THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

NEW weekend, new book review from The Lipstick Papers! Today our book is Branded Beauty: How Marketing Changed the Way We Look, by Mark Tungate!

Theme: after a brief account of the history of beauty products, the book gives us a chapter by chapter guide to the beauty industry from the 1900s to today. The chapters cover trends, ideas in beauty, but also the history of major beauty companies such as Estee Lauder, Helena Rubinstein, Max Factor, Clinique, Aesop Cosmetics and so on.

Strong Points: the book contains not only a history of the modern beauty industry, but also a social and cultural commentary, explaining marketing techniques, concepts behind the cosmetics and how these are realized in the actual products. Because the author lives and works in France, he bases his research on French as well as English-speaking sources, which gives the book a nice touch of variety! There is a chapter on men and beauty, too, which is very informative.

Verdict: This is a great book for anyone who is interested in the history and marketing of cosmetics! I learnt a lot reading Branded Beauty, and I totally recommend!

HIGHLIGHTS

IF, like me, you cannot afford a holiday, or if you don't have the time for it, worry not! A "stay-cation" is never a bad idea!

I found a list of "low or no cost" things you can do on a summer, and here are the highlights: go for a walk; volunteer; go to the park; play football; walk the dog; have a picnic; cycle around the block; learn a song; dress up.

Um, what else is there? Read a book; go to the beach! For me, an excellent idea is, of course, to buy a new lipstick.

Last but not least, read The Lipstick Papers! It's cool and absolutely free. The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review coming soon!

BEAUTY IN BLUE

The Lipstick Papers would like to congratulate the Greek National Team for its first ever qualifier for the World Cup 16! Γειά σου Ελλάδα! Ντυμένη πάντα τα γαλάζια χρώματά σου! Way to go Greece! Beauty in Blue! xxx

WALK UP (The Goddess of the Moon)

THE Ancient Greek Goddess Artemis (in Roman, Diana) is the Virgin Goddess of the Moon, twin sister to the Sun God Apollo, and also the Goddess of wild animals and hunting. At the same time, she is also a Goddess of Childbirth!

This has to do with the story of her birth. Artemis and Apollo are the children of the mortal woman Leto, with whom Zeus their dad had an affair. While pregnant, Leto was pursued by a jealous Hera, and was brought to safety by the kind God Hermes. 

Hermes brought Leto to the Greek island of Delos, and there Leto found sanctuary (later Delos became an important religious centre for classic Greece). During the pains of labour, the baby Artemis came out first.

Though she was tiny, Artemis was also a Goddess. She walked up, and helped her mother deliver Apollo, her twin brother.

Since then, Artemis is a protector of women in labor! The same goes for Leto, and the Goddess Hera, who is also the patron Goddess of home and family.

Motherhood is a gift to women, though I don't think it's necessarily a woman's destiny. Also, a woman needs help with motherhood -- in terms of infrastructure, from the state, and in terms of sharing and support from a partner, if there is one.

And I believe that motherhood, in a broader sense, is not exclusive to women! Some dads are excellent at mothering too! :-)

PERFECT FOR SUMMER

I KNOW that summer is here once I put my summer duvet cover on the bed! This is a cover I bought twenty years ago, from London. I kept it for ten years in a drawer, until I got my own place, and then I used it!!!!!!

The cover is sparkling white, with lovely flower bouquets spread all over, in yellow, orange and green! It is perfect for summer!

Christina Rossetti wrote about summers in her poetry, though her imagination of summer is not always bright -- a bit like Lana del Ray today, I guess.

Myself, I imagine John Keats writing Nightingale on a summer's eve, in his garden at home in London. After nearly two hundred years, Keats's poetry still sounds fresh, sensuous, -- after nearly two hundred years it still sounds sexy! It is among the most beautiful poetry ever written. Keats himself was beautiful, and died at twenty-five in Rome, having lived a life of poverty and pain. I first read about him in Alcott's Good Wives, a novel I read when I was a kid, and which introduced me to the world of poetry and art.

There are countless ways to think about summer. Summer can be a novel, or a poem, ice cream, the sea and the sand, catching a glimpse of a mermaid on the beach -- to me, it is spreading one lovely quilt, bought twenty years ago from London!

A BLOG FOR YOU

A NEW day and a new summer week!

New posts from The Lipstick Papers coming soon! Thank you to all who read and follow this blog! A blog for beauty, a blog for books -- a blog for you! ;-)

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

IT IS Saturday, I am at my favorite cafe, and I am doing what I love best -- writing at The Lipstick Papers! This week's book review!

Our book today is Gisele Scanlon's The Goddess Guide, published by Harper Collins in 2006.

I think The Goddess Guide was published right before Christmas that year; at least, that's when I bought it, I think from London. My edition has the sticker "3 pounds off from Borders"; we didn't have Borders in my town, so it must be London. The book always brings to my mind the Christmas magic which, despite any personal problems we might be facing, makes us feel good!

This book reads like one huge glossy magazine. There is a lot of advice on style and where to shop, but also amazing stuff on food, home decoration and lifestyle!

Strong point(s): despite some whining about not all of us having the body of a film actress, this is a book written by a young woman who loves food, and wants to give everybody useful tips on where to find amazing sweets, chocolate, breakfast and steak! "Do you love chocolate? I do!" Equally to chocolate, I love it that a book on beauty has this sentence. There is even advice for die-hard chocolate fans and where they can check the top ten chocolate bars.

Strongest point: Not only the wonderful advice on style, lingerie, letter writing and everything else you can think of, but also an interview with Christian Louboutin!

Verdict: This is a wonderful book! Gisele Scanlon has a website too, and a sequel to her book!

That's the book review for this weekend. I wish you all a lovely evening, always with beauty and a good book!

LIPSTICK PEN

THIS picture is perfect for The Lipstick Papers! Beauty, art and power all in one go! Beauty and make up are like the pen in that they are empowering and tell a story! Women draw their own beauty and write their own story and self. That is why for each woman beauty should be something original, personal and fun!

MAGIC SUMMER

OPEN the magic purse for a beautiful summer! 

The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review coming soon with one more cool book! xxx

LITERARY GIRLS

THIS is such a beautiful painting that I had to share!

Girlhood nowadays is its own independent subject of study in the postgraduate gender, literature and cultural fields; but it has been a favorite subject for painting, art and literature for centuries.

Jane Eyre's painful childhood, the March sisters, Sarah the Little Princess, Polyanna, Anne of Green Gables, Christine from Flambards, Judith Dunbar from Coming Home, Estella's traumatic girlhood in Great Expectations -- the list is endless, and it is a trip down our shared memory! Girls who have been with us since we were girls (or boys) ourselves, and who will still be with us when we are old.

More on these wonderful literary heroines in later posts!

P.S. The painting is Girl Braiding her Hair by Albert Anker (1887)

A MEMORABLE ICE CREAM MOMENT

ICE-CREAM, according to Anne Fadiman (At Large and At Small: Confessions of a Literary Hedonist) existed in recipes brought from Italy to the French court in the 16th century by Catherine de Medici. 

Italians turned frozen desserts to an art in the 18th and 19th centuries, using anything from coffee, chocolate and cinnamon to strawberries, cherries and grapes for flavor. The first record of ice cream in the US dates to 1744 in Maryland!

From literature, we learn that the Victorians delighted in ices and sherbets; in popular literature, a memorable ice cream moment comes, for me, from Rosamunde Pilcher's novel The Empty House.

This is when a young Virginia Keile shares an ice cream on a Cornwall beach with first love Eustace Philips. It is actually a rainy day and sharing something with a young man she is beginning to love is like magic for the honest and kind-hearted girl.

Later, Virginia will succumb to her mother's insistence (and maneuvering) and marry for money and prestige. Marrying for money is the easy way out of life's pressures and the easy way into an empty house. What will happen to Eustace? Will Virginia ever find happiness? I can't say; I wouldn't want to spoil this lovely little novel!

Meanwhile, enjoy a beautiful summer, with sun, ice-cream and new amazing posts from The Lipstick Papers, of course!!!!!!!!

STILL BEAUTIFUL

ONE OF the first things I ever drew was a ballerina. I was five years old, and the sketch got into the school yearbook. I got the inspiration from a ballerina who starred in an Italian photo romance! 

Do you know what Italian photo romances were? They were a highly popular form of romance story, told in lovely photographs and done in Italy, with amazing Italian actors, actresses and models!!!!! In Greece and Cyprus we got them in translation through magazines such as Domino (Ντομινό), Romantzo (Ρομάντζο) and some others. 

The ballerina in our story was young and very beautiful, and she met a young and beautiful doctor. They fell in love and married, but he volunteered for an organization that helped embattled areas in Africa. He left to go there and sadly got killed. The day the ballerina learnt that he was dead was the day she also learnt that she was pregnant. Miserable and determined, she goes and performs that night, and ends the story in the bright spotlight!

Too romantic, you might say? Yet the older I get the more I find myself drawn again to romance. There is nothing wrong with romance, provided that it is not used to perpetuate stereotypes, prejudices and narrow ideas.

When she was widowed, our ballerina did not go, "Oh no, how can I have a child on my own, will I raise my child well, will I ever find another man"?????? She was shuttered, but she knew that she would get through. She said, "I will raise my child on my own, I can and I will"! To work, I think romance needs to be empowering.

Nowadays, I realize that the Italian photo romances have stayed with me and I write romance stories which directly descend from them. With the Internet, I think I traced the Italian actress who played the ballerina. She is sixty now and, though she has done no botox or surgery, she is still very beautiful!!!!

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

IT IS the weekend, which means it's time for The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! The Lipstick Papers takes a quick break from watching the World Cup to write!

Today I will talk about The Little Black Dress: How to Dress Perfectly for Any Occasion by Tracy Martin, published in 2012 by CICO Books!

Theme: This book is a fashion and style guide. It gives advice on how to improve your wardrobe and maintain your style. Quoting Jean-Paul Gaultier in the Introduction, the book holds that "elegance is a question of personality more than one's clothing".

Strong point(s): The Little Black Dress contains a lot of good, practical advice on style and on which clothes go with which . The history of fashion feature is also great! For every section, there is history too -- not only of the little black dress but also of the pant suit, the skirt, the shirt, famous and iconic dresses and everything! You can also find material on caring for clothes and accessories. I especially love the how to care for your jewels part!

Verdict: This is a book which is both useful and pretty! The edition is lovely, with cute illustrations done by Lord Dunsby, luxury paper and its own pretty bookmark. Love it!

So long from The Lipstick Papers Review until the next weekend! Meanwhile, be well and have beauty always with you!

BEAUTY'S GIFT

I FOUND the other day this lovely picture of a model posing in Victorian fashionable costume!

The picture is faithful to the Victorian era in many ways. The hair-style is correct -- Victorian unmarried women could wear their hair long in public, but it was considered better to style it. The bonnet, the rich fabric of the dress, the love for lace, the brooch on the bonnet -- it's all straight from the nineteenth century!

Do you want to know what is different, or out of time? Two things. The expression on the face and the make up! Victorian young women were constricted in the way they behaved, looked or stared at others. They were taught to be demure, and not to enjoy their own beauty.

As for make up, it was tolerated so long as it was discreet and home-made. 

Gradually, though, women started to buy cosmetics in the form of powder, rouge, or even a bit of lip-paint. However, make up became acceptable and was eventually popularized in the 20th century, by Hollywood.

A common feature of the Victorian era and our own is concern with female beauty. Despite the sermonizing, Victorian women cared for their beauty.

I think that beauty is something to be enjoyed. We should enhance and love the beauty we have, and enjoy the beauty of others. For me, beauty is the greatest inspiration. Like kindness and health, beauty is a great gift!

FAVORITE RED LIPSTICK

I READ an interesting article on cosmetics and beauty routines in The New York Times the other day, and I thought I could tell you about it: it's called Isabel Toledo's Beauty and Fitness Regimen! Isabel Toledo is a fashion designer and she shares beauty and fitness secrets with us!

Reading the article, I learnt lots of new information about cosmetics -- e.g. a Spanish soap brand called Maja: Isabel Toledo, who is Cuban-American and lives in New York, says that it is the brand used by her mother and grandmother. Also, I learnt about La Mer hand-cream, Carita Fluid de Beaute, read advice on skin care and fitness and --of course-- I read about Toledo's favorite red lipstick! 

I think what attracted me about this article is not only the beauty tips, but also reading about the ways in which beauty routines, make up, cosmetics and fitness/ cooking regimens are part of our lives and part of who we are.

I love to use beauty to write stories like this! Colors and styles make up a life story (pun intended). For me, my Clinique and Lancome lipsticks are the reliable and trusted friends for everyday, my fuchsia-pink Nyx lip pencil is the coquette lipstick, the Estee Lauder dark fuchsia is for the evening, the Dior rouge which is like a dark pink rose, is for prettiness! 

And so on and so forth into lipstick eternity!

DURING THAT SUMMER

SUMMER and literature are perfect for each other! We save books through the year to read in the summer, while reading and media websites have tips for our summer-reading and for reading on the beach. 

Yet summer can be a literary protagonist too! For me, one great literary summer is in Louisa May Alcott's Good Wives, a book I read when I was seven years old.

During that summer, both Amy March and Laurie Lawrence travel to Europe separately; [SPOILER alert] they have common friends, meet up and fall in love. Amy manages to make Laurie get over his desperate love for her sister, the formidable Joe March.

To me, Good Wives is one of those books which opened my horizons to a world which existed beyond my own, very limited, world -- a world of poetry, imagination and art. I preferred, then as I do now, Amy March's concern with art, beauty and fashion to Joe March's graver concerns!

During that summer in Europe, both Amy and Laurie are unhappy, but then find happiness together, and return to the US as an engaged couple. And Alcott makes clear that happiness is entirely their making -- Amy speaks up and tells Laurie some unwelcome truths, while he becomes determined to heal his broken heart!

More on literary summers in later posts!

LIPSTICK AND SUMMER

LIPSTICK and summer look great together in this amazing pic!

New posts are coming soon at The Lipstick Papers, posts for beauty, the summer and posts for books!

Meanwhile, have a great start to the week!

A SUMMER SUNDAY

I KNOW it's summer, and it's not that I miss the winter, but this Snow Flake Fairy is so amazing I just had to post!!!!!!!!! 

Fairies are real, of course, just like mermaids. Perhaps we will never see a fairy or a mermaid in our lifetime, but this is how it should be -- these creatures belong to an entirely different realm, and do not want to be seen, I think!

Sometimes, fairies are less than good in literature and in stories; at other times they are helpful and benevolent. In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Mr Rochester compares Jane to a fairy, not only because she is slender and elf-like, but also because she is other-worldly, strange and has bewitched him!

Possession by A.S. Byatt is full of references to fairies. I am re-reading this novel, and I will come back to fairies in later posts.  Meanwhile, enjoy the Sunday and be well!

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

IT IS the weekend, which means a new book review from The Lipstick Papers! This time we have the book It's Vintage Darling! How to be a clothes connoisseur (2006) by Christa Weil.

This is a lovely book, which I bought a few years ago, while I was still doing my PhD in the UK.

Theme: vintage clothes, how to select them, how to care for them and where you can find them. The book is also a style guide; Christa Weil is a designer and the former wife of the famous designer Ossie Clarke (who is now deceased). Here she gives us really practical advice on how to select clothes: quality indicators and how to tell if the item fits. The advice on clothes care is also amazing!

Strong points: apart from practical advice, there is a lot on the history of fabric and clothes. Plus, the book features contributions from fashion icons such as Lulu Guinness and Jemma Kidd. The volume itself is very attractive, with nice design and paper of high quality.

Verdict: I love this book! Even if you don't like vintage (I don't) it can work excellently well as a guidebook and a clothes care manual!

BREAKFAST BEAUTY (HOME, COMFORT AND BUTTERED TOAST)

THERE IS no cookery book, or diet book or a lifestyle volume without information and recipes for breakfast! Yet how about breakfasts in literature? The Lipstick Papers investigates!

For Charles Dickens, a wedding is celebrated with breakfast, which is called "the wedding breakfast" and takes place immediately after the wedding ceremony!

However, breakfast is not always happy in Dickens; a young Pip has a nightmarish breakfast with baddy Uncle Pumblechook in Great Expectations! Breakfasts at horrid private schools in David Copperfield and Nicholas Nickleby are equally bad. The same goes for Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, when Jane is at Lowood, the --you guessed it-- horrid private charity school she is sent to by her evil Aunt Reed.

On the other hand, breakfast at the school where Lucy is teacher in Villette is plentiful and happy; in A Little Princess, the Magic makes surprise fairy tale breakfasts for orphan Sarah to eat at the attic!

In Fifty Shades of Grey, Christian orders a lavish breakfast for Ana after a momentary stay at the Heathman; for the two young lovers, breakfast is always a way to express emotion and discuss their relationship and what they feel for each other.

In fantasy novels like The Belgariad by David Eddings and Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams, breakfasts are always taken on the road (because the protagonists are on a quest). In front of the campfire, the novel heroes eat their hard biscuits and dried meat, dreaming of home, comfort and buttered toast.

So you could say that breakfast is a way to set the tone, and reflect a novel's direction and themes!

Personally, I love breakfast as indeed I love all my meals. But what I wouldn't give for a breakfast with Christian Grey! It doesn't have to be at the Heathman or a luxury hotel...
 ;-)

SUMMER BEAUTY

SUMMER is here and, at The Lipstick Papers, we celebrate the beautiful season! Sun, the sea, and rushing to grab a sweater for the cool evening! This will be a summer of exciting posts!

A big thank you to each and every one of you who read this blog, and have a good start to the summer!