ON THE INDESCRIBABLE BENEFITS OF GETTING MANUCURED

Friday of last week I ended my work day with something like a nervous breakdown because I needed to pee. After painfully climbing my 4 floors loaded like a freeging donkey (1 king size handbag+1 gym bag+1 bag of whatever couldn't fit in my handbag seewhatimean), I started screaming angry gros mots at my keys and front door because they seemed to be acting blatantly in unison to prevent me from getting in.....when it finally opened, I ran through my tiny corridor that's filled with freeging shoes and boots (hmmmmpipiiiiiiiii) on which I kept on tripping as I made my way to the f@##! toilet cubicle...meeeerdeeee.... which for some odd reason had its f@##! seat UP! (courtesy of my moitié that morning) and that was the last obstacle that made me almost pee myself by the time I put the seat back down and tried unbuttoning my f@##! jeans that were stuck and impossible to take off..... ALLLLLLEEEEERRR PUTAIIIIN DE MMEEEEEEERDEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PIIIIIIIIIPIIIIIIIII!!!!
And cut.
As I sat there, my helmet still on (forgot that detail huh?), huffing and puffing, throwing totally unecessary insults at my door, shoes, jeans and toilet seat, I realised I had lost it. I needed to relax. I needed a manucure. Yes. AND a pedicure. All at once and right now.
Thats when I called my lovely dear friend Libbs who, even though she is australian and lives in Paris since only 2007, already knows the ins and out of my birth town, the places to be, the eateries to go for, where to shop and most importantly : where to get your NAILS done ! Good girl.... Because you see, Paris is a place where getting your nails and pedicure done on a regular basis (once/2 weeks) can get complicated if you don't earn 100 000 euros a year or if you care enough for your nails to refuse to lose them completely by getting them butchered with 20 cents toxic nail varnish and 3 years old carton files at the cheap shops around Strasbourg St Denis. Those who know will understand what I am talking about.
I just knew she would instinctivly know where to send me and that it would be open at 8pm on a friday night. For saving me that night I owe her something like a lifetime of cafés crème.
5 minutes later I'm booted and jacketed, on my scooter, driving through the rain and the cold, to get to n°10 rue Saint Sebastien. And there it is, just like she said, small and not looking too fancy but I can already see those massage chairs in the pedicure corner Libbs told me about....and its OPEN ! I could have started crying in anticipation of the pleasures awaiting but decided against that not to waste any more precious time. And boy it was worth all the trouble. At 8.10 I was getting an orgasmic back and neck massage by a leather chair, had my feet soaking in a fragrant blue bubble bath, two lovely discreet, charming and professional women filing, polishing and creaming my hands while a soothing green tea was beeing brought to me by the owner who obviously took it upon himself to help me get rid of that shell of stress and angst I came through his door with. And he did. And so they all did. It was all about me, my well being, lovely small talk, O.P.I nail varnish in 98 colours, quality tools, products and servicing down to the oil put on my dry toe nails at the end so that they don't stick to my socks and ruin 1h30 of meticulous work. At 9.20pm I left the shop with a stupid dreamlike smile, saying goodbye in vietnamese and flashing my shiny dark cherry nails to the world while driving my hot wheelz back home. Bliss.

CO EM
6 rue St Sebastien
75011 Paris
Ouvert tous les jours de 10h à 20h30 (they did a late night special for me ;)

FASHION AGAINST AIDS

Bon plan et BA de la semaine, les t-shirt, tops et sweaters "Fashion Against Aids" de H&M en exclu chez Colette. Ils ont été créés par des artistes tels que Jade Jagger, Rufus Wainwright, Timbaland, Rihanna, Justice et Chicks on Speed afin de récolter des fonds pour la lutte contre le SIDA. 25% des ventes seront reversées à des projets oeuvrant à la prévention du virus. J'aime particulièrement certains designs et puis c'est pour la bonne cause....donc à vos portes monnaie Hello Kitty les filles!!! (NB: je n'ai pas de porte monnaie Hello Kitty mais à ma grande surprise un nombre considérable de fille normales et à priori équilibrées en ont. Weird)





En vente en avant-première chez Colette à partir de today.

FOCUS:MY KIND OF PHOTOGRAPHY

THIERRY LE GOUES

FOCUS:FASHION PHOTOGRAPHERS

RUVEN AFANADOR



ALEXEI HAY




IAN RANKIN

MY GIRL

On pratique Paris les cheveux dans le vent (enfin sous le casque) sur les quais, tôt le matin quand l'air est frais et le ciel bleu et légèrement brumeux, ou quand la nuit tombe et que les lumières de la ville nous guident. Je l'adore ma "hot wheelz", je la chouchoute, je lui fais des bisous, car elle me rend libre, d'aller où je veux, quand je veux. Rien n'est loin avec elle, c'est jamais "la flemme" avec elle, tout est à portée de main, qu'il vente ou qu'il pleuve. On est bien elle et moi, on s'amuse, on va chercher des copines, on fais la course avec les mecs, on fait rager les voitures coincées style sardines, on va voir des expos, on va à la gym, on traînasse à 5 à l'heure en longeant le trottoir pour regarder les vitrines des magasins et on se gare où on veut.....pas toujours très politiquement correct mais on s'en fout, elle et moi, on se fait du bien.... mini-hell's angels style.

LIFE MOTTO

"If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you cant grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked...You're not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don't be reckless with other peoples hearts, dont put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind...the race is long, and in the end its only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don't feel guilty if you dont know what to do with your life...the most interesting people I know didnt know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still dont.

Get plenty of calcium

Be kind to your knees, youll miss them when theyre gone
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you wont, maybe you'll have children, maybe you wont, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary...what ever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either - your choices are half chance, so are everybody elses.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can...dont be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, its the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance...even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you dont follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you'll never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Dont expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time its 40, it will look 85.

Be careful who advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen..."

Baz Luhrmann

SIZZLING HOT FROM MILAN-OH!

Here's a mini selection of my favorite looks from the FW08/09 Menswear collections...not talking about the boys wearing them obviously (I'm a respectable fiancée), but the styles of course...I like the come back of wide legged trousers, even for evening wear, and the subtle colour cues in earth tones, mastic and off white, blacks, dark reds and blues. The volumes are either extra large or sleek with that 70's touch (straight leg slightly bootlegged) - me like it. Good news: the slim is almost dead.

ROBERTO CAVALLI

BOTTEGA VENETA

BURBERRY PRORSUM

DOLCE & GABBANA

AVE MARIA

Un petit post du dimanche pour parler d'Ave Maria, un resto:bar muy simpatico à côté d'Oberkampf.

Déjà, ambiance. La déco sort tout droit d'un cabinet de curiosités religieuses avec moult reliques lumineuses version pop, autels kitch dédiés à Shiva et à Buddha, guirlandes de feuillage façon jungle équatorienne collées au plafond et stickers vintage en guise de papier peint. On pourrait croire qu'il n'y a "que de la gueule" dans ce resto....pas du tout, ça se passe aussi dans l'assiette. Et c'est du sérieux. Fusion de cuisines africaines, cubaines, brésiliennes, antillaises, afghanes...un mélange plutôt bien dosé qui a de quoi faire voyager. Et on revient les valises pleines! Comprenez la métaphore....?? Sur ce point, spéciale dédicace à Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulet, Himalaya Dreams et Woman on Top (oui ça c'est les noms des plats) et un dessert fait de crème type panna cotta avec une base de biscuit à la noix de coco et un coulis de fruits rouges...j'ai oublié le nom mais je me souviens de l'effet qu'il m'a fait!!! Hmm. Ajoutez à cela une programmation musicale éclectique très chouette (la dernière fois on a eu droit à Tricky et Ayo en passant par Justice) si ce n'est les 2-3 barres de volume au dessus du seuil recommandé pour un dîner. J'avais presque l'impression de sortir de boîte en sortant, lol. Pour finir, clientèle multi-style et ambiance de quartier conviviale, très sympa aussi pour boire un verre (mojito et caïpi framboise very nice).
Yo valido.

AVE MARIA
1 rue Jacquard
Paris 11ème
Plats environ 12-14 euros

DANCE LESSON WITH JAMES BROWN

Vous sortez ce weekend et avez peur d'être à la ramasse ? Petite leçon de Mr Dynamite himself. Vous me remercierez plus tard.....





Courtesy of Wah

HEELS GALORE

I have to confess one of my obsessions: SHOES

Shoes. It's a small word compared to the damage it can make in one's bank account or the room it can take in one's flat. Trust me...my appartement starts with a corridor, that's what the architectural plans say. Now this corridor is no more. It is literally a sea of shoes and boots and trainers and babies and high heels and very high heels, old shoes, new shoes, winter shoes or summer shoes or mid-season shoes. Even the chinese takeaway delivery boy stares and look at me like "damn...". "ok now stop staring you're embarassing me!!!!".


Because yes, at this stage it is embarassing. Because there is a fine line between a girl who really likes shoes, like she likes other girly stuff such as clothes, bags, make up or jewelry, and the girl who is an obsessive compulsive shoe addicted buyer. I crossed that line not too long ago when I counted 52 pairs...that's in my infamous corridor only, not counting what's in the basement (ie. the summer season. don't want to count that). And not counting flip flops.

See!! It is embarassing!!!

My chéri doesn't seem to notice anymore...all I know is that when we started dating he used to tell me " hmm nice heels girl! new ?" everytime we saw each other - now poor thing he doesnt even bother. Like: been there, done that...


I have to shave off some of my guilt and justify this compulsive behaviour though...it's not just some random choice of addiction, it has very specific and insideously grounded roots. Really.

If you're a girl, you'll acknowledge the fact that the Battle of all Battles of Femaledom is WEIGHT. Now you ask, what's it got to do with your 52 pairs ? Weeeell........it's got to do that one day I realised that, given the weight fluctuation a woman (or maybe just me) goes through in a 12 months period, like +/- 2, 4 or 5 ks, it was much less depressing to buy shoes than jeans or skimpy shirts when you were in that "i'm FAT" month. See what I mean? Why stay at home looking sullen and shoppingdeprived when you can just hit the street in the search of brand new heels ?!!! Because unlike your waist width, a size 7 will ALWAYS be a size 7 no matter if it's summer or Xmas or if you just had a refill of Macadamia&NutBrittle! HA! Amazing non ?!

So see, it's not really my fault. It's just an unfair consequence of the wicked "slowfatburner" gene rooted in the female metabolism. I just don't have a choice....

Who said I was superficial???? You just watch this space, next time I'm gonna be posting something really deep and meaningful!!! I mean it!!

BIJULES

Jules Kim est une créatrice New Yorkaise de bijoux aux designs décalés, un peu provoc voire carrément drôles, sous la marque "Bijules". J'adore ce qu'elle fait et sa personnalité...sûre d'elle, "fly", et talentueuse. J'ai toujours été fascinée par les gens qui croient autant en leur talent et leur créativité...tu peux juste être admiratif devant tant de volonté et de constance à atteindre cet objectif qu'ils sont les seuls à connaître. Un peu comme les sportifs de haut niveau (moi quoi). Je pense souvent à ça quand je lis Closer au lieu d'oeuvrer à la recherche de mon greater good : what am I on this planet for??!!?? Vous savez vous? Moi je cherche encore....

Voici une vidéo de Jules...type 24h dans sa vie etc. Ca donne vraiment envie de traverser l'Atlantique....

www.bijulesnyc.com

AMERICAN GANGSTER

I have to switch to english for this one guys...(sorry but this blog is not going to be easy for you french friends who have decided to stick to german or spanish throughout your teenage years. My bad).

I wanted to share with you all the great esthetical satisfaction I had from watching American Gangster the other day with my "moitié". Set aside the thrillingly exciting story of a black man came-from-nothing-5$inthepocket-type-thing who after 20 years in NYC was in the position to actually use the mafia as his bitch distributors for his heroïn imports, I want to give a big shout out to the film's costume designer, namely Janty Yates (Miami Vice, Gladiator - won oscar for that one - , Enemy at the Gates, Kingdom of Heaven...not that those last three experiences could have led me to think she would master the black 70's swag so well - you get me).




It was amazing to see such abundance of codes from that period, from the tilted flat caps to bi-color fur coats with matching top hat (all that fox man!! it's a sin!!!), vest and open collars to butt-hugging flared pants, not forgetting the 3 button wide collar polo's and ruffle shirts, all assembled with the greatest style and care and never bordering on caricature. Which is what I enjoyed the most (the non-caricature bit). It was pure eye candy (from a professional perspective only obviously)...and I can bet you Denzel, RZA, Common, Cuba Gooding Jr. and T.I had a freegin ball dressing up every day (I'm pretty sure only dust was left from the wardrobe when the shoot was done). Not mentioning the super sleek dresses of the lead babe.

Here's a few screen grabs...tried to find a good selection but didn't find much (missing denzel's fox coat, a masterpiece of "too much is too much" attitude like they knew how to do it back in the days!!)

NON PRESENTATION

Alors normalement quand tu commences un blog, tu dois te présenter. Normal. Mais c'est toujours un exercice archi compliqué, où pour écrire une intro de 3 lignes on est soudain emprunt à des doutes pas possibles. On est tout à coup dans le flou quand à la phrase d'intro à choisir genre "coucou!!! je m'appelle mathilde!!!" - légèrement trop enthousiaste-, ou "je suis brune, je fais 1m79 et je travaille dans la fashion industry" - trop meetic - ou carrément "née un beau matin pluvieux de février..." - trop disney. Je dis stop à la phrase d'intro moche !
Donc vous, chers lectrices et lecteurs, apprendrez à me connaître au fil de mes posts plus ou moins révélateurs de... ma situation géographique par exemple, ou de ce que j'aime, ce que j'aime pas du tout, mes obsessions actuelles ou passées..ou actuelles, de ce que j'ai envie de partager and so on and so on...Comme ça ça m'a l'air moins galvaudé et puis c'est censé vous donner envie de revenir et tout ça. C'est stratégique.

see ya xx