I wish you all a Happy New Year for 2015, a year with joy, health, happiness and The Lipstick Papers always with you! Thanks for reading this blog. New post coming soon! xxx
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
HAVE A HAPPY SEASON HOLIDAY!
A FEW days ago, a friend asked me what book I wanted for Christmas, and I picked a critical study on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women!
I think Good Wives, the sequel to Little Women, was the first classic novel I ever read. I was seven years old, and I read it in excellent and unabridged Greek translation. I was obsessed with literature since before I could read (I would open books and sit somewhere pretending to read). Thus, I read novels as soon as possible, which for me was the age of seven.
Though I was small and had no idea of sequels or prequels, I sensed that Good Wives was a second book; I sensed that there was an earlier, first, book I did not have. Also, Good Wives was the novel which introduced me to the big, wide world. Reading, I realized that there was a huge and rich world out there, beyond the small place in which I lived. I was fascinated with the artists Amy March admired, with the places she went to, and intrigued with the writers and poets Jo March read.
Nowadays, I think there are many problems with Little Women and Good Wives, e.g. that they all have to marry or die, that Jo never pursues her talents, that Meg's so-called vanity (i.e. love of fashion and lifestyle) has to be quenched and so forth. I do not think that it is a feminist novel, unless this is in a (very) indirect manner.
My favorite little woman was Amy March, and I will say more about her in another post!
I still like the two novels, because they are well-written, honest and lively, whatever their problems. I am looking forward to my Christmas gift. Though decades have passed, and I am not a child anymore (except at heart), Good Wives still has, for me, the mystique of the childhood age, and the pull and mystery of a huge, wide world beyond the everyday and the ordinary.
Little Women famously begins at Christmas, at a particularly tough time for the March family. There are tough enough times in every life; for me, the opening of the novel has something of the universal and true. Have a happy season holiday wherever you are, with beauty always with you!
I think Good Wives, the sequel to Little Women, was the first classic novel I ever read. I was seven years old, and I read it in excellent and unabridged Greek translation. I was obsessed with literature since before I could read (I would open books and sit somewhere pretending to read). Thus, I read novels as soon as possible, which for me was the age of seven.
Though I was small and had no idea of sequels or prequels, I sensed that Good Wives was a second book; I sensed that there was an earlier, first, book I did not have. Also, Good Wives was the novel which introduced me to the big, wide world. Reading, I realized that there was a huge and rich world out there, beyond the small place in which I lived. I was fascinated with the artists Amy March admired, with the places she went to, and intrigued with the writers and poets Jo March read.
Nowadays, I think there are many problems with Little Women and Good Wives, e.g. that they all have to marry or die, that Jo never pursues her talents, that Meg's so-called vanity (i.e. love of fashion and lifestyle) has to be quenched and so forth. I do not think that it is a feminist novel, unless this is in a (very) indirect manner.
My favorite little woman was Amy March, and I will say more about her in another post!
I still like the two novels, because they are well-written, honest and lively, whatever their problems. I am looking forward to my Christmas gift. Though decades have passed, and I am not a child anymore (except at heart), Good Wives still has, for me, the mystique of the childhood age, and the pull and mystery of a huge, wide world beyond the everyday and the ordinary.
Little Women famously begins at Christmas, at a particularly tough time for the March family. There are tough enough times in every life; for me, the opening of the novel has something of the universal and true. Have a happy season holiday wherever you are, with beauty always with you!
Sunday, December 21, 2014
THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW
HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! This week we have the book A Life in Frocks: A Memoir, by Kelly Doust!
This must be among the most beautiful books in my library. The edition is amazingly pretty! A jacket of marbled pink paper with dress sketches is wrapped around a cover decorated with lovely underwear sketches! The paper inside is thick, in cream color, and the illustrations by Zoe Sadokierski are a dream!
I bought this book in Sheffield two years ago, where I went to participate in the annual BAVS conference. BAVS stands for British Association for Victorian Studies, and the conference each year is THE event for Victorianists from all over the world. I had saved painfully in order to go, and have not been able to find the money to go since. So the 2012 visit was special, and I save all that happened in my memory treasure-box. I remember buying this pretty pink book from Waterstones in Orchard Square, a most beautiful bookshop in a most beautiful place!
I think that A Life in Frocks is a must-read for anyone interested to write a fashion memoir, because Kelly Doust deftly shows how you can write about your life and experiences in relation to clothes. Events in Doust's life are highlighted by clothes and vice versa. I would love to buy any fashion memoir she writes!
(Kelly Doust also writes about sewing, crafts and upcycling, in books and in her website, kellydoust.wordpress.com).
One annoying thing with A Life in Frocks is the writer's insistence on telling us about her boyfriend all the time. Wherever she goes, whatever she does, we must be told that she was with a boyfriend, and the boyfriend was doing this and that. Beauty writers will speak about their boyfriends, of course, and there is nothing wrong with that; I very much enjoyed reading the occasional comment about the boyfriend in, say, The Goddess Guide and The Goddess Experience. I am not a hundred per cent sure why it annoyed me so much in this book. I think it is the tone in which it was all written; if we weren't told that there was a boyfriend around, the experience would lose something of its value.
Other than this, the book is perfect!
Have a great start to the week and be well! xxx
This must be among the most beautiful books in my library. The edition is amazingly pretty! A jacket of marbled pink paper with dress sketches is wrapped around a cover decorated with lovely underwear sketches! The paper inside is thick, in cream color, and the illustrations by Zoe Sadokierski are a dream!
I bought this book in Sheffield two years ago, where I went to participate in the annual BAVS conference. BAVS stands for British Association for Victorian Studies, and the conference each year is THE event for Victorianists from all over the world. I had saved painfully in order to go, and have not been able to find the money to go since. So the 2012 visit was special, and I save all that happened in my memory treasure-box. I remember buying this pretty pink book from Waterstones in Orchard Square, a most beautiful bookshop in a most beautiful place!
I think that A Life in Frocks is a must-read for anyone interested to write a fashion memoir, because Kelly Doust deftly shows how you can write about your life and experiences in relation to clothes. Events in Doust's life are highlighted by clothes and vice versa. I would love to buy any fashion memoir she writes!
(Kelly Doust also writes about sewing, crafts and upcycling, in books and in her website, kellydoust.wordpress.com).
One annoying thing with A Life in Frocks is the writer's insistence on telling us about her boyfriend all the time. Wherever she goes, whatever she does, we must be told that she was with a boyfriend, and the boyfriend was doing this and that. Beauty writers will speak about their boyfriends, of course, and there is nothing wrong with that; I very much enjoyed reading the occasional comment about the boyfriend in, say, The Goddess Guide and The Goddess Experience. I am not a hundred per cent sure why it annoyed me so much in this book. I think it is the tone in which it was all written; if we weren't told that there was a boyfriend around, the experience would lose something of its value.
Other than this, the book is perfect!
Have a great start to the week and be well! xxx
Friday, December 19, 2014
THE LONG DAYS OF SPRING AND SUMMER
WE ARE currently into the season I hate, i.e. winter. 80% of the people I know here in Cyprus, love winter and live for the three months where it will be darkness, rain and cold. (Note: I am talking about the people I know personally, I cannot generalize or speak for anybody else). I am exactly the opposite. For me, winter is torture.
There is nothing good about winter. I live for the long days of spring and summer, and prefer even the extreme heat to the rain!
In literature, Winter is the name of a heroine in a nice romance novel, called Shadow of the Moon by British novelist M.M. Kaye. There are some problematic things with that novel, such as the benign approach to imperialism, but as a romance novel it is good! There is thrill, adventure, a happy ending, and an energetic and passionate heroine!
Winter de Ballesteros is named that way because she has snow-white skin. Combined with night-black hair and eyes, these colors make Winter striking and unusual.
For me, the best thing about the novel is that the protagonist, Alex Randall, is very good looking too! He has dark hair, blue-grey eyes, a lovely mouth, and a slender body. As you know, I can't stand it when a novel pays attention to the beauty of the woman while making the man plain. This gives men unreasonable expectations and tries to keep women in their place. What is behind such beauty politics is an idea like this: "Guys, you should look for a beautiful woman no matter how you look yourselves. The plainest guy can ask tremendous beauty in a woman. But YOU girls, no, don't look at appearance! It's personality which counts. Don't expect too much from the man in appearance. Look beyond this, look at personality, beauty is bad in a man, don't expect too much".
Double standard, anyone????
If men are allowed to look for beauty, then the same must go for women.
Anyway, back to the winter season. For me, it is something that needs to be over and done with, and nothing else. Counting the days for spring and summer! xxx
There is nothing good about winter. I live for the long days of spring and summer, and prefer even the extreme heat to the rain!
In literature, Winter is the name of a heroine in a nice romance novel, called Shadow of the Moon by British novelist M.M. Kaye. There are some problematic things with that novel, such as the benign approach to imperialism, but as a romance novel it is good! There is thrill, adventure, a happy ending, and an energetic and passionate heroine!
Winter de Ballesteros is named that way because she has snow-white skin. Combined with night-black hair and eyes, these colors make Winter striking and unusual.
For me, the best thing about the novel is that the protagonist, Alex Randall, is very good looking too! He has dark hair, blue-grey eyes, a lovely mouth, and a slender body. As you know, I can't stand it when a novel pays attention to the beauty of the woman while making the man plain. This gives men unreasonable expectations and tries to keep women in their place. What is behind such beauty politics is an idea like this: "Guys, you should look for a beautiful woman no matter how you look yourselves. The plainest guy can ask tremendous beauty in a woman. But YOU girls, no, don't look at appearance! It's personality which counts. Don't expect too much from the man in appearance. Look beyond this, look at personality, beauty is bad in a man, don't expect too much".
Double standard, anyone????
If men are allowed to look for beauty, then the same must go for women.
Anyway, back to the winter season. For me, it is something that needs to be over and done with, and nothing else. Counting the days for spring and summer! xxx
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
I.E. FASHION AND BEAUTY
LAST NIGHT I gave a public lecture on Fashion and it went fantastic!
The lecture was titled Fashion, Beauty and Female Creativity from the 19th Century to the Present Day, and was part of the annual series of municipal lectures in my hometown. Each municipality in Cyprus has its own "free" University, and brings in lecturers for a series of annual lectures. This is the second year I have participated, and you can see me in the picture while I am answering audience's questions.
I very much enjoyed presenting my favorite subjects, i.e. fashion and beauty, to a wider audience! It was tremendous fun!
The lecture covered the themes of history of fashion, the history of women through fashion, fashion in literature, and women entrepreneurs and fashion today. These are all also subjects for The Lipstick Papers!
Two of my best friends also participated, one (who is an academic) as presenter/ co-ordinator and the other as contributor, reading (in an amazing way because she is an actress) an extract from a novel!
The audience was warm and very much interested in what we had to say! The subjects which they wanted to know about included:
and so on and so forth into fashion eternity! Of course I also talked about The Lipstick Papers, and of course you can expect more amazing posts about fashion in the future!
Have a great mid-week and see you all again soon! xxx
The lecture was titled Fashion, Beauty and Female Creativity from the 19th Century to the Present Day, and was part of the annual series of municipal lectures in my hometown. Each municipality in Cyprus has its own "free" University, and brings in lecturers for a series of annual lectures. This is the second year I have participated, and you can see me in the picture while I am answering audience's questions.
I very much enjoyed presenting my favorite subjects, i.e. fashion and beauty, to a wider audience! It was tremendous fun!
The lecture covered the themes of history of fashion, the history of women through fashion, fashion in literature, and women entrepreneurs and fashion today. These are all also subjects for The Lipstick Papers!
Two of my best friends also participated, one (who is an academic) as presenter/ co-ordinator and the other as contributor, reading (in an amazing way because she is an actress) an extract from a novel!
The audience was warm and very much interested in what we had to say! The subjects which they wanted to know about included:
- Who takes the decisions about fashion what to wear.
- The definition of femininity.
- Women and fashion in Cyprus.
- Fourth Wave Feminism.
- Research in Victorian periodicals.
- Fashion and the financial melt-down.
- Fashion and consumerism.
- Eco fashion and fast fashion,
and so on and so forth into fashion eternity! Of course I also talked about The Lipstick Papers, and of course you can expect more amazing posts about fashion in the future!
Have a great mid-week and see you all again soon! xxx
Sunday, December 14, 2014
THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW (SIX SHADES OF PINK)
HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! This weekend (which is sadly nearly over) we have the book The Shops: How, Why and Where to Shop, by India Knight.
This is a lovely little book, published by Penguin in 2004. The title says it all -- it is a book about shopping!
At the same time, The Shops is a lively memoir, filled with interesting details from the author's life, and how she came to know various shops. The chapters are divided by kind ("Big Fat Dinners", "Home", "Mothers and Children" and so on). The illustrations are pretty and it also has recommendations and a whole chapter on "Presents", with gift ideas.
The book is full of India Knight's exuberant personality: "I don't want to sound like a fanatical obsessive or loon, but I love my house nearly as much as I love my family". As for home, we may "suffer from a desire to run back towards it or to run away from it". And my personal favorite: "I love paper and [in this stationery] is where the love began. This hushed, sober shop had, obviously, paper by the quire: thin paper, thick paper, hand-made paper, marbled paper in six shades of pink [...]". Being paper-mad myself, I feel my mouth water when I read these lines!
I love India Knight and I try to have all her books, though I don't like them all equally. The Shops is amazing and I fully recommend it! The one negative thing is that it is now slightly outdated, so we don't know which of the shops mentioned still exist.
Write an updated version, please, India Knight!
:-)
This is a lovely little book, published by Penguin in 2004. The title says it all -- it is a book about shopping!
At the same time, The Shops is a lively memoir, filled with interesting details from the author's life, and how she came to know various shops. The chapters are divided by kind ("Big Fat Dinners", "Home", "Mothers and Children" and so on). The illustrations are pretty and it also has recommendations and a whole chapter on "Presents", with gift ideas.
The book is full of India Knight's exuberant personality: "I don't want to sound like a fanatical obsessive or loon, but I love my house nearly as much as I love my family". As for home, we may "suffer from a desire to run back towards it or to run away from it". And my personal favorite: "I love paper and [in this stationery] is where the love began. This hushed, sober shop had, obviously, paper by the quire: thin paper, thick paper, hand-made paper, marbled paper in six shades of pink [...]". Being paper-mad myself, I feel my mouth water when I read these lines!
I love India Knight and I try to have all her books, though I don't like them all equally. The Shops is amazing and I fully recommend it! The one negative thing is that it is now slightly outdated, so we don't know which of the shops mentioned still exist.
Write an updated version, please, India Knight!
:-)
Thursday, December 11, 2014
ANGEL LIPSTICK (SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE)
I MUST confess that I first I wasn't too happy with that lipstick -- I refer to the MLS13 ANGEL matte lipstick from Nyx cosmetics -- but now I really love it!!!!! Here I am wearing it:
I had bought the MLS 13 ANGEL with the pencil lipstick from Nyx which, if you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know I loved from the start.I n this (summer) picture I am wearing the Nyx pencil lipstick.
With the tube lipstick it was not the same. I found I didn't like it too much, and didn't use it. Here is how I come to love it so much now!
Lately, I started wearing lipstick during jogging. I used to simply wear sun protection balm but, as you know, the best sun protection for the lips is lipstick! So I thought, since the MLS 13 ANGEL is not the best lipstick tube I have, I will wear it in jogging and nowhere else.
This was the start of one great relationship! The lipstick grew on me, and now I find it simply irresistible! It is good on the lips, very easy to apply (you can make a lovely shape on your lips in a few seconds) and the color is pretty too!
Now I will buy a second tube, to have in reserve. The good thing, the price is really cheap, so it's highly affordable too!
Have a good evening and see you again soon :-)
I had bought the MLS 13 ANGEL with the pencil lipstick from Nyx which, if you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know I loved from the start.I n this (summer) picture I am wearing the Nyx pencil lipstick.
With the tube lipstick it was not the same. I found I didn't like it too much, and didn't use it. Here is how I come to love it so much now!
Lately, I started wearing lipstick during jogging. I used to simply wear sun protection balm but, as you know, the best sun protection for the lips is lipstick! So I thought, since the MLS 13 ANGEL is not the best lipstick tube I have, I will wear it in jogging and nowhere else.
This was the start of one great relationship! The lipstick grew on me, and now I find it simply irresistible! It is good on the lips, very easy to apply (you can make a lovely shape on your lips in a few seconds) and the color is pretty too!
Now I will buy a second tube, to have in reserve. The good thing, the price is really cheap, so it's highly affordable too!
Have a good evening and see you again soon :-)
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
HUMANKIND, LIKE BEAUTY
I AM currently reading a book about self-portraiture, where I found this lovely image!
It's by anonymous in 1402, ink and color on parchment, and titled Marcia Painting Her Self-Portrait! I love the image for many reasons, most importantly because it shows a woman artist in the act of creating a self-portrait; women were, until very recently, considered lesser artists, allowed in the male fields of art and creation only on tolerance.
Also, this image comes from the end of the Middle-Ages, a period when religious fanaticism was at its heyday, and viewed women as the gates of hell, responsible for man's fall from heaven (religious fanatics forget the minor detail that without women the so-called "mankind" would die out in 100 years maximum).
Women artists existed even during those tough times. Also, he female knowledge of herbs and healing survived, though millions of women were burnt at the stake as witches. Christine de Pisani, the Medieval author, even composed works to answer condemnation of the female nature and sexual identity contained in the Roman de la Rose, mankind's great epic misogynistic poem about courtly love.
Art, love and power belong to both men and women, not only to one of them. Humankind, like beauty, is multiple and diverse. Enjoy a beautiful evening tonight! xxx
It's by anonymous in 1402, ink and color on parchment, and titled Marcia Painting Her Self-Portrait! I love the image for many reasons, most importantly because it shows a woman artist in the act of creating a self-portrait; women were, until very recently, considered lesser artists, allowed in the male fields of art and creation only on tolerance.
Also, this image comes from the end of the Middle-Ages, a period when religious fanaticism was at its heyday, and viewed women as the gates of hell, responsible for man's fall from heaven (religious fanatics forget the minor detail that without women the so-called "mankind" would die out in 100 years maximum).
Women artists existed even during those tough times. Also, he female knowledge of herbs and healing survived, though millions of women were burnt at the stake as witches. Christine de Pisani, the Medieval author, even composed works to answer condemnation of the female nature and sexual identity contained in the Roman de la Rose, mankind's great epic misogynistic poem about courtly love.
Art, love and power belong to both men and women, not only to one of them. Humankind, like beauty, is multiple and diverse. Enjoy a beautiful evening tonight! xxx
Sunday, December 7, 2014
THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW
HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! This week we have The Victorian House by Judith Flanders!
Judith Flanders is an author and journalist, who has written amazing books on history and culture, especially concerning the Victorian period. Reading her books, you think that Flanders may have actually lived in the Victorian era -- her knowledge is so in-depth and complete.
The Victorian House is about the 19th century home, the rooms, decoration, habits and technology of home, as well as the underlying ideologies. For the Victorians, the home was a refuge from the evils of the outside world, and the woman's proper domain. Confined to the home as they were, middle-class Victorian women spent an enormous amount of time decorating and embellishing the rooms.
The book is invaluable to any historian or cultural theorist who researches the 19th century. I used it for my PhD, and can recommend it with all my heart!
At the same time, I think that the book is quite accessible to anyone who is interested to know more about Victorian life, or about the history of the home in general.
It is full of illustrations and pictures, which I am sure you will love!
Have a great Sunday evening, always with beauty and a book! xxx
Judith Flanders is an author and journalist, who has written amazing books on history and culture, especially concerning the Victorian period. Reading her books, you think that Flanders may have actually lived in the Victorian era -- her knowledge is so in-depth and complete.
The Victorian House is about the 19th century home, the rooms, decoration, habits and technology of home, as well as the underlying ideologies. For the Victorians, the home was a refuge from the evils of the outside world, and the woman's proper domain. Confined to the home as they were, middle-class Victorian women spent an enormous amount of time decorating and embellishing the rooms.
The book is invaluable to any historian or cultural theorist who researches the 19th century. I used it for my PhD, and can recommend it with all my heart!
At the same time, I think that the book is quite accessible to anyone who is interested to know more about Victorian life, or about the history of the home in general.
It is full of illustrations and pictures, which I am sure you will love!
Have a great Sunday evening, always with beauty and a book! xxx
Friday, December 5, 2014
NURSED BY THE NYMPHS
IN the ancient Greek religion, Melissa (Μέλισσα, honey-bee) was a nymph, who helped to nurse the baby Zeus in his infancy!
Zeus had been hidden in a cave in Crete by his mother, the Goddess Rea. Rea had resorted to this desperate measure to save the baby from its own father, Cronos. Cronos was a powerful God, but had the ugly habit of eating his own children. Zeus, however, survived, and eventually dethroned his father to become king of all Gods.
Back to the cave in Crete, though. As a baby, Zeus was nursed by the nymphs Melissa and Amalthea, who fed him with honey. The nymphs (Νύμφες) are beautiful, semi-divine women in the Greek religion, who often reside in forests, mountains, rivers and brooks.
In another version of the myth, Melissa was a real swarm of bees, that brought honey for the divine child, and Amalthea was a goat with supernatural powers, who gave the baby her milk. "Amalthea's horn" (το κέρας της Αμάλθειας) is a synonym for plenitude in the Greek language.
Honey is truly a magical ingredient. It is antiseptic, probiotic and anti almost everything which is bad. You can apply honey to a wound. It doesn't even have an expiry date, for honey found in ancient Egyptian tombs was perfectly edible!
Beauty and honey are inextricably intertwined: we literally use honey in cosmetics, and metaphorically to denote someone we love, or someone with a pretty face.
Have a good Friday afternoon and be well! xxx
Zeus had been hidden in a cave in Crete by his mother, the Goddess Rea. Rea had resorted to this desperate measure to save the baby from its own father, Cronos. Cronos was a powerful God, but had the ugly habit of eating his own children. Zeus, however, survived, and eventually dethroned his father to become king of all Gods.
Back to the cave in Crete, though. As a baby, Zeus was nursed by the nymphs Melissa and Amalthea, who fed him with honey. The nymphs (Νύμφες) are beautiful, semi-divine women in the Greek religion, who often reside in forests, mountains, rivers and brooks.
In another version of the myth, Melissa was a real swarm of bees, that brought honey for the divine child, and Amalthea was a goat with supernatural powers, who gave the baby her milk. "Amalthea's horn" (το κέρας της Αμάλθειας) is a synonym for plenitude in the Greek language.
Honey is truly a magical ingredient. It is antiseptic, probiotic and anti almost everything which is bad. You can apply honey to a wound. It doesn't even have an expiry date, for honey found in ancient Egyptian tombs was perfectly edible!
Beauty and honey are inextricably intertwined: we literally use honey in cosmetics, and metaphorically to denote someone we love, or someone with a pretty face.
Have a good Friday afternoon and be well! xxx
Sunday, November 30, 2014
THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW
HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! This week we got The Body Shop Book: Skin, Hair and Body Care, published in 1994 by Little, Brown and Company.
The book is a collection of advice, know-how, how-to and tips from the Body Shop, with an Introduction by the late Anita Roddick.
It is a lovely volume, with practical information and advice, as well as historical and useful material on beauty, aromatherapy, fragrances, and health. Interestingly, the book devotes space for men's beauty as well. There is a section for massage too, a step-by-step guide to make up, a section on Sun (tanning safely, keeping your living space cool, keeping your skin healthy in the sun) and finally a section on aging -- which becomes more and more valuable to me as the years go by!
I bought this volume when it came out in 1994, and I believe that it is now a collectors item. It was a bit expensive, and my means were as limited as always but, at the same time, I always have a tiny budget for books!
Now I am happy I bought this book rather than saving the money it cost. Anita Roddick has died and the Body Shop has been sold.
Inside the volume I have kept some clippings from magazines on skin care, equally valuable today! One day's ephemera is the next day's memento.
I hope you are all enjoying a great Sunday, always with beauty and a book! xxx
The book is a collection of advice, know-how, how-to and tips from the Body Shop, with an Introduction by the late Anita Roddick.
It is a lovely volume, with practical information and advice, as well as historical and useful material on beauty, aromatherapy, fragrances, and health. Interestingly, the book devotes space for men's beauty as well. There is a section for massage too, a step-by-step guide to make up, a section on Sun (tanning safely, keeping your living space cool, keeping your skin healthy in the sun) and finally a section on aging -- which becomes more and more valuable to me as the years go by!
I bought this volume when it came out in 1994, and I believe that it is now a collectors item. It was a bit expensive, and my means were as limited as always but, at the same time, I always have a tiny budget for books!
Now I am happy I bought this book rather than saving the money it cost. Anita Roddick has died and the Body Shop has been sold.
Inside the volume I have kept some clippings from magazines on skin care, equally valuable today! One day's ephemera is the next day's memento.
I hope you are all enjoying a great Sunday, always with beauty and a book! xxx
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
A GLAMOROUS ADDITION TO LIFE
THIS weekend I watched Mockingjay part one, which is the third film to come out of the Hunger Games saga! I liked the film, especially the haunting tune sang by Jennifer Lawrence in a scene on the river bank. I normally don't love it when film characters break into song, but this scene is a marvelous exception to the rule!
As a fashion addict, I particularly love the character Effie, brilliantly played by Elizabeth Banks. Though Katniss is not an enthusiast for fashion and beauty practices, generally these are presented positively, and as a glamorous addition to life.
Also, I sometimes use Hunger Games for my lectures on gender and eating habits, as a good example of a book with a healthy attitude to food. Food is shown as something life-giving, valuable and essential; while most book heroines shun food, Katniss absolutely loves it, thus setting a good example.
What I found to criticize in the Hunger Games books is something which the film has not shown. This is the insistence that Katniss is so much like her father, and nothing like her mother. Katniss got her rebellion and spirit from her dad. It often happens in real life, of course, to get your free spirit directly and exclusively from one parent; however, fiction is not real life. The implication is that Katniss is so powerful because she took this from a man.
Personally, I prefer Prim, Katniss's more feminine sister, and their mother. I prefer the mother/Prim dyad, because they embody female knowledge and energy.
Other than this, I find that the Hunger Games saga depicts women and gender quite well, and certainly much better than other popular franchises!
Have a good evening and see you again soon! xxx
As a fashion addict, I particularly love the character Effie, brilliantly played by Elizabeth Banks. Though Katniss is not an enthusiast for fashion and beauty practices, generally these are presented positively, and as a glamorous addition to life.
Also, I sometimes use Hunger Games for my lectures on gender and eating habits, as a good example of a book with a healthy attitude to food. Food is shown as something life-giving, valuable and essential; while most book heroines shun food, Katniss absolutely loves it, thus setting a good example.
What I found to criticize in the Hunger Games books is something which the film has not shown. This is the insistence that Katniss is so much like her father, and nothing like her mother. Katniss got her rebellion and spirit from her dad. It often happens in real life, of course, to get your free spirit directly and exclusively from one parent; however, fiction is not real life. The implication is that Katniss is so powerful because she took this from a man.
Personally, I prefer Prim, Katniss's more feminine sister, and their mother. I prefer the mother/Prim dyad, because they embody female knowledge and energy.
Other than this, I find that the Hunger Games saga depicts women and gender quite well, and certainly much better than other popular franchises!
Have a good evening and see you again soon! xxx
Sunday, November 23, 2014
THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW
HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! Today we got the book Compacts and Cosmetics: Beauty from Victorian Times to the Present Day. The book is from Madeleine Marsh, and was published by Pen and Sword Press for the Women with Style Series in 2009.
Compacts and Cosmetics is, as the title suggests, about the history of beauty and cosmetics, all in relation to the material culture of the beauty industry: advertisements, product packaging, art and design as well as promotion of products through celebrities.
I use information from this book for my teaching and for writing in The Lipstick Papers!
The volume is lovely visually -- quality paper, attractive design and, most of all, excellent photographic material: Advertisements, photographs and cosmetics, vintage at first, closer to our own era as the chapters progress.
A drawback for this book is that it does not avoid misogyny. Maybe it was unintentional but, for example, mockery of women who used cosmetics (in the 18th century) is laid out in annoying detail without critical comment. Also, the name "Jezebel", applied up until the early 20th century to criticize women who used cosmetics, is used over and over, as if it is a brilliant descriptive term. I completely disagree with this. "Jezebel" is a patriarchal, misogynist term. A book may mention it to explain what it was, but not employ it afterwards itself.
Other than that, I recommend Compacts and Cosmetics to anyone interested in beauty and beauty's history!
Have a great Sunday afternoon, always with beauty and a book! xxx
Compacts and Cosmetics is, as the title suggests, about the history of beauty and cosmetics, all in relation to the material culture of the beauty industry: advertisements, product packaging, art and design as well as promotion of products through celebrities.
I use information from this book for my teaching and for writing in The Lipstick Papers!
The volume is lovely visually -- quality paper, attractive design and, most of all, excellent photographic material: Advertisements, photographs and cosmetics, vintage at first, closer to our own era as the chapters progress.
A drawback for this book is that it does not avoid misogyny. Maybe it was unintentional but, for example, mockery of women who used cosmetics (in the 18th century) is laid out in annoying detail without critical comment. Also, the name "Jezebel", applied up until the early 20th century to criticize women who used cosmetics, is used over and over, as if it is a brilliant descriptive term. I completely disagree with this. "Jezebel" is a patriarchal, misogynist term. A book may mention it to explain what it was, but not employ it afterwards itself.
Other than that, I recommend Compacts and Cosmetics to anyone interested in beauty and beauty's history!
Have a great Sunday afternoon, always with beauty and a book! xxx
Friday, November 21, 2014
BY ITSELF BEAUTIFUL
WHEN times get difficult, I often turn to books but, I have to say, I most often turn to beauty!
Pictures of fashion, lipstick, magazines, art, World Fashion TV -- all these make me feel better!
Of course, I don't underestimate the power of books. A good fiction piece, like Fifty Shades of Grey, Great Expectations, or even the first Twilight, are excellent to lift the mood. Thank goodness we got Christian (Grey).
Non-fiction is also excellent for the mood. For me, nothing beats a good history, art, or book history volume. But my favorites are again books about beauty, fashion and cosmetics!
I would also recommend a lovely memoir by Haruki Murakami, which I read in excellent Greek translation by Vasilis Kimoulis (Βασίλης Κιμούλης, Oceanida Publishers). The title is What I talk about when I talk about running, and it is absolutely wonderful.
I transcribe what is, for me, the best passage in the book (my translation, from Greek):
"In other words, we have to face it: life is basically unfair. Yet, even in an unfair situation, I believe it's possible to seek out a form of justice. Of course, this will take time and effort. And it might seem that it is not even worth to try. Whether you will eventually try, is entirely up to you".
Sometimes things get bad -- but I always think of Murakami's words, and decide that it is, eventually, worth to try. And I think that this is by itself beautiful.
Pictures of fashion, lipstick, magazines, art, World Fashion TV -- all these make me feel better!
Of course, I don't underestimate the power of books. A good fiction piece, like Fifty Shades of Grey, Great Expectations, or even the first Twilight, are excellent to lift the mood. Thank goodness we got Christian (Grey).
Non-fiction is also excellent for the mood. For me, nothing beats a good history, art, or book history volume. But my favorites are again books about beauty, fashion and cosmetics!
I would also recommend a lovely memoir by Haruki Murakami, which I read in excellent Greek translation by Vasilis Kimoulis (Βασίλης Κιμούλης, Oceanida Publishers). The title is What I talk about when I talk about running, and it is absolutely wonderful.
I transcribe what is, for me, the best passage in the book (my translation, from Greek):
"In other words, we have to face it: life is basically unfair. Yet, even in an unfair situation, I believe it's possible to seek out a form of justice. Of course, this will take time and effort. And it might seem that it is not even worth to try. Whether you will eventually try, is entirely up to you".
Sometimes things get bad -- but I always think of Murakami's words, and decide that it is, eventually, worth to try. And I think that this is by itself beautiful.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
THE ORIGINAL DOMESTIC GODDESS
YOU will probably know from earlier posts how much I love spiders! I admire them and their work and never destroy their spider-nets.
Arachne, which means spider in Greek, was a young gifted weaver from Athens, who bragged that she was better at weaving than the Goddess Athene. Athene became so angry she transformed the young woman into the insect we all know and love. Athene is the Greek Goddess of wisdom, weaving and embroidery. She is also a warrior Goddess.
Though the ancient Greeks were not that great on the issue of gender equality (but this again depended in which city-state you lived) they were wise enough to recognize that a woman could be the patron Goddess of things so antithetical such as books, war and the home.
Athene is probably the original Domestic Goddess -- and a warrior Goddess at that!
So how about manuals and advise books which tell us, women, that we should be domestic goddesses and that this is great? Is this liberating, or should we toss those manuals into the bin?
I say we have perfect freedom to be domestic goddesses and there is nothing wrong with it, provided we bear in mind three things. (a) This should be our choice, and not because we have to. (b) We must remember that there was never a romantic, golden age where the woman baked cookies, was deified and ruled the home: the woman was a prisoner in the home, and that's all there is to it. If you are not allowed, by law and/ or custom, to go to University and follow a profession, if as a married woman you are not allowed to own property and all your property belongs to your husband, then you are a prisoner. Finally, (c) we must keep in mind that the home is not solely our responsibility. Men (at least good men) care for their home too, and love to share.
Have a great mid-week, with beauty always with you! xxx
Arachne, which means spider in Greek, was a young gifted weaver from Athens, who bragged that she was better at weaving than the Goddess Athene. Athene became so angry she transformed the young woman into the insect we all know and love. Athene is the Greek Goddess of wisdom, weaving and embroidery. She is also a warrior Goddess.
Though the ancient Greeks were not that great on the issue of gender equality (but this again depended in which city-state you lived) they were wise enough to recognize that a woman could be the patron Goddess of things so antithetical such as books, war and the home.
Athene is probably the original Domestic Goddess -- and a warrior Goddess at that!
So how about manuals and advise books which tell us, women, that we should be domestic goddesses and that this is great? Is this liberating, or should we toss those manuals into the bin?
I say we have perfect freedom to be domestic goddesses and there is nothing wrong with it, provided we bear in mind three things. (a) This should be our choice, and not because we have to. (b) We must remember that there was never a romantic, golden age where the woman baked cookies, was deified and ruled the home: the woman was a prisoner in the home, and that's all there is to it. If you are not allowed, by law and/ or custom, to go to University and follow a profession, if as a married woman you are not allowed to own property and all your property belongs to your husband, then you are a prisoner. Finally, (c) we must keep in mind that the home is not solely our responsibility. Men (at least good men) care for their home too, and love to share.
Have a great mid-week, with beauty always with you! xxx
Sunday, November 16, 2014
THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW
HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! This week we have Paul Morand's The Allure of Chanel, Chanel's autobiographical account to French author Paul Morand. I didn't love this book too much, but it also has strong points, so I will try to give you a fair overview.
I read this book in excellent Greek translation (by Βάνα Χαρζάκη, from Agra Publishing House), but you can also find it in English.
This book is incredibly honest and unadulterated Chanel: we learn about Coco Chanel in her own no-nonsense and idiosyncratic voice.
Based on conversations with the author, the book is quite complete as an autobiography, following Chanel from a troubled childhood to young adulthood and finally to fame through hard work and determination.
One of the best features in the book are original illustrations by none other than Karl Lagerfeld! I am sure you will love the illustrations as much as I did.
A bad thing about the book is that sometimes Chanel comes out as too weird, too idiosyncratic. Her tone is very pessimistic and has things to say about women (and even about Chanel's own life) which sound too repressed.
I am not sure if I would recommend the book. It is not pleasant to read, and can be annoying. However, it is very useful for anyone interested/ being involved in fashion and fashion studies.
Have a great Sunday evening, always with beauty and a book! xxx
I read this book in excellent Greek translation (by Βάνα Χαρζάκη, from Agra Publishing House), but you can also find it in English.
This book is incredibly honest and unadulterated Chanel: we learn about Coco Chanel in her own no-nonsense and idiosyncratic voice.
Based on conversations with the author, the book is quite complete as an autobiography, following Chanel from a troubled childhood to young adulthood and finally to fame through hard work and determination.
One of the best features in the book are original illustrations by none other than Karl Lagerfeld! I am sure you will love the illustrations as much as I did.
A bad thing about the book is that sometimes Chanel comes out as too weird, too idiosyncratic. Her tone is very pessimistic and has things to say about women (and even about Chanel's own life) which sound too repressed.
I am not sure if I would recommend the book. It is not pleasant to read, and can be annoying. However, it is very useful for anyone interested/ being involved in fashion and fashion studies.
Have a great Sunday evening, always with beauty and a book! xxx
Saturday, November 15, 2014
LIPSTICK: THE NEXT FRONTIER
THE MORE you read about the history of lipstick, the more you love it!
I was reading the other day that, during the Second World War, lipstick cases were adapted and equipped with accessories such as emergency flashlights in case of blackout. Max Factor developed a long-lasting lipstick; Gala of London offered a refillable lipstick. Local pharmacies made their own from simple ingredients!
As for the US government, it declared the production of lipstick a wartime necessity. Make-up and hairstyles balanced the difficulty in getting new clothes (because of the war). In 1944, the British government classified beauty products as necessities. Looking good was an act of defiance.
This is about the past. What does the future hold for lipstick? I am convinced that lipstick will go on being woman's best friend, and will accompany humanity to the next frontier, which is, of course, space.
What I wouldn't give to see a lipstick case adapted for space travel!
xxx
P.S. I got the information about wartime lipstick from the book Beauty Imagined, by Geoffrey Jones.
I was reading the other day that, during the Second World War, lipstick cases were adapted and equipped with accessories such as emergency flashlights in case of blackout. Max Factor developed a long-lasting lipstick; Gala of London offered a refillable lipstick. Local pharmacies made their own from simple ingredients!
As for the US government, it declared the production of lipstick a wartime necessity. Make-up and hairstyles balanced the difficulty in getting new clothes (because of the war). In 1944, the British government classified beauty products as necessities. Looking good was an act of defiance.
This is about the past. What does the future hold for lipstick? I am convinced that lipstick will go on being woman's best friend, and will accompany humanity to the next frontier, which is, of course, space.
What I wouldn't give to see a lipstick case adapted for space travel!
xxx
P.S. I got the information about wartime lipstick from the book Beauty Imagined, by Geoffrey Jones.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
MORE THINGS TO BEAUTY
IF you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I am much in favor of body size acceptance, and try to talk about the relationship between beauty and weight.
Recently, I have stopped reading a book which was sort of autobiographical, and had to do with a young woman's exploits in fashion. I stopped reading it because I found her obsession with her weight and with male approval to be disturbing and worrying.
Though happily married now, the writer could only think of how she has always been big, and no boy ever dated her at school. She started wearing corsets because they made her look less big.
I stopped reading the book, so I can't really say whether it improves later. The spirit was so repressed that I doubt it, yet I don't know.
Male approval is good and important for women; however, we must not let it define us. Of course we want men to like us, but this must have nothing to do with our self-esteem and our definition of what is beautiful!
Also, there is nothing wrong with being so-called "big". As long as we are healthy and fit, kilos do not matter. This book sent a dangerous message to big girls, telling them in advance that no boy would ever date them.
Beauty is our own and no-one else's. And there are more things to beauty than a number on the scales!
Recently, I have stopped reading a book which was sort of autobiographical, and had to do with a young woman's exploits in fashion. I stopped reading it because I found her obsession with her weight and with male approval to be disturbing and worrying.
Though happily married now, the writer could only think of how she has always been big, and no boy ever dated her at school. She started wearing corsets because they made her look less big.
I stopped reading the book, so I can't really say whether it improves later. The spirit was so repressed that I doubt it, yet I don't know.
Male approval is good and important for women; however, we must not let it define us. Of course we want men to like us, but this must have nothing to do with our self-esteem and our definition of what is beautiful!
Also, there is nothing wrong with being so-called "big". As long as we are healthy and fit, kilos do not matter. This book sent a dangerous message to big girls, telling them in advance that no boy would ever date them.
Beauty is our own and no-one else's. And there are more things to beauty than a number on the scales!
Sunday, November 9, 2014
THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW
ONE of the most beautiful romantic associations I found in literature is in Oscar Wilde's short story The Canterville Ghost, between 15-year old Virginia Otis and the young Duke of Cheshire, also a teenager.
The boy falls in love with Virginia one day when he sees her horse-riding in Hyde Park. Virginia is a "wonderful amazon", and wins a race twice: the young Duke proposes to her on the spot. Unluckily, his guardians are also there, and pack him immediately off to Eton "in floods of tears".
You can't get more romantic or tender than that!
Of course, true love prevails, and Cecil (that's the name of the boy) seeks Virginia again, they stick together through happiness and trouble, and eventually marry when he comes of age. They live happily ever after.
I love the fact that it is Virginia's litheness and agility that won the heart of her "boy-lover", and I think the "amazon" metaphor is very successful, because an Amazon evokes female power and strength.
Women were often kept away from physical exercise, for a number of prudish reasons, all of them wrong (prudishness is always wrong). Though ancient Athens promoted sports and had physical education among the basic courses in the school curriculum, this was only for boys, not girls. Girls received little education. Sparta, Athens's rival, was somewhat better in the treatment of women, and girls were trained in sports as well as boys.
A book with a history of physical education for women (concentrating on France, however) is Mary Lynn Stewart's Physical Culture for French Women 1880s-1930s.
I wish you all a great Sunday! xxx
The boy falls in love with Virginia one day when he sees her horse-riding in Hyde Park. Virginia is a "wonderful amazon", and wins a race twice: the young Duke proposes to her on the spot. Unluckily, his guardians are also there, and pack him immediately off to Eton "in floods of tears".
You can't get more romantic or tender than that!
Of course, true love prevails, and Cecil (that's the name of the boy) seeks Virginia again, they stick together through happiness and trouble, and eventually marry when he comes of age. They live happily ever after.
I love the fact that it is Virginia's litheness and agility that won the heart of her "boy-lover", and I think the "amazon" metaphor is very successful, because an Amazon evokes female power and strength.
Women were often kept away from physical exercise, for a number of prudish reasons, all of them wrong (prudishness is always wrong). Though ancient Athens promoted sports and had physical education among the basic courses in the school curriculum, this was only for boys, not girls. Girls received little education. Sparta, Athens's rival, was somewhat better in the treatment of women, and girls were trained in sports as well as boys.
A book with a history of physical education for women (concentrating on France, however) is Mary Lynn Stewart's Physical Culture for French Women 1880s-1930s.
I wish you all a great Sunday! xxx
Friday, November 7, 2014
THE LIPSTICK EFFECT
IT IS one of my beliefs that buying new lipstick is among the best things in life! Yesterday I bought a new lipstick from Guerlain in a lovely pink shade and in a magnificent aerodynamic case, as you can see:
You probably know this already, but in a war or an economic crisis there is the so-called "lipstick effect". Sales of lipstick rise significantly rather than drop. This is because lipstick is affordable luxury, which brightens times of trouble! My own personal dream is to live in the Lipstick building, a skyscraper in the shape of lipstick in New York!
I don't find lipstick too often in fiction, except as a general mention concerning color. Lipstick is of course much more than this!
Lipstick is often mentioned in Rosamunde Pilcher's Coming Home. This is a novel which I read years ago and which I recently tried to read again. The second time I stopped reading. I love the way the book presents beauty and beautiful women, but this time I couldn't stand the class snobbery, some gender issues and the division of women into bitter old maids and women who have sex.
Women studies today promote a woman's right to virginity as as well as a woman's right to sexuality. What a woman does with her body (or her bed for that matter) is her right and absolutely no-one else's.
Have we strayed too far from lipstick? I don't think so. Lipstick, beauty and body are all a woman's business!
I wish you a great Friday evening! xxx
You probably know this already, but in a war or an economic crisis there is the so-called "lipstick effect". Sales of lipstick rise significantly rather than drop. This is because lipstick is affordable luxury, which brightens times of trouble! My own personal dream is to live in the Lipstick building, a skyscraper in the shape of lipstick in New York!
I don't find lipstick too often in fiction, except as a general mention concerning color. Lipstick is of course much more than this!
Lipstick is often mentioned in Rosamunde Pilcher's Coming Home. This is a novel which I read years ago and which I recently tried to read again. The second time I stopped reading. I love the way the book presents beauty and beautiful women, but this time I couldn't stand the class snobbery, some gender issues and the division of women into bitter old maids and women who have sex.
Women studies today promote a woman's right to virginity as as well as a woman's right to sexuality. What a woman does with her body (or her bed for that matter) is her right and absolutely no-one else's.
Have we strayed too far from lipstick? I don't think so. Lipstick, beauty and body are all a woman's business!
I wish you a great Friday evening! xxx
Thursday, November 6, 2014
EVERY WOMAN INTO A STAR
I ALWAYS say that make-up and beauty are among the greatest things in life, and now I can prove it!
Today I booked a free make-up session at Beauty Line here in Cyprus, and got a free makeover by Mike Orphanides.
Mike is not only ultra-talented, ultra-famous and make-up artist to the stars, he can transform every woman into a star too! His work is amazing, and his touch is gentle, but also firm and strong. He treats you like a star too. I very much enjoyed the make-up session!
In the end, I came out looking like a model. In the picture with Mike here, we look as if we are at the Oscars red carpet!!!
When I left Beauty Line, people stared at me admiringly on the street. Make-up is a wonderful experience!
I have been reading many books about the history of make-up, where people in the past tried to restrain women from using it, or from enjoying make-up and their own beauty. Luckily, all these ideas are out of fashion now.
Beauty is every woman's right. Yes!
Today I booked a free make-up session at Beauty Line here in Cyprus, and got a free makeover by Mike Orphanides.
Mike is not only ultra-talented, ultra-famous and make-up artist to the stars, he can transform every woman into a star too! His work is amazing, and his touch is gentle, but also firm and strong. He treats you like a star too. I very much enjoyed the make-up session!
In the end, I came out looking like a model. In the picture with Mike here, we look as if we are at the Oscars red carpet!!!
When I left Beauty Line, people stared at me admiringly on the street. Make-up is a wonderful experience!
I have been reading many books about the history of make-up, where people in the past tried to restrain women from using it, or from enjoying make-up and their own beauty. Luckily, all these ideas are out of fashion now.
Beauty is every woman's right. Yes!
Sunday, November 2, 2014
SUNDAY BEAUTY (Take a walk on the Wilde side)
CURRENTLY re-reading Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, I have only one regret: that Oscar Wilde did not write more novels!
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime is a short story by Oscar Wilde. It may also be called a novella, as it has chapters of its own and is larger than your average short story.
Wilde famously wrote only one novel, The Picture of Dorian Grey. The novella I am (re)reading now, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime is, intriguingly, a re-telling of The Picture of Dorian Grey. You can tell the moment you start reading: Arthur Savile is exactly like Dorian Grey, and his fiancee Sybil Merton is Dorian's fiancee, Sybil Vane. In both works, there is an evil prediction or fate hanging over the young male protagonist.
Unlike Dorian Grey, Crime has a happy ending! :-) This is great for me, coz I only like happy endings.
To get back to Wilde's writing. I honestly think he is an absolute master of language. I don't think I have read more wonderful and sensitive descriptions of beauty than in Wilde. The "dawn's delicate loveliness", the "days that break in beauty", the water "glimmering like a moonstone" and, an amazing description, the vegetables in the London morning market looking "like masses of jade against the morning sky, like masses of green jade against the pink petals of some marvellous rose".
I also enjoyed Sybil Merton's description, especially the "there was a touch of Greek grace in her pose and attitude"!
What I love about Wilde also, is that he understood one thing: if the public enjoys beautiful female heroines, they are going to enjoy beautiful male protagonists too. You can trust Wilde on that, and you know how I insist that giving beauty only to the female protagonist is sexist (the woman needs to be beautiful in fiction, but the man doesn't).
Have a great Sunday wherever you are! xxx
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime is a short story by Oscar Wilde. It may also be called a novella, as it has chapters of its own and is larger than your average short story.
Wilde famously wrote only one novel, The Picture of Dorian Grey. The novella I am (re)reading now, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime is, intriguingly, a re-telling of The Picture of Dorian Grey. You can tell the moment you start reading: Arthur Savile is exactly like Dorian Grey, and his fiancee Sybil Merton is Dorian's fiancee, Sybil Vane. In both works, there is an evil prediction or fate hanging over the young male protagonist.
Unlike Dorian Grey, Crime has a happy ending! :-) This is great for me, coz I only like happy endings.
To get back to Wilde's writing. I honestly think he is an absolute master of language. I don't think I have read more wonderful and sensitive descriptions of beauty than in Wilde. The "dawn's delicate loveliness", the "days that break in beauty", the water "glimmering like a moonstone" and, an amazing description, the vegetables in the London morning market looking "like masses of jade against the morning sky, like masses of green jade against the pink petals of some marvellous rose".
I also enjoyed Sybil Merton's description, especially the "there was a touch of Greek grace in her pose and attitude"!
What I love about Wilde also, is that he understood one thing: if the public enjoys beautiful female heroines, they are going to enjoy beautiful male protagonists too. You can trust Wilde on that, and you know how I insist that giving beauty only to the female protagonist is sexist (the woman needs to be beautiful in fiction, but the man doesn't).
Have a great Sunday wherever you are! xxx
Friday, October 31, 2014
PETTICOATS AND SKIRTS
AS I was reading today the November 1862 issue of The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, I was amused to find an article about a so-called "crinolinophobia"!
This refers to a wave of satire against the crinoline, originated and propagated by men, with the goal of laughing at women who wore the huge crinoline to support their petticoats and skirts.
The writer of the article was, of course, unpeturbed by this, and declared fashion victorious over satire! Women can wear whatever they find pleasing and appropriate.
I take the writer of the article to have been Isabella Beeton, the famous Victorian journalist. Her husband was the editor of The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, and Isabella wrote most of the pieces. Isabella and her husband were young, happy and successful; unfortunately, this happiness did not last long because Isabella died at 28 at childbirth.
However, she has left us a long legacy of writing on housekeeping and fashion!
I do my archival research on the Victorians from online databases of periodicals and magazines. I started this research during my PhD study and have continued it since. I enjoy it immensely. I will keep you posted!
Have a good evening and take care! xxx
This refers to a wave of satire against the crinoline, originated and propagated by men, with the goal of laughing at women who wore the huge crinoline to support their petticoats and skirts.
The writer of the article was, of course, unpeturbed by this, and declared fashion victorious over satire! Women can wear whatever they find pleasing and appropriate.
I take the writer of the article to have been Isabella Beeton, the famous Victorian journalist. Her husband was the editor of The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, and Isabella wrote most of the pieces. Isabella and her husband were young, happy and successful; unfortunately, this happiness did not last long because Isabella died at 28 at childbirth.
However, she has left us a long legacy of writing on housekeeping and fashion!
I do my archival research on the Victorians from online databases of periodicals and magazines. I started this research during my PhD study and have continued it since. I enjoy it immensely. I will keep you posted!
Have a good evening and take care! xxx
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
DIE TOGETHER THAN LIVE A LIFE APART
WHEN Wuthering Heights was published in 1847, people were outraged with its open presentation of passion, rage and violence. At the same time, they were fascinated with the raw portrayal of a love which is so essential and powerful that it transcends death.
Emily Bronte and her sisters Charlotte and Anne all wrote under male pseudonyms. They were Ellis, Currer and Acton Bell. Emily was Ellis, Charlotte was Currer and Anne was Acton, supposedly brothers.
Interest as to the identity and personality of the brothers was great! People were excited and could not stop guessing about them.
The young man who had written Wuthering Heights was thought to be passionate, perhaps low born but probably cultivated, proud and strong. He has been slighted by society at some point, people thought, and that is why he has turned his passion and intelligence into anger. In other words, people thought that Wuthering Heights had been written by a young man exactly like Heathcliff, the protagonist.
Wuthering Heights is considered among the finest books ever written, and rightly so. Today it has gained notoriety in popular culture because it is Bela and Edward's favorite book in the Twilight saga, and was actually printed with a Twilight cover.
Like Heathcliff and Catherine before them, Bela and Edward are obsessed with each other, and prefer to die together than live a life apart. Catherine and Heathcliff's love drives them to extremities of passion and eventually to madness.
More about books within books, the Bronte sisters and their pseudonyms in later posts!
See you all again soon :-)
Emily Bronte and her sisters Charlotte and Anne all wrote under male pseudonyms. They were Ellis, Currer and Acton Bell. Emily was Ellis, Charlotte was Currer and Anne was Acton, supposedly brothers.
Interest as to the identity and personality of the brothers was great! People were excited and could not stop guessing about them.
The young man who had written Wuthering Heights was thought to be passionate, perhaps low born but probably cultivated, proud and strong. He has been slighted by society at some point, people thought, and that is why he has turned his passion and intelligence into anger. In other words, people thought that Wuthering Heights had been written by a young man exactly like Heathcliff, the protagonist.
Wuthering Heights is considered among the finest books ever written, and rightly so. Today it has gained notoriety in popular culture because it is Bela and Edward's favorite book in the Twilight saga, and was actually printed with a Twilight cover.
Like Heathcliff and Catherine before them, Bela and Edward are obsessed with each other, and prefer to die together than live a life apart. Catherine and Heathcliff's love drives them to extremities of passion and eventually to madness.
More about books within books, the Bronte sisters and their pseudonyms in later posts!
See you all again soon :-)
Sunday, October 26, 2014
PRICELESS IN BEAUTY
TODAY I did one of my change of season rituals: I changed the Marilyn Monroe bath curtain for the white winter bath curtain!
The white curtain is bright, and goes to the bath to console me for the loss of light during the winter months. This is the dark season, which I don't like. I love the summer and the sun.
I am sure there are good things in winter, but not for me. I can find a few, like being able to wear my lipstick necklace (see picture below). By itself, the lipstick necklace is a bit heavy on the chest, but can be worn comfortably with a sweater. I love the lipstick necklace! It cost me about 12 euro, but it is priceless in beauty!
Also, winter is good because we can place soft and wooly throws on furniture. This is a winter privilege: in the summer we have to have light and not so cuddly throws.
This is it! No other pros for winter. Spring and summer are the best seasons, no doubt about it.
Have a beautiful Sunday and be well! xxx
The white curtain is bright, and goes to the bath to console me for the loss of light during the winter months. This is the dark season, which I don't like. I love the summer and the sun.
I am sure there are good things in winter, but not for me. I can find a few, like being able to wear my lipstick necklace (see picture below). By itself, the lipstick necklace is a bit heavy on the chest, but can be worn comfortably with a sweater. I love the lipstick necklace! It cost me about 12 euro, but it is priceless in beauty!
Also, winter is good because we can place soft and wooly throws on furniture. This is a winter privilege: in the summer we have to have light and not so cuddly throws.
This is it! No other pros for winter. Spring and summer are the best seasons, no doubt about it.
Have a beautiful Sunday and be well! xxx
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