On 3 April in Paris, Puig unveiled Lady Million Eau My Gold!, the latest fragrance from Paco Rabanne’s blockbuster “˜Million’ masterbrand. The Moodie Report was the exclusive travel retail media at the launch event – full details of which were embargoed until today.
The main reveal took place at the Elephant Paname gallery in the heart of the city; the after-party was held at private club Silencio, in Montmartre.
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Lady Million Eau My Gold! will be fronted by Czech model Hana Jirickova | |
Lady Million Eau My Gold! will be launched into travel retail worldwide from July, with the exception of North America where the roll-out is slated for September.
“I am very happy to welcome you today, because every time we share a new fragrance, it’s a very special moment,” declared Paco Rabanne Fragrances International Marketing Director Jean Holtzmann, at the official unveiling of Lady Million Eau My Gold!. “This has been a long adventure, something we have been working on for quite some time.”
The original Lady Million was introduced in 2010, two years after its masculine predecessor 1 Million, which rejuvenated the men’s fragrance market. Lady Million Absolutely Gold followed in 2012.
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The fragrance concept and ad campaign were previewed at a launch event in Paris |
Lady Million Eau My Gold! is described as a new olfactory adventure that offers something different, while staying true to its heritage. The pursuit of personal pleasure is a key focus.
“With a snap of her fingers, Lady Million made all her dreams come true,” noted Holtzmann. “Now there is a new dream, a new chapter in the story. The dream today, the latest ultimate fantasy, is happiness.” But this time, happiness does not come from rivalry and the acquisition of material things. The happiness embodied by Lady Million Eau My Gold! revolves around self-surrender and escape.
The fragrance name – itself an exclamation and a play on words – aims to convey from the start this idea of sensation and abandonment.
“Eau My Gold! is a cocktail of happiness, which gave us the idea of creating a [real] cocktail, and offering two different ways to discover the fragrance and its universe.“ |
Jean Holtzmann International Marketing Director Paco Rabanne Fragrances |
The juice, composed by IFF’s Anne Flipo, who created the original Lady Million, also reinforces the idea of pleasurable freshness, according to Puig. “Lady Million Eau My Gold! is fresh, sparkling and exhilarating,” Holtzmann explained. “It is also very original. The task for Anne was not to re-write Lady Million, but to change it and imagine a totally difference [juice].”
“It would have been easy to just add some new elements, but that was not the objective,” confirmed Flipo at the launch event. “When I first saw the new concept 15 months ago, it was very interesting and inspiring. We worked hard to create a sensation of sparkling and immediate freshness, which was also very hedonistic. We [channelled] the world of the cocktail, with notes of green mango and a big floral heart.”
Other key ingredients include grapefruit, violet leaf, orange blossom, cedar and musk.
“Before coming up with the [key green] accord, I needed to immerse myself in the story several times,” Flipo revealed. “It is very important in my way of working.”
She concluded: “Lady Million and Lady Million Eau My Gold! share some origins. However, they are completely different – yet still complementary.”
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Jean Holtzmann: “We believe there is a story to tell about a different femininity and a different dream, separate from the more materialistic “˜snapping’ of the original Lady Million.” |
That theme is echoed in the packaging. Lady Million’s signature diamond flacon has been updated with a new vertical shape and cap. “The diamond today is very different,” Holtzmann confirmed. “It has been re-invented and re-crafted”¦to evoke a crystal glass of Champagne, which expresses perfectly this festive universe we want to invoke.”
In this latest incarnation the gold cabouchon cap twists off to reveal the atomiser and the Eau My Gold! name underneath.
The face of the new fragrance is Czech model Hana Jirickova. “W felt she was the only woman who could embody Eau My Gold! and its idea of joy, happiness and pleasure,” noted Holtzmann.
In the ad campaign, directed by Alexandre Courtès, Jirickova recreates the famous Million finger snap – then morphs into a sparkling Burlesque-style showgirl who bathes in bubbles inside a giant cocktail glass.
Interestingly, the cocktail theme will be echoed at the point of sale with a special Lady Million Eau My Gold! cocktail, created by renowned mixologist Gwladys Gublin, in partnership with nose Flipo.
“Eau My Gold! is a cocktail of happiness,” noted Holtzmann, “which gave us the idea of creating a [real] cocktail, and offering two different ways to discover the fragrance and its universe.”
The key objective was to reflect in cocktail form the emotion felt when the fragrance is smelled, rather than to copy in liquid form the scent and its ingredients.
“It was quite challenging at the beginning,” admitted Gublin, “and I wasn’t even sure it was possible to do. But there are many similarities between a cocktail and a perfume, and after working closely with Anne I think we have created not an exact reproduction, but a good representation.”
Gublin is known for her commitment to promoting regional produce from the Mediterranean Basin, and for reviving forgotten liqueurs. Consequently, orange zest, barley water, lemon and orange blossom are key ingredients of the cocktail.
“To bring a sense of roundness and evoke the appetising side of the fragrance expressed with green mango, I combined passion fruit, agave honey and Cognac, whose sophisticated sweet side reminds me of the world of Paco Rabanne fragrances,” Gublin explained.
“To illustrate Eau My Gold!’s sensual and enigmatic facet, I added a few drops of Spanish Bitters: a flavour that concentrates saffron, camomile and violet. The final – essential – step is Champagne, to complete the cocktail and give it a chic and celebratory dimension.”
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Shaken not stirred: media guests at the Paris launch enjoy the Lady Million Eau My Gold! cocktail, created by Gwladys Gublin (above right) | |
A team of bar staff constructed the cocktail, under Gublin’s watchful eye, at the press reveal. Gublin herself served up many more at the evening reception.
Mixing it up
Gublin – an intriguing mix of Polish and French ancestry – was refreshingly down-to-earth at the launch event, and generous in her praise for Flipo’s guidance.
In a one-to-one interview with The Moodie Report she discussed at length her fondness for Polish culture, literature and music; her love of travel and sampling local produce; and even rejected the term “˜mixologist’ for sounding somewhat grandiose. “Usually I say I’m a bartender,” she revealed, with a broad grin. “Because that’s what I mostly do on a daily basis; I take care of my customers and serve them drinks.”
Such modesty belies her talent for creating earthy, unusual cocktails that often feature fresh fruit and/or good quality homemade syrups.
“It would have been easy to just add some new elements, but that was not the objective”¦Lady Million and Lady Million Eau My Gold! share some origins. However, they are completely different – yet still complementary.“ |
Anne Flipo Nose Lady Million Eau My Gold! |
“Mixology for me is the gastronomic side of cocktails,” she acknowledged. “And I like educating people in the sense that not all cocktails have to be sweet and saturated with sugar or artificial [chemicals]”¦I like earthy, bitter tastes.”
Gublin added: “I don’t want to sound pretentious, but food has a big impact on [my creations]. My boyfriend is a food critic, and we work together; we travel a lot and compare flavours. I always think how certain foods and ingredients would work in a cocktail. There’s a strong connection.”
Gublin revealed that she didn’t smell the finished fragrance prior to creating her Lady Million Eau My Gold! cocktail. “I didn’t want to be influenced, to think, I’m going to use this or that ingredient,” she explained.
“But Anne and I have the same sensitivity to flavours. People who care about perfume spend time discussing it, and it’s the same with spirits or wine. You train your nose and palate. I could sense what Anne was trying to do [with the juice] and I had to translate that into my drink, which was difficult but fascinating.”
Facing the face
Hana Jirickova, the face of Lady Million Eau My Gold!, made a surprise appearance at the evening reception in Paris, before reporting for interview duty bright and early the following morning. On each occasion she looked every inch the supermodel, displaying a perfect smile and endless legs – attributes that shine throughout the feel-good ad campaign she fronts.
“It’s quite a video,” she acknowledged, with a grin. “It was a lot of fun to do, although I picked up a few bruises.”
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The Lady Million Eau My Gold! universe was showcased in style at Elephant Paname |
Jirickova admitted she was thrilled to be chosen as the fragrance face. “I just thought “˜wow’ – I was so happy,” she confirmed. “It was a long casting process, maybe half a year, with a choreographer involved too. Lots of the top girls were after it.”
Jirickova’s love of dance (ballet and modern in her younger days) clearly stand her in good stead as she performs inside a giant cocktail glass in the campaign. “I was actually in the liquid, but they made it warm for me,” she reveals. “And the film was shot in my home town of Prague, in the famous Barrandov Studios, which was pretty special.”
The model hailed Paco Rabanne as a visionary fashion brand, always committed to experimenting with new fabrics and new ways of design. She is also – as might be expected – a big fan of the original Lady Million fragrance.
“For me, fragrance is very personal,” she explained. “And I don’t have 1,000 different ones. When I wear one I like, I get attached and [stay faithful] to it. I also travel so much that I need a fragrance I can wear in lots of different places. Lady Million is perfect for that: fresh but complex and you can wear it any time of day or night.”
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A series of cocktail-themed retailtainment initiatives will support the launch | |
Jirickova claims to be a die-hard travel retail consumer. “Duty free is where I shop the most!” she laughed. “When I travel for work I don’t have much time, perhaps one day per city, so airport shops are good.” Paris, the south of France, New York, London and Moscow are among her favourite travel destinations.
In terms of beauty tips, Jirickova is an advocate of the “˜less is more’ school of thought. “Don’t use too much make-up,” she advises. “Keep it light. Lots of eyes or lips – never both. And make sure you understand your own skin.”
For the interview she is wearing a black shirt, black ankle boots and the tiniest of skirts. “But in my off-time my personal style is very easy,” she confided. “I’m usually in jeans and a hoodie; I like to play with an androgynous look. I also like vintage clothes.”
Painting is another feature of Jirickova’s free time. “I’m an artist – I love to paint, mostly figures,” she explained. “But modelling is my career and my priority at the moment, as you have to focus on one thing.”
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Puig has created a fun card game to help consumers discover the different facets of the Eau My Gold! fragrance |
She concludes: “You can’t always choose who you work for when you’re a model, but I always try to work with the best in the business and do creative work, beautiful editorials I can look back at and be proud of. And I’m very proud of being chosen [by Puig] to represent this fragrance.”
A toast to success
The cocktail leitmotif of Lady Million Eau My Gold! will feature prominently at points of sale, both domestically and in travel retail, Holtzmann told The Moodie Report.
“We have different retailtainment packages, which vary in size, for all types of POS, including major airports,” he explained. “The key theme for them all is the cocktail bar.
“This concept is very versatile, and works in both big and small spaces. It can mean one BA with a drinks tray, or a big installation with glasses and decorations, similar to what was showcased during the press launch.”
Instead of attempting to recreate Gublin’s cocktail from scratch, promotional staff at the point of sale will simply decant a ready-mixed, non-alcoholic syrup into glasses and offer it to consumers. “The primary idea is to engage people and encourage them to enter the shop,” noted Holtzmann. “It’s a very interactive promotion and also very different.”
Where space permits, the cocktail theme will be emphasised by props such as pyramids of Martini glasses. Puig has also created a fun card game which allows travellers to discover the different facets of the fragrance.
“It can be very difficult to tell a story in a very clear way,” Holtzmann acknowledged. “But we think this cocktail theme is the ideal way for us to convey the Lady Million Eau My Gold! universe.”
Social media will be used extensively to promote the new scent, although activities will be incorporated into the global Million platform. “We have already had a teaser campaign on Instagram for Eau My Gold!, and there is also the Million loyalty club, where members can win gifts linked to the fragrance,” Holtzmann explained. “Facebook and Pinterest will also feature.”
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All that glitters”¦is Eau My Gold! |
| On 3 April I donned my best gilded accessories and caught the Eurostar to Paris, for the launch of Lady Million Eau My Gold!, the latest feminine fragrance from Paco Rabanne’s blockbuster “˜Million’ masterbrand. |
The fragrance itself is being viewed very much as another key pillar for Puig, as opposed to a mere line extension. “For us it will be introduced as a normal major launch,” Holtzmann underlined. “We took a lot of time to develop it”¦We believe there is a story to tell about a different femininity and a different dream, separate from the more materialistic “˜snapping’ of the original Lady Million.”
He added: “We wanted to have something more intimate. Today people are searching for private time, indulgence, moments where they can do whatever they want to please themselves. The fantasy today is more about me-time, and feeling unburdened and free.”
Lady Million Eau My Gold! is expected to perform strongly in Europe, particularly France and the UK. Latin America – a stronghold for Puig’s Carolina Herrera brand in particular – is also developing well, Holtzmann confirmed.
“We see lots of potential,” he commented. “But rather than new markets it’s more about going one step further and enlarging the territories where we are already present, such as Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Bolivia and Peru.”
China is another long-term target, although Holtzmann acknowledged that the lack of a serious skincare axis is a drawback.
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Fragrance face Hana Jirickova demonstrates the famous Lady Million ‘snap’ at the Eau My Gold! after-party, held at private club Silencio |
“We don’t have skincare for the time being, and at some point in the future it is something we have to consider – even if it’s in 20 years’ time,” he observed. “But for now we still have plenty of space to grow elsewhere, particularly in Southeast Asia. Thailand and Indonesia do not perhaps represent gigantic potential on a worldwide basis, but they are still strong fragrance markets, which can be further developed.”
