...No introduction necessary, I hope.But this one is by far the cleverest:

...WolfM:MiaTrost:... accordingly in this article.My God! The author has serious problems, I suspect''the incognizant viewers must be discredited on the basis of their incomprehensiveness in analysis and conception.''Yeah, sure... This is called "looking under the cow - goat":''... it is implied black kinky hair is not beautiful'''' The model’s head is thrown back, as though all hope is gone''.''black model (the negative creature, the shadow).''.''she finds it impossible to look into the eyes of the bird''''model, who is simultaneously embracing the “whiteness’ all around her'''' she is a negative obstacle in his “white” kingdom''...WTF!?!nonono, enough!!It's just patheticLmao Mia and WolfM, who's overreacting or -thinking here? :D The blog's author is majoring psychology and anthropology among other things, and analyzing beauty standards and acceptable appearances for women, especially black, is well within their expertise. Considering they're black, too. You write about the stuff that's closest to you, no?What's wrong or pathetic with an analysis that frames an ad in ways that aren't familiar to you? Nowhere was it written that the picture is not beautiful, anyway, so why the ruffled feathers?

...Moschino! Tee hee hee :DBut I am disappointed that Alexander Skarsgård isn't naked here:

...WolfM:MiaTrost:And the ad certainly makes its point: M7 is a scent targeted at men.But... There's something wrong here. They try to sell us tires, snow chains, chain saws, and even 30-ton trucks, through ads with the naked women.And when it comes to convince us about men's cologne - suddenly we strike... a naked man!What is supposed to be the message - "if you have it - you will be like him"?... or - "Do not bend down"?!..P.S. Well, anyway - I have it.BTW - It works!!seems indeed I became more hairy.Lmao! :DI think the ad was targeted at the women who presumably take care of perfume shopping in some relationships -- "buy the perfume, find this guy in your bed". :DAlso seriously a great deal of the iconic big-name fashion designers have been and are gay men, so I don't find it at all unlikely that some of those ads are targeted to the gay men out there. Also this passage from MiaTrost's post made think...One would think that perhaps by then people had seen it all before and would not particularly care about this image either way. But no, because of the model's "sexually suggestive pose" it reportedly attracted over 700 complaints. It was seen to be degrading and offensive. I wonder what makes it so. Her sexuality? Really? ...more about what it is that makes some ads with naked/barely covered women objectionable while others necessarily don't. And I think what sums it up best is that sometimes women's nakedness or provocative poses do not signify sexual agency. In the Tom Ford photo, first on this thread, especially I see a woman thoroughly stripped not only of her clothing but her agency and her presence reduced to plain availability, in this case to make her a sexualized blotter holder, a literal object.Nor does the Opium model, in my view, express her sexuality in any real sense; again, she suggests availability, not agency. We don't even get to see her face or get an idea of her identity because she, being reduced to an object available for whatever sexual purpose, doesn't need one. And this is the kind of imagery I would definitely call blatantly misogynistic and demeaning. If you want to be squicked even further by the advertising industry, you can read up on Terry Richardson, another of Tom Ford's ad photographers.I'm sure nobody is even suggesting that men don't face intense pressure to fit into some mold of masculinity but, when girls' self-image and self-esteem often practically crumble when they hit puberty (whereas the boys' typically doesn't), I think I can safely say the pressure is much more intense for girls. And even more so for queer or trans* kids.The fact that a naked man in a men's perfume ad raises eyebrows whereas naked women in women's perfume ads doesn't should be evidence enough.

...Ohh, yes to the Guerlain bee bottles! Here are some others that I like, more modern in their approach:KenzoIssey MiyakeComme des Garçons

...I also love Beyoncé and am really looking forward to smelling her newest, "Rise", even though I wasn't that into her previous perfumes:Lolita Lempicka is cute and lovely as always:Chanel N°5, for the ladies who enjoyed the M7 post:

...Silverfire:The other perspective is that advertising agencies are another dehumanization factory for naive women, exploiting them and discarding them when their youth and beauty are gone. To be fair, that isn't the only industry known for such treatment -- the music industry, the film industry, and others function the same way. I've always thought that if you make your appeal to sex, then you are selling sex first, and your product only secondarily. For instance, the Opium ad just makes me want to jack off, not to buy Opium.Which is a shame, because the Opium I have smelled is a masterpiece in perfumery. ;)I am more bored than anything with the countless photos of seductively reclining of naked or scantly clad women regurgitated in perfume adverts over and over again, but this was a thread for discussing favourites, so while we're talking YSL, this inspires me 8) I'm not quite sure what to make of Bottega Veneta or Bvlgari, though. Why so serious?Besides the likes of Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Beyoncé, it's really hard to find women of colour cast for big-budget perfume ads. Shame!

...Re blotter image: Tom Ford's advertising? Where is that vomit emoticon when I need one :lol:

...Yeah, somehow I doubt that woman is the brand owner posing for her own advertising. It *is* creepy.

...Yuck, that first photo in MiaTrost's opening post is actually really creepy :shock: Anyhow, my absolute favourite has to be YSL's "M7". The full frontal version, which I am posting below since apparently images of naked women with blotters up their ass are okay too.

..."Hannele". Pure elegance.

...Further reading:Policing Native Women & Native Two Spirit and Trans People - See more at: http://www.incite-national.org/page/policing-native-women-native-two-spirit-and-trans-people#sthash.gSmL1aU6.dpuf Transgender Identities in an Age of Globalization and Colonialism (Part One) http://www.genderacrossborders.com/2012/02/28/transgender-identities-in-an-age-of-globalization-and-colonialism-part-one/Globalization, Structural Violence, and LGBT Health: A Cross-Cultural Perspective — Mark B. Padilla, Ernesto Vásquez del Aguila, and Richard G. Parker http://elib.fk.uwks.ac.id/asset/archieve/e-book/PSYCHIATRIC-%20ILMU%20PENYAKIT%20JIWA/The%20Health%20of%20Sexual%20Minorities%201st%20ed%202007%20Springer.pdf#page=223TRANSGENDER ISSUES: A FACT SHEET - http://www.transgenderlaw.org/resources/transfactsheet.pdf

...Dulcemio:OMG, this has reached a level of absurdity I could not have imagined. "Inherently white supremacist"??? Are you out of your mind???Yes my dear that IS definitely an opinion and if my pointing that out compels you to take your toys and go home, I guess you do what you gotta do.I am not actually out of my mind -- even Wikipedia knows something on the subject. Here, a link! Your behaviour is WAY out of order and you need to calm down & maybe think what did you even expect bringing your reductive views on gender into this topic. And no, I am actually not going to "take my toys and go home". You, on the other hand, can take your opinion on other people's minds and bodies somewhere else.

...Oh man there's nothing like some casual transmisogyny ja heterosupremacy to spice up a perfectly good thread on how perfume houses assign gender to their products. And by spice up I mean turn to shit.A short PSA:- People identifying outside of the binary are not "confused".- The gender binary is inherently white supremacist and has been imposed to erase non-binary gender identities across the globe through colonization and genocide. (Side note: If you are a white resident in the former or current Euro colonies, this means you are directly implicit in this ongoing erasure.)- Erasure and "misapprehension" as aeo called it has real-life consequences for trans and non-binary people, up to and including extremely high murder rates, unemployment, homelessness. So do not pretend this is just a matter of opinion. By dismissing non-binary identities as make-believe or confusion the people living those identities are discarded into the "lesser" pile and treated as sub-human as a consequence. Do NOT come and claim it's just an opinion.- Communities recognizing more than one gender without a binary structure or obsession with heterosexuality have been surviving and reproducing just fine for millennia. White Westerners seem to have trouble with birth rates, though. Funny, that.If this is how these topics are handled here, I can do just fine somewhere else.

...I would pick the ones I was actually using (2 bottles at most) + 3 more for rotation (season/occasion) if at all I could. Some treasured minis. I would want to have the comfort of perfume if I was ever faced with such an extreme situation for any reason.Lmao I shouldn't think abt eventualities like this, it's not good for my fragile psychological balance :D

...An expensive, somewhat colder and more abstract smoky woody frag: "Sycomore"

...Dulcemio:...Even if my beloved Coromandel were offered as pur parfum, I wouldn't care, because the EDT already behaves like an EDP, and a strong one at that! One spray and it projects like crazy all day long. And the Sycomore and Bois des Iles I tried on my arms and on paper lasted until the next day. Good value for the money.Lol, I tested Sycomore the hard way when a sample vial broke (luckily only 1 ml) and after a shower I can still smell it clearly on my forearms. Some Parfumo reviewers gave it less favourable grades when compared to cheaper, similar woods.I just wish that aldehyde-pepper opening would last and last. It's always sad when the opening turns out to be the best part :/

...It seems that Fragranticans have been talking about this a few times, and I found these two threads with many useful tips:http://www.fragrantica.com/board/viewtopic.php?id=30868http://www.fragrantica.com/board/viewtopic.php?id=72659This could be a job for an otherwise quiet day at home! I do hope someone will make a step-by-step tutorial with pictures though :)

...Not yet - and I've just had a few bottles sitting outside in -20°C (-4°F) for a few hours. If you're worried, just give it a few more hours to warm up!I might do an experiment on 'frozen' perfume vs. room temperature stored juice one of these days though! :D

..."Sycomore" - my 1ml vial broke, and I ended up pouring it aaaaall on myself!