A Matriarchal Society

You may or may not have realised by now that our Western societies are moving full-throttle into matriarchies. Their manifestations are multi-fold and encompass feminism, gender theories, identity politics, equal pay, and body positive movements, all facilitated by the PC brigade, mainstream media (MSM), social justice warriors (SJW), the one-way liberal free speech and the art of virtue signalling.

Plus model wife, mom and feminist Tess Holliday urges you to #effyourbeautystandards

Yes, we are firmly treading buzzword territory here, yet instead of shrugging it off as some passing fad, we should be worried because the rise of matriarchy goes hand in hand with the neutering of male masculinity, which historically has led to system failure and societal collapse.
 
Change agents are at play in the remodelling of the West that we used to know as kids, into a new paradigm that seems at odds with traditional values: you are not losing the plot, this is all part of Cultural Marxism! It all looks good and promising in theory though - superficially - giving us the impression that we are moving into an egalitarian, fair, sustainable and empowered society. But take a harder look and you will see for yourself that we are moving into a fractured society instead.

Glamour model, drama queen, mum and a loose woman who rules her roost: Katie Price

A matriarchy is a society ruled by women, as opposed to a patriarchy, a society ruled by men. More broadly so, a matriarchy is characterised by female dominance over a family (microcosm), a corporation, government, or society at large (macrocosm).

Here is what to expect from a modern matriarchal society and note that we have already ticked every box of it:

• Emphasis is placed upon the individual within society, for their own personal needs and aggrandisements to be met: me, myself and I! Selfies galore testify to the obsessed, narcissistic reflection that has been promoted, encouraged and engineered. The quest for fickle, instant, brief fame is on.
• Permissiveness in society and emancipation of women are emphasised and blown out of proportion, misleading the young, the gullible and the confused into believing that with nothing being sacred anymore, all taboos being lifted, you can just behave any way you want, without repercussion! A society that lets go of its moral compass, that operates without bearings, and whose rules and goal posts of virtue are always shifting, is dysfunctional. Paragons of virtue, a thing of the past!
• A society run on emotion and feelings instead of reason, pragmatism and logic, makes it volatile and unpredictable!
• Questioning men's traditional role within a couple/ family, as the head of the household, bread-winner, protector, nest builder and DIYer. Questioning and attacking manhood, misinterpreting it as machismo. Men have it tough as it is nowadays: no male role models or mentors who can help shape their formative years (absent fathers, no close family members, fairweather friends, peer pressure, Mcjobs, unemployment, etc.). Compulsory military service used to bring structure, obedience, independence and used to be a rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. Besides the collapse of christianity and fragmentation of communities has also led men astray. Meanwhile equal pay between man and woman in the workplace is not a sign of equality; it is falsely empowering the woman by disempowering the man. It is also sending a signal high and clear that men are no longer considered bread-winners of the family and may be dispensed with. Patriarchal values are shaken up and belittled.
• Breaking up the traditional man-woman family set-up and ruling it out under this newfound no-holds-barred permissiveness is a sure way to undermine both the male and the female, and break down family values once and for all. We run the risk of ending up with generations of confused kids who come from test tubes and surrogacy, plus those who suffer the consequences of divorces and illicit affairs. They will have no idea who their biological parents are. Such a confusion erases in effect personal family history: no more lineage, no more anchorage, no more roots, no more identity.
• Promoting the gender-neutral agenda to kids: deterring little girls from looking girly (no more pink skirts and flowery cardigans!) and little boys from exclusively playing boys games (electric trains, football, etc.).

Neither male nor female: YouTube beauty sensation Jeffree Star

• Metrosexuality, androgyny, and asexualisation: ultimately what we are witnessing is a blurring of the physical, cosmetic, societal, and moral characteristics between male and female. This comes to light as artificial intelligence and the increased robotisation/ automation of our lives are coming into force. We are losing the humane side of our human selves and turning bionic. Transgenderism is part of the transience of modern society.
• Beauty standards are retuned and redefined. Sexualisation of pre-pubescent girls and boys on catwalks, fashion advertorials and in the entertainment industry. A body positive attitude towards obesity and its polar opposite might sound encouraging yet this brushes aside health implications and moral issues; it encourages the individual to pursue their hedonistic or punitive ways, not to aim for a balancing act. Sports and entertainment personalities are turned into heroes and role models (the Kardashians, here we go!) and given status and airtime. 
• Empowering the odd and the misfit: as harsh as this sounds, it is true. Anything goes, a woman can be fat and sloven, tarted up like a tart, tattoed up like a sailor, swearing like a trooper, polyamorous (new spiel for promiscuous), woman one day and man the next, working traditional men jobs (as an army chief, a miner or a roofer for instance), proudly sporting body hair as a badge of honour! A woman is given permission to be unwomanly. Shun at your peril and the little SJW worms will crawl out of the woodwork to give you an earful!
•  A lenient judicial system that fails to protect traditional values and puts women at risk, victimising the victim: 'She was wearing a skirt, walking home late at night, she was looking for trouble'.
•  Any cultural incompatibility is played down instead of being addressed. Thus the incompatibility between a matriarchy and an ideology that is intolerant towards women's rights and liberties (ex: Islam), this being exacerbated under the West's open-border policy and lenient immigration legislation.

When males have been stripped out of their masculinity, of their role within society, they are left with nothing but asserting their masculinity through derisive cosmetic enhancement: bushy beards and tattoos. Enough said.

Men and women shouldn't be competing against each other no matter what. They are biologically different. Men's built and musculature naturally means that they are more suited to physical tasks than women; they also are more pragmatic in their approach to life's problems.

Likewise women tend to have an attention to detail and an ability to multi-task and empathise that men do not quite get and this is fine. Biologically-speaking, men are the hunters-gatherers (providing food and shelter) and women the nurturers (looking after the home and kids). There should be no reason for a battle of the genders in the name of fighting sexism. Men and women complete each other. Within the partnership, women bring sensitivity to men's sensibility and vice versa. Equality is about complementarity of the fortes and the highly-strung feminists out there who are pushing ahead with matriarchy are failing to recognise this.


Further Reading on Cultural Marxism:

• The Frankfurt School and the War on the West, by Bill Muehlenberg
• The Frankfurt School, Western Subversion by Design, by Smash Cultural Marxism

InstaGlam - Dolce & Gabbana

Welcome to LBM and Mirabelle's brand new series, InstaGlam, which explores brands that celebrate the beauty of life on Instagram! We start off on a strong and vibrant note with Italy's dynamic fashion duo, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

D&G Alta Moda Collection, AW2015-16

There is something warm and generous about the Dolce & Gabbana brand, a little like a seasoned Italian mama: warm, spicy, friendly, coquettish, hands-on, streetwise and nurturing all at once. And no better way to appreciate it than via Instagram, where both D&G and Stefano Gabbana go beyond the call of fashion duty to share inspiration.

D&G Alta Gioielleria, Palazzo Gangi Valguarnera, Palermo

It is a sunny, vibrant, joyful, technicolor celebration of life, where the D&G man, woman and child lust for life. It is a far cry from certain couture houses out there that have a clinical, rigid, no-frills, monochrome approach to fashion and lifestyle, season after season. D&G is actually more than a fashion brand, it is a lifestyle umbrella.

Elements of nature, religion (Alta Moda Collection), tradition, artistry, and couture wizardry combine their threads to compose a tapestry of covetable craftsmanship with faerie-like, romantic, folklore and bohemian accents. Much detailing and ornementation are at play and those wearable works of art manage to pique our curiosity and send a message to those fast and furious fashion creators who have sent the high street bland and drab.

In our troubled times of transience and fickleness, and under the globalised aseptised world that elites are pushing us towards, D&G spells Italian heirloom, old money, oodles of originality, opulence and a waff of quirky flamboyance, not to mention an ode to cultural enrichment through the rediscovery of culture. In other words, they bridge past and future, like their flagship retail store on Via Montenapoleone in Milan.



Moreover D&G does not rest on their laurels. Their marketing and brand management is savvy, edgy and responsive. When a couple of months ago D&G faced a backlash due to their supporting US First Lady Melania Trump who proudly and consistently wears their outfits, Stefano Gabbana, a fervent admirer of Melania's style and persona, responded to his detractors boldly. He pre-empted any call for boycott on their part by actually launching a... #BoycottD&G campaign through social media as well as a matching tee-shirt range! No adverse publicity, just a smart move; what appeared risqué at first immediately brought limelight, coverage, and ultimately served the brand in a positive fashion! Well done!

D&G is fashion that sings and flutters and seduces like the Italian language itself. This is fashion lifestyle by a life-loving duo, and you can feel, breathe and eat it all you like! Bellissima pasticceria della moda!

D&G Sneaker Patches

Espadrilles with Attitude

My love of espadrilles knows no limit: I would be lost without them! They are my essential Corsican Summer footwear, inside and outside. I don't just wear them, I wear them out: a pair lasts me a season (sometimes less according to the quality/ finnish or the wear and tear I put them through). When I lived in colder climes I would wear espadrilles essentially at home during the Summer in lieu of slippers (much more pleasant) and out, weather permitting. My love story goes back a long way: I first started wearing them as an 8-year-old, if I remember right, and have been wearing them year upon year ever since.

My pair of Little Marcel espadrilles, which I have worn a few times...

Talk about versatility: espadrilles are available in every colour and pattern under the sun, from basic white to coastal blue, via chintzy Liberty fabrics, warm Catalogne/ Basque Region stripes, pastel shades and polka dots... Along the way, fashion designers have pimped up the pump with gusto: dressed up in leather, adorned with sequins, laced up, filigreed in gold, propped up with a wedge heel... Anything goes.

'Madcarina' Wedge by Christian Louboutin: espadrille-inspired braided rope and a chic turban twist toe detail

Espadrilles are a social leveller in my book. Everyone can afford them at their most basic. Their understated chic makes them preppy, while their vivid colours and bold patterns lend a boho vibe. Their restrained Summery look makes them resort. Their overall design makes them as comfy as a pair of no-frills sneakers. Depending upon their colour and the way you wear them, you could get away with wearing them at church, at a town hall meeting, at the doctor's surgery or a garden party without anyone blinking an eyelid. Just dress up your attire and lend a little sassiness and confidence to your step.

'Vogue 125' Sandals by Soludos

I doubt orthopedists would recommend the regular wear of espadrilles because in all honesty their canvas upper and basic jute sole combo does not support the feet adequately like a pair of good quality flats would. Though for pottering around the house and garden, running a few errands, driving, and walking down the beach and back, they cannot be faulted. Despite the fact that I do routinely walk miles in them (flattish urbanised terrain of roadside and pavement - and the occasional dirt track), I wouldn't expect anyone to trek rocky terrain in those: this is not what they are made for! Consider the espadrille a week-ender, a city slicker with a garden for countryside, not a country lass per se.

SoludosⓇ for J.Crew Espadrilles in Chambray

Despite their very basic no-frills construction (no Air Max technology, ergonomics or air-cushioned soles here folks!) and their identical right foot/ left foot, espadrilles are comfortable for what they are, then again strictly for dry Summertime (not weatherproof unless you upgrade to the Sea Star Beachwear Beachcomber Espadrille) and to be worn on flat terrain. Their canvas upper makes them tempered and breathable. So no nasty sweats like you would with plastic beach sandals or even with the not-so-innocent flip-flops.

'Elisa' Espadrille Wedges by Tory Burch

The sole is natural woven jute (which absorbs perspiration like a dream), usually with a thin rubber underside, and sometimes with the insole lined in canvas (which I recommend because it will make your walking experience more comfortable).

'Baja' Satin Espadrilles by J.Crew

Espadrilles, especially if worn daily over a whole Summer, will harden the soles of your feet, yet by the same token you will never get a blister wearing those little darlings: bonus for a carefree Summer and to keep those tootsies in tip-top condition!

'Joanne' Embroidered Espadrilles, by Polo Ralph Lauren

Espadrilles are affordable if you are looking for basic ones (less than €10.00/ $11.50/ £8.80). But how high can you go in price? I mean some of those featured here are pimped up, dressed up variants, still reasonable in price and they may last the distance by a few more miles than the standard espadrille.

Wearing my (now worse for wear) Mellow Yellow Liberty Espadrilles on the beach with Tickle!

Espadrilles are essentially still manufactured in their locale of origin, the Pyrenees, Catalogne and French and Spanish Basque region. China and Bangladesh now produce them too. Regardless of how you look after them, one downside is that overall quality can be flaky, and funnily enough I find that this is not dependent upon the country of origin. The weakest link is the stitch that frays and comes undone and/ or poor-quality fabric that gives way and/ or splits in the big toe area or the heel... 

The Chut Charlotte espadrille atelier in the French Pyrenees

Espadrilles are flats with attitude regardless: versatile, slip-on, unisex, easy-going and still able to pull a dressed-up look together. They are comfy but not sloppy, and no matter how much you put them through their paces, they shall never lose that vacational, continental, sun-kissed, sand-filled, sea-salt-stained mojo!

Watch Out, There's a Hipster in Your Coffee!

I can't quite figure out how it came about. As my spoon cuts into the foam of my cappuccino and the cocoa constellation dissipates into the milky way of my cup, I look up across the packed out café and smile absent-mindedly. I vividly remember the turning point. At the turn of the millennium, the coffee revolution took us almost unawares and I welcomed it with open arms and a big kiss. In one swell swoop, it swept aside the shameless kettle and Nescafé combo, the gritty coffee pot at work whose treacle-like substance would be laced with lashes of full fat milk and a spoonful of sugar to tone the bitterness and general malevolence. The conservative coffee machine would not fare any better either if you were to self-proclaim coffee maestro. And tumble would the slightly higher-brow cafetière (French Press) that only ever had pride of place in those households that vacationed in France and Italy.

The London Coffee Festival 2015

At that point, coffee had ceased to be that monochrome, low budget, one-dimensional, nonchalant affair, black or white, one sugar, no sugar. Strong and you call it espresso like you're in the know. Weak and you call it Americano, once again if you want to flaunt your two words of Italian (three if we add 'pizza').

The London Coffee Festival

Coffee would be and it would be much more: a coffee named desire. Coffee was going to finally exist, express itself, albeit with attitude and a price tag that yells out indulgence. The Italian vocabulary would expand, and be re-invented should its linguistics become suddenly too limitative. Enter Frappuccino, the foam-at-the-mouth, shirty, expansive creation that makes the paltry espresso look like a size zero, deflated, monastic model. Savvy marketers gave themselves carte blanche to jazz up, sex up, amplify and yuppify coffee and make it indispensable under its new guises. Under the new paradigm, coffee became art creation, indulgence, a liquid brunch - and a neat, no-questions-asked multi-billion-dollar endeavour at the check-out.

The London Coffee Festival North 2016

The revolution would redefine coffee to the point where it would take a long sentence to define your drink to the barman, sorry the garçon, sorry the barista. Just so you can listen to yourself saying it in that all-knowing encompassing 'I'm in the club' way while the punter behind you in the queue quietly rehearses their prose before their grand finale, a brief, sudden verbal diarrhea of a purchasing interjection, cured by a fancy drink that costs a pretty penny.

The London Coffee Festival North 2016

Along with that morning white that suddenly became a long Ethiopian roast skinny decaff latte, the staff behind the counter would be redefined too. Enter Barista, full steam ahead, the busy body that is all arms, concentrated like a strong coffee! They whizz their magic within a few square feet perimeter on the other side of the counter like a storm in a teacup, precise, repetitive movements, attached to shiny expensive machinery with pumps and gaskets, and through the steam, the pulls and the metallic thuds, you would be forgiven to believe they're operating the Orient Express. They add the drama that you bought and paid for to your humble cup, tick boxes and scribble ancient codes on it, spin a thousand variants and combinations around coffee like they're the key to the Graal's safe, so many of them, they've morphed into algorithms. They froth up a hot beverage like a coiffeur teases a curl, with painstaking dedication. And if the impermanence of coffee art weren't fleetingly irrelevant, you have latte art to ponder about.




Now to the crux of the coffee is that correlation of late between fancy, jazzy, niche-market coffee from the café in the know, and the hipster. If we are to believe the hype, it's being percolated to us like it's non-negotiable.

Coffee has become art and science, especially in its percolation. Coffee is edgy: it has become the new absinthe. And in its heyday, absinthe was the poison of choice to the creative mind losing its mind in the buvettes of Montmartre. Modern creatives or wannabe creatives display their edge by drinking connoisseur coffee, a safer healthier option! They still look like the 1890s never quite went away, bar for the rolled-up sleeves displaying elaborate tattoos on their forearms. They wear the bushy beard, checkered shirts, suspenders. Unroll the sleeves to hide those arms, and the chaps wouldn't be out of place on those long-forgotten family photos circa 1890. But why, oh my, did fancy coffee and hipster become an item, if only for the fact that both are stuff of a fashion trend? I doubt I will eat my words on this one: fancy coffee will outlive the hipster but for the time being, chance is you'll spot them together like two coffee beans in a pod behind the counter, about to squeeze into that ristretto.




Hurry up if you wish to catch a gulp (sorry, a slice) of the action! The London Coffee Festival is taking place in a couple of days, 6th to 9th April, Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London.

The Art of Slow Blogging

Recently I came across an interesting and thought-provoking post by Kate O'Sullivan @ A Playful Day that mused over the Art of Slow Blogging. The topic instantly resonated with me... and my blogging style which happens to bear a close resemblance to the art form. Thus it was both flattering and encouraging for me to find out that the methodology - Movement even! - had been acknowledged by insiders within the blogging community!

I started blogging over six years ago - in earnest. But I had started the journey a few weeks prior, writing a dozen posts in advance, all collated together in a Word document. I published my posts at the rate of one a day. Meanwhile I knew I should be pacing myself but in those early weeks, blogging fever had taken over me! I never ran out of ideas or material or steam. Then just before Christmas 2009, I changed lives and I moved countries, and blogging had to take a back seat for a while. Yet I missed blogging so bad, I pined for it! When I finally managed to settle into a routine a few months later, I resumed the blogging, after writing a series of ready-to-be-published articles behind the scenes. I knew nonetheless that the daily post formula would not be a viable option.

Besides I had high standards and high expectations of myself, and I wanted blogging to remain an enjoyable experience - keep the flame alive - not having it turned into a chore. My priority was for content quality to improve consistently, presentation to be on a par with professional blogs out there, and topics to be more and more daring. And to me, aside from a few notable exceptions, those bloggers who deliver daily tend after a while to run out of creative steam, or get too comfortable and start cutting corners, getting sloppy, giving the finer details the shoulder, and discussing the same topic over and over, under a different title, and ripped off Pinterest pictures, for the sake of the daily publish. Or turn the daily post into the daily mall, with a shopping list and a wish list to boot that link to a list of affiliates that kerchings blogging out! The Art of Blogging, in all its capital letter glory, falls off the wayside. All you get is a series of images, and a bit of lame text that painfully stretches the distance from side bar to side bar, flashing with retail links. This leaves us readers in search of 'substance' questioning our loyalty to material that is not worth our while (anymore).

My prerogative has always been to keep my integrity of spirit and keep writing from the heart, and alongside this, develop further as a writer, and eventually move towards a non-fiction book project. In the meantime, as a blogger I choose to pace myself in order to have the time that helps me deliver quality. Slow does it for me. But careful, slow is not lazy! It might be so in relation to certain bloggers, but those won't last the distance. The slow I am on about, you need to allegorically associate it to the Slow Food Movement, that rediscovers the traditional way of cooking honest, simple food and sharing it in a convivial, nourishing and paced fashion. Slow is crucial to a stew or a fine cheese or a good wine. The produce takes a little longer in the making, it needs that little extra time and loving care in order to come together and mature and deliver taste. Good things come to those (readers) who wait and to those (bloggers) who take their time to write them. This creates a synergy.

Forget about the stats. I might not be writing a post a day, but rest assured that every single one of them is no casual affair. It takes me a fair amount of time to put together. Some posts require me to push the envelope further as they involve research that may span weeks. But in every case, I enjoy the process and I can safely say without sounding pretentious that all of my posts convey a message, provide food for thought, and give lifestyle that little edge of attitude. This, to me, is the recipe for a blog to last the distance - and what Slow Blogging is/ should be about.

Thanks from the bottom of my heart for reading and appreciating my blog! This means a lot to me.

High standard & high expectations meet slow blogging for this post about #themakersyear via @MirabelleDesign https://t.co/FhJbW5wS5p

— A Playful Day (@aplayfulday) March 9, 2016

@MirabelleDesign Slow blogging, akin to slow food movement. I agree wholeheartedly! @aplayfulday

— Mrs M (@meg_e_r) March 9, 2016

Rose & Gold for Valentine

Valentine's Day is an invitation for LBM to feature some pretty homeware pieces that incorporate topical pink and gold/ brass in their subtle shades. I chose subtle because we don't always like our colours to go bright and overboard, especially those as powerful and statement-prone as pink and gold. Because most of us do not want our shrines to resemble the Barbie dollhouse or Barbara Cartland's boudoir or Liberace's quarters. I am aware of some lifestyle bloggers out there who make (bright) pink their statement colour but in general terms, subtle goes a longer way as it defies trends and defines longevity.

Lace Cheeseboard in Rose by Suite One Studio

Those pieces here, touch with your eyes or get inspired further and leave a hint for your beloved to purchase. Or just summon the power and go treat yourself! Those items are not just for Valentine's by the way; they will equally suit a forthcoming bridal shower, wedding party, housewarming do, anniversary celebration and other family engagements!

P.S: If you are single and Valentine makes you look away, treat yourself to being your own Valentine and fix yourself a 'Me Date'. Get yourself a bunch of flowers (or a plant), a box of your favourite chocolates, and cosy up at home for a night in with yourself. First have a nice relaxing bath, then snuggle up on the couch to catch up with that great movie/ documentary you'd been meaning to watch, or immerse yourself into a good book. If you fancy your solo self to go social, schedule a night in around a lovely home-cooked meal with a posse of those single friends of yours!

As for the coupled up, Valentine's Day should be a reminder of what every day should be like: filled with mutual love, respect, praise and appreciation! In other words, every day should be Valentine's Day. And that doesn't cost a thing!

Burlap Tray in Rose with Gold Stripe by Suite One Studio

Gold-Dipped Ceramic Cake Serving Set by BHLDN

Vintage Copper Chocolate Bar Molds (Made in England, c.1850), by Coppermill Kitchen via Food52

Brass Money Clips by SIN, via Food52

Birdy Side Table (detail) by Urban Outfitters

'Two Peas in a Pod' Greeting Card by Rifle Paper Co.

Thank you @baguettemagique - we love this post! https://t.co/iUC5go8WTN

— Lindsay Emery (@SuiteOneStudio) February 4, 2016

Santa Fe Way

When you feel sizzled to a jalapeño on fire, and the colours on your photography have discoloured to a shimmy on the horizon line... When your day is air-conditioned, with a view over next door's dusty empty pool, and the desert heat beats down your windows like vacuumed into the cooling pipes... When Georgia O'Keeffe's desert flowers are as freshly-picked as Heaven on your mind, and Bananarama's Cruel Summer drifts from the radio to you like a whiff of sticky cotton candy from the fun-fair down the road... Somehow my friend, you are heading Santa Fe way.

Source: All photography La Baguette Magique, except (4). From top down: (1) Mr. Tickle prancing on the bed, all "dandified" in his recently-acquired pareo! (2) A handful of dried bougainvillea bracts reveal their inflorescence... and their decorative power. (3) If Piña Colada were to be a candle, it probably would resemble this one, from French retailer Monoprix. (4) 'Rose', oil on board painting by Georgia O'Keeffe (1957). (5) Small ceramic 'Sunshine' bowl by Chehoma. (6) Wild euphorbia, northern Corsica. (7) Ladies, feel fresh and fabulous with 'Jasmin' eau de toilette by French perfume house Fragonard. (8) The Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta) in my parents' garden is growing new leaves. They start off soft as baby skin, before going spiky! (9) Set for the beach - and the desert heat - in my stunning 'Capri' Tunic in Coral Woodblock by Stella & Dot! Still packaged up but not for long! (10) "My name is Tickle, not Tiki! Let's just forget about that pareo!" OK, Tick-Tick! Now come on, let's go to the beach!

P.S: If you have a Pinterest account, do check out this excellent Georgia O'Keeffe pinboard.

Total Recall - Media Comms

Looking at our most recurrent blogpost themes, media & communications may not be a hot topic as such but it actually doesn't fare too bad... So I thought I would dig in deep and dig out some oldies but goldies for us to revisit on our Total Recall Day 5:

Do we still need to say who she is? (pict source)

• Your Personal Brand Image (23/04/2013) >> It is wrong to assume that only public figures have a brand image to protect. So do we! And this is even more acutely so in the here and now, with social media galore that encourage us to go above and beyond the call of duty and dish out indiscretions about ourselves and members of our circles...
• Inspire Aspire - Ladies Who Launch (11/02/2013) >> We all know how the internet is a formidable invention and how it has helped us connect to people the other side of the world we wouldn't otherwise have heard of in real time. Astrologer Kelley Rosano, business entrepreneur Jody Jelas and business lifecoach Marie Forleo are three of these wonderful people I got to discover, and have followed ever since on YouTube.
• No Labels (04/09/2012) >> Language has gone sloppy, over the top and suddenly "everything is great!" Or is it - literally - that great? Come on click on the link - you know you want to - if only to feast your eyes on that Camaro SS!
• Google Me, Google You! (07/03/2011) >> What's in a name? Better to take it with humour, eh?!
• Dear Car Crash TV (12/01/2011) >> Oh I can hear the snidey remarks and all that slack from the more discerning TV audiences, and *huh* OK it's only cheap fly-on-the-wall entertainment verging on reality TV, but come on, we all crave fluff and sugary nosh (at least) once in a while, be it cos it's time of the month for us laydees (we need to take it easy on the brain then, don't we?), or cos that's simply all we want to feed upon (as we do with a whole tub of ice-cream or entire pack of biscuits)! So pass me the sugar, honey, and let's get that no-brainer of a programme on!

Thanks for sticking around, guys, and don't forget we're on Total Recall until this Sunday! See you tomorrow for episode 6 of 8!

Feeling Ombré

If you and I have never met in person and you don't know me that well (apart from via this blog), here's two little known facts about me: I am a hairdresser/ hairstyling manufacturer's dream come true, and I reckon I've had every shade of colour from blonde to black since I have been experimenting with colour aged 18.

Controversial as Courtney (pict source)

I've also had every length of hair conceivable, from Pixie cut à la Michelle Williams to long and thick brunette ponytails à la Lara Croft (Angie Jolie), via crazy grungey hairdos à la Courtney Love and urban gothic Christina Scabia. I've had every style under the sun too: from the Rachel cut (Jennifer Aniston in 'Friends'), to the straightened out Japanese-stylee, via crazy curls, multi-layered lowlight beach bleached look, chavvy big rolls up, 1960s back-combed bouffants à la Brigitte Bardot or classic ballerina chignons. As a student I did a stint of hairstyle modelling. I reckon I had all the credentials to up it by moving to Paris and turn my pastime hair modelling into a career. But I chose to move to the UK instead to embark into art school and that was more kinda cool and edgy!

These days I'm much more sedate as far as hairstyle goes, although I started off 2012 with a radical haircut after years of mainstream comfort zone shoulder-length. I'm now growing my hair back and I've embraced the ombré colour technique, shifting my hairdresser loyalties through the process as I am still to reach colour contentment. The main issue it seems is to stabilise the colour against sunlight and sea salt. Haha yeah I'm talking beach culture like I mean it but ermm I do happen to live by the seaside, no kidding!

Ombré starts off dark at the crown of the head and gradually goes paler as you move to the tip of the hair. But as I said, my gradience (if such a word exists!) tends to fade uniformally quick and so does the radiance! I'm confident that eventually I'll manage to find the right hairdresser with the right dosage, and until then I'm afraid you'll need to content with other models' photos!

Rachel Bilson (photo by Jeff Vespa via Harper's Bazaar)

(Pict source)

(Pict source)

Bare Face Summer Fresh

As we are already nearing the end of August, it feels like Summer is slipping away through my fingers like the sand of the beach I'm sat on but it's still time to celebrate the fun, the joy of this happy season! Happy it surely is when you are blessed to live in warm climes like I am, on an island (even better!) and a five-minute jog from the closest beach (bonus! Yet sorry to rub it in!). And I thought I would do a quick round-up of my beauty routine...

(Pict source: uncredited via Pinterest)

I guess you could call me a beach babe although I guess the babes in Malibu, Kuta or Bondi Beach adhere to the beachy lifestyle more than I do. I own neither a surf board nor a beach hut, and the days of me spending 12 hours non-stop on the beach/ in the sea are a thing of the past. Even so, I make sure I wear SPF30 all year round, including during those drizzly Winter months. I got round the idea of wearing serum (been doing it for 5 years now) for extra protection, and especially to keep those sun spots at bay but this is a different story!

As a general rule, I hardly ever sunbathe, as I don't fancy the idea of turning into a wrinkly old prune and I am not a fan of the sunbaked look. I am fortunate enough to catch the sun fairly easily anyway and enjoy a subtle sunny glow even if staying out of the sun, courtesy of those 25% of mediterranean genes that make up my DNA, yay!

I always wear good quality sunglasses whenever the sun is out, more for eye protection than out of vanity (erm OK I actually love sunglasses!), but I would recommend you do the same, as UV rays damage eyesight and repeated blinking/ frowning accelerate the ageing process around the eyes!

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I go easy on the 'maquillage' (make-up) mostly because this less-is-more approach fits in with my lifestyle as a beach babe and country girl. When I lived in the big smoke and worked in an office I was suited and booted and made up but this was in my previous life, right? The barely there approach means that I've downsized my make-up bag dramatically and I only keep a few capsule items: YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch magic highlighting concealer, nude lipglosses (from Urban Decay to Bobbi Brown, Clinique and Biguine). I am a fan of enhancement and enlightenment, which means Benefit High Beam luminescent complexion enhancer is my kinda make-up genius. All I do is dab it with my fingers just below the eyebrow arch, but also lightly down the T zone, the cheeks, or wherever my face needs a bit of an uplifting light effect.

I'm not saying I don't have more quirky pieces in my handbag. I happen to be a big fan of creamy iridescent green eyeshadow, which complements brown eyes beautifully, or sometimes go heavy-handed with the brown eyeliner if I fancy a 1960s doe eye look, or smudge it into a smokey eye effect if I'm in the mood for an edgier look. Yet generally I have come to love the no make-up make-up look, or even a make-up free face. As long as you take care what you put in your body, drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, look after your skin, wear a flattering hairstyle and make sure your eyebrows stay in a good uplifted shape, there is nothing wrong with the make-up-free face. At least you are not afraid/ intimidated of showing who you are to the world, you are just being you and that is the most important thing. Be happy to be you! Happy Summer everyone!

Minka Kelly (pict source)

Find out more of what makes me tick in the beauty department, from my Pinterest board! Check out 10 Steps to Flawless Looking Skin by Pixiwoo, 'No Make-Up' Make-up Tutorial by Lisa Eldridge, and How to Find the Perfect Nude Lip Colour by Wayne Goss (gossmakeupartist).

Hey, There is ONE Great Reason to Smile About!

OK, so NO you cannot change the world, but YES you can change YOUR world. You can change your world one step at a time, one habit at a time, one vision at a time, and make it a fairer place. Do your bit, recycle/ upcycle, reuse, go vegetarian/ vegan if only for one day a week, buy organic food whenever possible, grow your own fruit and veg, limit/ ban the use of chemicals at home, have principles as a consumer and stick to them (ex: not purchase bananas from banana republics, boycott unethical companies, never wear fur), pick up random plastic waste from the beach everytime you go for a walk (think of all those grateful sea creatures!), give a rescue pet a chance by adopting it, turn someone's junk into a treasure, get creative with those discarded wood pallets!

DIY Reclaimed pallet wood sign (pict source)

Swallow your vanity a notch and skip those designer coffees on the go served in styrofoam cups, and get extra mileage out of your existing mobile phone instead of rushing down the bandwagon to the latest all-singing all-dancing smartphone... Remember - what is trendy in the moment will be out of trend in the moment that follows (erm that's roughly within a week of purchase!).

Huh, I'm not asking you to be(come) boho, by the way - am I 'eck? Just to do your little bit by stretching slightly out of your comfort zone (no bungee jumping involved!) to show the planet that you DO care. I know you do.

And remember, a collective of little bits, that's a whole lot of a big bit! Ingenious!

Fancy a Brazilian?

Now ladies, I wouldn't blame you for thinking I was on about that type of Brazilian... Anyone of those would surely brighten up a dull day?

Hot under the collar? Brazilian fashion model Isac Fioravante, photographed by Martin Traynor

But before some of you might be tempted to entertain Certificate 18 desires with the aforementioned, please allow me to clarify my thoughts on the subject. The type of Brazilian I am on about, although as likely to raise eyebrows as the hottie above, is more likely to be found in a beauty salon than on Praia de Ipanema... Get it? Oh yes!

And yes it is painful too. Rest assured, no hearts are broken over this one though, not even the bank, as you can expect on average to pay £20.00 for the service. Haha, no innuendoes please! How did I encounter my Brazilian (wax) experience? Well, this is mildly humorous actually and I thought this would be great blog post material! So here we go... (Don't worry, for the small print section, I shall be mindful of sensitivities and treat the subject with all due respect. Yet I shall not be held responsible for any innuendoes or unintentional puns and play on words, blink blink!).

For a few years now, I had been having a bikini wax everytime I went to the salon, as an extension of my leg session, and regardless of whether I was off to a beach holiday or not. I did it for myself, it's just the thing that finishes off your look, that makes you comfortable in your own skin. Thing is, a bikini wax is fairly conservative in its hair zipping method. You might wear that tanga on the day that gives you high leg definition and get the beautician to eradicate those sparse stragglers. Looking back, it was nothing earth-shattering although it did feel like it at the time!

Pict source: South Beach Swimsuits

Things started to change after my move from foggy Manchester to Corsica-on-the-Med, where my definition of bikini wax became slightly offcentre. The beautician would pull that brief up, get me to open my legs in earnest, because the likelihood is, living on an island with some of the hottest Summers in Europe, you are bound to nip down to the beach and expose some flesh, and you want to avoid any possible embarrassment. That's how my hairline from down there started receding, and actually I didn't complain, save for a bit of pain.

One night, bored online, I started clicking on different beauty videos (as you do), and I stumbled across one that explained what a Brazilian wax entails. Of course I had heard of those before but thought they were relegated somehow to those Certificate 18 industries and since pole dancing or a revisit of Debbie Does Dallas were never gonna be on my agenda, Brazilian was one wax strip too far for me. Anyway the description from that girl on the Youtube video made the technique sound terribly painful and – besides – unnecessary for a 'regular girl' like I.

For some reason, I still had the foresight (or insight!) to research the subject further as I was intrigued (or surely more bored than intrigued, right?). I found out that the Brazilian wax had been made popular in the USA, via NYC, by two Brazilian (who else?) beauticians back in the early 1980s. Please note that the Brazilian should not be confused with the Hollywood wax, the latter popularised in later years, leaves the skin completely smooth and bare! The Brazilian spares a teeny-weeny strip of modesty. Interestingly, and technicalities aside, I found out that it was possible to authentify the time period of a porn movie, based on the amount of hair on show down there... Erm, right, I shall leave this to the experts.

No pain, no gain, Nat!

Meanwhile a couple of weeks later down to my beauty salon on the off-chance to get my monthly leg and underarm wax, I was told that Jenny, my beautician, was fully booked up that day. I know I should have made an appointment, but instead I decided to nip down to the next salon and get that wax out of the way. I explained to the girl what I wanted and left it at that. She casually handed me a paper thong and when she saw my puzzled look, shrugged it off with "Oh, it's easier for me to work down there if you're wearing one of those..." Alarm bells should have started flashing in my head. Next I was lying on that couch, feeling exposed and awkward. She didn't blink an eyelid (eh, she had seen it all before!) and proceeded straight away with the bikini wax. When I felt the warm wax covering those neither regions I started to panic... "You wanted a bikini wax, didn't you?" She giggled and pulled that strip at the same time. Ooouch OMG! This had to be Karma sending me a reality check!

Now I have to admit that the result was good, great even, if you blank out the pain, because you can't expect it painless! When I came out of the salon, I noticed I was walking funny, like a cowboy who'd been riding his horse too long. I was chaffed down there for a few days, and thought I would never return to normal as some of the nerve endings were quite sensitive. But eventually everything went back to normal, and the hair even started growing back. And then I became kinda hooked. To that Brazilian wax. I felt clean and polished. No itching (except when the hairs start growing back, at the point where they break the skin). It made me feel strangely confident too. In the bathroom mirror, wearing my undies, I would have fun pretending to be a ballerina or cheerleader, extending a leg up and still look neat, wow!

Cheerleading my way to the bathroom mirror!

On that second time around I had to motivate myself to push that salon's door, but I came in prepared. I had taken a paracetamol beforehand, and arranged to wear comfy yoga pants. I was actually more apprehensive than on that first time when I had been taken unawares. Yet the pain was not as acute. It certainly isn't a pleasant experience, it won't feel like a pampering treatment, and in the heat of the moment you might rather be at the dentist's, trust me! If you are half-awake like I was on that early morning, the effect is that of a treble espresso X10... Never mind awake, you will feel wired for the rest of the day, but eh all for the good cause. You will look and feel great a few hours down the line, and that's a guarantee.

So much so that Brazilian waxing has now become part of my beauty regime. I might be preaching to the converted but if you are just wondering what the fuzz (sorry fuss!) is about, go for it! And you might even like it.