THE GREAT JANE AUSTEN SAID IT BEFORE ME

IN Limassol today wearing the Pink Lolita! This is my beloved Estee Lauder Lipstick in the most amazing shade of pink! I love the name too. Generally, I love the names Lola and Lolita!

Having said that, I do not endorse Nabokov's novel, as indeed I do not endorse, (a) anything that has to do with the sexualization of girls, and, (b) male renditions of (what they think is) female sexuality. The great Jane Austen said it before me: male representations of the female should not be used as proof or evidence of anything which has to do with women. Women must speak for themselves.

Jane Austen's heroine Anne Eliot says this in Persuasion, one of the most beautiful novels ever written. In Persuasion, the sea plays an important part. The sea is rejuvenating and, together with the return of love, restores to Anne the beauty she once lost.

Have a beautiful day, and be well! Xxx

I RODE ONE EVENING WITH COUNT MADDALO

LIPSTICK for this afternoon was Spanish Rose by Clinique! I have had this lipstick for a few years and I love it absolutely. It was the perfect addition to a perfect evening - coffee with friends and the start of summer!

Yes, the air is full of summer and we are loving it. When I go jogging, the air smells of bread. There must be some wild cereal growing around. Tonight, there was a fresh food smell all over; I don't know what it was, but it was rejuvenating and fantastic.

There is a poem by Shelley which strongly reminds me of summer; the narrative poem "Julian and Maddalo: a Conversation". It's really long and I must confess I have not read it all. But, to me, there is something timeless about the opening lines: "I rode one evening with Count Maddalo/ Upon the bank of land which breaks the flow of Adria towards Venice... ". Count Maddalo is, in reality, Lord Byron, and Julian is Shelley. Riding to immortality along the shore, "The living spray along the sunny air Into our faces". There's summer for you -- summer in all its glory. Romantic poetry is quintessential poetry. Inasmuch as I love modern and postmodern poets, there is nothing like the Romantics for me.

Have a good evening wherever you are, with beauty always with you! xxx

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! Tonight we don't have a book, but a radio program series, Fry's English Delight from BBC Radio 4!

Fry's English Delight is a program about "the "highways and byways of the English language", which Stephen Fry explores. The program has run for seven series so far. Each series has four episodes, and I loved each and every one of it!!!!!

I mean, what's there NOT to like?
1. The presenter and creator: Stephen Fry, witty, eloquent, erudite, pleasant.
2. The title: yum, yum, yum! The title is an allusion to Fry's Turkish Delights, the yummy chocolate sweet made by Cadbury. For Cyprus and Turkey, the delight is also a special type of traditional sugar confectionery. In Cyprus, we call them "Cyprus delights", and concoct them in amazing combinations. My favorite is the rose Cyprus delight. I wish I had a box right now! Slurp!
3. The theme: this is an amazing program. The episodes offer a wide and imaginative take on the English language, a language which is on its way to becoming the world's lingua franca. Quotations, metaphors, the plain language, how wrong uses of the language eventually become right uses of the language, the use of capitals. The episodes expand into wider areas, such as reading and the history of reading, the magical language of spells, printing.

In short, the program is an absolute gem. If you are Stephen Fry reading this, PLEASE make a book out of it. I will be the first to buy. Everybody else: don't miss the program! 

Here's the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lv1k1/episodes/guide

Have a great Sunday evening, always with beauty and a book! <3

AS THE GREAT GUNS'N'ROSES ONCE SAID

WHO would have thought that being behind the camera would be such fun??? Here I am today getting ready for jogging. This involves lipstick, of course-- lipstick is the best sunscreen for the lips!

The weather is fabulous, which makes me happier than happy! No matter what troubles you have, lipstick and jogging make everything better. I know the weather may turn bad again. April and May can be unpleasant here. Summer does not start properly until June 10, which is my birthday -- I am sure you can see the connection!

So we may have some more bad weather days. Yet, as the great Guns'n'Roses once said, "nothing lasts forever -- even cold November rain"!

I hope you are having a nice Sunday. The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review coming this evening! Xxx

BETTER WITH THE WILDLY PINK LIPSTICK

HERE I am today, wearing one of my favorite lipsticks, the "wildly pink" Estee Lauder lipstick! I bought it a year ago, and I am not sure if it is still produced. This lipstick can make a grey day seem bright!

It's true. I put it yesterday as well, when the day was really ugly and I had to drive to another town for work. If you have been reading this blog for some time, you will know how much I hate the winter and the rain, and how much I love the summer, spring and the sun. This is exactly the time of year when I come out of hibernation feeling good!

In literature, the Romantics famously loved the rain, wind and storm. The typical Romantic poet is out in nature, feeling the wild wind play with the pangs of his soul, in order to produce poetry and art. The Romantics are my favorite poets, though I don't share their love for the storm. 

I must confess that I like the wind though. It seems like magic to me; the Ancient Greeks had a God for the wind, the God Aeolus. Hence the Aeolian harp, beloved of the Romantics: this was a special kind of harp, which could play with the wind. For the Romantics, the aeolian harp was a metaphor for poetry. Inspiration passes through the soul to produce poetry, like the wind passes through the harp to produce music.

The dark day yesterday seemed better with the wildly pink lipstick! I think lipstick is one of those things that make the troubles of life bearable -- and I am talking about troubles much heavier than a mere dark day.

Have a beautiful Friday evening! xxx

WEARING THE AMAZING LIPSTICK NECKLACE

HI ALL, I made a public lecture today, and here I am, wearing the amazing lipstick necklace!!!!!!!

The lecture was on the presence of law in Victorian literature and how this is related to the search for social justice and gender equality. From there, I went to gender equality in our time, and how gender studies contribute to the achievement of equality.

I used some of my favorite novels, including Bleak House and Great Expectations from Charles Dickens, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall from Anne Bronte and Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. These are all novels which deal with problems and inequalities of the day.

Central to my lecture was the idea that femininity and masculinity, and gender, should not be grounds for discrimination, but should contribute to personality development and personal happiness. To be a man or woman is joyful, and should not be the basis for prejudice and stereotyping.

The one thing missing from the lecture today? Any references to lipstick, of course!!!!!!!

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! Today we got Coffee Talk by Morton Satin!

This is a lovely little book about coffee: "the stimulating story of the world's most popular brew". Morton Satin is a molecular biologist who also worked for the UN; he is now the vice president of science and research at the Salt Institute. 

The book features anecdotes from his life and travels around the world; but most of all, the book is about coffee. You read not only about coffee's history, but also the agriculture of coffee, how to brew coffee at home, coffee art and advertising, and a lot about the world of cafes and baristas!

I very much enjoyed this book. It's well-written, easy to read and the edition is very nice too. Thick, cream paper, pretty fonts and a section with color photographs.

Verdict: recommended!

Have a good start to the week, always with beauty and a book! xxx

AMONG THE BEST DRESSED GIRLS AT SCHOOL

THE Little House on the Prairie is of great interest for many reasons, but, for The Lipstick Papers, the main reason are the references to fashion!

The character most concerned with fashion in the text is Caroline Ingalls, the mother of Mary and Laura.

Caroline was a teacher before she married, and seems to have belonged more to the town and town life rather than to life on the prairies. Of course, she was excellent in her role as a pioneer's wife. Yet, like all women of her time, Caroline had no choice but to follow the lifestyle her husband had selected for her. Though she was unhappy to leave her family, she had to follow husband Charles to life in a wagon and the West. Marilyn Yalom has commented in the isolation felt by the wives of the pioneers, and I completely agree with her.

Even in isolated areas, however, Caroline sought out the town and the market. Whenever their money permitted it, she would make a new dress. Laura describes in detail the dresses their mother made -- the colors, cut, the bosom, pockets, the trimmings and skirts. It seems that Caroline was a very good seamstress, who had an eye for detail.

When Mary is going to the college for the blind in Iowa for the first time, Caroline's great concern is for Mary to have good clothes so that she will not feel inadequate to the town girls who would be with her at college. For this reason, Caroline visits a younger neighbor, who verifies that their dress patterns are still in fashion. She makes new dresses for Mary and escorts her with Charles to Iowa. To her great relief, Caroline finds that Mary is among the best dressed girls at school.

Little House on the Prairie is a complex and sometimes problematic text. More about this in later posts!

Have a good evening and be well xxx

THE LATEST COLORS FOR RIBBONS

ACCORDING to historian Judith Flanders, the first recorded coffee-house in the UK was set up in London in 1657 by a Greek! This guy worked for a merchant in London, and made coffee for him; people loved it so much, that the merchant advised the Greek guy to open a coffee-shop. He did so, in St Michael's Ally in Cornhill, London.

At the same time, coffee- and tea-houses are associated with women and women's freedom of movement, as they were some of the places women could legitimately go to in the 19th century. Women did not frequent the male clubs, of course; however, they frequented shops and department stores, which in turn featured tea- and coffee-rooms. These rooms were specially designed to accommodate women, featuring even restrooms and lavatories.

In the 19th century city or town, it was unusual for women to appear in public places. Few women, if at all, appeared at the City in London, in offices or in the business areas. Women were confined to the home. The department store provided a solution to this. Women were always in charge of the shopping for the home. Thus, appearing in shops, shopping areas and the newly formed department stores was permissible.

Jane Austen too records women gathering in the little village shops to talk, exchange news and have a look at the new bonnets and the latest colors for ribbons. 

One thing is clear, it seems to me. No matter what century you find yourself in, few things are more exciting than shopping and a good cup of coffee!!!

YOU LEARN SOMETHING EXCITING EVERYDAY

THOUGH I once attended a paper presentation on the English novelist Ouida, I did not know too much about her. I was thus thrilled to find out that she lived unconventionally, and permanently moved to Florence, my own favorite city!

Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of her most popular novels is called and set In Maremma -- Maremma is the picturesque seaside Tuscany town which I also used for my own novel called Sleight of Hand! You learn something exciting every day!

Ouida is the pen name for Maria Louise Rame, who grew up to become a famous sensation fiction writer in 19th century Britain. Sensation fiction is a form of Victorian fiction that concerned itself with crime, bigamy, and family secrets, usually with a beautiful woman at the centre. This beautiful woman could be a victim or could be sinister, but always spoke to Victorian fears and concerns about the role of women in marriage and society.

Sensation fiction was the precursor of --what else?-- detective fiction! Sensation master pieces like The Woman in White (by Wilkie Collins) and Lady Audley's Secret (by Mary Elizabeth Braddon) led the way for the beloved Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories.

I will order a couple of Ouida's books, and let you know what I think. Meanwhile, have a good night and take care! xxx

One to Keep & Thoughts from Grigorios Xenopoulos (Γρηγόριος Ξενόπουλος)

I WAS only too happy the other day to find the missing lipstick necklace! I have the lipstick necklace twice: in silver and gold. It's fake jewelry, of course; together, they cost 24,98 euro. However, they are among my most prized possessions!

Here I am today, proudly wearing the silver lipstick necklace! It was the silver that had gone missing in a drawer. As I said, my drawers are absolutely chaotic, and the same goes for my cupboards. I am manic with cleanliness, but order is not my thing. 

In the second picture (below) you can see the lipstick necklace with another prized possession, my Marks and Spencer white wool shawl! This shawl is absolutely fantastic. It's soft and pretty, and very warm. It wasn't expensive, and I loved it so much I bought it twice: one to wear and one to keep.

I guess I cannot make it any more obvious how attached I am to my things. I have filled my space with beautiful little things which I love. Without beauty, I cannot function and, of course, beauty does not have to be expensive.

There is a soul in soulless things, wrote classic Greek writer Grigorios Xenopoulos (Γρηγόριος Ξενόπουλος). He had a small iron shoe tool (or paper weight, I cannot remember exactly) which had stayed with him for decades, when other more expensive or notable things had disappeared. 

Xenopoulos lived in the late nineteenth century until after the Second World War. He became famous in Greece and Cyprus for his social and romantic dramatic fiction, and also for a children and young adult magazine he edited for years. He contributed to that magazine in many ways, including with an editorial letter addressed to the readers each week. I have a selected edition of those letters, which is where I found the little piece on things. Xenopoulos believed that some items are almost alive, and stick with us through thick and thin, just like a live person would.

I totally agree with Xenopoulos on this.

Have a great start to the week! xxx

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS WEEKEND REVIEW

HELLO and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Weekend Review! Today we have The Lazy Girl's Guide to the High Life on a Budget by Anita Naik!

This book is part of Anita Naik's Lazy Girl series, a lifestyle and conduct sequence of books, which are all lovely!

The Lazy Girl's Guide to the High Life on a Budget is full of excellent and practical advice on how to save money. There are ready-made lists for us ("essential outgoings" and "non-essential outgoings per month", "20 ways to manage your money") and a lot of down-to-earth opinion on just about everything, from gifts to friends to how to manage the bills and things to do in case we can't pay our rent.

All this is written in the humorous, light, but actually clever and matter-of-fact voice of Anita Naik. I think that she is one of my favorite conduct book writers, and I try to buy all her books. I used to read Anita Naik's advice column in Just 17 when I was a teenager, and I now regret not having saved it all in a folder somewhere. The advice was extraordinary, taking as it did a can-do, empowering point of view for girls. The column told girls how to say no to sex, how to say yes to sex, and where to go for contraceptive advice, and advice against domestic violence. I absolutely loved it!

So, I totally recommend The Lazy Girl's Guide to the High Life on a Budget, as indeed anything by Anita Naik. It is most particularly good if you are, like me, not that good with money matters, or if, again like me, you are a lover of conduct books!

Have a good Sunday afternoon, always with beauty and a book! xxx

THE LIPSTICK EPISODES

LIPSTICK can be a roadmap for life's episodes; I got lipsticks given to me decades ago by friends, lipsticks which are now extinct, some which I adore and others which I am not going to use again. However, the lipstick roadmap today led to anxiety and stress!

The first lipstick for the day was the one I wear for jogging, a Nyx lipstick with a pretty orange-ceramic hue. Lipstick is the best sun protection for lips, and that is why I wear it even during jogging. Plus, lipstick makes jogging glamorous!

Then, I put on a fuchsia Nyx lipstick to visit a friend. (I know it sounds as if I am only wearing Nyx lipstick, but this is of course not true: being a Lipstick Queen, I got many brands!). The fuchsia Nyx lipstick pencil is lovely, because it's moist, smooth, and sits on the lips like a caress.

However, my day in lipstick ended darkly, when I realized that my silver lipstick necklace is missing! I got a gold and a silver lipstick necklace (faux bijoux, of course, I cannot afford real jewelry). I wore the silver lipstick last time in December, when I did my public lecture on fashion, and immediately took it off at home. Where has it gone now??????

Though cheap, my lipstick necklaces are absolutely beautiful and absolutely irreplaceable. I am trying not to panic: afterall, my drawers are so untidy, things can easily go missing. I am great at house-cleaning and tidying the parts of the room that can be seen: what happens in the drawers is another story. It's complete and total chaos. The same chaos reigns in my computer files, my bags, and my bookshelves. There is no order whatsoever.

Wish me luck with finding the missing lipstick necklace!!!

AGAIN IN THE SPRING

"APRIL is the cruelest month," T.S. Eliot wrote famously in The Waste Land! However, he was referring to the devastation of World War I, and not to a general aversion to the second month of spring!

In the Olympian religion, spring was a central time for festivals and celebrations! It was when Aphrodite celebrated the return from the Underworld of her lover Adonis. Adonis, from Paphos, Cyprus, was a young man of extreme beauty, whom Aphrodite took to her bed. Some other lover (the War God Ares/Mars, I think) got jealous and killed Adonis. Aphrodite was so sad, that Zeus allowed Adonis to come back from the Underworld each year in the spring, and be again with Aphrodite. 

The return of Adonis from the Underworld was a great event in the Ancient Greek calendar, and was celebrated grandly in Paphos, Cyprus (in a series of festivities called the Adonia, τα Αδώνεια). Paphos was an important part of the Ancient Greek World, because it is the birthplace of Aphrodite. Flocks of visitors came to Paphos each year to see the beach where Aphrodite came out from the sea, and visit the famous temples and baths.

Another great event celebrated in the Spring was the return of Persephone, the goddess Demeter's daughter, also from the Underworld. Afterall, this is why the earth turns green and fertile again in the spring -- it is Demeter celebrating.

Have a great start to the month! xxx