Chanel- o!!!

We all love a pop-up..at least I do. That 'Oooh I must get there before it's gone and probably spend a fortune I wouldn't have done otherwise' feeling. What can I say folks? I'm a marketing person's dream However shortly, there will be one that make-up aficionados can get truly excited about. Chanel is opening a (literally) one-of-a-kind store in Covent Garden, with two floors dedicated to beauty. If a touch-up is needed in a hurry, fret not, the Chanel pop-up will be hosting makeover and manicure bars for summer panic moments.  See you there!

Other news! Mari Kasurinen took a My Little Pony and made transformed it from playful to fierce as My Little Karl Lagerfeld.  We should all have one of these around, no?

Peter O'Toole - Stylish Life

The utter legend that is Peter O'Toole has announced his retirement from acting at the age of 79, saying, "I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell." I have been in love with Mr O'Toole since his lithe, bambi eyed gorgeousness in How To Steal A Million. The combination of him, Audrey, Paris and the wonderful plot make it one of my favourite films of all time.  If you haven't seen it, I demand that you do, right now. I also found him creepily attractive in Venus especially when he recites Shakespeare to the chavvy teenage girl (Sonnet 18, "Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day"). In an interview with National Public Radio in December 2006, O'Toole revealed that he knows all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets. A self-described romantic, he regards the sonnets as among the finest collection of English poems, reading them daily...alas not to me.


I found this and had to share it...Peter O'Toole and Richard Harris at the rugby. Do watch til the end. I plan to grow old like this.





Before he gave up drinking for health reasons, the Lawrence of Arabia thesp ( also wonderful, but put aside a rainy afternoon, it's nearly four hours long) was famous for the unbridled excess he enjoyed with his cohorts, Richard Harris, Richard Burton and Oliver Reed. To celebrate a career like none other and one of of my great loves, here are a few of the great man's finest off-stage moments, some of which sound too good to be true...



* After being cast as a cockney sergeant in The Long and the Short and the Tall, which opened in London in 1959, O'Toole was understudied by Michael Caine, who he took out one night to a restaurant. Caine awoke in a strange flat and asked O'Toole what the time was. He allegedly replied, "Never mind what time it is, what f***ing day is it?" Evidently it was 5pm. Two days later.


* Due to his erratic driving, a number of people refused to be a passenger in O'Toole's car. He attempted to drive his future wife, actress Sian Phillips, to Rome for a last-minute holiday. They ended up in Yugoslavia.

* When filming 1960's Kidnapped, he became friends with the Australian actor Peter Finch, also a fond boozer. When they were refused a drink after closing time during a session at an Irish pub, they wrote a cheque to buy the pub so they could have another drink. Having sobered up the next day, they rushed back to cancel their purchase.

* They ended up befriending the landlord, even attending his funeral. While sobbing as the casket was lowered, the pair soon realised they were at the wrong funeral. Their pal was being buried 100 yards away.

* While filming a scene on a lake for 1968's The Lion In Winter, O'Toole caught his finger in a boating accident, taking the tip off. Back on shore, he dipped the detached part into a glass of brandy then pushed it back on, wrapping it in a poultice. Removing the bandage weeks later, he realised he had put it on the wrong way and blamed the brandy for his mishap.

* When an assistant went to fetch the actor from his dressing room on the set of 1968's Great Catherine, he found no sign of life but a television blaring out horse racing that was going on nearby. The camera zoomed in, and there was O'Toole, cheering on the steeds. A car was sent to bring him back to work.

* In the 1970s, he reportedly went out for lunch with friends, accompanied by several bottles of wine. Later on that evening the group decided to take in a play but when they got to their seats, O'Toole realised he was supposed to be in the show.

* O'Toole regularly had to break into his house because of his refusal to carry keys (he never carried a wallet or wore a watch either). He had to explain to police, on more than one occasion, why he was climbing through windows.

Mr O'Toole, I salute you.

Smelling of Roses

Of course, if your skin flares up, this is always an option.

I think it's important to buy flowers for yourself, just because you love them and since I've got our lovely flat shipshape, I have been doing it on occasion.  As we've had the most miserable British Summer that I can ever remember, coming home and seeing some lovely blooms in a vase cheers me up no end and it's the same with gorgeous smelling skincare.  Having a bit of luxury in your skincare regime can make a real difference.

As my regular readers know, I'm fond of doing the odd beauty post although I am rather set in my ways when it comes to make-up.  Recently I have been making a real effort to use more natural skincare and find a facial wash that takes off waterproof eyeliner and mascara without making my skin feel that it's been rubbed with a wire brush.  Three favourite finds are ALL from the wonder brand Aromatherapy Associates, a pioneer of natural but still luxurious skincare and one is from Ren, which if you haven't heard of, I can only assume you've been living under a rock.

Aromatherapy Associates' Deep Cleanse Facial Wash is perfect for my combination skin and removes all traces of make-up.  It also didn't leave my face with that horrid tight feeling I sometimes get from using stronger cleansers.  I HAVE to wash my face using water, I've never been a cleansing milk kind of a girl, I just feel that if I don't use water, I simply don't get the job done. This product delivers in spades and smells pleasantly herbally (technical term).

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before but my doctor father has, in his time, specialised in dermatology.  The importance of moisturising, sun screen and the like were hammered into us from a young age, including rubbing almond oil into our skin when we had had a day in the sun..SO much more effective than many after suns you can buy on the market.  Facial oil on the other hand, I've always been a bit dubious of. Adding oil to combination skin is surely asking for an outbreak?! AA's Refining Facial Oil with lavender, ylang ylang and rose not only smells incredible but helps to bring your skin’s own oils into balance.  The 
renowned healing and repairing properties of lavender and rose come together with balancing ylang ylang and vitamin E and despite being an oil, this product has definitely helped to regulate my temperamental skin.  I would never have tried this in a million years if it hadn't been for a friend's recommendation but I've been using it for a week now and have noticed a difference already.


The next thing I'm going to say may sound bonkers but in partnership with the facial oil, I've been using the Triple Rose Renewing Moisturiser. Before I say anything else, the smell is INCREDIBLE.  Blended with three unique roses from Morocco, Turkey and Bulgaria, it feels like a treat slathering it on every morning. I say slathering, you literally need one pump for your entire face and neck. I've been using the moisturiser every day and combining it with the oil in the evening for an extra boost. The first night I used them together I'd been babysitting for a party girl in Fulham and didn't get home until half two in the morning, THEN I had to be in work the next day. I don't know if it's the roses or some  other magical ingredient but I looked like I'd had eight hours restful sleep as oppose to four and a bit!


Finally the shower gel of dreams. It's won heaps of awards so I'm not saying anything new but Ren's Morrocan Rose Body Wash is, like the Independent on Sunday rather poetically described it, "makes you feel like you are standing in a rose garden in the rain." If you couple this with...yes..another oil..their Rose Otto Ultra Body Oil to be precise..it is like having a wonderful aromatherapy spa experience without having to venture outside into the ghastly weather and let's be honest, that's something we could all do without at the moment.

An eccentric English rose.

Sulky Sev

Before I proceed with this I should state that I am a Chloe Sevigny fan. I even like her name, 'Sevigny'. It sounds like a rather stylish area of France.  She's a talented actress and her style is certainly never dull but I do think that in photographs..(and I don't just mean pap ones because, let's be fair, we'd probably all be in a bit of a bad mood if we had giant camera lenses up our skirts when we went to buy a Big Mac)..she often looks like she's in a sulk. Here she's back to front the Miu Miu Autumn Winter campaign after a 16 year hiatus.

Shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the campaign will feature a series of portraits with the actress lounging around 1970s-style interiors, described by the brand a “dandy-like fantasy conveying a refreshing eccentricity”. I LOVE the printed trousers it must be said. Also there are very few that can simultaneously look sexy and WEIRD all at the same time whilst holding a china tea cup and sitting in a very awkward looking pose on a chair that looks like it comes from a doctor's waiting room.

This is Sev back in their 1996 Spring/Summer campaign - not looking much happier and still sitting awkwardly on a chair.  Theme?  She has frequently worn Miu Miu's designs, including, recently, that mirrored effort at the Costume Institute Gala. A dress that I really shouldn't have liked at all but Sev managed to pull it off.

I particularly like how she's matched her lipstick to her clutch bag. The whole thing is a bold move but somehow works. You may disagree and hit up the comments if you do.  Of course in the past few weeks she's been seen as as a pre-op transsexual contract killer in Hit & Miss which saw her double Sky Atlantic's viewing figures, and she said about the role "the part is like nothing I will ever play again". Darn right, there can't be many pre op transsexual assassin roles out there, I've been trying to think of another and can't. I've got it all saved up on my Sky plus and will be tucking into it soon.  In the meantime, keep an eye out for the Miu Miu campaign and let me know if she cracks a smile.

Happy 4th of July!!

Headscarves and Flag waving; the best way to celebrate.

Hey Y'all and especially all my lovely readers across the pond.  Apologies for being so dilatory of late with my blogging but finally work should be winding down for the Summer (if we ever get one in London as oppose to the constant miserable drizzle we've been having) and what better reason to drop you a line than a holiday day! Here are a few snapshots of my personal icons of American style, Big Edie and Little Edie.  If you don't know what I'm taking about, go and rent..or even better..BUY Grey Gardens right now.  There has also recently been a fabulous tv drama about the lives of the Bouvier Beales starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.  It was nominated for 17 (yes 17!!) Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Made for Television Movie and Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie (Lange).  It was also nominated for 3 Golden Globes, winning Best Made for Television Movie and Best Actress in a Made for Television Movie (Barrymore). Lange was nominated in the same category, but lost to Drew..ouchies. So, if you're not watching 4th July fireworks, watch this. X