WATCHING THE CHARISMATIC French star Sophie Marceau in a series of behind-the-scenes clips as she gets into the right mood for her famous ad campaign for Chaumet is a riveting experience.

She gently shuts her eyes for a moment to capture the essence of the shoot’s tone – be it longing, seductive, passionate or blissful – and when she reopens them, she’s been transformed into the dreamy, elegant woman she’s required to be.

Following a round of mesmerised applause from the media representatives gathered at Chaumet’s press conference for the brand’s launch in the Dubai Mall, the actress gracefully steps out onto the platform at the front of the Diamond Ballroom in The Address Hotel.

Dressed in a sleek black knee-length dress from Prada, complimentary black stilettos and a diamond-studded silver necklace and ring set from her favourite jewellers, Marceau takes her seat before the audience to talk about her very first visit to the city.

“I got here last night. At about two in the morning we were driving around, completely lost, and I realised that I’m really curious about Dubai. I’ve heard a lot about it; about its architecture and the endless desert. I hope that I have enough time tomorrow to look around and explore the city. But I’m leaving later in the night,” adds the actress, a remorseful note colouring her voice.

Generally, the former Bond girl is notorious for not taking on endorsements – in fact she does her very best to steer clear of advertising projects altogether.

“I’m not a model; I’m an actress,” firmly asserts Marceau. “But Chaumet’s campaign was more like a movie filled with a range of emotions. For example in that picture,” she says indicating one of the advert posters hanging on the wall, “the woman is waiting for her love to arrive.”

In the last few years, Marceau has also ventured into the world of writing – she released her semi-auto biographical novel entitled Meneuse (Telling Lies), the tale of a beautiful but insecure actress, in 2001.

The actress has also recently forayed into  filmmaking; her last directorial work was in 2007 with the French crime drama La Disparue de Deauville (Trivial). The film featured Marceau and her current beau, actor Christopher Lambert.

Unfortunately, Marceau’s seemingly endless line of acting projects has kept her from focusing on direction.

“I’ve been extremely busy this year; I’ve had four movie releases so far and have another one coming out before the end of the year. And there’ll be another one in August, next year. I think I’ll be taking a break soon; I really need to sit still for a while,” she comments, heaving a sigh of exhaustion.

Matters of the heart

At one point during her press conference Sophie Marceau takes time to reflect on love; “Lots of things in life are about love – lack of it, too much of it or even longing for it. Love? Well, let’s just say it’s a big deal.”

So when someone present at the conference quizzes her on the song that represents her as a woman, the actress indulges in a bout of impromptu singing of All we need is love.

Sophie Marceau recommends:

Blue or pastel-coloured jewels: for friendship

Pink diamonds: for maternal love

Rubies and diamonds: for passionate love

Light purple and pink-coloured jewels: for hope

Marceau on her longstanding affair with jewellery:

“When I was a child, my mother had a jewellery box that contained exactly three pieces of jewellery – she was very modest. But every time I opened it, I hoped that something new would just pop out,” wistfully recalls the actress.

“The first piece of jewellery I was gifted was a silver necklace from my godfather. The first piece of jewellery I ever gifted someone was the watch I gave  my fiancé. But my most memorable jewellery was a gold monkey striking the ‘say no evil’ pose.”

davina@khaleejtimes.com