Guerlain takes us from the cold recesses of Russia for their fall lineup to warm up in the Far East with their spring collection, Cherry Blossom. Meant to evoke "'La Vie En Rose' with an Asian twist" the stand-outs clearly are the blush, which has "shades reminiscent of Japanese cherry trees in bloom" and eye shadow palette, which was "inspired by the rays of sunlight
reflecting on the surface of a lake, while the violet and mauve evoke
oriental flowers playing with shadows in a garden at dusk." Both feature delicate, abstract fan patterns.
Blush, with and without flash:
The eye shadow palette:
Why Guerlain didn't do an actual cherry blossom design is beyond me, but these are gorgeous nonetheless – pale pinks and purples always nice to see for spring, and while I wish the pattern were a bit closer to the theme, it's fairly creative as far as makeup designs go. I also like this collection since it reminds me a tiny bit of the European fascination with Japanese textiles and art in the late 19th-century: Japonisme. While this term really refers to the techniques used (particularly for wood-block prints called ukio-e) rather than the subject matter, some Japanese objects can be seen in paintings from this time. Among the most famous is Claude Monet's 1875 portrait of his wife in a kimono and holding a fan:
And while Van Gogh is famous for his sunflowers and irises, he too got swept up in the craze for anything Japanese and painted almond blossoms:
(image from blog.stillriverstudios.com)
I sort of feel like Guerlain creative director Olivier Echaudemaison (quite a name, non?) was channeling Japonisme1 in this collection – a distinctly Western take on a part of Japanese culture.
1For more on Japonisme, check out Japonisme: The Japanese Influence on Western Art Since 1858 by Siegfried Wichmann or Japonisme in Western Painting from Whistler to Matisse by Klaus Berger.
ooo those are cool
ooo those are cool