Ralph Lauren taps into Old Hollywood

“The thought that when I get home I’m going to have a two-legged man in my room is so exciting.” The great Hollywood actress, Lauren Bacall was very excited to receive her honorary Oscar on the weekend. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences broke with tradition and presented its honorary Oscars off-camera on Saturday night in Los Angeles months before the televised ceremony. It was a relaxed dinner party for the 600 invited guests, including Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Annette Bening, Morgan Freeman and Steven Spielberg.

The presenter of the award said, “Lauren Bacall defines what it means to be an actress” and after 30 films she has finally been acknowledged with an Academy Award. At the age of 85, Bacall shooed away escorts and proudly walked up to the podium. She spoke of her late husband, “my great love” Humphrey Bogart, “he gave me a life and he changed my life.” Bogart, a Hollywood legend, died in 1957, after the couple had two children together, Stephen and Leslie.

Lauren Bacall, born Betty Joan Perske, is widely known for her husky voice and sultry looks. She is the perfect femme fatale in the dark 1940s films, acting as the leading lady in The Big Sleep (1946) and Dark Passage (1947).

The Ralph Lauren perfume, Notorious, was directly inspired by this Old Hollywood Glamour. The exotic, dark and dangerous leading ladies, from Lauren Bacall, to Faye Dunaway and of course Ingrid Bergman who starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller “Notorious” inspired the creators of the scent. The perfume was created by Oliver Gillotin of Givaudan and is the perfect elegant evening fragrance. It is a typical floriental, slightly spicy and a little sweet, with top notes of black currant, pink pepper and Italian bergamot. The heart includes aromas of Chocolate Cosmos flower (Cosmos atrosanguineus), frozen white peony and carnation, while the base notes encompass patchouli, musk, vanilla and iris root.

This is not a fresh, light or fruity fragrance, but rather a dark, sultry, mildly spicy and subtle fragrance, designed for the 1940s femme fatale. French for “deadly woman” Notorious, by Ralph Lauren encapsulates the allure and charm of Hollywood legends.