Saturday, August 22, 2009

Coco Chanel

I've been feeling kind of sick these days, but now I'm all better and ready to tell you all about this pretty TV movie called Coco Chanel :) The reason why I'm telling you about it, is that you have probably seen Coco avant Chanel already.  And they're not the same movies although they both tell Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel's story.

I've seen this TV movie a couple of months ago on a Friday night when I was also feeling sick. I turned on the tv and as always they were doing all sorts of annoying gossipy shows,  when I saw that they were about to do a movie called Coco Chanel. I was quite skeptical and puzzled at the beginning, thinking that it can't be true because Coco avant Chanel was recently released in the cinemas so they can't air it on tv so soon. Then I figured out that it was a different movie :)

They're quite different though. Coco avant Chanel centers on the designer's life before becoming a famous designer, before Chanel . While Coco Chanel is a rather biographical movie that tells Gabrielle Chanel's story from her sad childhood to her fame, the way she started designing hats, how she opened her first boutique etc.  And I think that this TV movie worths seeing, I just loved all the details, how they showed the Coco creating her designs:



I really enjoyed this movie, and if you haven't seen it but you liked Coco avant Chanel with Audrey Toutou then you should try to make some time and see this movie too. It's absolutely beautiful! 

Young Coco Chanel is played by Barbora Bobulova and old Coco Chanel by Shirley MacLaine, they were both lovely!


If you do eventually see this movie tell me your opinion, though I truly believe you will love it just as much as I did.





Have a beautiful, beautiful weekend!

XoXo,

The Spoiled Feline




     

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

My 5 Guily Pleasures

First of all I want to thank Anya for this lovely Divine Award :

It's really special for me, because she made it herself & because I really admire her intelligence, great taste and talent. She also tagged me to write about my 5 guilty pleasures, so here I go:

1. Silk PJ's, I love the way silk feels on my skin and during unbearable hot summer nights there's nothing else that I'd rather wear. Last week I had a moment of weakness and of pure joy at the same time. I walked into Mango looking for nothing in particular, when I saw that they were selling silk pj's, yay! I was so happy! Though, I wish they would have had more colours and shapes. Anyway I was even more happy to see that they were on SALE! So, instead of paying 140€ (the original price) I only payed 39€, what a bargain, HA! I actually had to check the label twice ' cause I couldn't believe my eyes, but yes they are in fact 100€ silk :)

  

2. "The House Of Sleep"- by Jonathan Coe & "The Virgin Blue"- by Tracy Chevalier. I can't make up my mind, so my number 2 guilty pleasure includes both books. I love them both so much, I could read them over & over again.  

This book was recommended to me by a very special arty soul, that I appreciate a lot! 


"The House of Sleep is an intricate cat's cradle of a novel, full of both sly satire and oblique meditations on the interstices of love, sleep, memory, and dreams. The setting is Ashdown, a wind-swept old house by the sea that once provided university housing and now is home to a clinic for sleep disorders. During the early 1980s, a group of students meet here, united by little other than a curious preoccupation with sleep. They include Sarah, a narcoleptic who has trouble distinguishing her intensely vivid dreams from reality; her first boyfriend, the fussy egomaniac Gregory, who gets his kicks from pressing his fingers on Sarah's closed eyes; Terry, a film buff who sleeps at least 14 hours a day, dreaming blissful dreams he can never quite remember; and the sensitive Robert, who loves Sarah enough to do anything at all in order to have her. By a series of startling coincidences, the four are drawn back to Ashdown 12 years later, setting into motion a plot so carefully contrived it makes most thrillers look spare and impressionistic. Like a dream, The House of Sleep resonates with repeated images, phrases, even passages; here they serve as narrative glue for a complicated story that moves backward and forward in time and in and out of different points of view. The result is sometimes puzzling, always absorbing, and often very funny indeed. -Amazon.com Review"

I very much enjoyed this book. I also loved the fact that the chapters are named in descending order after the clinical stages of sleep and that all even number chapters tell the present events and the odd number chapters reveal the past(1980); this made me so anxious about the book that I wouldn't eat or do anything else in order to keep reading  :)

I truly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys reading! 



Tracy Chevalier's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was quite a success, nevertheless that's not my favorite Tracy Chevalier book . Actually I prefer both "Falling Angels" and of course "The Virgin Blue".

"When American Ella Turner moves with her husband to Lisle-sur-Tarn, a small town in southwestern France, she hopes to qualify to practice as a midwife as well as to start a family of her own. Instead she is disrupted by less-than-idyllic village life and strange dreams of the color blue. Haunted by sleepless nights, bewildered by her unwelcoming neighbors, Ella tries to forge a bond with her new home by investigating her French ancestors, with the help of seductive librarian Jean-Paul. Ella’s research takes her to the Cévennes, isolated mountains in the south and the birthplace of the Tournier/Turner family. 

16th-century peasant Isabelle du Moulin, known as La Rousse for her red hair, is suspected of witchcraft and tormented for her association with the Virgin Mary even after she and the rest of the village have converted to the “Truth” – the new Protestantism as preached by Calvin’s ministers. When she becomes pregnant, she has no choice but to marry into the powerful Tournier family. The Massacre of St. Bartholomew in Paris sends waves of persecution throughout France, and the Tourniers are forced to flee their home near Le Pont de Montvert for a new life in the Swiss town of Moutier. Old ways follow them there, however, and Isabelle's final shocking fate lies undiscovered — until Ella Turner's arrival four centuries later…"

The writer describes everything which such detail that you can see the little French pâtisserie's & taverene's right in front of your eyes. I was so enchanted and captivated by this book that I read it all in one a single day, although I was supposed to be studying for my exams at that time. What these 2 books have in common is that even and odd number chapters represent different time periods, in "The Virgin Blue" is the other way around though: even number chapters tell Isabelle's story (past) and odd number chapters tell Ella's story (present). 

If you are interested in this book you can find the first chapter (printable) right here: www.tchevalier.com/thevirginblue.
   

3. Red Lipstick, I simply adore red lipstick. I suppose it's because my mum has always worn red lipstick and she looks fabulous with it. But I must say that I've tried many many red lipsticks and somehow there was something that I didn't like about them, whether it was the smell, the texture, the packaging...I guess I'm just very picky with make-up.  I was so excited when I got the YSL Rouge Volupté in number 18 Red Taboo, but it really let me down, for a red lipstick it's too creamy & it won't stay on as much as it should, the colour is gorgeous though :( Same thing happened with the Chanel Rouge Allure in number 14 Passion: beautiful colour, beautiful packaging, but it still wasn't perfect...



Yet I'm very glad that I'm so picky, otherwise I would have been perfectly happy with these & I wouldn't have kept looking for perfection. I found the perfect red lipstick ( at least in my opinion), Dior's Diorific in number 013 Red Bingo/Roulette Red :) it's the pretties red lipstick ever. It smells great, it feels great and it looks even better. I give you my word on this lipstick, if you haven't tried it you should, I'm sure you'll love it. It's my little pride & shine :) and look at it it's like a jewel:


 4. Ice Cream, I think everyone shares this guilty pleasure :) I just love ice cream, I don't care if it's winter, summer or autumn I always enjoy ice cream. My favorite flavors though are mango & chocolate  yummmmmyyyy. Actually, I had an obsession with Ben & Jerry's Fudge Brownie.


5. Friends, and by friends I don't mean my own hahahah, I mean the series :) I believe that this is the best series ever & that is no possibility to make a better one. I've seen it SO many times that I know many lines by heart. I can just see it over and over and over... The characters are fabulous and the actors that play them as well.



In all series we tend to pick a favorite character, but in Friends they're all so great that I can't, I just love them all :)


And that's it, I hope you enjoyed reading this post, I definitely enjoyed writing it :)



A beautiful Wednesday to everyone!


XoXo, 

The Spoiled Feline




 

 

Monday, August 17, 2009

Summer Hair



Good morning everyone! 

This past days I've been going to the beach regularly and I just hate it when my hair is all sandy & salty. Besides, due to the fact that my hair is exposed to the sun every day it gets very sensitive. So, there are a few products that I absolutely NEED in order to keep my hair healthy & I thought I'd share these hair saviors with you :)

First of all, no matter whether I go to the beach/pool or not, every morning I spray some Schwarzkopf Professional Bonacure "SUN GUARDIAN". As well as I use UV-protection for my skin, I do it for my hair too.  BC SUN GUARDIAN with Solar Care Technology, Amino acid, Aloe Vera extract and specific UV-filters protect hair structure and maintain colour brilliance.

Result: UV-protection for healthy, supple hair for long-lasting beauty.

Application: Shake well to mix the 2 phases then spray onto hair. Do not rinse. 

It's a 200 ml bottle, but it goes a long way. I've been using it these summer months & the bottle isn't empty yet :)

After using this, I shower and I usually use the shampoo:

Although the truth is that right now I'm not using this shampoo because I ran out of it. Instead I'm using the Yes To Carrots Daily Pampering Shampoo (See previous posts). But I do love the SUN GUARDIAN shampoo :) it cleans my hair really well and it leaves it salt-free & shiny!

What I DO use now next to my UV-protection spray, is the SUN GUARDIAN treatment: 

Actually I've been using the Schwarzkopf SUN GUARDIAN for the past 3 summers. Yet they didn't sell any of the other products at the shop I usually buy hair stuff from until last year, when they sold the shampoo with the UV-protection spray & the treatment in a pack. That's when I discovered how much I need these products. The after-sun treatment may be rinsed-out or left-in, personally I don't really like leaving it in because it has a weird gel texture, and I hate gel in my hair.

Therapy: BC SUN GUARDIAN with Solar Care Technology. Treatment with amino acid and Aloe Vera extract for intensive reconstruction and rehydration of the hair.

Result: Healthy, moisturized hair with improved suppleness and shine for long-lasting beauty.

Application: Massage into towel-dried hair, rinse-out after 5-10 minutes (preferably 10) or leave in for more intensive moisturizing effect. 

I must say though that Schwarzkopf's professional Bonacure line of hair products is my ultimate favorite. But these products are salon exclusive so I can't advise you on where to buy them :( . I buy them at this little shop quite close to my house, where they only sell salon exclusive products. It's my favorite place to buy shampoos, conditioners etc.  Anyway, here's the site where you can get more information about all their products: 



www.schwarzkopf-professional.com  

&

www.henkel.us -for US residents 



If you tried any of these products, let me know your opinion  :)

A beautiful sunny day to everyone!



    xoxo, 

Spoiled Feline



    



Thursday, August 13, 2009

Public Enemies

Only one day left!!!

Tomorrow I'll be able to see Public Enemies, I'm so excited! I wouldn't have ever thought of making such a great screen couple: Johnny Depp (in the role of John Dillinger) & Marion Cotillard(in the role of Billie Frachette). Plus, handsome Channing Tatum plays Floyd, so with such a cast it MUST be a great film :)


But Marion Cotillard is my absolute favorite! She is the second woman ever to win an acting Oscar performing in a language other than English (for "La môme - La vie en rose").The other woman is, of course Sophia Loren.  Besides she has that certain "je ne sais quoi", that lovely smile and gorgeous eyes, just look how pretty she is! 

She also has the indisputable style of a French woman.

 


The first movie that I saw her in, was Taxi. Then I saw "Jeux d'enfants- Love me if you dare", movie that made my personal top 20 hahaha. And if I still had any doubt about Marion, she played Edith Piaf in "La môme- La vie en rose" and I was astonished. I must say that Edith Piaf's songs are so close to my heart. She has such a lovely voice, that it instantly reaches your soul. I remember that once I went skiing, and the radio was on, they were doing E Piaf's biography, it was an entire hour, perhaps 2 of her songs. I was 11 and I was so amazed by the power of her voice that I needed to have her CD, and I still have it right here on my desk :) . So seeing such a great actress playing the role of a great singer was absolutely amazing!! If you haven't seen this movie, you should! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzEJ7NV_g98 -here's the trailer of La môme.


But now there's this other movie coming out and I can't wait! I love Johnny Depp as well, so I'm anxious to see these lovely actors in the same movie. 


I don't want to reveal anything about the plot, I'll just leave you a link so you can see the trailer and other things about Public Enemies : www.publicenemies.net .

Tomorrow tomorrow, I love you tomorrow, You're only a day awaaaaaay!!!

Bet your bottom dollar, that tomorrow, I'll finally see the movie hahahah

A lovely day to everyone!






Saturday, August 8, 2009

Daisies



It is thought that the name "daisy" is a corruption of "day's eye", because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning.

In ancient Rome, the surgeons who accompanied Roman legions into battle would order their slaves to pick sacks full of daisies in order to extract their juice. Bandages were then soaked in this juice and then would be used to bind sword and spear cuts.

But more importantly (hahahah) they gave name to this wonderful perfume, that I'm more than in love with : "Daisy" - by Marc Jacobs.

This is definitely one of my favorite perfumes. When I put on this lovely scent, I always imagine that there's a tiny floral bouquet trapped in this black/golden bottle. So when I spray it on my neck I'm releasing some of those little daisies transformed in drops of heaven. It is a floral perfume but also a very fresh one, so it makes my mornings happier and it gives me loads of energy to start a positive day. 

The only thing that I don't like about it is that I can't get enough of it :)

Oh and talking about daisies, there's something else that I really really enjoyed : Pushing Daisies. It's a forensic fairy tale centered around a handsome pie-maker, who has the ability to bring the dead back to life. Unfortunately it had very only two seasons. Nevertheless, the series are different from any others that I've seen, it's a story book came to life. It even has a narrator (Jim Dale) that explains events with a very tender, soft voice that it made me feel like I was 5-years old again and my uncle was telling me a bed time story. And the pies that are made at the Pie Hole seem to be ¡¡delicious!! :) yummm...

So if you haven't seen any episode, I think you should! At least it's different from all detective series that are too alike. 



PS: I love the way Charlotte (the pie-maker's sweetie) is dressed all the time!!

I wish you all a beautiful weekend!

xoxo

www.daisymarcjacobs.com