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  3. Cosmetics, Beauty

à fleur de peau

English translation: an outward expression of emotion

15:57 Oct 20, 2006
French to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - Cosmetics, Beauty
French term or phrase: à fleur de peau
La beauté des femmes va au-delà des apparences. C’est une émotion à fleur de peau.

I know i can't really translate this but does anyone help me with a creative suggestions? It's in a press release for a major beauty brand. Many thanks
andrea
English translation:an outward expression of emotion
Explanation:
This is rubbish. Any suggestion is bound to be rubbish. The original is rubbish, and untranslatable rubbish at that.

There is a contrast here. We think of beauty as being on the surface, and emotions being somehow internal. Clearly the intention is to make beauty seem more important by linking it to the emotions, rather than to trivialise emotions by making them superficial. That's what I have attempted to convey.

The problem I see is that, if it's about marketing cosmetics, the reference to skin might be important. I suppose you could try "Emotion expressed at the level of the skin" or somesuch.

Good luck. I don't envy you that crap job.
Selected response from:

Richard Benham
France
Local time: 15:12
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3an outward expression of emotion
Richard Benham
3 +2very sensitive
Jana Cole (X)
3 +1skin-deep (emotion)
David Goward
3 +1(a woman's beauty is) a hyperlink to her humanity
Christopher Erdal (X)
4"under the skin" (s. below)
Emilie
3 +1[beauty] comes from within
Suzie Withers
4volatile
Andreas THEODOROU
3tangible
Isabelle Villancher
3that lie below/beneath
Mark Nathan
3emotion/feeling that lies just beneath the skin/surface
pomiglia
3It's being comfortable in your skin/feeling good in her skin
Sharon Das
2As soft as skin
Kathryn Strachecky


  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(émotion) à fleur de peau
skin-deep (emotion)


Explanation:
Harrap's Shorter gives "skin-deep emotions" for "émotions à fleur de peau".
As it's a marketing text, something less literal may be preferable.

David Goward
France
Local time: 15:12
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Sharon Das: Yes, that sounds good, maybe as "It;s a skin-deep feeling" (more sensual)
1 hr
neutral  Richard Benham: In the words of the master, "something less literal may be preferable".
1 hr
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27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
tangible


Explanation:
"tangible" may not be quite the right word, but "skin deep" means superficial, whilst "à fleur de peau" means it's there, right beneath the surface. The connotation is different

Isabelle Villancher
Spain
Local time: 15:12
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(a woman's beauty is) a hyperlink to her humanity


Explanation:
well, you did ask for "creative suggestions" :-}


    Reference: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=3992
Christopher Erdal (X)
France
Local time: 15:12
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Andreas THEODOROU: Nice but there must be a better word than 'hyperlink'
16 hrs
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45 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
"under the skin" (s. below)


Explanation:
Maybe you need to play around with words/wording.

UNDER THE SKIN means IN ESSENCE/ESSENTIALLY

You'd still have the word SKIN (what I believe to be essential in this case) and the word emotion:

It's emotion under the skin. (It's essentialy emotion).

Hope it helps. Good luck!

Emilie
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
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54 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
very sensitive


Explanation:
I think that the meaning is that a woman's beauty being beyond appearances is a sensitive subject / idea. So very special and mysterious that it is hard to express.

La beauté des femmes va au-delà des apparences. C’est une émotion à fleur de peau.

A woman's beauty goes beyond appearances. It's a very sensitive thing.

I'm using "thing" for lack of a better word.

Jana Cole (X)
Local time: 06:12
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Silvia Brandon-Pérez: In Spanish we use the same term, a flor de piel, for feelings that are out there, that can burst "from the skin', for someone who is hypersensitive.
4 hrs
agree  Charlie Bavington: Inasmuch as it means anything at all (beauty as an emotion?! I ask you...) this is the general idea.
5 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
une émotion à fleur de peau
an outward expression of emotion


Explanation:
This is rubbish. Any suggestion is bound to be rubbish. The original is rubbish, and untranslatable rubbish at that.

There is a contrast here. We think of beauty as being on the surface, and emotions being somehow internal. Clearly the intention is to make beauty seem more important by linking it to the emotions, rather than to trivialise emotions by making them superficial. That's what I have attempted to convey.

The problem I see is that, if it's about marketing cosmetics, the reference to skin might be important. I suppose you could try "Emotion expressed at the level of the skin" or somesuch.

Good luck. I don't envy you that crap job.

Richard Benham
France
Local time: 15:12
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charlie Bavington: Unmitigated baloney from start to finish. If the Asker wants a "creative suggestion", can I suggest that the "major brand" pays for an actual English language press release written from scratch.
5 hrs
  -> Thanks. It's amazing how stingy these people are, given the size of their advertising budgets, about actually getting the words right!
agree  Andreas THEODOROU: Seems along the right tracks (and I don't envy andrea either - I hope that the job provider is maknig it worthwhile)
15 hrs
  -> Thanks.
agree  Christopher Erdal (X): perhaps "window on her emotion" ? I must agree with Charlie, though.
4 days
  -> Maybe "window on her emotions" plural.... Yes Charlie has a good point.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
As soft as skin


Explanation:
Here's another one. As my colleagues have said, this isn't an easy translation, but you could go for something along the lines of "a deep emotion, as soft as skin".
OK, so that doesn't mean anything, but you do get the skin in there, as well as the contrast between deep and superficial. You might have to play around with it to make it more English, it's evening for me now!

Kathryn Strachecky
Local time: 15:12
Native speaker of: English
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
that lie below/beneath


Explanation:
It is the surface of the emotions that lie below/beneath.

Mark Nathan
France
Local time: 15:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
[beauty] comes from within


Explanation:
another suggestion

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2006-10-20 20:59:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

albeit a cliché...

Suzie Withers
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:12
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Richard Benham: No, it comes from without: froma few jars of expensive goo from XYZ cosmetics.
1 hr
  -> thanks, Richard.
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
emotion/feeling that lies just beneath the skin/surface


Explanation:
a suggestion/alternative

pomiglia
United States
Local time: 07:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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17 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
volatile


Explanation:
it's a volatile emotion

Seems to fit in with what the author is saying


Andreas THEODOROU
Spain
Local time: 15:12
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
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20 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
It's being comfortable in your skin/feeling good in her skin


Explanation:
One could play with this basic common phrase "being comfortable in one's skin" : "It's about being happy in her skin" etc
In any case, I think that they DONT want to say that beauty is "more than skin-deep." That's the usual cliche. I think they want to say it IS about the surface, but a deep feeling of the surface, whatever that may be.

Sharon Das
Local time: 15:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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