by Annie Vischer
Fresh from a brand new shoot for Gucci Premiere Eau de Toilette, Blake Lively talks Christmas traditions, baking and what fragrance means to her…
The classic smell of Christmas…Growing up in California, lighting seasonal candles were the only way we are able to experience winter because we had no snow or change of seasons. The smell of pine needles, spruce and the smell of a Christmas tree– those to me, are the scents of the holidays
On Christmas traditions…Christmas for me is all about spending time with my family. I cherish any chance we have to spend all day together making gingerbread houses, baking cookies, or sitting around and watching movies.
And as for home-baked cookies…My dad actually makes the best cookies. My mom is great baker too but doesn’t share them – it’s tantalizing! Luckily for me though, my dad shares his!
Favourite holiday songs and films…My favorite holiday film is Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. It’s such an amazing film! I also love It’s A Wonderful Life and those Claymation movies too. I haven’t outgrown them.
Some gift recommendations for Christmas…Gucci Premiere eau de Toilette of course! Gucci has many wonderful women’s and men’s fragrances you can give to your loved ones that they can enjoy everyday. When you purchase a Gucci fragrance, Gucci will make a donation through Chime for Change to any organization of your choosing benefitting women’s health, education and justice. It’s the perfect way to give back while also giving a loved one a gift. It’s a gift that keeps on giving.
Gucci Première and Gucci Première Eau de Toilette…This new EDT campaign is very exciting because it introduces a new chapter of the Premiere Woman. The first Gucci Premiere campaign really represented a night out – the vision of a glamorous version of a woman feeling her most confident and her most elegant – she has the world at her fingertips. But what we wanted to represent in the new Gucci Premiere EDT version, is day-to-day glamour, while still maintaining that elegance and timelessness. It’s a lighter, brighter, “softer” version. What’s neat about it is you don’t have to be wearing a beaded dress for the fragrance to fit your vibe. It’s about finding what makes you feel the most glamorous, the most elegant, and the most confident whether it be day or night. Really, just evoking a glamorous attitude any time of the day
The best thing about the Gucci Première Eau de Toilette scent...What I love about the new scent is that it is soft enough to wear everyday, but still has powerful notes from the original scent, such as wood and the leather. Even the bergamot, even though it’s light and citrusy, with a hint of floral – are still very powerful, commanding notes within the scent. What’s nice about Premiere EDT is that it is something that is a little more elusive. The power is a little subtler, and it becomes a little more of a discovery moment as the fragrance opens up.
Everyday glamour…Glamour is very much a state of mind. There were points early on in my life when I wanted to look like someone else, or I dressed in a way that wasn’t necessarily representative of who I was. But, I learned very quickly that style and confidence has to come from within. It’s what makes you feel your most graceful, elegant and empowered self. You can be glamorous in jeans and a t-shirt or you can have it dressed up in your finest. It’s really about finding that woman that you want to be.
The role of perfume in a woman’s life…Fragrance is very much part of creating an identity. Scents evoke very, very powerful memories, whether it’s the scent of someone that you know, and someone that you love, or if it’s a meal that your mom made. It’s an incredible tool to have and to say – this is my identity, this who I am now, this is who I want to be, and this is what I want people to remember me by. It’s one of the things that’s most impactful because we have so many visual references, some of which with fade in your memory with time, but you never forget a scent. It just grabs you. It’s a neat part of life.
Fragrance for Blake…Fragrance plays a big role in one’s identity. One of the very few things that I do every single day is put on fragrance. If I’m not wearing makeup, if my hair’s not done, if I’m walking around in pajamas – I still put my fragrance on. I will brush my teeth and put on my perfume. It’s who I am no matter what version of myself I am. It’s the smell that I want to identify with and so it’s directly linked to me in every way.
How and why to switch fragrances…I think there’s no wrong way to do it. I often would switch scents between seasons. Living in California, I didn’t, because it’s always the same time of year – at Christmas its 80 degrees. But when I moved to New York I started switching. Between different seasons I would change fragrance, or if I was going out for a big fancy night versus going out in the daytime. But what I also found was I was changing and growing so much – I’m much closer to the woman I want to be now than I was five years ago. With that I found that I have regularity now in my fragrance in a nice way. It’s almost like being more comfortable in your own skin.
The most attractive scents…What I love in a fragrance is balancing masculine and feminine. It’s what I love in fashion, it’s what I love in beauty and it’s what I love in home design. It’s not androgynous – it’s both male and female. This fragrance has that and that’s what I love so much about it. It has those wood and leather notes which are very masculine smells, but they’re not so far masculine that a woman can’t own it as well. They’re also very sexy smells. Then it has the flirtier, sassy notes in the citrus tones and the sensual elegance, lightness, and femininity that comes in the floral notes. It really has the perfect balance of what I love and the type of woman I want to portray.
Gucci Premiere Eau de Toilette 30ml (£46.00).