The Modern Venus Blog

Some video fun with Chanel

I was enjoying reading through one of my favorite blogs, Now Smell This (it's all about perfume, yum) and they had the brilliance to post a couple of great Chanel vintage commercials starring Vanessa Paradis, Carole Bouquet and, of course, Catherine Deneuve.  I remember then from my youth (sound so weird to say that!) . . . I now re-post them and a couple more here. Notice how it is so clear that Calvin Klein obviously borrowed the Catherine Deneuve advert as inspiration for his various campaigns (I'm thinking particularly the one for Obsession perfume) . . .   How I love You Tube for enabling this!

Happy Monday

It's mid-August, and it's Monday:  time for a photo to transport you.  Here is one:  the lovely Dita Von Teese modeling couture (I'm guessing Galliano) in Paris.  It's frothy and fantastic. Have a great day!

Happy Weekend and sigh - the new Chanel No. 5 mini-film

When you have a few moments to enjoy pure gorgeousness that will make you sigh with happiness, watch this new mini-film from Chanel (here's a small still from it).   It stars Audrey Tatou and Chanel No. 5, who currently stars in "Coco Before Chanel," a new French film about Miss Chanel.   Miss Tatou is also the new face of the iconic and timeless perfume, Chanel No. 5. 

And just for fun, here are some more pictures of ad campaigns for Chanel No. 5 over the last few decades. 

                                                                                                                       

Michelle Obama: Inspiring Women all over the World

From Cnn.com, a really wonderful article about how Michelle Obama and her daughters are helping women of color all around the world overcome stigmas imposed upon them by their respective cultures:

CNN) -- Heather Ferreira works in the slums of Mumbai, India, where she has watched thousands of women live under a "curse."

The women she meets in the squalid streets where "Slumdog Millionaire" was filmed are often treated with contempt, she says. They're considered ugly if their skin and hair are too dark. They are deemed "cursed" if they only have daughters. Many would-be mothers even abort their children if they learn they're female.

Yet lately she says Indian women are getting another message from the emergence of another woman thousands of miles away. This woman has dark skin and hair. She walks next to her husband in public, not behind. And she has two daughters. But no one calls her cursed. They call her Michelle Obama, the first lady.

"She could be a new face for India," says Ferreira, program officer for an HIV-prevention program run by World Vision, an international humanitarian group. "She shows women that it's OK to have dark skin and to not have a son. She's quite real to us."

Those who focus on Michelle Obama's impact on America are underestimating her reach. The first lady is inspiring women of color around the globe to look at themselves, and America, in fresh ways.  Read on. . .

 

Birthday fun: Tocca fragrance and candles

A ton of friends have their birthdays in May (mine is as well!).  I am SUCH a Taurus and I love my fellow Taureans.   Have no idea what to get your birthday buddies this month?  I have an answer for you - the gorgeous, elegant, and sensuous (all things Taureans embody, btw) - candles and fragrances by Tocca, the fashion and fragrance house from Italy.   Their fragrances are beautiful, romantic, and sexy, without being over the top.   My favorite fragrance is Brigitte, inspired by the one and only (and animal activist!) Brigitte Bardot! Who doesn't want to embody her, right?   It has notes of rose, papaya, sandalwood, and musk - fabulous, no?  Their most popular fragrances have complementary body products like moisturizers, etc. too. 

Tocca's candles are also amazing . . . my favorite one is the fragrance Grace, which is based on the Casablanca lily.  Casablanca lilies are my favorites (particularly powdery-scented), and it's hard to find candles that fit the bill.  I can't have lilies in my home because they are tremendously poisonous to cats  - but these candles allow me to indulge without the real thing. These are great - a little pricey (though you can pay lots for comparable boutique candles with less quality) - but worth it.  They also don't smoke up and make the sides of the glass vial black (I hate that).  

You can buy them online at Tocca or Sephora!

Happy Weekend! Here's a Girly Blurb from Garance Dore

My FAVORITE blog in the world is that of the very charming French fashion illustrator (and fashionista in her own rite), Garance Dore.  I get a little sliver of inspiration, charm and humor from her every day . . .  Definitely bookmark her site and enjoy it daily, she is a sweet French treat (sans calories!).   And have a great weekend, everyone!

Here is her entry from today: 

 

Five ultra girly things I did this week:

+ Went to go get some flats as I knew I would be walking around all day, cracked and bought a pair of stilettos. I then walked around in them all day.  Night rolls around and you could’ve given me some Uggs still would have been kissing your feet.

+ Ordered steamed salmon and a coffee at a restaurant and then proceeded to eat half a jar of nutella when I got home.

+ Decided it was spring already, put on a light little skirt and took myself for a walk. It was not at all the springtime I was expecting. You guys have any Kleenex? Something for a red nose? Watery eyes?

+ Wanted to paint my nails coral to celebrate spring’s arrival with my feet, even if I still had my winter shoes on. The beautician promised me that thanks to their magic little machine, they’d be dry in 20 minutes flat, that I could put my shoes right back on without smudging the polish. She lied.

+ I have officially put a restraining order on myself. I must at all times keep a 20 foot perimeter between me and a bag that Sofia Coppola did for Louis Vuitton because of the risk of potential irresistibility. I passed by Louis Vuitton and I just couldn’t do it. I asked to see one a little closer. The blue one, thank you. Yes, in suede. More than $3,000. So now I’ve expanded the red zone to four acres.

Love or Hate Lips?

I am totally enamoured of the two-tone lips sent down the runways recently at Costume Nationale, Dior and Ungaro.  Sigh.  Am I too old to carry off that look, compared to the ethereal young beauties sent down the catwalk?  Sigh.  Perhaps.  Doesn't mean I won't inflict it on my husband anyway, but I will attempt a two-tone red (a la Costume Nationale) or nude versions.  What fun! 

Cool Blue - TooFaced Smurfette Collection!

This is TOO adorable - Too Faced (one of my favorite cosmetics lines) has launched a Smurfette collection of eyeshadow, powder, sparkly liquid liner, and lip gloss.  Not surprisingly,  all are a shade of blue (or thereabouts!).  

How cute is THIS?  I just purchased the glittery clear liner (with iridescent sparkles) from Sephora.  It is subtle but delightful.  And who doesn't love the Smurfette??

Basic Black

Around the holidays, I love to play with my makeup more.  Here is something that I love - but that some one you might find a tad extreme . . . black lip gloss!!   These are my two favorites. Play with them - when they mix with the pink of your lips, the color turns more into a dark eggplant.  The Lipstick Queen gloss is a bit sticky but it is sheer . ..  the YSL is more opaque - yet has a sheerness to it, but it is definitely darker.   Wear this gloss with eyes that are illuminated with light eyeshadow - like champagne, a light silver, etc.  Don't go dark on your eyes or you will become the Goth you never wanted to be. 

Insanely Divine: Scent by Alexis

I love scent and perfume and own over 40 of them .  .  . here is my newest favorite line:  Scent by Alexis.  Alexis Karl hand-mixes each of her perfumes by hand, and her expertise is exquisite.  She is a true artist - in addition to her amazing perfumes, she is also a painter, opera singer, and writer!  She describes her scents thusly:  "Scent by Alexis is a collection of oil-based perfumes created by artist Alexis Karl. Everything about Scent by Alexis is made by hand, from the mixing of the scents to the gilding of the bottles. Each piece is meant to be a treasure, perfume as art. The scents are unusual and sensual, a little classical, a little punk, always sexy."  She isn't kidding!

  Here is a sampling of her wares - I am so thrilled to own "Courtesan" - an insane mix of violent and green tea!   In addition to the scents below (this is but a sampling), she can also custom-create a fragrance just for you - for your wedding, that big raise, or for any other reason.  I love it!  It makes me think of Old European glamour and Paris in the Belle Epoque.  You can't get that at Sephora!

Black Valentine
"All hearts are black," screams the dark figure onstage. Deep, dark caramel and brown sugar blend with notes of tuberose. The scent envelops the scene. The dance starts.

Courtesan
The violet notes flirt seductively with green tea and florals. This is a fragrance with the subtle desires and dangerous promises of an 18th-century powdered woman. Think beauty mark, pastel silks, satins, brocades, coquettish smiles, petit fours.

Duchess
Regal hints of pear and sinful chocolate play haughtily with elegant linden blossom. This is the privileged scent of aristocratic decadence.

Eve's Revenge
She smiles coyly. Arms full of ripe pomegranates and fresh figs, her hair adorned with freesia, the stems anointed in sweet amber. She's irresistible.

Femme Fatale
Spicy ambers mingle with nutmeg and ylang-ylang; hints of jasmine playfully linger with vanilla, and a mélange of secret ingredients. A deadly delectable scent that brings you into 1930s Hollywood.

Goddess
Vanilla notes touch you with a sweet warmth, while jasmine dances with bright citrus. A scent of elegance and pure femininity, turning you into Isis, Aphrodite, Venus, Athena.

Visit her site, read her press (she was, for example, lauded by Daily Candy), watch the special "Scent by Alexis" film, and order something special for yourself.