"Go, Speed Racer, Go!"

Miss Keira Knightley and Joe Wright are currently filming a new Coco Mademoiselle campaign at Place de la Concorde in Paris. The inspiration could be Kill Bill or Speed Racer.
I am going with Speed Racer.

Here she comes
Here comes Speed Racer
Shes a demon on wheels
Shes a demon and shes gonna be chasing after someone.

Shes gaining on you so you better look alive.
Shes busy revving up a powerful Mach 5.
And when the odds are against her
And theres dangerous work to do

You bet your life Speed Racer
Will see it through.
Go Speed Racer! Go Speed Racer! Go Speed Racer, Go!

Shes off and flying as she guns the bike around the track
Shes jamming down the pedal like shes never coming back
Adventures waiting just ahead.
Go Speed Racer! Go Speed Racer! Go Speed Racer, Go!

Credits: Chanel and Wikipedia

Part X: Polge, Sheldrake and Helleu...Oh My!


The tour of the Chanel fragrance laboratory was a highlight of my Paris trip. I never dreamed that I would ever be given this opportunity. To actually meet Jacques Polge or shake the hand of Christopher Sheldrake was beyond a thrill.
At dinner the night before the tour, I compared Polge to Paul McCartney and Mr Sheldrake to Mick Jagger. For perfumistas these men are legendary rock stars. Polge is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend with Sheldrake being the new bad boy of perfumery.
As a team...they will be unstoppable.

The bloggers were broken up into two groups for the tour. My group consisted of Seth & Aimee from Cool Hunting, Kay from The Clothing Project, Betsy from Fashion is Spinach and Adrian from Fashion Verbatium.
Jacques Polge and Christopher Sheldrake took us on an olfactory tour.
They showed us a can filled with vetiver, a bowl filled with the most incredible smelling patchouli leaves and a root from an Iris plant. This specific root is aged for three years and then crushed and ground for distillation. Polge stated that is the most costly ingredient in Chanel perfumes. While he was speaking my eye spied lab bottles of Tonka Feves, Tolu, Poivre Essence, Fir, Baise Rose and Violette on the shelves. Polge then generously offered to let us smell anything in the lab. I immediately asked to smell their Iris. There is nothing more heavenly than that pure note.
Sheldrake opened lab bottles of their jasmine. We actually got to smell side by side Jasmine from the Chanel Grasse plantations to Jasmine harvested from Egypt.

Seth from Cool Hunting then requested to smell "the worst ingredient in the lab".
This request was a pure delight to Polge and Sheldrake. Polge wanted us to sniff a note that smelled like rotten eggs. The nameless assistant in the back of the lab began saying "No" a hundred times with a violent shake of her head. Sheldrake then thought of a note that was being stored in their fridges. This note was a musk extrait from a beaver.
Sheldrake dipped testers in the bottle and quickly passed them around.
Adrian at Fashion Verbatium proclaimed that beaver essence smelled like olives.
It was a compelling and interesting smell.
It was slightly earthy and green.

Jacques Polge was studying literature when he stumbled across an offer to become "a nose" for a company in Grasse. He spent two years in the United States learning the craft and eventually worked for Roure-Betrand-Dupont. Mr Dupont had "a long standing vocation to create fragrances for coutiers".

He joined the Chanel family in 1978 following the footsteps of the legendary Ernest Beaux(creator of Chanel 5) and Henri Robert(creator of Chanel 19). Polge's mission was to ensure that the original scents were being reproduced to the letter and that the materials being used were of the highest quality.

Polge created Coco in 1984. He was inspired by Mademoiselle Chanel's apartment on the Rue Cambon. He was inspired by her decorative choices and work. The apartment with it's baroque and eastern feel gave him the idea of the Coco fragrance.
After the launch of Coco,many successful fragrances launches followed such as Allure and Chance. Coco Mademoiselle was created in 2001 and contains the notes of Rose de Mal, Patchouli, Vanilleine, Iris Absolute, Jasmine and Vetyverfract. Polge wanted a fragrance that was "distinctive but did not wear out it's welcome with the wearer". Mademoiselle has a gentle sillage that wafts around the wearer. I always receive lovely compliments when I wear it.

My personal favorite fragrances from Chanel are in the Les Exclusifs line. These scents were inspired by places in Chanel's life from her apartment(31 Rue Cambon), country home(28 La Pausa) to her favorite coromandel screens(Coromandel). Polge was given free reign when it came to the creation of these scents. He is most proud of this body of work. He enjoyed being able to create fragrances based on materials seldom used like Amberette Seed. This ingredient plays an important role in the No 18 fragrance. The Exclusifs line is currently available at Bergdorf Goodman and select Chanel boutiques.

Chanel fragrances are exquisite in many ways besides their exceptional ingredients.
At Chanel, the fragrance is treated like a "luxury, small scaled product".
They have their own harvests, plantations and laboratory. The bottles have hand made touches. The Chanel creative team and staff have been long standing employees within the company. People do not leave for greener pastures. This company is the pasture with the greenest blades of grass. Many of the employees I spoke with had been with the company for decades and proud to call Chanel home. New employees had that special glow that comes from having a job you admire and love.
Can you imagine waking up and actually looking forward to a day in the office? Chanel staff can.
They get to work in a beautiful smelling office and drink coffee out of Chanel mugs.
Adrian(Fashion Verbatium) and I practically squealed when we spotted them on Chanel desks.
I bet my Maxwell House would taste 1000 times better out of that mug!

Credits: Blogdorf Goodman and Chanel.
Disclosure: This Paris trip was made possible by Chanel.

Interview with Director Joe Wright on the new Chanel Coco Mademoiselle commercial.

What fascinated you most about Chanel’s personality?
Her duality. Coco was a woman with many secrets and façades. A woman who revealed a completely different personality, depending on who she was talking to and what situation she was in. We capture this quality in the Coco Mademoiselle fragrance.

You can’t really put your finger on the real identity, the real intimacy of the character. I kept this approach in mind for the film.

Did you do any research?
I visited the places where she lived and worked. I was immediately struck by the fact that, during the most important years of her career, she lived in a very limited space, between the rue Cambon, where she worked, and the Ritz hotel, where she lived.

I can almost say the same for myself in London.

What memories will you keep of the Coco Mademoiselle film shoot?

This film came at the right time. After Pride & Prejudice, which is a film about love, Keira and I were walking on clouds.

Then we finished Atonement, a very dark film about lies. It was very difficult to bear. The Coco Mademoiselle film brought a breath of fresh air and lightness.

As for my favourite sequence, it’s the one where Keira is reflected in the mirror.

What is your relationship to fragrance?

It must be in complete harmony with the person who wears it. My girlfriend has her very own scent and I think I fell in love with it!

Interview from thestar.com by M. Rebichon

Photo: Blogdorf Goodman and unknown

Chanel Tour Part VII

This exquisite tiny birdcage from Chanel's apartment so inspired director Jean-Paul Goude that he created the very memorable Coco commercial with Vanessa Paradis. In the commercial Vanessa is perched on a swing inside a birdcage while a hungry kitty cat looks on.

I always thought it was a more glamorous version of Sylvester and Tweety Bird. You almost expect to see Chanel come into the frame with a broom to chase the cat away.




Credits: Blogdorf Goodman and Youtube
Disclosure: This Paris trip was made possible by Chanel.

The Chanel Seal of Approval
Chanel Tour Part V



There was a second half to the demonstration of the packaging of Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle Extrait de Parfum bottle.


Each bottle is branded with the Chanel hallmark of interlocking C's. This process involves fire, thick wax and a steady hand.




Many bloggers attempted this process with great success. Seth from Cool Hunting and Kay from The Clothing Project nailed the perfect interlocking C's on their first try. The C's must be centered "just so" to be acceptable and Chanel worthy.

I was very enchanted with this part of the Chanel tour. I had no clue that these hand crafted touches still existed in the perfume industry. I assumed that my parfum bottles were crafted by machines and assembly lines.

Chanel gives a couture touch to each extrait bottle.

Every detail is exquisite and a homage to the woman herself.

Photos: Blogdorf Goodman
Disclosure: This Paris trip was made possible by Chanel.

Chanel Tour Part IV
Chanel Baudruche Process


A highlight of the Chanel Trip was witnessing some of the hand crafted methods of packaging a extrait de parfum bottle. We were given the opportunity to watch and participate in the Baudruche process.
In simple terms, this is when the extrait de parfum bottle is sealed with a wax-like translucent membrane and tied with 4 rows of cord. This time honored technique is a hand crafted touch for all extrait bottles. Besides Chanel Mademoiselle, I also own extraits from Guerlain and Caron. I can tell you that they are never easy to open and often require a steady hand and mind. I was a nervous wreck when I opened my Guerlain Chamade bottle. This bottle was from the 1960's. The first whiff after the struggle was heavenly. The fragrance was just as stunning as it was first poured.

Jacques Polge in 2001 created Coco Mademoiselle. It "marked a return to sobriety, with a fresh fragrance and light,almost abstract, notes of morning rose and jasmine petals". Other notes are a burst of orange, bergamot with a drydown of a rich earthy patchouli, vetiver and a dash of tobacco.

My favorite moment with Coco Mademoiselle has always been in the early morning on a cold day. The moment the air hits that patchouli note you are smitten with its power.

Photos: Blogdorf Goodman
Disclosure: This Paris trip was made possible by Chanel.

Coco Mademoiselle Commercial

Chanel Tour Part 2



There were many moments that impressed me during this trip. The one that stands out is the incredible dedication of the Chanel staff to preserving the vision of Mademoiselle Chanel.
Every detail from the choice of perfume bottles to the commercials have been inspired by the loves and tastes of Chanel. She passed 30 years ago but she is still directing the path of her beloved company.

Every director, photographer, set designer and muse are brought to the apartments for inspiration. Jean-Paul Goude was inspired by a tiny gilded birdcage on an end table. He used this piece to inspire his famous Coco commercial with Vanessa Paradis swinging in a life sized birdcage.

The latest director to collaborate with Chanel is Joe Wright. Mr Wright directed Pride and Prejudice. This film captured the attention of Chanel's artistic director, Jacques Helleu.
Mr Helleu quickly fell in love with the look of this movie that he immediately hired the director, the actress, the cinematographer and the crew responsible for the set design.

This team was also inspired by the apartments of Mademoiselle Chanel. Throughout the 60 second commercial you will spot glimpses of coramandel walls, chandeliers,jewelry, crystals, camellias, mirrors and the Place Vendome.

The short film was shot over 5 days in the Bry-Sur-Marne studios. Keira Knightley portrays a modern day version of Coco Chanel. The commercial opens with Keira skipping down the fire escape stairs wearing just a men's shirt with a bowler hat. The background view was actually inspired by the breathtaking views from the rooftop over the Chanel workrooms.

There are three versions of the commercial. The 60" version is a personal favorite of Jaques Helleu. The 45" version gives the viewer a lingering shot of Miss Knightley's Black Satin nails. These spots are scheduled to debut Sept. 24 through Oct. 7.

Photos: Blogdorf Goodman and KeiraKnightley.com

Disclosure: This Paris trip was made possible by Chanel.