdone genre I've come across in a long long time. It opens up with ginger. Fresh, biting, grated right from the root ginger. It can be a very difficult note to get right (Bulgari Blu comes to mind. I thought it was a disaster), especially that bracing freshness. Here, though, the ginger smells real and natural.

What comes next is also straight out of the kitchen. From the round and satisfying pumpkin to the honeyed, maple-like richness of the immortelle, my skin smells warm and edible. This is the place to mention that on the husband there's much less sweetness. His skin brings out more of the other notes- a dirty, musky vetiver that he finds to be walking the line between fascinating and disturbing (I think it's incredibly sexy). He was sure there was tobacco somewhere in the mix, and I know what he means, but it was probably the very dry vetiver  playing tricks.

It might not be the very first thing you  think about in connection to Tilda Swinton. This is not as mysterious or enigmatic as she appears from the outside, but I loved how she didn't seem to care about her usual image and chose to go with elements that comfort and delight her. You get to see there's a real person there, a woman who has memories and desires. And, apparently, some of them are about pumpkin.

Several studies suggest that men find the smell of pumpkin pie has something to do with male arousal. I've witnessed a grown men reduced to a blubbering mess when I served him my homemade pumpkin pie. Well, it was a really good pie (gingerbread crust, real pumpkin that I roasted in the oven, caramelized pumpkin seeds on top and served with freshly made barely sweetened whipped cream). Does the new Etat Libre d'Orage perfume work the same way? Maybe. It definitely makes one get close to sniff and take it all in.

Like This is an EDP with an incredible staying power and quite a bit of sillage. It takes a long and hot shower to remove it even after 24 hours. I enjoy the way it opens up in the heat. Some might prefer it in cooler weather, though.

Like This by Etat Libre d'Orange ($99, 50ml) is available from Henri Bendel (they accept phone orders). Luckyscent will have it in stock later this month. I received a bottle from  Bendel.

Images: etatlibredorange.com, tildaswinton.net

Oscars 2009 Red Carpet Recap

So what did we have, other than the Tim Gunn alternative on ABC (I will never watch the E! red carpet show ever again)?

Red dresses:



Asymmetric necklines:



Belted dresses:


Godawful dresses:


When it came to hair, the formal updos are back, replacing the messy buns as they ought to for such a glamorous event. Those who opted to let their hair down have done it in long and pretty waves.

My favorite part was the attitude towards makeup. There was no one ruling trend and the stars went for individual looks and let their tastes (or that of their stylist) and their best features make a statement. Queen Latifah was radiant in the nude, natural look while Evan Rachel Wood was all glam. Angelina Jolie was all about her eyes (and earrings) while Tilda Swinton chose a bold red lipstick (I'm not sure that was the best choice ever, but at least she's never boring). Generally speaking, things were quite tasteful on the red carpet last night, and I think we can officially say that the overdone, too dark smoky eye is gone (and not a moment too soon).



All photos: A Socialite's Life

A Closeup On Oscar Looks

Today I'm almost happy that I haven't joined the HDTV crowd just yet.

My planned post for today was a more in-depth discussion of the Oscar hair and makeup looks. I did the red carpet live blogging last night based on what I could see on my modest sized regular TV screen. Today I have already gotten emails asking for specifics, how-tos and general advice about achieving a super glam look. To reply them and for my own post I started going through the closeup photos on Just Jared.

Short answer: Don't do it. Please.

You all know that there's often a big difference between gorgeous and elaborate makeup for a special night out or even a big event when you are face to face with people, and a camera-ready look. When it's "real", you don't want to appear caked-up and painted. You don't want to look artificial and you don't want to scare children and small animals. Notice the "you don't want" theme. What else you don't want? Cameron Diaz skin:


Except for serving as a warning for the hazards of smoking and sun exposure, I'm not sure what good is this picture.

Heidi Klum was the glamorous of them all, right? The most exuberant dress, the most done hair, the furriest creature that died for her eyelashes... She also wears way too much bronzer.


Something that I see in most of the pictures is the old trick of dabbing a very shimmery eye shadow in the inner corner of the eyes. This is a good highlighting technique as long as you don't abuse it. Nars have many colors that would work well here. I'd suggest to avoid real metallic silver. It's just too much and tends to look sci-fi.


If you're not playing up your eyes too much, consider a bold red lipstick. Katherine Heigl got it almost right. Except for the extra bronzer and the smoker's skin, that is.


I have full respect for Tilda Swinton's choice of wearing a dress that doesn't cling or reveal anything she doesn't want to show and not making it about her cleavage. I can also deal with a no-makeup look. I hesitated about even posting her picture, because I don't want this to be a discussion of her wrinkles. Ms. Swinton is 47 and opts not to do botox. It shows, but in my opinion (and I'm very pro-botox and surgery. In five to 10 years you'll find me at the doctor's office regularly), it's a better look than whatever taxidermy procedure that creates the face we've come to recognize as Renée Zellweger.
All this was just the escape clause for the following: Tilda still needs mascara.


To end on a positive note, Anne Hathaway looks perfect with a luminous and balanced makeup. Not too much on the eyes and not too little on the lips. Of course, she's also twenty five, so how hard is it to look great at that age (very, if my memory serves me right, but that's not really relevant)?

Instead, let's look at a few 30-something faces that actually got it right: a very black volumizing mascara (and probably some individually glued lashes), some highlight on the eye and a my-lips-only-better lip color:





All images except the ridiculous first one are from Just Jared, where you can try facing the real closeups at your own risk.

More Celeb Makeup, Good And Bad

Catherine Zeta Jones shows how to take a trend, like icy blue eye makeup, and get it to make sense on a real face by only doing it as an eyeliner and keeping everything else neutral. However, something went awry with her complexion and she could have used a mattifying primer, pore reducer or powder (click on the picture to see what I mean). I'd buy the lip color, though.


Tilda Swinton might have the most beautiful eyes in showbiz, but even she can't get away with no eyelashes and disappearing eyebrows. Her lips look parched under the dry, matte and too dark lipstick. The more I look at this picture, the more I want to chase her down the road with a mascara wand and a moisturizing lipstick in a soft color.

Photos: A Socialite's Life