Of Academy Awards, Perfumes and Starlets

By Ashley Kowalewski

Unless you don’t have cable, any social-media affiliations, or live under a rock, you probably caught some of the Oscars last night; maybe you even watched for a moment or two. And while we had our eyes glued to the screen to check out the best and worst-dressed, we also had our eyes trained on those perfume-campaign starlets who’ve nabbed recent international fragrance contracts.

Jessica Chastain was not one of the big winners last night; she lost her Best Actress nomination for Zero Dark Thirty to Jennifer Lawrence. But this star keeps giving more cred to the upcoming launch of Yves Saint Laurent’s Manifesto, the perfume brand which now carries her likeness. It’s Chastain’s Old Hollywood-style elegance that’s a perfect match for this new sexy, grownup floral-chypre fragrance.

Naomi Watts’ nomination for her powerful role in The Impossible has us recalling her stint as past-fragrance-face for Thierry Mugler’s Angel in 2009. While the imitable gourmand spritz may not be your first choice for her refined Armani-clad look, Watts is definitely a stellar choice to rep an A-list perfume. Here’s hoping she gets a chance to shine again.

While Oscar nominee Amy Adams didn’t win Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Master, the recent announcement of Adams as the face of the new Eau de Lacoste (which just hit stores this month) was a definite winner. Upon sniffing the spritz for the first time, we couldn’t agree more with the pairing. Always the fresh-faced beauty—Adams kept to her signature prettiness in an Oscar de la Renta gown at last night’s awards show—the 38-year-old actress is tailormade to embody the breezy and feminine floral scent.

Charlize Theron’s style never disappoints, and last night in her Christian Dior gown and edgy new pixie cut, was no exception. Her long-standing position as face of Christian Dior J’Adore has become nothing less than iconic—her sex-chic, strutting-through-a-castle performance in the perfume’s various commercials leaves us rewatching the video again and again.

SHE SHOULD HAVE A FRAGRANCE CONTRACT!

The big winner of the night as Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook and Hollywood’s new “it girl” is Jennifer Lawrence. With an Oscar and a decent movie repertoire now under her belt, what we ask is left but a fragrance contract?

Remember Anne Hathaway’s stint as the face of Lancôme Magnifique in 2008? Well, neither did we. We’re thinking this singing, dancing and now Oscar-winning chameleon of an actress needs a new fragrance contract, stat.

PHOTO SOURCES: HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (JESSICA CHASTAIN); HUFFINGTON POST (JENNIFER LAWRENCE); STAR CRUSH (NAOMI WATTS); POPSUGAR (AMY ADAMS); YAHOO MOVIES (CHARLIZE THERON)