CaFleureBon FiFi 2011: Finalist “Sweep” Stakes + Swag Bag Draw

 

Have you heard the news? At the FiFi Finalist breakfast April 8, 2011, www.CaFleureBon.com left  with more than a goodie bag. We were awarded three of the five finalists spots in the category of Editorial Excellence Fragrance Coverage/Blog (the fourth finalist was Allure.com and the Winner was Elle.com).

You know we love to celebrate, so we are linking the articles for you to read.  Simply choose your favorite Fifi Finalist article and tell us why you enjoyed reading it. A reader will be chosen at random and will be eligible to recieive the FiFi "swag bag'" chock full of  HUGE sample size nominated scents (including Prada, Balenciaga, Boyfriend and at least a dozen more). Draw ends April 13, 2011 at 9:00 pm EST.

 

From Perfumes of the World, Michael Edwards

 

Visual Metaphors of the Scented World 

In the work of John Singer Sargent, Pierre Bonnard,(with Michel Roudnitska)

 

– Marlene Goldsmith, Guest Contributor 

 

 

 

 

Colette: The Olfacactory Novelist and Goddess of the Senses  (featuring Gerald Ghislain of Histoires de Parfums)

– Marlene Goldsmith, Guest Contributor 

 

 

 

Princess Diana (1994)

 “What message will I be giving out if I wear this?” ~Diana, Princess of Wales

 

Is There a Little Black Dress of Fragrance in Your Wardrobe 

 – Liza Wade, Contributor  

 The draw is for the Fifi swag bag chock filled with Fifi  Finalist Fragrances including Balenciaga, Prada, Boyfriend and more . Draw ends April 17, 2011 AT 1:00 PM EST

 

In addition, a 10ml sample of the perfume E-I-C Michelyn Camen wore to the FiFi’s (Mon Parfum) will be  awarded to the reader with the most in depth and interesting comment.

 

  – Michelyn Camen,Editor-in-Chief (a very proud "cook in the kitchen")   

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38 comments

  • Amanda says:

    I loved the article on Roudnitska, because perfumers conjure up feelings, thoughts, ideas from the muses.  It's intangible.  It becomes a birth, like a child.  You create something out of nothing, and it comes from you.  It is similar to you, yet different.  It is part of you, and yet apart as well.  It is it's own thing.  Living and breathing.

    I'm so happy to see the results!  😀  Well done, and entirely well deserved!

  • elise says:

    I also love the Roudnitska article…I'm a writer and much of my craft comes from images, sometimes so vivid I can barely write fast enough to describe them…the characters DO come to life as these perfumes do…

  • Mary says:

    I loved Marlene's article on Colette, a woman so interesting, so scandalous, so full of feminine intrigue, it's no wonder that so many women feel a deep, fierce protectiveness of her work.  This is such a fantastically written article, and I never would have thought of linking Colette's work with perfume in this way.  It's caused me to think about other writers similarly.  Brava for this wonderful piece!

  • linda beth ross says:

    I loved the Colette article. I have read almost all she has written and have always been intrigued by her. Ahead of her time and truly a woman that was a feast and feasted on the senses. Exotic and erotic, prosaic and be damned what others thought. A sexual creature in a time where it was scandalous and a writer of tremendous intellect and nuance.

  • linda beth ross says:

    I posted to soon but the perfume aspect made so much sense to me as her senses were so heightened and attuned  that this is and was integral. 

  • Claudia Kroyer says:

    Since i read every article on here, its very hard for me to pick my favorite, but the 2 i enjoyed tremendously are Fifi Finalists: Countdown to the US Fifif Awards and Calice Becker : You had me at Hello. And of course Pre-Red Carpet at the Fifi's Interview with Miss Rochelle Bloom as it gave me and insight to the Fifi Awards.  How awesome to be nominated and what a fabulous prize to give away……:)

  • Tiara says:

    I just want to say a quick congratulations!  What an accomplishment in your first year!  Does this take off some pressure or does add more?!?!

  • Charlotte says:

    I favored the article about the Little Black Dress!  I loved all of the lovely  visions in black dresses, but especially the one with Princess Diana.  I went to an exhibit of dresses worn by Diana and actually saw this very dress.  It was so elegant and rich and something she would definitely wear.
    Then I was fortunate enough to win a bottle of  "Little Black Dress" created by the excellent natural perfumer, Amanda Feeley so this makes the article, the vision of Princess Diana and the fragrance very close to my heart!

  • Sandi says:

    Hard to choose a favorite of any of the articles the each, and I must say all Cafleurebons writings inspire in one way or another. If my arm was twisted to pick one I am not sure I could choose.. The insights and informations shared are remarkable. Kudos to Marlene and Liza and big Kudos to Cafleurebon for a first year that is nothing but amazing. What a great team, with connections to be coveted.. Looking forward to an inspiring second year.

  • Wendy says:

    Both of Marlene's articles are a thrilling read.  Marlene takes the reader on a scented visual inner journey.  Not sure i can choose one over the other, they both captured my full attention.

  • DidierCholay says:

    2 years ago, in France I heard many times “Everything is possible in US”. Later I heard the President saying “Yes, we can”. Now I live in direct this evidence: Michelyn and her team 3 times as finalist in competition with Elle.com and Allure.com. And this success with our Baby-blog aged 1 year! Yes we can!

  • Calvados says:

    visualizing the invisible was a fascinating article… much like i prefer reading books and imagining the scenery, the characters, the colors rather than watching movies where someone else made them all up for you, i find wearing a beautiful fragrance breathtaking as it takes you on an unforgettable journey making you think of people, places, tastes and melodies…

  • Cynthia says:

    I loved all the articles, but the Colette article was especially interesting to me.  I loved the details of her life. What a free spirit she sounds, in such a structured era! I loved the ties to references in her books of how the sense of smell was integral to her life.  This is a common thread with many artists, I think: a heightened sensitivity to the senses, a real appreciation and in fact, need, to take in and process all that surrounds them, and a desire to find beauty.  I think the sense of smell is the truly forgotten sense, and those of us who have such an appreciation for it are true sensualists, finding beauty somewhere others never see (or smell) it.  Colette illustrated this. I also found it intersting that she wanted natural perfumes, although maybe that was what was available then. I confess ignorance to that point.  This article made me want to read more about Colette, an intersting woman indeed!

  • Anna in Edinburgh says:

    "Visual Metaphors of the Scented World" was a special treat for me.
    Could I do that? No, so I applaud the skill and sensitivity that enables someone to find the right images and marry them with just the right words in a way that seems Right. That's what happened in this entry. Simply Right. Metaphorical hat fully doffed to Marlene Goldsmith for her work.

  • Rochette says:

    I think Colette and I would have been dear friends, so this one is my favorite.  Thank you, Ms. Goldsmith and CaFleurBon.com, for making scent personal once again.

  • Lindaloo says:

    First, congratulations to Ca Fleure Bon for having three of the five finalists in Editorial Excellence/Blog category. That speaks very well to your first year.
    I really enjoyed both of  Marlene Goldsmith's articles, but my favourite was "Visualizing the Invisible: Visual Metaphors of the Scented World." Her explication of the two paintings by John Sargent and Pierre Bonnard.was excellent, and even more intriguing was the contrast with the images created by Michel Roudnitska for Fragrances of the World and her lush and sensuous descriptions of them.
    Keep up the excellent work.

  • taffynfontana says:

    Congratulations Cafleurebon  you had a great first year full of insightful and  uplifting articles. My favorite article from the nominees is the Colette article by Marlene Goldsmith it was a pleasure to read and was full of Collete's powerful spirit. 

  • Warum says:

    Congratulations!  This is quite an achievement!
    My favorite article among the ones listed has to be a LBD one.  It focused on the same question I keep asking myself, as I am getting to know different fragrances and finding out the LBD of a fragrance in my own life.  This article was written well before I started reading Cafleurebon (and any fragrance blogs, for that matter!), but I bet if I read it then, I'd volunteer my answer and it would be different from what my answer is today, and it will be different several months from now.  I think, this is the beauty of it.  My ideas of what is my little black dress of a fragrance changes as well as my ideas of what would best define "me" while being the most comfortable and flattering in other areas of my life.  I loved looking at how different women dealt with this very issue.

  • Warum says:

    I would like to mention that the person who wins the special prize for the most in depth and interesting comment is in for a treat!  The sample of Mon Parfum is truly deluxe, and it is a lovely fragrance!
    You'll ask how do I know? I know because I have one, courtesy of Cafleurebon who cares about their readers!  I left a comment some time ago, talking about how I cannot imagine how some perfumes smell like based on list of notes and even the reviews.  I named Mon Parfum among those… and to save my sanity Michelyn had a sample mailed to me, making me a proud, happy and humbled reader 🙂
    Thanks!

  • Michelyn Camen says:

    Undina- thank you for your support. We actually are FINALISTS out of 16 nominees, the panel of 25 judges chose 5 finalist articles , we had 3 of five. allure.com had one, three for cafleurebon.com and winner was elle.com.

  • Tourbillion says:

    I think I enjoyed the Colette article the most.  All of the articles were interesting, but I have been a big Colette fan for years.  Her writing is so different, so feminine and very charming to me.   Attitudes towards wearing scent changed drastically during the time that Colette had her salon, it is hard for us today to understand how groundbreaking the early perfumes were in the 20th century.   There was definitely a shift in the culture that was very radical after the Victorian era and is not grasped by people who are fully rooted in the modern.
    Congratulations on having so many finalists!  I am new to this blog, but I am enjoying it so much.

  • Marlene says:

    Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to make such thoughtful, intelligent, and insightful comments on my Roudnitska and Colette articles as well as all of the articles voted on here. It is a delight to know that Cafleurebon's readership is so wonderfully articulate and knowledgeable!

  • marika says:

    welldeserved cafleurbon!! yours is one of the few blogs I actually visit regularly.
    My favourite article was Annelie höglids ambre one. I found it inspiring and educational. Ran to my perfume cabinats to get some amber on right after reading it.
    My LBD-perfume is coco. can´t go wong with that one. works everywhere 

  • Leslie says:

    I don't want to sound shallow, but my my mother passed away three weeks ago, and it was perfume that helped pull me out of my sadness afterwards, at least a tiny bit (fragrance really does have power). That, and (among other things) reading Cafleurebon…all the older articles, including "Three Sweet Seasonal Perfumed Pleasures by Mandy Aftel" (Ida Meister)…this was one of the pieces that took me away…back two years to when I was pregnant with my beautiful little son…and like her, I felt in tune with all of nature…that same son who has the identical light blue eyes of my mother…That one short article was so evocative for me and helped me catch my breath and move on through the day…

  • Leslie says:

    Sorry, I meant to mention that the perfume being described by Ida M. was Aftelier's Honey Blossom…

  • vanessa says:

    My favourite is the one by Marlene on Colette, whose books I devoured at uni as part of my French course – their descriptions were so sensuous and indeed quite risque for their time.  Even though this was in my dark pre-perfumista days when the sense of smell was just another one of the five(!), I do distinctly remember how vividly Colette evokes scents in her novels.  And having lived in the South of France myself for a year, I am greatly intrigued by a perfume that captures the scents of Colette's garden.  Marlene deftly brings all these strands together in a sumptuous article that is a veritable feast of the senses!

  • Leslie says:

    I love the Colette article…My favorite quote, and the most thought-provoking for me, was 'scent is so much more than just a luxury item'…for me, fragrance goes far beyond simply wanting to smell good- certain perfumes bring back memories with an immediacy that transcends even photographs…others give me energy or just make me feel happy (some even make me feel sad, when they remind me of people I've loved)…In fact, something that many don't understand is that some people wear perfume more for themselves than for others…

  • Alica says:

    I like more the one by Lisa Wade, it was full of interesting and breathtaking facts. Thanks for entering me!

  • Mandy Aftel says:

    Congratulations for being three of the top five finalists.  I am so happy for you! This has been an absolutely incredible first year. 

  • Isa says:

    Congratulations on the nominations! 🙂  That's a great recognition for the good work you all are doing in this blog.
    I loved the Colette article by Marlène Godsmith. It was a really interesting women and I share her love for the Mediterranean culture. Now I want to know more about her.

  • karin says:

    Congrats on the nominations!  Love the Little Black Dress article.  I'm an avid Audrey Hepburn fan, and Givenchy.  🙂  And the queen of the little black dress – Chanel.  It's such an iconic representation of elegance – something we've seemed to have lost in this day and age.  As to perfumes for a LBD, I wore Kilian's Love and Tears to a Christmas party last year.  It seemed like the perfect LBD scent.  I didn't want heavy.  With black, I wanted something fresh and beautiful.  Love and Tears was perfect!