If the Aesop brand was a person, she'd probably be an Oxford bluestocking with a copy of Zuleika Dobson tucked into the basket of her vintage bicycle, fond of discussing everything from Proust to Poiret via the merits of silver-tipped jasmine tea with her friends, while sunk into the cushions on a velvet couch somewhere. There are few more 'intelligent' brands out there, in terms of their approach to beauty.  But though they're almost cerebral, Aesop have some truly amazing products in their ranges, which you've long found on our own shelves and in our kits.  (Jo never flies without Aesop Immediate Moisture Facial Hydrosol, and raves about the new Aesop Reverence Hand Balm, here.)

Their press releases are also among the smartest that ever ping into our in-boxes - and definitely aren't always about beauty.

For instance:  news of Aesop's film collaboration with Lucy McRae, who was inspired by the brand to create a short film.  Get this:  'The narrative is inspired by nineteenth-century physicist and philosopher Herman Ludwig Helmholtz and his research on human perception.  He wrote: "A human being is like a rubber ball wrapped in an extremely delicate membrane. Different areas of the ball's surface elicit different senses. Our image of the world is based on the multi-various stimuli that are perceived on the membrane and transmitted to the ball's nucleus, the brain."  More succinctly, he commented that "Everything is an event on the skin".'  Phew-whee.

But we're pleased for Aesop that the film went on to win the ASVOFF Award (A Shaded View on Fashion Film).  And whether or not you're an Oxford bluestocking, we thought you'd like to watch it, so here goes.

Click here to see Morphé at www.vimeo.com