Red Pepper Flakes. A blog by Imelda Suriato

A. Sauvage: This is Not a Suit

I’m really liking Adrien Sauvage‘s take on his look book. As his first collection of suits is being praised due to its mix of modern styles and Saville Row-level cuts, I’m more drawn into the black-and-white look book.

Called This is Not a Suit, the look book showcases Sauvage’s creative talent and artistic vision, in which he cast and personally photographed some of art and music’s finest as models for his debut collection. The Tumblr site appropriately offers a simple presentation of the subject, the artistic landscape and the photography, which I really think is brilliant.

A side note on his collection: No logos or insignias—which I love. Basically, nothing gets in the way of the suit’s subtly smooth air and crisp appearance. The only nod to his name is an A. Sauvage label on the interior of the jacket with a short info of its origin along with notes about its inspiration.

That’s a touch of class, indeed.

Found via Cool Hunting.

Beauty brands online: Summer 2010 #2

Lancôme—YouTube Beauty Guru Michelle Phan

Lancôme was smart to tap Michelle Phan as its video makeup artist in February. The 22-year-old art school student is a YouTube sensation—she’s the most subscribed beauty guru with over 200M views and 800K subscribers.

To keep her inspired, Lancôme sent Michelle to Paris for 4 days, visiting historic sites from Notre Dame to The Pont des Arts where Kate Winslet filmed the signature Trésor commercial, as well as the Lancôme Institute. Her Paris journey is recorded in Lancôme’s Facebook “Michelle + Paris” app.

Even though she’s only 6 months into her 2-year contract, her YouTube video views already doubled and she keeps on garnering buzz: This week, she is featured by T, The New York Times Style Magazine, for which she created an exclusive video titled “Futuristic Look.”

p.s.: Did you know she was turned down for a job working behind the counter at a department store for Lancôme? I bet she’s doing OK now.

Bobbi Brown—Pretty Powerful Follow-up

Bobbi Brown captured many in NYC with its Pretty Powerful campaign which was unveiled in May, from print ads to commercials in and on yellow cabs to 5-minute makeovers in their beauty counters. The campaign showcases real women and was kicked off through a video contest in January with public voting in March. For every vote cast in, Bobbi Brown donated $1 to one of Bobbi’s causes, Dress for Success, an organization that provides disadvantaged women with interview suits and career development advice.

While on my usual browse-mode, I went back to the website and noticed its been jazzed up a little. The Pretty Powerful winners now have a “Get The Look” section on a larger page format. The Beauty Buzz section looks like a news bulletin (albeit one from a very nice design firm) with a strong personal feel, especially in Bobbi ‘s Story.

On the other hand, the Learn section has an educational feel of a makeup artist class, where instructions are laid out in a very visual way and the products look almost touchable. The design “Botox” (like they say: You, but better) works for me; I found myself browsing the site more than I usually do.

Maybelline New York—The French Revolution

Gemey Maybelline, the French site for Maybelline New York, offers a lot more features I found interesting compared to the US site. On the mobile front, there are Makeup Studio Mobile app, a virtual makeup studio, and Studio Manucure (aka Manicure Studio) iPhone app which shows you the secrets to a perfect manicure, from selecting the right nail polish to nail care solutions.

In addition, there is WeLoveMakeup.com, an online community of more than 20K “Make Up Addicts” sharing thousands of looks and discussion topics. It’s like Facebook for makeup artists and beauty enthusiasts to connect, learn, share, and even have Make Up Parties.

Its Blog in The City features three personalities: Capucine (a makeup addict), Emily (a fashionista) and Flo (for NY looks & trends). The blog is young, fun and informational, the topic ranges from summer frocks ala The Sartorialist to Magnolia Bakery. I even learned that there is such a thing called a trikini. Who knew?

Meanwhile, Maybelline’s US site has the Runway VIP Sweeps and Maybelline Loves Fashion microsite to support Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in September. You can find videos and instructions on how to get the look, plus a mini NYC guide if you are here in New York during Fashion Week.

The microsite could be a lot better. It’s just not up to par with what you’d expect out of an official sponsor of Fashion Week.

Chanel—Rouge Coco

Chanel launched its Rouge Coco campaign this spring, featuring French actress / singer Vanessa Paradis. I like the Facebook effort, where you can share virtual Coco Rouge buttons (a la the press kit / swag bag that was sent out in December) by posting them on your wall. Unfortunately, once the reveal period was over, the buttons are gone.

I like that you can browse all the lipstick shades within the Facebook tab but when you click to “Shop Now”, the color you were reviewing didn’t carry through to the e-commerce site. You can see the color name in the URLstring, but you have to reselect the color from the dropdown.

This is too bad because the e-store interface is nicer than a lot of other beauty brands and because the Chanel site is gorgeous with its simple typography, clean layout and stunning photography.

Related post: Beauty brands online: Summer 2010 #1

Beauty brands online: Summer 2010 #1

Revlon—Modern Glamour: Runway Looks to Virtual Makeover

When Squeaky first nabbed the Revlon digital account, we are excited because we were not only working with a global brand with its world-famous ambassadors (i.e. Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba), we were also presented with a challenging task for a total site re-engineering. So we brought in the glitz of fashion and celebrity, and the technology of virtual makeover.

Tapping into the star power of Revlon’s Global Artistic Director, Gucci Westman, we added behind-the-scenes Fashion Week runway and get-the-look videos into the Beauty Lounge section. From Oscar de la Renta to Rag & Bone, you get all the inside tips & tricks directly from the superstar makeup artist herself.

When we were asked to recommend a virtual makeover engine for Revlon, we did a thorough review of two of the most prominent virtual makeover software available in the market: Daily Makeover & Taaz.* Squeaky’s final recommendation for Revlon’s Virtual Makeup Artist™ is to use Taaz because it allows for a more sophisticated application with very subtle sheerness for glosses, shadows and color hues.

For example, mascara application lengthens the lashes when the amount is increased while on DailyMakeover, the mascara only becomes thicker at the base. In addition, Taaz provides options for types of top and bottom lashes while DailyMakeover only provides Top, Top & Bottom and Bottom. We really like that Taaz’s makeover preview area is much larger than DailyMakeovers. The model’s photos are also more natural with visible blemishes, providing Revlon with real makeover experience as complexion improves upon sheer application of foundation, concealer and blushes.

Other beauty brands that also utilizes Taaz’s virtual makeover engine are Estée Lauder and just recently, TopShop.

Estée Lauder—Let’s Play Makeover

One of the main draw of Estée Lauder’s Virtual Makeover is the use of Hilary Rhoda, the brand’s face since 2007, as the model for you to play with. Everyone would look gorgeous with those blue eyes.

Unfortunately, the “1-Click Look” feature only has one look at a time, while Revlon’s “Get The Look” has seven looks from their ambassadors to choose from.

TopShop Make Up—Virtual Makeover

While TopShop‘s has four looks to choose and three models to play with—if you don’t feel like uploading your own photo, Revlon has six models with wider complexion range to choose from. On top of that, since Revlon has Hair Color products, the Virtual Makeup Artist lets you choose hair color and styles you like to best complete your look.

We continuously think about new ways to improve the Revlon site, including the Virtual Makeup Artist, and believe me when I say we are brimming with exciting ideas. So stay tuned!

Up next is Part 2: From Lancôme’s YouTube sensation, Michelle Phan, to Bobbi Brown’s Pretty Powerful and Chanel’s Coco Rouge

*The review was performed on September 2009.

Automotive brands online: Summer 2010

Renault—The Mégane Experiment: “Can a car change a town?”

The premise: In 2010 Renault discovered a set of fascinating statistics. According to the figures, towns with more Mégane were happier, had higher rates of fertility and longer life expectancies. To put this theory to the test, they’ve sent Claude, a ‘consultant de joie’ to Gisburn (Lancashire), a town with no Méganes and apparently very little joie de vivre, to conduct ‘The Mégane Experiment‘.

Done by Publicis, the Renault UK campaign takes a light-hearted Anglo-French cultural comparison of the two distinct villages, basically telling the people of Gisburn that their town and people are crap and they need to do something. Watch Claude, the self-proclaimed “joie de vivre” expert, as he attempts to educate the people of Gisburn on the subject and introduces the Mégane car model as the thing that can bring joy to the city.

The Mégane Experiment‘ is hilarious in a French Borat kind of way.

Volkswagen—Anyone for a Sunday Drive?

Volkswagen Canada resurrects the oft-forgotten Sunday drive. The campaign for the new VW Golf by Red Urban asks what happened to the spirit of of the Sunday drive. “Anyone for a Sunday Drive?” campaign is true to the Volkswagen spirit: Cheeky, fun-to-drive aspects of VW. It’s for people who don’t just drive to go from Point A to Point B; It’s for people who simply love to drive.

Don’t forget to go to Remix Road and have fun—‘S Wonderful, ‘S Marvelous is definitely in my head now!

Note: I didn’t see this anywhere on the site, but supposedly Canadians also have the opportunity to record their own Sunday driving experiences and share them online.

Ford Fiesta—The Fiesta Project

Ford Fiesta kicks up the summer with The Fiesta Project where they asked real people to come up creative ways to put the new 2011 Fiesta to the test. Interesting videos are then shot, from “Fiesta vs. Lamborghini” to “Dawn of The New Key Fob.”

Because there are no direct sales pitch per se and that “How Much Can It Bear?” has a touch of Super Troopers spirit, this one stands out in my book.

Jeep—The Things We Make, Make Us.

Jeep has been allover television and the web lately with its “The Things We Make, Make Us” campaign for Grand Cherokee. The slight note of propaganda takes you to a journey through American industrialism, patriotism and everyday hard-working people. It’s not war propaganda, it’s a propaganda of America’s manufacturing prowess.

I like the tone, the big, bold typography, the video and the clanking in the music. It reinforces the manifesto: “Our newest son was imagined, drawn, stamped, hewn and forged here.” This 2011 Grand Cherokee is 100% American, and I like it.

KIA Sportage—What’s Your Sportage Style?

KIA Sportage adds a little Facebook chatter to their web presence, starting from a simple tab on Facebook that invites you to experience and share your Sportage 360° thoughts to a sleek Flash microsite with nice scene building, extreme close-ups of features and an FB Chatter page.

Sadly, not that many people join in the chatter.

Other notables:

Volvo—Naughty S60: Microsite and on Facebook asking “Which City is the Naughty Capital of Europe?”

Toyota Camry—Autobiography: Strong Facebook presence to support TV buy. Facebook application allows you to tell your Toyota Story and upload your video.

Glorious! Soups: Super alphabet soup

Glorious! Soups® packaging caught my eyes when browsing through I Love Dust‘s portfolio. Beautiful illustration and typographic approach sets this packaging apart. Glorious! Soups® takes alphabet soup to another level.

Glorious! Soups®‘s simple black site allows the letters of the alphabet—an ‘A to Z of Global Flavors’—prominently displayed. Iconic, bespoke illustration represents each letter, showcasing authentic global influences and flavors of each product. The illustration is well done (if you know I Love Dust’s work, it’s not surprising at all).

“We wanted to build brand that was bold, adventurous and gutsy to inspire people to try out the new product, ” explains Mandy Taylor, commercial director at Glorious!. Working with Glorious!’s branding agency, Lambie-Nairn, I Love Dust has successfully delivered just that.

The new Glorious! Soups is bold yet eloquent, bringing some ‘zing’ to boring ol’ soups and sauces. It’s simply stunning—both the concept and the design.

How can you not love “M is for ‘Malaysian Chicken'” with delicate Asian flower motif while “T is for ‘Toulouse Sausage and Bean'” and is flanked by legs of can-can dancer?