On Breakfast at Tiffany’s: A perfumer’s guide to the iconic film

May 4 is the birthday of the late and great Audrey Hepburn, a name that ranks high up on the very long list of fashion icons. We have to thank her for the skinny black pant, that flawless cat-eye (a look I personally love), and one of the best lines in American film: “Promise me one thing: don’t take me home until I’m drunk-very drunk indeed.” Of Hepbrun’s repertoire Breaktfast at Tiffany’s if the film to see. That film is practically a look book. Fashion is a mega star in this film. Hepburn’s character, Holly Golightly, wore a lot of black, but man did she wear it. Holly Golightly is probably one of my favorite characters ever. She’s deeply flawed and effortlessly cool. She possesses some rather fascinating quirks. One of which is perpetually locking herself out of her apartment. Those that have seen the film, will recall a scene in which she reveals that she keeps perfume in her mailbox.

Speculations have been made about which perfume it is, but no one has confirmed a brand. (Any film buffs feel free to weigh in!) A lot of sources claim Holly adorably sprays Makila by Patou in that scene. Some others suspect it could be something from Givenchy. In the novella by Truman Capote, to the which the film is based off of, Holly wears  4711, a men’s cologne. I wish the film had made it more known that Holly was the type to wear men’s cologne. That little factoid about her character is an endearing one that enhances the kind of wild-a-typical-fierceness she perpetuates.

Holly has a glowing warm saucy aura. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could just bottle that energy up and give ourselves a little spritz every once and while. Oh wait, we can! In 1957 Givenchy bottled up the essence of his friend Audrey in the fragrance, L’Interdit. The fragrance has notes of jasmine, violet, ylang-ylang, orange, peach, rose, sandal wood, and amber to name a few. This bottle has a lot of the same notes as another iconic one, Chanel No.5. There’s also murmurings of a fragrance created directly from the film (sharing the same title) but it’s pretty obscure now. Whether you’d rather Holly was dabbing cologne or Chanel No.5 on her skin, you have to agree this movie promotes class with a hint of edge–a sentiment that has become timeless. I don’t know when this film will ever go out of style!

Here’s a clip of one of my favorite scenes from the film:

*Thanks for reading sincerely,

Kay!*