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[[2 pages]]
[[page 1]]
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Now when you take the American Express Card
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[[caption]]The Main Course at Bloomingdale's[[/caption]]

© American Express Company, 1979

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[[end page]]
[[start page]]

ON A PERSONAL BIAS   by Bernice Peck
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DOTTY ABOUT PERFUME: Yes I am. Isn't it dotty, dusting the 40 bottles including empties, that deck my dressing room? But oh the pleasure of flitting from flower to flower. Butterfly McPeck, that's me.

So why wouldn't I consider perfume the perfect gift? Giving or getting. Christmas or any old time. My friend Joe claims that I am as fervent about perfume as a Normal woman is about emeralds and Russian sable.  This might be the reason he doesn't hang both of those on me.

Everybody's got an angle.  Mine is to woo you into wanting this liquid that personally I've never had too much of. But I experience operating difficulties, pine for the impossible. I want each perfume to have a 4-color, full-page picture--a girl, a guy, a bottle.  All of them gloriously beautiful (some perfume bottles are gems).  There should be--perfect--line of copy, as in the marvelous ads turned out by the Madison Ave. talent-kids. [[italics]] That's [[/italics]] the way to explain perfume. One picture worth thousand words, ancient saying go.

Oh well. How about just telling you in 500 words or less of a dozen desirable perfumes? I can swipe some hot lines from the talent-kids, they won't care, they're so [[italics]] good [[/italics]] at characterizing a fragrance in one juicy phrase.

As to trends: even bigger this year the emphasis on sexiness (not older, just better, you know). Prices skate from $65 to $125 an ounce. Come with me:

[[bulleted list]]
• Bill Blass Perfume, kind of a smooth stunner, very like those big-entrance evening outfits of his. BB himself terms it "apparel for the senses." Neato.
• Norell left the party in 1972. But his first perfume and his sequinned mermaid sheaths still make it to parties today--on glamorous girls like Lauren Bacall. Plus, today, the new perfume, Norell II. What class. Have a whiff. You'll find it warm, damey, all without giving up elegance.
• Chanel No. 19, Chanel's favorite numero, is pretty much as its ads say, "The [[/column 1]]
[[column 2]]
Outspoken Chanel. Witty, Confident. Devastatingly feminine." That's it, a lady who can afford to let her feelings show--nervy but nice.
• Calvin Klein's Perfume, a sleek supple design (that's his style and his style of girl). Bottle, a simply perfect oval.
• Febergé France fetches over two new ones: Cavale, a no-kidding come-on. And Partage, softer, gentler, for the woman who chooses to make it more subtly.
• Calandre by Paco Rabanne, racy, self-assured, unique. A winner. His own phrase, "Unforgettable women wear Calandre." I've noticed that too.
• Geoffrey Beene's perfume, Red, tops in the civilized-sexy sweeps. Trus story, "The whole world loves Red." Bottle, the pure crystal sphere that won an Award.
•Anne Klein's Blazer perfume (via Helena Rubinstein). Her zippy sporty classic is now all rewrapped--with whimsy-lions waltzing around. Goodlooking.
• Caron's Infini, the chic young sparkler. Many flowers, some woody notes, with ultra allure. In a bottle that's (infinitely) a beauty on its own.
• Guy Laroche commissioned the sculptor Serge Mansau to do a fantasy bottle for his wicked perfume, j'ai Osé. Each, fine of kind. His socko phrase is, "If you're going to be had be good at it."
• Jean D'Albret's classic Casaque, originally created for Georges Sand who (remember?) was Chopin's live-in lady. She wanted vibrance, mystery and a touch of the Orient--just like today.

LAY IT ON: This year another area opens up for perfume. Those knees (if not knobby) once again out in the open--fragrance drifts upward real nice. So if you're for the minis and micros Paris just dished out, don't forget to anoint the joint. A very Merry to you. With perfume everywhere. And in the air too. [[/column 2]] [[/page 2]]