Francophile Friday illustration : Annick Goutal Paris and Chat Perche

Francophile Friday illustration : Annick Goutal Paris and Chat Perche

22.6.18

Annick Goutal Paris illustration and Chat Perche with Pretty Kitty © Shell Sherree

Black cats are lucky, and in this case the luck caught on with the serendipitous location of perfumer Annick Goutal's beautiful flagship store in Paris a leisurely half dozen or so doors down from our hotel on rue de Bellechasse in the 7th arrondissement.  

As luck would also have it, Annick Goutal's newest release is called Chat Perché (Perched Cat).  So their window displays featuring fun faux felines perching and playing made for a perfect photo opportunity and illustration for me. 

In chatting with the delightful Marie who assisted us so helpfully, she explained that this perfume "is our new invitation for grown ups and little ones to play and celebrate the countless sensations you were used to feel, mesmerised by every single detail of the nature."  I suspect our little black kitty cat here is hoping to be mesmerised by a pot of cat grass shortly.  And on that note ...

Happy Francophile Friday to you!

Annick Goutal

16 rue de Bellechasse

PARIS 75007

Click for all locations

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Fashionable Friday: Vicki Archer/French Essence Illustrated Gift Guide

Fashionable Friday: Vicki Archer/French Essence Illustrated Gift Guide

2.12.11

ink & watercolour illustration by Shell-Sherree - curation by Vicki Archer/French Essence
~ see below for links to individual items ~

One of my minor weaknesses leading into the festive season is fruit mince pies.  Not a concept I grasped at all when I was a child ~ I pictured a combination of beef mince, gravy and glacé cherries and couldn't possibly imagine what anyone would find fetching about it.  But at some point the penny dropped, and now I'm quite partial.  Today, I ate my first fruit mince pie to officially cut the ribbon on my Christmas planning ~ which leads us to today's post.  I was doodling around last week and illustrated one of the J.Crew guest gift guides for the fun of it ~ and it led me to thinking it would be fun to do a little teensy mini-series of illustrated gift guides, curated by a few of my favourite style bloggers.  And with grace and aplomb, they agreed to play along.  Hooray!

Given the fondness for French influence around these parts, our first gift guide is contributed by Vicki Archer, author of the sumptuous books My French Life and French Essence {stories of her life} and dreamy blog of the same name.  Vicki created her blog 'for those, like me, who are mad for fashion, interiors, and all things French.'  I like to think we're related through our Australian DNA {if you're a genetic scientist, I don't want to know...}  She is one of the most romantic souls I've 'met' and she has a way of writing her posts to you and you alone ~ even though you know they are there for all to see.

I asked Vicki if she could choose anyone to dress up as Santa, who would it be and why.  To which she replied, "As for Santa… I don't want it to be anyone but Santa because if I knew him… he wouldn't be Santa…. 'Those who don't believe don't receive'… That's what I said to my children when they were small and that's what they say to me…."  Thank you, dear Vicki!  And on that magical note...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you!

French Essence Gift Guide Sources [left to right, top to bottom]: (1) Annick Goutal Gardenia Passion Eau de Parfum; (2) ‘Vogue: The Covers’; (3) Annick Goutal Noel 08 Scented Candle; (4) Parisian Pagoda Parasol; (5) Red Wellington Boots; (6) ‘One Hundred Flowers’ by Harold Feinstein; (7) Casio Men’s XL Red G-Shock Watch; (8) The Sunrise Collection Picnic Basket; (9) Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star Hi Tops

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A Covet of Cupids

A Covet of Cupids

2.2.10

ink & watercolour illustration of print ad, 4" x 4.25" [10.5 x 11cm]

Valentine's Day is a couple of weeks away, so I thought, "A-ha!  I shall pip everyone else at the post and blog about it now."  A-ha, indeed!!  And lest you fall off your perch in surprise at my forward planning, I shall draw your attention to a celebrity fragrance that was released sufficiently long enough ago that you may no longer locate it in a luxe department store, but it may still be loitering on the shelves at your local day/night chemist {pharmacy}, and thus the perfect solution for the last minute gift for blokes to procure on their way to their amour on Valentine's Night.

The fragrance in question is Sarah Jessica Parker's Covet Pure Bloom, resplendent with sweet tropical florals, like mandarin, purple plum, coconut water, tuberose, pikake, jasmine, amber, iris, sandalwood and creamy musks.  By its name alone, it's a nice match for Valentine's Day, as the origin of the word 'covet' according to dictionary.com is "c.1225, from O.Fr. coveitier, probably ult. from L. cupiditas "passionate desire," from cupidus "very desirous," from cupere "long for, desire." 

I have to wonder, though, how many covet the dress over the perfume...

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Time and Butter-Flies with Guerlain

Time and Butter-Flies with Guerlain

8.12.09

The party season has started over here, and to help one flitter around, sprinkling the fairy dust of intrigue and desire in one's wake, we can turn to Guerlain, an iconic fragrance house of Paris, founded by Pierre François Pascal Guerlain in 1828 as a "Parfumeur Vinaigrier" on 42 Rue de Rivoli, on the same site as the Hôtel Meurice.

Its perfumed shimmer powder is a "violet scented, sparkling powder" that will "sublimate and illuminate shoulders, arms, back, décolleté and hair."  I don't know about you, but I've always wanted to sublimate myself. This year's 2009 Christmas Collection features a white gold bottle with a long black tassel atomiser, and screened with black lace.  Very elegant.  Very nice.  I just wish I'd known that before I found my clipping from what must have been last year's magazine, and drew you the 2008 collection: Midnight Butterfly.  Oops. Time flies.

I'm kind of glad, though.  The silver and purple-lilac tones of that collection are soft and pretty and feminine, and can we ever have too many butterflies?

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Eau de Virginia et Violette

Eau de Virginia et Violette

20.10.09

Paris and perfume are as inextricably woven together as Paris and romance.  And if you're wafting along the perfume trail in le Marais, you'll happen upon this delicate parfumerie. And if your sensitive nose detects notes of violet nearby, you might be following Virginia. 

Thanks, dear Virginia, for your kind offer of your photos like this one for inspiration.  If you're a lover of Paris, you'll adore Virginia's Paris Through My Lens.  She has an artist's eye and the photographic skills to do it justice.  Not to mention, she's an all around bundle of fun and smells good!

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First Birthday Giveaway: the Panda or the Féery?

First Birthday Giveaway: the Panda or the Féery?

29.9.09

Funny how it happens like that ~ it occurred to me last night to take a look-see and figure out when my blog started and it's my one year blogoversary today!  Happy blogoversary to me ... happy blogoversary to me ...  happy BLOG-oversa... but wait.  How selfish!  This is all about you, my lovely readers, after all.  And it's also about my dear friend Trish, whose birthday coincidentally happens to be today.  Happy birthday, gorgeous kid.  We go back 30 years {cough} and whenever we catch up {never often enough} it feels like we're still ... whatever age we were back then.  

So, cupcakes for everybody!   And as birthdays are oft celebrated with perfume and jewellery, I'm having a birthday giveaway of the winner's choice of one of these two original Shell Sherree illustrations {regulars here may remember them}:

Panda Watch illustration, image size 3x5.5" [7x13.5cm] on 190gsm watercolour paper 

Féery Parfum illustration, image size 4x7" [10x17.5cm] on 190gsm watercolour paper

To enter, just leave a comment here on this post telling me which one you'd choose, before 9am this Friday 2nd October Brisbane time {you can convert to your time here} .  If you're a regular commenter, you'll receive an extra entry in the draw, and if you also say which of my currently listed Etsy drawings is your favourite, you'll receive an extra entry.  The winner will be chosen randomly and announced in Friday's post.

And now, on with the cupcakes.  They are healthy enough for a heart foundation tick, I promise!!

ps: A little 'thank you for your support' launch special for my lovely blog readers:  If you order one of my originals at my Etsy store by Friday 9th Oct and mention 'Brazen Hussy' in the order notes, I'll give you 15% off via a refund back to your credit card.  And if you're a regular commenter, I'll add in a couple of Shell Sherree gift cards with my compliments, as an extra Thank You!  Any questions/suggestions/requests, don't hesitate to email me.  Ta!

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A Féery For Your Perfume Garden

A Féery For Your Perfume Garden

21.7.09

If there was a prize for the prettiest perfume bottle, Van Cleef & Arpels's Féerie Eau de Parfum would surely have to be in contention. Fairies and dragonflies are a recurring theme for this French luxury house, and this bottle and fragrance were inspired by its Midsummer Night's Dream jewellery collection. The fragrance notes include violets, blackcurrant, Bulgarian Rose, Egyptian Jasmine, and Iris Butter. {Infinitely more exotic than Peanut Butter, if not as tasty.}




And if you want to trade Parisian calories for colour, cut, carat and clarities, just stroll to the historic Van Cleef & Arpels boutique at 22, Place Vendôme where the company was established in 1906. {Thanks and Bisous to Cali for the photo inspiration!}

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Sitting Pretty

Sitting Pretty

13.6.09

Elizabeth Arden's Pretty fragrance has a pretty website to suit. And the delicate ruffles of tulle in this dress tap into many a woman's childhood ballerina fancies. I quite fancy myself lounging around on a chaise like this one, gazing into my handheld mirror, cushioned softly and sweetly by intoxicatingly fragrant peonies large enough to warrant the horticultural equivalent of steroid tests, while a butler who looks suspiciously like Hugh Jackman feeds me dark chocolate Cointreau truffles. OK, that last bit isn't in their ad. But it should be...

The fragrance is irresistible, charming and feminine, with a combination of floral, fruit and wood. The bottle was inspired by the shape of a bud vase. If you want to make the daydreaming process easier, you'll be sitting Pretty with this.

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Does Corsetry Tighten Loose Aromatic Morals?

Does Corsetry Tighten Loose Aromatic Morals?

16.5.09

I chatted briefly yesterday with delightful MmeBenaut about fragrance, and whether to stay with a signature perfume or be a bit loose with one's aromatic morals and dabble with a variety. It takes a lot of scentual fortitude to remain faithful to just one.

As challenging as it is, I stick with three, partly because it takes me so long to use them up that my wee dram of Scots won't allow more than that. This Jean Paul Gaultier Classique {with notes of rose, star anise, ginger, vanilla and orange blossom} is my 'summer night/winter day' signature scent. Well, not this one exactly. The bottle with the fancy corsetry is reserved for the Eau de Parfum, whereas I have the Eau de Toilette, which can't afford such elaborate underwear but still looks nice naked.

So how about you? Do you prefer corsetry or going naked? Wait ... what? Sorry, I meant to ask ... Are you a one fragrance woman? Or are the choices impossible for you to resist?

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Raindrops on Daisies and Whiskers on Kittens

Raindrops on Daisies and Whiskers on Kittens

5.3.09

Daisy by Marc Jacobs {Eau de parfum} scores top marks for a gorgeous bottle and top marks for using an adorable four legged model instead of a two legged one {though I'll take the smell of a kitten over perfume any minute of the day}.

I'm also awarding top marks for an enchanting website. You can have some fun being gorgeous, youthful, elegant, feminine and flowery while planting virtual daisies and winning downloads. {And the fragrance? Violet, wild strawberries, gardenia, jasmine, vanilla infusion. But not, ahem, daisy.}

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Balloons over Paris

Balloons over Paris

2.2.09

Give me a bottle of Dior and a balloon flight over Paris and I'd be an even happier little lady! My illustration is based on the print ad for Miss Dior Chérie. For another mood-lifter and Paris-teaser, check out Sofia Coppola's delightful commercial, to the inspired accompaniment of Brigitte Bardot's 'Moi Je Joue'.

{And the fragrance? A blend of sophistication, impish femininity and innocence, evoked by green tangerine, wild strawberries, violet, popcorn - again with the food!}

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In the Luscious Pink

In the Luscious Pink

24.1.09

Of the recent bloom of new fragrance releases, Mariah Carey's Luscious Pink has one of the prettiest bottles. Even though we're supposed to store perfumes in cool, dark places to protect their contents (what the ?), I can see it on a dressing table with a gathered and ruffled skirt of aqua fabric patterned with pink peonies (homage to one of its fragrance notes, the others being sparkling Bellini and warm sun-kissed woods). How about you - do you have a favourite perfume bottle? Do you hesitate to toss it when the perfume has long gone?

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