Beauty Wish List

Okay- I always find these beauty items that I covet, but always forget to buy. They are usually so random that there is never a time when they become relevant. So, in order to remember that I would like to purchase these lovely, non-essential, but so yummy that I have to have them things, I will list them here.

1. Green-gold eyeshadow- MAC Surreal (photo: makeupgeek.com)

2. Hot pink lipstick- NARS Schiap (photo: sephora.com)

3. Cire Trudon candle in Pondichery (photo: aedes.com)

4. Jo Wood Organics Amka Oil (photo: beautyhabit.com)

5. Costes body wash (photo: aedes.com)

As I feel that all of these things will make me feel more chic, I believe that they will eventually need to be purchased. After all, one must feel chic in everything that they do- including their toilette. *Afterthought* really must find out where I can find some 10 Corso Como perfume.

Olfactory Memories

Can you remember your first perfume/fragrance romance? I do...it was Christmas 1993. I was fourteen and very much in lust with a tyrant of a boy. I had asked for my first "real" perfume- none of that fruity, too-sweet stuff of pre-adolescence. I had moved on from Love's Baby Soft and Designer Imposters. So, under the tree that year I had my bottle of Calvin Klein Escape. I loved that perfume. I spritzed it every day and it became my first signature. (photo: fragrancenet.com)

This scent stuck with me until I moved back to the States and was confronted with the American teenaged scent scene. First there was Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden. Then it was CK One, with an interlude of Gap's Dream and Heaven. I moved from there into college territory- Davidoff Cool Water. There were a few other scent affairs there, but they were small comparatively.

Since then, I have become a promiscuously scented woman. I do admit that I enjoy a different perfume every day- one to fit my mood, one to fit the color I am wearing. I love fragrance and that is it. I have a few that are stand-outs: Tocca Touch, Chanel Coco Mademosielle, Fracas. They are my go-tos.

However, sometimes I like to go back to old scents from times past. I will take out my Body Shop Ananya and Dewberry and will remember the good ol' days back in Britain. I will be nostalgic and full of whimsy. I want more of that.

Therefore, I have decided that I will buy another bottle of Calvin Klein Escape- take me back to where my love affair with fragrance all began. I want to be back in that living room, feeling those feelings again. After all, why else do we have our senses?

Tie Me Up

I have always coveted a genuine Hermes scarf. It is one of the quintessential and chicest items that one can own. Due to their impracticality as well as their price, I have been unable to validate a purchase. (photo: handbagcomment.com)

When reading this month's Elle, I came across the article Tie Me Up & Tie Me Down, which shows 16 "in the know" people and how they use an Hermes scarf to accessorize a look. It made me want a scarf even more- made me consider shelling out the dough for one right that instant. These gorgeous works of art truly are more versatile than I first gave them credit.

They can be used as art to decorate your home, as this photo suggests. (photo: noun.wordpress.com)

They can also be turned into tops apparently. So ingenuous! (photo: whisty.wordpress.com)

My problem is deciding which pattern to choose. Do I go for classic, in Hermes orange, with a horsey motif? (photo: fashiontribes.typepad.com)

I could of course choose one that is completely original and a bit...odd. This print is like an alien produce aisle. (photo: iwantigot.geekigirl.com)

There's something subtly sophisticated about this one below. Well-turned out people and their equine companions could be the way to go. (photo: images.huffingtonpost.com)

Now, there's also my love of pirates in general and pirate ships in specific. In this case, the one below might suit and bring the air of authority that I crave. (photo: flairvoyant.com)

Either way, no matter which one I end up choosing, I know that it will be the most elegant, most classic item that I will ever own.

Gleaning from the Tube

Everyone knows that fashion and movies go hand in hand. As does fashion and TV, fashion and music. Fashion is most certainly everywhere. Because of this fact, the relationships of these entities feed off of each other.

Who has never heard of Sex and the City? Not many people can say they’ve never heard of the show that put thirty-somethings, sex, and fashion back on TV. Same goes for The O.C. and Gossip Girl. These shows have marked a chance in viewers’ attitudes. People not only want to see predictable soap operas, they want to see the latest fashions at the same time. The backstabbing and promiscuousness is not as appealing without the designer duds and drool-worthy accessories. And don’t forget the stylist-du-jour (Patricia Fields is a goddess).

I can admit that I love and own some movies that- despite loving their plots and characters immensely- I could watch solely for their stylishness and fashion alone. Sets and costumes are incredibly important to me (shallow or just very committed to my art?).

Here are some of the movies that I adore, not only for their gorgeous scenery and costumes, but also because of the directing, scripts, and acting:

(photo: plainjayne973.blogspot.com)

Royal Tenebaums
Anything by Wes Anderson is going to be good. It’s going to be delightfully cheeky, irreverent, insightful, and chic in a subtle, European way. This one is my favorite of his movies. Gwyneth Paltrow’s wardrobe, haircut, and demeanor alone made the movie for me. Loved the tennis whites on Luke Wilson as well (brought tennis wear back for me). Everything about it was stylish.

(photo: thecia.com.au)

Shopgirl
Although I found seeing Claire Danes with Steve Martin a bit, uh, disturbing, I loved the movie. I have always loved Claire Danes and who doesn’t love Jason Schwartzman. What really hooked me, though, was the clothing that they put Mirabelle (Claire Danes) in. Flowers…I saw lots of flowers. Not just on the clothing, but in her apartment as well. It was definitely a stylistic theme. I loved the fact that she worked the glove counter at Saks. I loved Mirabelle’s art. It was an all around chic film…in an awkward way.

Me Without You
If you haven’t seen this film, please go out and see it as soon as possible. Deep meaning gives this film its guts, its glory. The acting by both Michelle Williams and Anna Friel was marvelous. This film is the one that made me realize that Michelle Williams was no longer the annoying, tongue-tied and squirming girl from Dawson’s Creek. Anyone who has had friends and family will get this movie. The fact that Stella McCartney did the wardrobe should also tell you how great the costumes are.
(photo: jackielee.freeserve.co.uk)

Marie Antoinette
This is a no-brainer. What fashion student does not love this movie? Who in their right mind does not appreciate the coolness of Sophia Coppola? Let’s see…Versailles…Rococo extravagance… Kirsten Dunst…all good things. Don’t even go into the music…. (photo: designfabulous.com)


The two movies that I can not watch due to their horrible, but realistic endings, but do appreciate for their gorgeous period costumes and settings are Sylvia, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig, and Atonement, with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. The fact that both movies have hot actors with even hotter love scenes does not interest me as much as the perfect-down-to-every-detail, 1940’s era clothing.

And before I close here, I just want to give a shout out to whoever came up with Judith Light’s outfit below on Ugly Betty (another great melding of TV and fashion). Bravo!

(photo: fanpop.com)

Food Fantasies

Everyone knows that fashion is not the only industry that has fads come through. Food is another major trendy industry. We've all experimented with the "ethnic cuisine du jour". In my adult lifetime I have seen Indian, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, and the Middle Eastern foods come into vogue. They are all good in their own right and well worth the taste bud journey.

(Hungarian restaurant in Toronto-www.blogto.com)

I also find it strange that some cuisines that are considered ethnic become staples in different cultures. Take America for instance- our staple ethnic cuisines are Italian, Mexican, and Chinese. This is obviously reflective of our immigrant populations. That is how a country gets its staple cuisines.

In the U.K. it is Indian. I also have seen a lot of Thai around Britain when I'm there. In Paris there are a lot of Middle Eastern and African restaurants. One of my best meals of all time was eaten in a little Senegalese restaurant in the Marais. These trends all represent the ethnic "flavor" of a country/culture. (Flavors of Peru catering, http://www.free-press-release.com/)

I would like to put forth a notion of some new food trends. I am bored by the same food tastes but with slightly different "twists". How about something Eastern European? Or maybe Peruvian, Argentinian? Something with an exotic flavor that is not of the Orient? How about something a little Icelandic? Bringing up one of my fav new shows- Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations- I remember seeing him in the Azores. They seem to have some pretty fresh food. How about something Portugese?

(Icelandic cuisine- www.restaurants.is)

I think I get bored easily and that is why I am always searching out what is "up and coming". That is also why I like to travel to places who see food differently than we Americans do. It is also one thing I like about my new fav travel shows (see entry below) because both hosts inevitably try out the food of each locale.

Let's ask more from our food. Let's ask for a journey of the taste buds, an exploration of the soft palette. It promises to be delicious.

Grown up Programming

I love to travel. No- I am COMPLETED by travel. My passion for the activity is so deep as to keep me in a constant state of cabin fever. I like to move, even if only on a day trip. I like to see, experience, feel. It was what I was made to do- record all of the things that I take in and observe and give them to others to share.

My favorite parts of travel are the random moments that are not planned or intended, but end up "making" your trip. For example, when I was in Paris I got to visit Sacre Coeur at night. Just as we entered the beautiful church, a mass began and we were treated to the sounds of gorgeous singing in French resonating around the domed insides of this basilica. It was one of those 'aha' moments that you hear about. It will stay with me forever.

We also witnessed student riots on the other side of the Luxembourg Garden gates. In fact, we were almost engulfed in the confusion and somewhat violent machinations of the French youth. On the opposite side of the spectrum, during the same trip, we came up out of the Metro into a parade down the Avenue de l'Opera. What we could glean from our surroundings was that it was college students celebrating a soccer event. It was jubilant and fun.

(picture: Sacre Coeur, personal photo)

Why am I discussing all of this? Well, I have been appreciating the programming on the Travel Channel a lot as of late. The reason is because they are showing this side of traveling that I enjoy so much.

(picture: students parading down Avenue de l'Opera, personal photo)

Take "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" for instance. This man, Anthony Bourdain, travels the world to the most far flung places, experiencing not just the food (a lot of it, at that), but the people, the culture, the ESSENCE of the places. He meets the real people that make these countries what they are at their cores- not the prepackaged spokespeople. Plus, while he is doing this meet & greet,-discussing real topics that are not only important to the people he meets, but that should be important to us- he is irreverant, witty, and honest. I love it!

A second show that I am enamored with is the Samantha Brown series. Okay, so she's kind of corny in her fresh-faced way, but she's also loveable. She is a girl from my own heart- she loves to see the off-the-beaten-path sites, the essential eateries that make a trip to a new place complete, and the type of "souvenir shopping" that I can really appreciate. This Brooklyn girl is a bit of a fashionista.

(photo: static.open.salon.com)

In conclusion, if this is the trend in travel programming, I'm there. I'm hooked, line, and sinker. If I can't leave my house because of my dwindling funds, at least I have great places to go from my couch.

(photo: podbean.com)

The Vampire Angst Horror

*Disclaimer: the following is MY opinion and my opinion ONLY. I do not begrudge someone their love of any of the subjects that I am discussing. Just don't bring them up with me unless you want to hear exactly what is written below. *

Okay- so sue me. I can not stand the new fascination with vampires that our country is experiencing. Saying this, I will admit openly and with pride that I was a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer back in the day. I also can claim to unabashedly love the Harry Potter series, as well as the subsequent movies that the books spawned. What is the difference? I'll tell you simply- I don't hold any illusions that I will find a man that is not only an immortal blood-sucker, but who also is all moral sweetness and brooding hotness. It doesn't exist people!!!!

I watched Buffy for the great writing and the characters that played so well off of each other (not for the corny villains and fight scenes). I love Harry Potter for its intricacies and well thought out plot, as well as characters that represent the best and worst of humanity. That said, I will explain why I loathe the supernaturals that are so big today.

I have read all of the Twilight books. I read them because I wanted to know what all the hype was about. I will say that after the first one, I was hooked, BUT as soon as I moved to the second book in the series, I became highly disappointed. I ended up reading all four, only so that I could say that I was not a quitter, but I became more and more displeased the further I got into this so-called saga.

Firstly, I don't like the references to how obsessed and crazy this girl is. We all know how unhealthy it is to be so dependent on someone that it almost kills you if they leave. Hello! What are we teaching our young girls about relationships in general? The Bella character's life revolves around one thing only- Edward. She does not have aspirations for a career or even college. All she wants is to be immortal with this hundred year old vampire. How pathetic and...boring. The second book was all about whining and wallowing and basically giving up on life because of a guy. Come on, people! Add on top of this the blatant chauvinism in the vampire world- did anyone else notice that only the men can "turn" people? No? Well, read harder. See past the syrupy love story that has ensnared so many pubescent and menopausal women.

I don't have time or the energy to go into the other two- True Blood (excuse to see dirty smut with Southern accents) and Vampire Diaries (throw a pair of fangs on the cast of 90210). In general, I like to let people have their guilty pleasures, HOWEVER, Twilight truly takes the cake. If I have to hear about Robert Pattinson and Kirsten Stewart one more time, I might ask to be bitten. As far as the money that it's raking in for the big, bad corporations that benefit from the desperation of our consumer-centric population, it sickens me even more.

Here are some of the products using the Twilight name that we don't need or are so irrelevant that it makes me wonder if we really are the smartest species:

Twilight perfume- What you get when you combine the smell of angst and menstration.

How about a water bottle that joyfully shows off your mental illness?

This last one is the best. This Christmas, put in all the little girls' stockings these Necco wafers that suggest that fondling deadly vampires is equivalent to eating little fruit flavored candies.

For all those I may have offended- tough crap! Someone had to say something eventually. (photos from buytwilightstuff.com and eonline.com)