You, and the Night, and the Music
"You and the night and the music,
Thrill me, but will we be one,
After the night and the music are done?"
Lyrics from 'You and the Night and the Music' written by composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz, from the Broadway show 'Revenge with Music' (1934).
The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 9th of May is “Blue for You – ME 2026” which is in honour of ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia International Awareness Day which happens to fall on May the 12th. May the 12th was chosen as it coincided with the birth date of Florence Nightingale, the celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale became chronically ill in her mid-thirties after returning from the Crimean War; the M.E.-like illness often left her bedridden during the last fifty years of her life. I have friends who suffer with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia, so this theme has a personal connection for me, even if I do not have it myself.
As the subject for “Smile on Saturday” this week was open to personal choice but required a lot of blue, although I usually create a blue themed Playmobil tableau, I have broken with tradition this year as I did last year. One of the many things I collect are vintage powder boxes, and that includes these two Evening in Paris boxes. The larger one, made of cardboard is for a lady's dressing table, and the other, made of metal, is designed as a makeup repair kit and is small enough to be slipped into a handbag. I have sat them in a rather fabulous electric blue stiletto with a killer heel! They, and a small cobalt blue antique glass perfume bottle with a silver cap, are placed against a backdrop of the blue night sky studded with stars and moons, which is a piece of hand made and printed paper from the paper purveyors Zetta Florence.
I was inspired to create this shot by a by very dear friend. When she first saw my Evening in Paris powder boxes, she remarked that the fragrance was so chic and exclusive for women when she was a young girl and teenager in the South. Her mother, used to use Evening in Paris fragranced powder and perfume. I hope you like my choice for this week's theme and that it makes you smile!
Soir de Paris (Evening in Paris) by Bourjois is a iconic vintage floral fragrance launched in 1928, famous for its deep cobalt blue bottle. Created by Ernest Beaux, it features floral scent with top notes of violet, peach, apricot, and bergamot; middle notes of iris, rose, and jasmine; and a base of amber, sandalwood, and vanilla. The perfume is famous for its distinctive cobalt blue bottle and silver stopper, often sold in gift sets (several of which I have acquired). Originally created in 1928, it was a popular, accessible scent through the 1950s. A reformulated version was released in 1992, but vintage bottles from the 1940s to 1960s are highly prized as vintage collectibles.
You, and the Night, and the Music
"You and the night and the music,
Thrill me, but will we be one,
After the night and the music are done?"
Lyrics from 'You and the Night and the Music' written by composer Arthur Schwartz and lyricist Howard Dietz, from the Broadway show 'Revenge with Music' (1934).
The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 9th of May is “Blue for You – ME 2026” which is in honour of ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia International Awareness Day which happens to fall on May the 12th. May the 12th was chosen as it coincided with the birth date of Florence Nightingale, the celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale became chronically ill in her mid-thirties after returning from the Crimean War; the M.E.-like illness often left her bedridden during the last fifty years of her life. I have friends who suffer with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia, so this theme has a personal connection for me, even if I do not have it myself.
As the subject for “Smile on Saturday” this week was open to personal choice but required a lot of blue, although I usually create a blue themed Playmobil tableau, I have broken with tradition this year as I did last year. One of the many things I collect are vintage powder boxes, and that includes these two Evening in Paris boxes. The larger one, made of cardboard is for a lady's dressing table, and the other, made of metal, is designed as a makeup repair kit and is small enough to be slipped into a handbag. I have sat them in a rather fabulous electric blue stiletto with a killer heel! They, and a small cobalt blue antique glass perfume bottle with a silver cap, are placed against a backdrop of the blue night sky studded with stars and moons, which is a piece of hand made and printed paper from the paper purveyors Zetta Florence.
I was inspired to create this shot by a by very dear friend. When she first saw my Evening in Paris powder boxes, she remarked that the fragrance was so chic and exclusive for women when she was a young girl and teenager in the South. Her mother, used to use Evening in Paris fragranced powder and perfume. I hope you like my choice for this week's theme and that it makes you smile!
Soir de Paris (Evening in Paris) by Bourjois is a iconic vintage floral fragrance launched in 1928, famous for its deep cobalt blue bottle. Created by Ernest Beaux, it features floral scent with top notes of violet, peach, apricot, and bergamot; middle notes of iris, rose, and jasmine; and a base of amber, sandalwood, and vanilla. The perfume is famous for its distinctive cobalt blue bottle and silver stopper, often sold in gift sets (several of which I have acquired). Originally created in 1928, it was a popular, accessible scent through the 1950s. A reformulated version was released in 1992, but vintage bottles from the 1940s to 1960s are highly prized as vintage collectibles.