Nars Audacious: ‘The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe’ black dress in a bottle

MANILA, Philippines — French actress Mireille Darc would have loved Nars’ first foray into fragrance, Audacious. Or at least her character in the 1972 French comedy The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe (Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire).

She plays a femme fatale who is a spy. During the scene that will go down in cinematic and fashion history, she is in one of the world’s most famous LBDs. The little black dress in question is a Guy Laroche-designed gown. Christine greets the protagonist François at the door in what appears to be a modest, high-neck, black velvet ensemble — a floor-length shape highlighting her statuesque frame. And then she turns around, revealing her gown to be entirely backless, revealing a risqué hint of her intergluteal cleft, also known as buttock cleavage.

Audacious started out as Nars’ line of intensely pigmented creamy lipsticks, all inspired by and named after stylish men and women who have earned the admiration of the makeup artist and creative director François Nars for their inherent beauty and sensuality, recognizable on a first-name basis.

Audacious is meant to be the line’s signature fragrance and expresses the same emotion. Designed as an abstract study of contrasts, top notes of white frangipani and smoke of incense harmonize with tiare flower and sandalwood bottom notes. It is uniquely minimal, modern. Definitely meant to be a nighttime fragrance, when seduction is in the plans. Best worn with a hint of skin.

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Nars is in Rustan’s The Beauty Source.