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  3. Cosmetics, Beauty

la fortune sourit à ceux qui séduisent

English translation: fortune favours the seductive

15:53 Sep 28, 2012
French to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - Cosmetics, Beauty / perfume
French term or phrase: la fortune sourit à ceux qui séduisent
From an article on the history of Molinard perfume:

La fortune souriant à ceux qui séduisent, les parfums habillent les ambitions.
janisct
Local time: 07:01
English translation:fortune favours the seductive
Explanation:
It looks like a play on words with "Fortune favours the bold" (Fortuna audaces iuvat), so I'd keep the same play in English.

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Note added at 38 mins (2012-09-28 16:31:55 GMT)
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Yes, if you prefer to use "beautiful". Nevertheless, I think "seductive" has an air of sensuality that goes beyond merely "beautiful". But you can use the latter too.
Selected response from:

Alistair Ian Spearing Ortiz
Spain
Local time: 08:01
Grading comment
I changed 'favours' to 'smiles on'
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +7fortune favours the seductive
Alistair Ian Spearing Ortiz
4 +1Fortune favours the fragrant
Paula McGowan
4as fortune smiles on the attractive ones
kashew
5 -1Fortune favors those who seduce
Salih YILDIRIM
3 +1Fate is on the side of the seducer - true ambitions masked by fragrance
MatthewLaSon
4fortune favours those who woo / the wooers / woo-ers
Conor McAuley
4fortune favours alluring people
Kate Collyer
3fortune smiles on those who dare
Jane F
3Fate always sides with the seducer - fragrance comes with hidden intentions
MatthewLaSon


Discussion entries: 10





  

Answers


36 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
as fortune smiles on the attractive ones


Explanation:
*

kashew
France
Local time: 08:01
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: Yes, I think the idea of personal attractiveness is what I need here. I don't think 'the seductive' sounds quite right in English


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  cc in nyc: Fragrance makes people smell better, not more attractive
22 hrs
neutral  MatthewLaSon: I'm afraid that beauty and seductiveness are not synonymous here.
2 days 7 hrs
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +7
fortune favours the seductive


Explanation:
It looks like a play on words with "Fortune favours the bold" (Fortuna audaces iuvat), so I'd keep the same play in English.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2012-09-28 16:31:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Yes, if you prefer to use "beautiful". Nevertheless, I think "seductive" has an air of sensuality that goes beyond merely "beautiful". But you can use the latter too.

Alistair Ian Spearing Ortiz
Spain
Local time: 08:01
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
I changed 'favours' to 'smiles on'
Notes to answerer
Asker: So perhaps 'Fortune favours the beautiful'??

Asker: Sorry but I don't personally think that 'the seductive' sounds right in English. Just my opinion, I'm probably wrong!!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Verginia Ophof: fortune smiles on the seductive
3 mins
agree  Colin Rowe: With "favours"
5 mins
agree  philgoddard: That's good! "Smiles on" has the advantage of being alliterative, in a seductive kind of way.
22 mins
agree  NancyLynn
1 hr
agree  Sandra & Kenneth Grossman: fortune smiles
15 hrs
neutral  MatthewLaSon: Hello. One can seduce and not be beautiful - two different things. Have a nice weekend.
22 hrs
agree  Rosa Paredes
1 day 2 hrs
agree  Emma Paulay: Fortune favours the flirtatious?
2 days 3 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
fortune smiles on those who dare


Explanation:
'séduire' is not necessarily a question of being physically attractive

Jane F
France
Local time: 08:01
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  philgoddard: This is not what it says at all.
1 hr
agree  Rosa Paredes: Totally valid; no need to be literal.
23 hrs
  -> Thanks Rosa :)
neutral  MatthewLaSon: I agree that this is not about physical beauty.
2 days 4 hrs
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Fortune favors those who seduce


Explanation:
Imho

Salih YILDIRIM
United States
Local time: 02:01
Native speaker of: Native in TurkishTurkish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Kate Collyer: No - while not technically incorrect, "those who seduce" is perilously close to "rapists" : /
1 day 13 hrs
neutral  MatthewLaSon: A disagree is too strong here, I'm afraid.
1 day 17 hrs
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17 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Fortune favours the fragrant


Explanation:
I'm probably a bit late with my answer, but before I looked at the other responses the phrase that sprang to mind was "fortune favours the fragrant". I like the alliteration, and the wearer is presumably using the fragrance to seduce! But it depends how creative vs. literal your text/client allows you to be.

Paula McGowan
Australia
Local time: 14:01
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  cc in nyc: I don't think "fragrant" works as marketing lingo for people, but I liked your entry for its playfulness
5 hrs
agree  kashew: Has a nice ring to it! Excellent.
6 hrs
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Fate is on the side of the seducer - true ambitions masked by fragrance


Explanation:
Hello,

They're talking about sexual seduction here, so I cannot see why "seduction" would be wrong in an article about perfumes (women attracting men, mainly).

The idea here that perfumes allow women to get their own way with a man (or a man with colognes, too, I suppose) as they allow here to mask her true intentions.

Perhaps don't say "those who seduce", but rather just "seduction". It's understood that a person has to be one the doing the seducing, no?

habillent les ambitions = to hide one's true ambitions (using perfume to seduce someone)

Remember that being seductive is not that same thing as being beautiful. That would be constitute a translation error. This is about those seducing with perfume (wearing it gets you where you really want).


I hope this helps.


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Note added at 13 hrs (2012-09-29 05:20:37 GMT)
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Typo: Perhaps don't say "those who seduce", but rather just "seducer".

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Note added at 13 hrs (2012-09-29 05:39:50 GMT)
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Perhaps say: Fate always on the side of the seducer - true intentions masked with fragrance

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Note added at 1 day10 hrs (2012-09-30 02:08:58 GMT)
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Remember that it is common for fragrances to have "hidden intentions."

There is something sexy with a lot of depth about this Avon perfume that slowly and gradually reveals your hidden intentions. The oriental aroma and romantic .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/370531452231?item=370531452231&Vie...

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Note added at 1 day10 hrs (2012-09-30 02:11:08 GMT)
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Or perhaps as a full translation:

Fate is on the side of the seducer - fragrance comes with hidden intentions.

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 02:01
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  cc in nyc: Nice (for the first half)
12 mins
  -> Thank you, cc in nyc! I appreciate it. I think that "habiller" means "to disguise" as in "fragrance disguises ambition." It might be best to say "fragrance comes with hidden intentions" That's how I read it anyways.
neutral  Jocelyne Cuenin: mask me gêne.
1 day 4 hrs
  -> Bonjour! Mais voilà c'est habiller les *ambitions* et pas une femme de quoi que ce soit . Donc pour moi cela veut dire que les parfums sont séducteurs dans le sens que ceux-ci "masquent" les vraies intentions de la porteuse (séduire de façon séduisante).
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16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
fortune favours those who woo / the wooers / woo-ers


Explanation:
Wooing people

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Note added at 1 day22 hrs (2012-09-30 14:52:02 GMT)
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Since the text appears to come from the body of an article, the translation does not need to be extremely catchy.

La fortune souriant à ceux qui séduisent, les parfums habillent les ambitions.

"Since fortune favours the wooers of this world, fragrance is worn like ambitious intent."

The word "wooers" is used more than you might think:

https://www.google.fr/search?q=gerep&rlz=1C1CHFX_frFR469FR46...

Conor McAuley
France
Local time: 08:01
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
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2 days 3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
fortune favours alluring people


Explanation:
Borrowing from the Asker's idea from the second half of the sentence, and avoiding the pitfalls of both 'beautiful' and 'seductive', this also allows for a synonym in the second part, which is also tricky to my mind.

I like the sustained alliteration of "fortune favours ... fragrances"; it connects the two halves neatly.

Example sentence(s):
  • Fortune favours alluring people, and fragrances heighten/intensify their attraction/appeal
Kate Collyer
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:01
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  MatthewLaSon: Hello. "Seduction" would be fine as a translation. Also, the second part is about the wearer having "hidden intentions" (what a "seducer" can do with fragrance). Well, "habiller les ambitions" usually would mean "disguise ambitions". Bonne Journée!
4 hrs
  -> Alluring, enticing, bewitching, etc are all possible alternatives to seductive, which the Asker has indicated uncertainty about. And IMO habiller here = embody, flesh out, continue, rather than disguise.
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2 days 24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Fate always sides with the seducer - fragrance comes with hidden intentions


Explanation:
Hello,

That is how I'd word the whole phrase (modified the second part).

Please read thoroughly the first answer.


hope this helps.

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Note added at 2 days7 hrs (2012-09-30 23:50:04 GMT)
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– Habanita EDP is a real lemming of mine at the moment. ..... I love seductive fragrances because they send a message that the wearer is very ... you can never truly tell the wearers intentions – one thing is sure, their intentions .

http://olfactoriastravels.com/2012/08/06/monday-question-whi...


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Note added at 4 days (2012-10-03 03:24:07 GMT)
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That's what seductive perfumes do: they hide the wearer's intentions.

I didn't post the entire part above as I should have:

I love seductive fragrances because they send a message that the wearer is very confident in their sexuality. They remain mysterious as, without the actual words, you can never truly tell the wearers intentions – one thing is sure, their intentions are of the impure variety

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 02:01
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24
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