This is a commercial for Dunhill Black, a fragrance, that was pointed out to me by a friend of mine.

I seriously wondered if this was a car ad until the very end.  I mean, it wouldn’t be the most informative of car ads, but many are about this useful.  Car ads often try to sell their cars on the basis of “ooh! sexy car!”, and that really, honestly seemed to be what this was doing.

I’m still kind of baffled about how it is trying to sell a fragrance, I’m not sure who the fragrance is for (further research suggests it’s for the guy, but the ad didn’t tell me that AT ALL), and there’s really no information here at all.  Pretty woman, handsome man, hot car, slick streets, nice location shots, but somehow this does not add up to cologne.

Maybe I just don’t get it and clearly, if this is a fragrance for men, it’s not for me anyway, but personally I don’t think this ad works.  It made me want to know what the car was, not what cologne he was wearing.

After having a rather heated conversation with an acquaintance of mine who works at Dunhill, it struck me that there was something of vital importance missing in the world…

Prior to our meeting, I had gone onto the company website and discovered something much more delightful than a few exquisite-yet-shockingly-expensive cigarette cases – The Dunhill Homes. Three rather special buildings have been lovingly restored and refurbished: one in London, another in Shanghai, and a third in Tokyo. The Homes aren’t just emporiums of all things menswear, motoring and modernity – they are exclusive clubs that men can retire to; retreating from the stresses and strains of demanding jobs, claustrophobic commuter traffic, and (most likely) tiresome wives and girlfriends.

By way of emphasising the last point; on the first webpage of the ‘Homes’ section there is an introductory sentence that immediately alienates the female browser: ‘Committed to advancing the pursuit of male indulgence.’ It is never explicitly stated that women are forbidden from entering the premises; but any such behaviour is subtly discouraged throughout the descriptions of each of the Homes. Clearly, women simply don’t feature in the Dunhill world. But, rather than feeling alienated or put off by these male institutions, I found it very satisfying to discover that these wonderful places even existed – and it implied that there were men worthy of enjoying them.

What really struck me in the wake of this discovery was that women don’t seem to have anything remotely comparable to these Dunhill male oases. Off the top of my head, I could not think of a single luxury womenswear brand that catered to their core customers in such a distinct and confident way. They all miss the mark by a long shot.

I mean, Donna Karan is a high-end womenswear label that stands for elegance, practicality, intuition and empowerment; her clothing freed women from restrictive dress and took them into the work place with confidence and self assurance – but where is the celebration beyond that? Didn’t we ‘make the grade’ in terms of achievement to warrant the creation of a DK Club? Did Donna feel like she put it all out there, gave us everything we needed to succeed, but then was so disappointed with the results that she thought it unnecessary to provide us with such a club?! I seriously hope not. Even if the women buying her clothes didn’t cut it – didn’t she crave a few beautiful rooms to retire to in the company of a few of her equally successful peers? Maybe to discuss supplier/manufacturer issues; customer’s changing attitudes; the promising growth of the Asian market; ethical business practices, etc, etc? I guess not.

There are, infact, some women-only clubs that exist today. For example, The Core Club, The Colony Club and the most famous federation of all-women clubs being the GFWC. But even this last one ended up changing it’s initial purpose as a place for women to meet, self-educate and develop, to putting an emphasis on community service and improvement. It’s like Jane Cunningham Croly (founder of the GFWC,) started out with all of the best intentions, but then her aims and ideas became diluted and turned into yet another charity project. There’s nothing wrong with setting up foundations or charities to give back to the communityor to help those less fortunate, (all of the leading female-owned/run fashion brands that I looked into were either actively involved with several charities or ran their own foundation of sorts,) but don’t women also need a place to get together just for themselves? Do we naturally always fall back into care-giving roles? There are a few clubs that exists, and are near perfect parallels to that of the Dunhill Homes; the Alexandra Club in Melbourne, Australia, for one. This was a club set up by women for women in 1903, and it’s aim was to be a social, non-political club that its 800-or-so members could treat as a second home; offering rooms in which to dine, stay, rest and entertain. It has stayed true to these intentions and is still catering to its valued members today. That must have been an incredibly radical undertaking in the early1900’s when women were still very much bound to kitchen counters, cots and prams.

Another more recent example is the Belizean Grove club in New York City, founded in 2001. It’s members are all women who are accomplished leaders in a wide range of fields, and are described by the club as being ‘dedicated to giving back to their communities, have a sense of humor and excitement about life and are willing to mentor and share connections.’

On the edge of 2010, women are independent, educated, infiltrating places of work at every level, and hold top positions of authority in every industry. But don’t we want to get together to celebrate our achievements? I like to think that we do. I can think of a number of high profile women that would find the concept of an all-female version of a Dunhill Home very appealing and appropriate – Ms. Karan, (of course,) Tory Burch, Vivienne Westwood, Lady Gaga, Shami Chakrabati, Margaret Thatcher, Michelle Obama, Angela Ahrendts, Barbra Streisand, Liz Beshel. Even though they may have very different lifestyles and professions, these women are not worlds apart from each other in terms of their drive, ambition and intellect. If you got all of them together in one room, put some liquor on ice and had a lock-in, who the hell knows what they could achieve!? A signed, sealed and delivered Kyoto Treaty? A more sustainable, seasonal fashion cycle? Infallible Financial Regulations? The possibilities are endless.

It is very rare to find something that is in such good condition that it could have come from the shop only yesterday. You would think it was a fake but there is no doubt in that this Dunhill lighter is as genuine as they come and is probably the most perfect lighter to have been offered for years. It has never been lit, or filled with fuel, the flint has never been struck and the surface has not even one tiny scratch.

At over 1lb, this lighter is no feather weight, and neither is the asking price of …… POA

http://www.idhome.co.uk

sumber Malaysiakini

Penjualan paket rokok yang mengandungi kurang daripada 20 batang adalah dilarang mulai 1 Jun tahun depan.

Menteri Kesihatan Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai berkata sejajar dengan keputusan itu, syarikat rokok diberi masa tujuh bulan mulai sekarang hingga 31 Mei ini untuk menghabiskan stok paket rokok yang kurang daripada 20 batang rokok di pasaran.

“Kerajaan tidak akan melayan sebarang rayuan ke atas perkara ini dan Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia akan menguatkuasakan sepenuhnya larangan pengilangan dan penjualan paket rokok kurang dari 20 batang rokok mulai 1 Jun 2010,” katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.

Beliau berkata keputusan itu telah dipersetujui oleh semua syarikat rokok dan kerajaan berterima kasih atas sokongan dan kerjasama syarikat-syarikat tersebut.

“Larangan pengilangan dan penjualan rokok paket rokok yang mengandungi kurang dari 20 batang sebenarnya telah diwartakan pada 23 Sept 2004 melalui peraturan-peraturan Kawalan Hasil Tembakau 2004, bagaimanapun penguatkuasaan terhadap larangan tersebut telah ditangguhkan selepas kerajaan mempertimbangkan rayuan daripada syarikat-syarikat rokok,” katanya.

Liow berkata sehubungan dengan penguatkuasaan itu, sesiapa yang didapati melanggar peraturan tersebut boleh didenda tidak melebihi RM10,000 atau dipenjara tidak melebihi dua tahun.

Menurut beliau lagi, larangan itu juga selaras dengan saranan Konvensyen Rangka Kerja Kawalan Tembakau (FCTC) Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia (WHO).

“Larangan penjualan paket rokok bungkusan kecil ini bertujuan mengurangkan kebolehcapaian dan kemampuan golongan kanak-kanak dan remaja untuk membeli dan memulakan tabiat merokok yang tidak sihat dan merugikan,” katanya.

Uncle Ash

The Fraternity

-Lawan Tetap Lawan-

1 Malaysia : Rosmah Didahulukan, Nazir Diutamakan

摩羯座Capricorn|12月22日～1月19日

送礼点子 – 喜欢浮夸的示爱
• 情人的秘密心情
懂事又腼腆的的摩羯座情人，安静、守本份，做事谨慎踏实又有计划，但是在内心深处却藏着极端的心，一为积极、热情的个性，对自己喜欢的人或工作，那股不服输的劲，令人刮目相看，另一为冷淡不耐及脱轨的不屑态度，而不会勉强自己去接受一份不认同的感情，因此送他礼物时，以象征意义代表浮夸华丽的示爱为原则。
送他的礼物
o 一件纯羊毛舒适的毛衣，他常穿他，则对你重视，反之就算了
o 一条图案正式的领带，以中性系为主
o 一本照像本，写下一些情话和你们合拍的照片

属于他的香气
摩羯座的男生是标准的大男人，他们的样子像极了国王，跟射手座的男人不一样，他们没有一丝野性，倒是多了尊严的感觉。柑苔皮革香类的香水很多，像是ADIDAS就是其中的一种，大部分的男性很爱使用这一类的香水，因为这种香水能把男人那种尊严以及掌控欲表达得一清二楚。

适合的香水：柑苔皮革香类原料：麝香、柑橘类、薄荷油
推荐：CK Men by CK, Roberto Cavalli Men, Aigner in Leather，Envy by Gucci for Men, Armani Eau Pour Homme by Giorgio Armani, Chanel Sport by Chanel, Pursuit by Dunhill, CK IN2U by CK

送她的礼物
o 一瓶味道清柔柔的茉莉花香香水
o 一本印有可表达你的爱意的日记本
o 一条心形的项链，或手表、戒指
o 一副复古的太阳眼镜

属于她的香气
摩羯座天性安静而被动 ，其天生的敏感特性亦使此星座属性显得忧郁 。优点则是独立而勤奋，且性格极有耐性，偶而会和他人作比较，因焦躁而显胆怯。强烈而浓郁的木香可加强勇气和乐观；带有甜香草与麝香的白芷能帮助平衡情绪和舒缓疲惫而洋杉木的香息最宜镇静及减轻精神紧张；柏木浓烈的木香能抑制情绪低潮，使头脑清醒 。

适合的香水：木香调：柏木、麝香、洋杉木
推荐：Shalimar by Guerlain ，Montana ， Byzance by Rochas, Anna Sui by Anna Sui, I Love Dior by Christian Dior, J’adore by Christian Dior, Amariage d’Amour by Givenchy

The nominees are as follows:

Burberry, Mulberry and Pringle of Scotland nominated for the Designer Brand award.

Graeme Fidler for Aquascutum, Kim Jones for Dunhill, and Todd Lynn nominated for Menswear Designer.

Christopher Kane, Erdem, and Jonathan Saunders nominated for the BFC British Collection of the Year.

Emma Hill for Mulberry, Katie Hillier, and Nicholas Kirkwood nominated for the Accessory Designer.

Mark Fast, Meadham Kirchhoff, and Peter Pilotto nominated for Emerging Talent Award for Ready-to-Wear,

Holly Fulton, Camilla Stovgaard, Jessica McCormack, and Maria Francesca Pepe are nominated for the Emerging Talent Award for Accessories.

Models Georgia May Jagger, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Daisy Lowe are nominated for Model of the Year.

 I’m quite excited to hear about this, especially the emerging designers category as they were on my blog as ones-to-watch.  My fingers are crossed for Meadham Kirchhoff, they’re in the top three of my favorite designers.

With the exception of Ms. Jagger – whom I love – I’m not crazy about the model selection. I wish they would have considered Jourdan Dunn but she’s probably on her way out of the business considering she’s pregnant.

I believe Mulberry deserves this. They pulled off a coup with their Apple collaboration.

I wonder how Holly feels about the accessories mention. While she got her break as accessories designer for Lanvin, she’s working really hard to build a womenswear atelier.

Well, with all that said, fingers crossed!

X-Centric by Alfred Dunhill is a woody aromatic fragrance for men. X-Centric was launched in 2001. The noses behind this fragrance are Maurice Roucel and Volke Franck. Top notes are nutmeg, cypress, cinnamon, green leaves, clary sage, grapefruit and cardamom; middle notes are freesia, cedar, lotus and rose; base notes are sandalwood, patchouli, musk, guaiac wood and ambergris.

This is a masculine perfume created by Michel Girard, launched in 2006 and packed in an elegant bottle designed by Franz – Rudolf Lehnert. The composition opens with pineapple leaf, green accords, yuzu, bergamot, orange leaf and mandarin. Middle notes introduce amber, lavender, cinnamon, pepper and cardamom. The base consists of musk, cedar, warm sandalwood, vetiver, amber and incense.

Dunhill Pure by Alfred Dunhill is a aromatic fragrance for men. Dunhill Pure was launched in 2006. The fragrance features white pepper, iris, lotus leaf and cardamom.

Dunhill London by Alfred Dunhill is a oriental fougere fragrance for men. Dunhill London is a new fragrance and it was introduced in 2008. The fragrance features sandalwood, tonka bean, patchouli, musk, vanilla, jasmine, rose, red apple and geranium.

Dunhill Desire for a Man is a perfume introduced in 2000, in the beginning of the new millennium. With its very red bottle this brand tries to attract attention of the customers, namely new generation from 25 to 45. It is addressed to self-confident and the men who want to be in the center of attention. The Desire perfume opens with the notes of apple, orange blossoms, fresh, sweet bergamot and sparkling lemon. The heart brings notes of rose, patchouli and teakwood in. The base acts with the accords of vanilla, musk and labdanum. With its attractive and modern design, Dunhill Desire is made of ruby-red glass which conquests with its woody-oriental composition. It was designed by Michael Almairac. The nose behind this fragrance is Michel Almairac.