A BIT OF LUXURY

THE marquise de la Tour du Pin worked as a plain farm woman in the US and, selling her own butter, added a touch of French finesse in the package by using the family monogram and a fine wrapping cloth!

Lucie de la Tour du Pin was a famous blonde French beauty, and a maid of honor to Marie Antoinette. Lucie and her husband had to flee France during the terror. They went to the US, where they bought a homestead. The husband did not adjust too well, but Lucie loved her new home. She worked, dressed plainly, and never put on aristocratic airs; this earned her the respect of her neighbors. Lucie had excellent relations with the Native Americans too, and was especially proud of her dairy. The aforementioned touch of luxury made her butter particularly popular!

I think women have, historically, been able to make a living through the business of luxury and pampering. Helena Rubinstein, for example, started her business by selling much-needed facial cream to the women of a remote Australian town. Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder also built empires on the business of luxury and beauty.

Traditionally, we women have been accused of love for luxury. In the Victorian era, a woman had to be modest; love of luxury brought ruin to her husband. I think that this accusation, which still exists today, is totally unfair. No husband was ever ruined by his wife's love of luxury: normally, business men or professionals are ruined through their own ill-thought manoeuvres. 

Plus, if we like a bit of luxury, what of it? We give birth to humankind -- I think we are entitled to indulge ourselves as much as possible under the circumstances.

The best thing is to be able to afford to buy yourself luxury! However, I wouldn't mind to have a Christian Grey buy some luxury for me! :-)

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! Tonight we got the book Victorian Fashion Accessories by Ariel Beaujot!

This is a lovely book, which makes an in-depth study into four Victorian fashion accessories: the glove, fan, parasol and vanity set. Spanning the period from 1830 to 1920, the book also examines Victorian fashion and Victorian notions of luxury.

The purpose of Victorian Fashion Accessories is not only to study Victorian fashion, but also to inquire into how fashion helped women "create a sense of who they were", and "how they experienced gender, class, and race in the Victorian period".

This is because the Victorian is the period which developed fashion as we know it today, in the sense of fashion shows, shopping and advertisements in magazines. Fashion became cheaper and widely available and was thus democratized; a great Victorian worry was that "low class" women could pass for women of the middle and upper classes (a horrible prejudice to our modern ears). 

On the other hand, clothes (quality, for instance) could also be a class marker. Beaujot examines this link between fashion and class ideology; with gloves, for example, a fine and white hand denoted middle- and upper-class. The three parts of the vanity set (brush, mirror and comb) were essential in maintaining and signifying  a middle-class respectable appearance.

Another of the book's pros is that it contains numerous Victorian illustrations, pictures, advertisements, and even photographs.

I love this book, and I would totally recommend! It makes great reading for anyone interested in the Victorian period, the history of fashion, the history of beauty and history in general!

Have a great Sunday evening, always with beauty and a book! xxx

THE MINNIE MOUSE JOURNAL
The other day, I was surprised to notice that I have been writing in my book journal for two years! In fact, I started a book journal a decade ago, using a lovely, large book journal I bought from Waterstones in Exeter, UK! (My love for Waterstones book stores is well known). I wrote for many years in that journal, and I have now saved it on a bookshelf. The new journal is the Minnie Mouse teNeues Green Journal, and I love it very much! It hosts book reviews, plot ideas for my novels, clippings of pretty things and my own drawings!

So I was surprised to see that the first entry in the Minnie Mouse dates March 2013. How time flies!

Have a great afternoon and see you all soon for The Lipstick Papersweekend review! xxx

BUT YOUR LIPS ARE VENOMOUS POISON

THE POISON Romeo takes to kill himself in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette is monkshood, which was also widely used to treat symptoms of malaria!

A number of poisons are medicines also, if used carefully and with measure. Foxglove is an excellent medicine for the heart, but it is also deadly. Henbane is a painkiller, but can kill an entire human being too. Belladonna (Amaryllis, Αμαρυλλίς in Greek, I think) is poisonous and known as "deadly nightshade", but can also be used in treating asthma and rheumatism!

Apart from our beloved Romeo, another user of poisons and chemicals in literature is evil Count Fosco in The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins's famous sensation novel. Fosco is an expert in chemistry, poisons and drugs, and has a huge monologue in the book, where he tells us that, (a) there is nothing chemistry cannot do, and, (b) we should count ourselves lucky that chemists are nice people -- if they set their mind to it, they could poison us all with great ease.

Though he is abominable, Count Fosco reflects Victorian fascination with the power of science (the Victorian was the age that gave us the literary genre of science fiction). Moreover, the Count stands for the sensation fiction's attention to the evil that lurks behind someone seemingly cultivated and respectable.

Romeo and Juliette belongs to a different age, and has a different theme. It is all about the power of love, and how old and narrow minds and attitudes can destroy the beautiful and the new. 

Have a good afternoon for mid-week! :-)

THE MERMAID POSES A QUESTION

ALEXANDER the Great, the legendary Greek king, had, according to legend, a mermaid sister! Again according to legend, the mermaid sister is immortal and you can still meet her in the open sea.

When she encounters a human boat or ship, the mermaid poses a question. "Is King Alexander still alive"? If the sailors or captain reply, "Yes, he lives, prospers and is still King," (ζει και βασιλεύει), the mermaid will make a calm sea and the journey will be safe. If the sailors or captain reply, "King Alexander? He's dead," the mermaid will cause a terrible storm, and everyone will drown.

I read this story years ago, and I don't remember now very well how Alexander ended up with a mermaid for a sister. However, the most important thing, I believe, is to know the right answer to the question. It's not at all improbable to meet the mermaid one day on the high seas!

Have a good afternoon and be well! xxx

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! Tonight we have The Victorian Governess by Kathryn Hughes!

The governess was an important figure in middle- and upper-class life in the 19th century. Many children from those classes were home-schooled, especially girls; the home teacher was one of the few professions allowed to women.

To be a governess was tough, as the work was hard and a lot depended on the kind of family the governess would find herself in. Sometimes conditions would be ideal, as in Jane Eyre. Even so, the governess herself had to be strong and ready to teach and deal with young children. Jane is an excellent teacher, and has a tender relationship with her pupil, Adele. In Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte's horrid first novel, I totally disagree with the few critics who have bothered to look at the book. These critics all pity Agnes for the problems she has as governess -- yet the truth is that Agnes is in no way fit for the teaching profession. Simply, she can't teach and has no talent with children.

The Victorian Governess is a great book for anyone interested in the figure and life conditions of the home-teacher. It provides excellent historical research and all the necessary information, together with original photographs and illustrations. Moreover, the book is well-written and easy to follow, covering everything about the governess's life, from social context to appearance, from real-life diaries to the presence of the governess in literature.

I used this book in my PhD study, and it is definitely appropriate for any student or researcher writing on education and professions for women in the 19th century. Also, I think it is good for anyone from the lay public who likes history books.

Have a good night, always with beauty and a book! xxx

THE ARTIST/MODEL DYAD

BEING an admirer of Lizzie Siddal, I found and read her letters -- they are available online, I think in LizzieSiddal.com. It is there I found a description of the weird 19th century French procedure for receiving money sent from abroad!

Lizzie had gone to visit France and, being out of funds, she wrote to her husband, Dante Gabriel Rossetti to ask for money, which he duly sent. She wrote back to confirm that she had received the money, describing the official process by which this was done.

First, Lizzie had to go to the local post office, and take the letter containing the money. Then she went to the police to report this. There, she had to spend A FEW HOURS IN JAIL, before finally the money was given back to her and she could walk out.

I found this hilarious, though I am sure it was highly uncomfortable and unpleasant for travelers!

Lizzie was a famous 19th century artist's model, and an artist herself. The picture above is her self-portrait. If you think that she is not too beautiful, have a look at how she was painted as Ophelia by John Everett Millais (her most famous portrait). The Pre-Raphaelites were not interested in classically beautiful women, or pretty women. They liked unusual women.

Though the Pre-Raphaelites called themselves a brotherhood, there were women in the movement as well, including Lizzie herself, Jane Morris, Christina Rossetti (Dante's famous sister), Emma Sandys, and others!

Despite her tragic life, Lizzie was an artist and a poet, who is now being rediscovered by feminist scholars. 

For me, Siddal looks like Kate Moss, especially in the Ophelia painting. I find her fascinating and mysterious. Most of all, Lizzie intrigues me because she straddles the notorious object/ subject, artist/model dyad.

Have a good Saturday evening, and see you all tomorrow for The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! xxx

EXCITING AND EXOTIC

I HAVE started reading the Voyage of the Beagle, which is the Penguin edition of Charles Darwin's journal of his famous and life-changing journey to the Galapagos islands!

Opening the book, I thought, "this is certainly one place where I will not find references to women's fashion". Darwin was in the totally masculinized environment of a ship for five years, with only sailors and the captain for company -- right?

You can imagine my surprise, when I find a passage on women's fashion right on the second page! The journal begins on an island in Cape Verde, and Darwin writes admiringly of some village women's beauty! He was impressed also by the beauty of their white clothes, which contrasted marvelously with the ebony of their skin!

The journal promises to be exciting and exotic, and I will keep you posted. I hope for more references to fashion!

Have a beautiful time for mid-week! xxx

THE SONGS OF SPRING

THOUGH it was chilly, I left the window open while I cleaned tonight -- spring is in the air! 

I love summer, but there is nothing like the smell of spring in March. Spring is coming, she may be already here! "The songs of spring," my beloved John Keats called it <3

Being a nocturnal person, I do most of my work during the night. So far tonight I have done: house-cleaning, clothes folding, my teaching notes. And I still got: teaching notes (to finish), dish-washing, laundry.

Yet spring is in the air, and nothing can beat this. In the winter, I am in hybernation; now I have started to wake up. 

Enjoy the springtime -- it only comes once a year!

THOUGHTS ON DICKENS

I ALWAYS love to read the scene which introduces Mrs Rouncewell, in Bleak House by Charles Dickens! Mrs Rouncewell is housekeeper to the manor house of Lord and Lady Deadlock; she started working there as soon as her husband died years ago.

I am not sure why I love the scene so much. Maybe it is because it is so full of Victorian notions and ideas (and I am a Victorianist by training). Maybe it is because Mrs Rouncewell is so essentially reassuring and good. Most importantly, I love Dickens's assertion that Lord Deadlock respected his employee housekeeper so much that, if he ever found himself in a compromising situation, he would ask for Mrs Rouncewell to be brought to him and she would make things right again, and restore Lord Deadlock's dignity.

Many "good" characters in novels are not very well designed; eventually, we tend to lose interest in them, or simply dislike them outright. I think some goody characters in Oliver Twist are like that, also I can add Pauline in Charlotte Bronte's Villette (I hate her personally: if she is good, please give me BAD), Agnes in Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte (ditto), Fanny in Mansfield Park -- it's a long list!

Mrs Rouncewell is not like this. Dickens took care to make her essentially honest and good, but also believable and close to reality.

Reading the scene I mentioned in Bleak House always makes me feel content and at ease. It's part of the magic of books, the magic of words and, also, the magic of Charles Dickens!

Have a beautiful start to the week :-)

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! Tonight we have The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, by Marie Kondo!

Marie Kondo is a Japanese professional cleaner and housekeeping expert. She runs a successful business in Tokyo, helping her clients de-clutter, tidy and transform their homes, and she has written a book about her knowledge and attitude.

Being obsessed with cleaning and tidying myself, of course I had to have the book. I am a manic house-keeper, though I must admit that sometimes things can get out of control. These days, for instance, I am so busy with my teaching, that clutter has started to form inside cupboards and on shelves. However, I don't despair. Cleanliness and neatness are all-important, but they are usually the least of a life's problems. Come summer, I will begin to de-clutter step by step.

I found The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying to be well-written, interesting and practical. It has good and insightful advice on de-cluttering and achieving order all through the house. 

I would certainly recommend The Life-Changing Magic... to anyone who feels they are in need of some useful advice, suggestions and ideas on how to manage storage space and minimize clutter!

However, one fault is the advice on books. According to Kondo, we should keep as few books as possible in our home. You can understand that this idea does not sit too well with me! My home is full of books. I am not exaggerating. I mean FULL. I can't imagine life without books; I need to have and see them around me everywhere (except the bathroom and bedroom).

So I think that you will find some ideas in Kondo's book to be extreme or not very useful for you. Other than this, The Life-Changing Magic... is a good addition to a housekeeping books collection.

Have a good Sunday night, always with beauty and a book! 

THE LIPSTICK BELT

HERE I am with my amazing lipstick belt! With lipstick, you just can't go wrong. It is a thing of joy without exception. A beauty aid, a mood-lifter, a great accessory, a skyscraper shape (see the Lipstick building in NYC) and a title for your favorite blog! ;-)

THE ART OF READING

READING makes such beautiful art!

Reading is, in many ways, an art, but I think, like all intriguing art, it has no rules! We can read pretty much what we like. What's in my reading list these days? Charles Dickens's Bleak House (re-reading for 3rd time); Fifty Shades Darker (re-reading for 100th time); and several non-fiction books.

Have a lovely start to the week! xxx

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! Tonight we got Fresh Lipstick by Linda M. Scott!

This is a book which falls into the area of women's and gender studies, and is an excellent choice for International Women's Day! (But for my ideas on the day see below).

Fresh Lipstick was one of my basic theoretic texts during PhD study, because it deals with the relationship between women, feminism and beauty. Linda M. Scott belongs to the area of feminism (Third Wave/ Lipstick Feminism) which approves of beauty, beauty practices and beauty products.

Like myself, Scott is pro-beauty, and argues that to divorce women from beauty is a form of what she calls "cultural cruelty". Beauty is important in the lives of women.

Scott makes a good case for her ideas, explaining that feminism has always been interested in beauty, and that women are not simple consumers of beauty products; they are active agents in the beauty and fashion businesses, as employees, managers and business owners.

The book contains massive research on women entrepreneurs of the beauty industry in the US, women like as Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder and Helena Rubinstein.

The one problem in the book is the sometimes hostile attitude towards more traditional feminism, and also what I think is a complete misunderstanding of Naomi Wolf's ideas in The Beauty Myth. Wolf created history when she wrote The Beauty Myth, and she by no means regards beauty as oppression.

As a feminist, I have ambivalent feelings towards women's day. Every day is a good day, if we are to fight for gender equality and respect for basic human rights. If Woman's Day is used as a platform, then this is fine with me. However, a single day dedicated to women's issues does not solve problems or change attitudes.

Have a good night and be well, always with beauty and a book! xxx

IMPRESSIONIST RENDITION
Here's my impressionist rendition of the Estee Lauder Time Zone Night cream! I love to draw beauty products, and beauty products inspire me endlessly! As for Estee Lauder, I love it so much, that I did not even dare to throw away all those lovely gold-lidded pots. Happily, my local Beauty Line has a recycle bin -- now how cool is that???? The pretty cream and make-up pots and containers are used again and made anew. Have a beautiful Friday night xxx

GLAMOROUS BAD BOYS

A CONCERNED father once wrote to express his anxiety that his daughter was given to study Byron at University; the letter is in the University Archives! Lord Byron was considered far less than exemplary: "mad, bad and dangerous to know", as a former mistress (Lady Melbourne, I think) once called him!

Still, the father's letter dates early 20th century, if I remember correctly, while the Bronte sisters read Byron without censorship from their father decades earlier.

Lord Byron was a true celebrity, probably one of the first celebrities in the modern sense of the world: good-looking, famous, a bad boy living the glamorous life. People loved to learn about his adventures.

Byron's exploits, and his own dark heroes, became so ingrained in popular culture, that they gave their name to a type of a literary character, the Byronic hero. This is a man who has many qualities and is attractive, but seems to be haunted by a dark past, or a dark secret. The Victorians loved to create Byronic heroes of their own, and Victorian Byronic heroes are memorable -- Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre, Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities, and so on and so forth.

Darkness was so fashionable, that young men in the 19th century thought it cool to hint about dark secrets and a dark past. This was party conversation Victorian style for you!

Glamorous bad boys and Byronic heroes are still in our hearts and minds today; think Edward Cullen and Christian Grey <3

No Byronic type for girls; I am afraid that we only got the femme fatale ourselves! Maybe it's time to change this! ;-)

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! Tonight we have La Petite Fadette by Georges Sand, and here I am at my favorite cafe, where I certainly do a lot of my reading!

La Petite Fadette is a 1849 French novel, and probably one of the first novels I have ever read (the first was Good Wives). I read Fadette in a good Greek translation, and absolutely loved it!!!!!!

Fadette has been translated into English as Fanchon, the Cricket; I don't know how well-known it is in the English-speaking world though. In Greece and Cyprus it is virtually unknown, I think.

The plot goes something like this. Fadette is an orphan girl raised by her grandmother in the woods. She has a handicapped brother. Their grandmother is not very nice, and Fadette and her brother, poor and disadvantaged, are hated in the village. Everybody thinks that Fadette is a witch, and that her late mother was a witch also. As luck would have it, Fadette gets to meet Landry, son of a respectable farmer family. She saves him one evening (where he gets lost in the woods while looking for his twin brother Sylvinet). Landry is the best-looking boy in the area, and a huge success with the girls. At first, he thinks that Fadette is ugly and plain, but he is soon crazy about her. In the end, and after a number of difficulties, they marry and live happily ever after.

La Petite Fadette is an unsettling novel. It is all about young romance and the power of love, of course, but it is also about the dark side of everyday life, and the great evil people can do with their common sense and common wisdom. Often these are just another name for prejudice and spite, the novel seems to say.

The protagonist Fadette is, in my view, a real witch. Landry becomes certain she is a witch the night she saves him in the dark woods. There is something highly disturbing in the scene where she comes near the young man carrying her lantern. We know she is safety, but, somehow, she is also not quite safe.

As a young child, I learnt a lot from La Petite Fadette. I learnt that people and common wisdom are not always right, and that there can be men and women out there who may not be exactly like us, but they are kind and good; I think the novel taught me about difference and about tolerance. As I grew older, I realised that, for many, I am different and unusual as well. There is no same to compare yourself to.

I don't know if you can get hold of an English copy of the novel! The Greek edition I have is old and threadbare, and definitely out of print (the cover is still pretty, though). The novel is highly popular in France (and was made into a TV movie in 2004), so all Francophones and French-speakers may be at advantage here!

Have a good night and be well! xxx