ESTEE LAUDER BOOKMARKS

I AM reading this witty book called, Stop Eating (Σταμάτα να Τρώς, Stamata na Tros) by Greek radio presenter Ioanna Anna Laka (Ιωάννα Άννα Λάκα). It's quite funny and, through hyperbole and satire, it's trying to teach us some healthy attitudes towards food. 

(Note: skirt ten euro from Terrnanova. I am doing exactly what Elizabeth L. Cline in Overdressed deplores -- bragging about buying cheap fashion. Also note: Estee Lauder bookmark. I.e. old paper package from Estee Lauder serving as bookmark now!)

The author's voice is humorous and honest. She comes out as a very nice person, as she goes from one comic adventure to the next in her quest to lose weight.

The book speaks generally about beauty too. Personally, I wouldn't agree that after thirty women face problems with their skin though. Thirty is so young! Wrinkles come after forty I think and, even so, they are not many.

I am still midway through the book, so I don't know what will happen with Ioanna Anna's quest. My guess is that, in the end, she will adopt a more sensible attitude to eating. 

Have a good Saturday afternoon! xxx

GODDESSES, TATTOOS AND CYPRUS IN THE TROJAN WAR

YOU know the reason why I have started to wear skirts -- to show off my tattoos of course! New tattoos are coming up, so stay tuned.

Here I am in the lovely town of Paphos this Sunday, wearing a skirt and showing off the tattoos. I went to Paphos on business, and enjoyed it very much!

Paphos is probably one of the most historical cities on record, since it is mentioned in the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is the hometown of Goddess Aphrodite and a centre for the Ancient Greek religion. If I remember correctly, the Iliad actually mentions Kinyras, the King of Paphos, while the Odyssey mentions the city itself, in relation to Aphrodite -- the Goddess goes to her temple there after she is wounded in battle. 

Cyprus had been asked by Agamemnon to participate in the Trojan war but had refused; it remained neutral ground throughout. However, Kinyras sent Agamemnon a magnificent armor as gift.

Paphos is as beautiful today as it was in antiquity; the ancient monuments are now Unesco world heritage.

The pictures are at the medieval castle on the seafront. The castle was built by the Byzantines, dismantled by the Venetians and rebuilt by the Ottomans.

Have a good night and be well! xxx

P.S. Paphos is my own city of origin too ;-)

THE LITTLE WOMEN ETHIC (NEVER SAY NEVER)

I was fascinated the other day by a beauty clinic and spa featured on World Fashion TV (it is called Aryan East-West clinic, and seems to be a Russian-Indian collaboration). I don't think I will ever be able to afford it, but this doesn't mean I can't get some beauty tips!

They have a facial therapy where fresh aloe leaves are cut in front of the customer, in pieces, then each piece is cut in half. With each half you do a massage on the face. The next day I paid a visit to my friend with the aloe vera in the garden:

I can't wait to try this treatment!

Plus, here I am looking nice on a budget. Everything here is medium to low price. 

I guess I am applying the Little Women ethic, which was, "be happy with what you have, and never ask for more". Why I don't like it in the original book? Because it refers to a society (the 19th century society) where a woman's status was that of her father or her husband. There was no way for the middle-class, "respectable", woman to make her own living, and was persistently taught to be happy with whatever her father/husband could provide. This is what irks me.

But when it is with our own efforts that we manage to get the little we have, then of course we should be happy! 

:-)
P.S. And we should never say "never".

SILVER DRACHMAS AND FAVORITE GODDESSES

I had no idea that the ancient Greeks built two towns at the Bay of Roses in Spain, contemporary Empuries and Rode (Ρόδη) which doesn't exist today, I think! Empuries comes from the Greek Emporion (Εμπορίον). It means commerce. 

Amazingly, the two towns issued their own drachmas! Beauty takes centre stage, as it is usual with Ancient Greek art. The Rode silver drachma had a head of Persephone at the front. So exciting! Persephone is among my favorite Goddesses. You can see the coins in the pics.

I am finding this amazing info in a very old supplement from the Greek Kathimerini (Καθημερινή) newspaper. I used to collect the Sunday Kathimerini supplements, which were full of unique info. This one was about the ancient Greeks in Spain.

The statue in the pic is La Dama de Elche, an ancient Spanish work thought to have influences from the Greek :-)

smile emoticon

LIPSTICK CORNER

LACE TRIMMINGS, lipsticks and a beauty book! These are certainly among my favorite things. 

Here I am today with a white cotton and lace top from Mango -- first time I wore this today, it's so pretty I want to wear it always! I had bought it on sale late in the season.

Also, with the new How To book by Camilla Morton! Being kind of pressed with work and other things, I do not have time to go through it immediately, but it seems lovely and original. I got Morton's two other books, How to Walk in High Heels and A Girl for All Seasons -- they are amongst the most prized books in my beauty book collection!

I am in a favorite corner of Beauty Line here in Larnaca, i.e. a lipsticks corner! You can also see that the hair is changing gradually -- destination blonde!

Have a good night and be well xxx
P.S. You notice that it is still summer here in Cyprus ;-)

A GOOD STARTING POINT (THE LIPSTICK PAPERS BOOK REVIEW)

CRAFTS are no less a part of history than wars and major political events; the material conditions of life are now a large and new field of study. This is The Lipstick Papers Book Review, and we have Lost Crafts, by Una McGovern! With instructions on how to make all the basic knots, this is a book Christian Grey would find useful!

Lost Crafts is lovely and rich, divided in numerous sections, which cover all sorts of craft: farming, gathering, food and drink, home and garden, decoration, etc. I love the illustrations and photographs, which are plenty and in color, and I also love the way it is written. There is the history of the craft, plus basic instructions. How to make strawberry jam, how to make cheese, how to start on weaving, how to shear a sheep!

The only one problem (and it is technical) is that the fonts are too small. Maybe it was to save space for the amazing illustrations and pics --still, it makes the book a bit difficult to use.

I would recommend Lost Crafts to anyone who loves the history of crafts or to read about the home and housekeeping. Also, to anyone interested in learning a craft --it's a good starting point! 

Have a good night and be well xxx

REACH FOR THE STARS

Here I am today with my new stars tattoo on the leg!!! It's my third tattoo, I also have my beloved collie's name on the other leg (my collie died seven years ago) and a pretty rose on the arm. All these perfect tattoos were done at Easyrider in Larnaca Foinikoudes!

For me, the tattoo is a lovely accessory that I can take with me everywhere. I am now on a quest to find the absolute shape to do on the right arm. I have looked at lipstick tattoos (lipstick being my favorite object), books, clocks, the compass, needles, Dolphins, Suns, moons, scissors! All these are things I love. One day I will find it. Also, I plan an owl tattoo for the shoulder.

I think a tattoo is a way to exercise control on a body we don't really have much control over. It can also be a perfect way to hide scars and marks left from treatment.

Bye for now, be well! 😎

THE STUFF OF ROMANCE

STOCKINGS are the stuff of romance ever since Mr Darcy fell in love with Elizabeth Bennet the moment he saw her arrive at his friend's house with red cheeks, flashing eyes and dirty stockings after a long walk in the rain!

Here I am in one of my favorite places on earth, a Calzedonia store! You probably know by now that I am the perfect shopaholic -- my very identity is closely associated with specific shops and consumer goods, and I am happier than happy when I shop! Yes, I am a shopaholic and not ashamed to say it. My shopping doesn't have to be anything expensive, but it has to be pretty and make me experience a "spark of joy". (As the esteemed Marie Kondo would put it, about items we have in the home, in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying).

Hosiery and stockings is another love of my life, right after books, beauty products and clothes. I love Calzedonia, the Italian shop which makes a sparkling addition to the Cyprus shopping experience! Not only the actual products, but also the whole package is coquettish and pretty. I feel more feminine just by stepping into the store.

Victorian women had to be able to mend stockings -- it was an important housekeeping skill. No wonder then that Ginevra Fanshawe, my own favorite Victorian character, is useless at it!

Luckily, nowadays stockings are too strong to need mending. Living in the 21st century certainly has benefits.

Have a good night and be well! xxx

BOUDOIR ITEMS

The little note paper holder in the shape of a powder puff is one of my most prized possessions! Note I said prized, not expensive. I don't have expensive possessions, and soon my car will qualify for an antique. Beauty and aesthetic quality have nothing to do with money!!!

The note paper case comes from a Marks and Spencer series of desk accessories which were made to resemble boudoir items: powder puffs, little cases, heeled shoes. The series was amazing, and included key rings, diaries and coffee mugs! You cannot imagine how much I loved it. Marks and Spencer, bring it back!!!

My art journal is another prized possession. Here is a drawing of Brigitte Bardot! Bardot is my ideal of female style and beauty and I never tire to draw her. Did you know that she is the face of Marianne, the official personification of the French Republic?

Have a good evening and be well xxx

NOTHING BEATS THE SPANISH ROSE

OBJECTS are a way to put order into the chaos of life, Thad Logan says in The Victorian Parlour: A Cultural Study. She is absolutely right! The object that makes life less chaotic, for me, is, of course -- the lipstick!!!!!

No matter how bad life is (and I have learnt the hard way that it can be really nasty) a slash of lipstick always makes things better, brighter.

Especially if, like me, you are in love with specific lipsticks. Here I am today buying my favorite, the FR Spanish Rose Clinique lipstick! NOTHING beats the Spanish Rose!

Victorians collected objects that gave them a sense of belonging in an era of urban and industrial development: they collected paintings of domestic life, embroidery, art pieces made of parian marble, magazine annuals with articles about fashion and the home life. An era's favorite objects have a lot to say about that era's loves, obsessions, fears and concerns.

Lipstick is, for me, the ultimate object and the only thing I probably love as much as I love books. 

Buying lipstick, new or an old favorite, makes me happy!

Have a good evening and be well xxx

THIS ONLY ADDS TO THE MAGIC (THE LIPSTICK PAPERS BOOK REVIEW)

THERE ARE no better accessories than a hat, a book and a tattoo, and I got all three! OK, I got two tattoos, but this only adds to the magic.

Hello and welcome to The Lipstick Papers Book Review -- tonight we have Women Only, a collection edited by Sotirios Bahtsetzis!

This is a bilingual book, in English and Greek, issued on the occasion of a female art exhibition in Amphilochia (Αμφιλοχία), Greece. 

I love Women Only. It has very useful chapters on gender, which I have used for my own papers. Especially I loved the introduction, written by Angela Dimitrakaki, who teaches at the Art History department of Edinburgh University. I used some of her ideas on domesticity in one of my own papers on embroidery!

Apart from the essays, the book features pictures of the artworks themselves, most of them groundbreaking and interesting.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in gender studies, art, female art and history of feminism. However, because it is a special edition, I believe it may not be widely available. So I will give you the ISBN number too: 978-960-6654-79-4.

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

THE FAMOUS SPOT

Reading Madame De La Tour Du Pin's memoirs, I have reached the famous spot where she cuts her long, golden hair and throws the curls at sea! Lucie (that's her name) was a French aristocrat who escaped to Boston, US, after months of hiding, thus avoiding the guillotine.

In the US Lucie did very well as owner of a farmstead, selling produce and home-made butter in packages which she decorated herself! I will tell you more as I move into the story. I do know that the husband, who was obsessed with his aristocratic roots, insisted to return to France. It seems (from remarks made by the older Lucie, who tells the story) that they kept their titles but lost their money.

I don't know, but the husband seems to me to have been a spoilt prick. He was a military aristocrat, and had fought wars, but Lucie seems more determined and powerful than he (the escape to the US was her idea).

I find it a bit sad that long blonde hair was associated with frivolity. However, Lucie herself admits that she had been frivolous and spoilt before the Revolution.

You can see in my sketch the attention I give to women's hair. There is going to be a new essay collection out on women's hair, as mentioned in a New Republic article. So excited!!! ❤