Actress Keira Knightley in her latest ad for Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle fragrance. You can see the prior ad, from 2007, here. Back in 2007 there were rumors that Knightley had been "digitally enhanced"; you can check out the 2009 conversation at Basenotes.
(image via the forums at imagesdeparfums, with many thanks to Quarry for the tip!)
Dear Michelle,
It’s all right if I call you Michelle, right? I feel like I know you well enough. After all, I’m not the only person I know who has fallen asleep and dreamt of hanging out with you and Obama. In one of my friend’s dreams, you were barbecuing and wearing a Duke University jersey. In my dream we were at St. Sulpice in Paris and a priest was explaining how we were really cousins. (Don’t worry, it was only a dream. I’m just glad there weren’t giant ducks or submarines or something like that.) But I’m not writing to talk to you about dreams. I want to discuss something more important: perfume.
I understand that you recently bought a bottle of Boadicea the Victorious Noble Eau de Parfum. I’ve been lucky enough to smell Noble, and it’s a wonderful rose scent with a sophisticated patchouli and amber dry down. I wouldn’t mind having a bottle of it myself. But since you’re First Lady, I see broader horizons for you than the perfume output of a British hairdresser. You undoubtedly have big things on your mind, what with being a razor-sharp attorney, mom, and target of public attention. So, to save you time and to bring you maximum olfactory pleasure, I’ve chosen a few perfumes for you to put in the cabinet next to Noble…
The smart thing to do after I received a sample of Chanel’s new Cristalle Eau Verte would have been to have worn it for a few days on its own, and that was my plan. I haven’t got that much will power apparently: within 5 minutes of spraying it on, I’d put the original 1974 Cristalle Eau de Toilette on my other hand, and pretty soon I’d put a dab of the 1993 Cristalle Eau de Parfum farther up my arm, and was busy comparing the three.
The new Cristalle Eau Verte, by Chanel perfumer Jacques Polge, promised to retain the “original honeysuckle accord” of Cristalle and to add magnolia (other notes: lemon, bergamot, neroli, jasmine, and abstract white flowers). There wasn’t any reason to think it would have much to do with the earlier versions, and of course it doesn’t. I don’t know the sales figures for the 1974 Cristalle (a long-time favorite of mine) vs. the 1993 Eau de Parfum, but I would guess the Eau de Parfum is the bigger seller of the two, and that the original Eau de Toilette is no longer viable in the regulatory sense anyway, what with oakmoss and citrus being limited.1
Considered on its own merits, Chanel Eau Verte is quite nice…
The new Chanel No. 5 commercial, starring Audrey Tautou and Travis Davenport, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. This is the 1 minute version; you can watch the longer version at chaneln5.
The music is Billie Holiday singing I’m A Fool To Want You.
Update: today is Chanel No. 5 Day in New York City; more after the jump…
The teaser for the upcoming commercial for Chanel No. 5, starring Audrey Tautou and Travis Davenport as a couple traveling on the Orient Express. The commercial was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Below the jump, more info from the press release and the “Making Of” video (in French), plus for anybody that missed it, the Nicole Kidman version from 2004.