Beauty Paris: Beauty Paris
by maribeth
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Clarins, Cassandra and Me
My Current Drug of Choice
I think we’ve all been expanding upon certain rituals lately, those little things we do on a regular basis that help us to cope with stress. Some people might be having an extra wine at their local gathering spot, others extend their workouts an additional fifteen minutes and yet others are perhaps seeking solace in food. For me, I’ve become a bit obsessed with aromatherapy. My little apartment seems to be transformed daily into a mini spa in which soothing scents swirl, easing my anxieties—big and small—every hour of the day.
Essential oils, such as lavender and sandalwood, have been my godsend at bedtime for a number of months. But ever since the economy plunged in September, I dove headfirst into a number of potions and lotions that I knew would provide some sort of redolent release. Clarins Huile Tonic, or Body Treatment Firming and Toning Oil, quickly became my favorite and now I pretty much only have to open the bottle and give it a sniff to achieve a greater sense of serenity.
Apparently this highly aromatic oil, composed of geranium, hazelnut, rosemary, sage, peppermint and rosewood extracts, is known to be particularly effective during “that time of the month” when virtually all women feel the need for more slimming and relaxation. It has been nearly sixty days now and I’m still turning to this wondrous tonic on a daily basis. Maybe all this woeful news left me feeling episodically distressed and bloated, but I’ve found my cure in Huile Tonic. (Totally contrary to the instructions, however, I put it on my damp skin as soon as I leave the shower, breathing the aroma-therapeutic qualities of the oil deeply in many times over within the steamy space of my bathroom.)
This daily ritual, of course, prompted me to think more about Clarins, a company I first discovered in Paris in the early eighties. As with most other people—including men and women—it was the fragrance of the products that drew me in. As early as 1954, long before aromatherapy became a buzzword, Jacques Courtin-Clarins was creating skin care products with scents that completely enhanced your whole state of well-being. And as I recently re-discovered, the plants and essential oils that make up these predominantly plant-based products promote external and internal healing in sometimes surprising ways.
La Belle Cassandra in Stella Cadente
I couldn’t think of Clarins without thinking of my friend, Cassandra Moonen, the International Public Relations Manager of this world-renowned big name in beauty. We only met in person a handful of times, but each time I was greatly impressed by her elegance and glow. I think each woman has a collection of females they truly admire and Cassandra figures among those on my short list. She’s actually Dutch-born, but to me, she embodies the total look and feel of this leading French company. She’s also single and as I’ve said to her before, it’s too bad there are so many miles between us because I’m sure we’d enjoy spending lots of time together. All these aromas and musings prompted me to put a few questions to Cassandra in order to feel more connected with her and my beloved Paris.
M.C.: Are you still wearing Stella Cadente, the French label you introduced me to a few years ago?
C.M.: Yes, but not every day. I love wearing this feminine and colorful collection that is not related to fashion trends but corresponds to my personality. I feel really good in the nice fabrics and I always choose a cut that enhances my natural shapes. The truth is that I will always get compliments when I wear a piece of Stella Cadente, even if I mix with other more trendy or classic pieces (of other brands).
M.C.: If so, what’s her fall look?
C.M.: Stella Cadente has her own style that corresponds to the girl inside a woman with a touch of Rock & Glam.
M.C.: Anything new with the fragrance Miss Me, the one Clarins created for Stella Cadente?
C.M.: No further development for this Parisian “niche” brand this year, but you can see the lovely and poetic cosmetic products on her Web site.
A Smoldering Look for this Holiday Season
M.C: What other fashions and/or fashion accessories are big in Paris this fall/winter? What’s the overall look?
C.M.: Leggings are back with nice fluid, feminine tops, short cuts, slim fit jeans and the trendy color of the season is violet. For the winter season it will be Chic and Glam with silver, gold or black accessories! We have a very nice make up bag for the Holiday season at Clarins a must-have for the season to be the IT girl!
M.C: What are your favorite Clarins products of the moment and why?
C.M: My favorite Clarins product for my face at the moment is Total Double Serum, the most complete Cosmetic product to fight against aging, ideal when the season changes to offer my skin all it needs. It’s like a multivitamin for my skin to stay healthy and young. For my body, I recommend Clarins Aromatic Relaxing Body Polisher, to exfoliate my skin very gently offering aromatic and well being benefits immediate to my skin (once a week) and the second product is the Toning Body Treatment Oil, a hundred-percent natural cosmetic product to firm and tone my body from head to toe every morning after my shower; it just needs to be rinsed off with cold to warm water. No need to apply other products after and you’ll find immediate results. It’s quick and easy and I love it. I can add, of course, many other products according to the area I would like to improve (the bust, my legs and hips..).
M.C.: What Clarins products are favorites among American women?
C.M.: Our anti-aging products (Extra-Firming and Super Restorative lines), our sun care products, our self tanning range, Instant Beauty Flash Balm, and in Make Up, our big hit is Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch.
M.C.: What Clarins products are favorites among French women?
C.M.: Our anti-aging products (Extra-Firming and Super Restorative lines), our sun care products, Eau Dynamisante, Tonic Oil, Total Body Lift and all our body products, Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch and our foundations.
Miraculous Make Up
More of My Favorite Clarins Products
Cassandra mentioned the Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch above, a product I discovered a number of years ago and was completely amazed by how beautifully it evens out your skin with a pink-y glow. Clarins recently came out with the Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch foundation (that she also cited above) and it is truly magical. I’m not a fan of foundation, but applying this base to your skin is like smoothing your face with a creamy satin mousse. Truly a must! I’m also in love with Paramour, a rather heady fragrance, perfect for amorous winter evenings wrapped in velvet and cashmere. Unfortunately I’m out of that now, but its scent still lingers in my mind. My current fragrance is Chanel’s Chance (also means luck in French) which is perhaps more suited for these times. And I suppose I can always dabble a little Huile Tonic behind my ears.
Be sure to check out www.clarins.com; their Beauty Advice in particular is worth the visit.
Food & Wine France French Life Paris Travel: Belgian Friends Belgian Friendship Cassandra Moonen Clarins Entertaining France French Friends French Friendship French Life Stéphane de Bourgies Victoria Wolff Wolff & Descourtis
by maribeth
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Grateful for My Friends in France and Belgium
Laughing with Marie in a Paris Café
My Petit Dejeuner in that Café
Toasting Life Chez Michèle et Loic
Zee Sunday Brunch Spread
Pain, Vin et Fromage Chez Steph et Véronqiue
I’m big at counting my blessings year round. As challenging as life can be, I try as much as possible to pause and feel truly grateful for all that I have in my life.
There’s so much for which to be grateful, especially when it comes to love. There’s nothing like feeling love and appreciation. There’s nothing like feeling valued. There’s nothing like feeling your heart swell with love–day after day after day.
I was blessed with an outpouring of love during my recent trip to Europe when friends in France went out of their way to meet with me for coffee, organize special dinners, include me in on Sunday lunches and chat with me at great length over leisurely breakfasts and afternoon teas. My friends in Antwerp entertained me all weekend long. And throughout every encounter, I felt a connectedness with my European friends that made it feel as though I had just seen them the week before. (It had, in fact, been many years.)
Beauty Mountain Living Shopping: Beauty Mountain Living Shopping
by maribeth
Comments Off on Hydration and More for You and Mom All Year Round
Hydration and More for You and Mom All Year Round
Clarins Total Eye Concentrate
It snowed again this week in Colorado, a not-so-surprising weather occurence that barely disturbed most Coloradans. We need the moisture and here in the Rockies, that typically comes in the form of snow. Even in May.
Hydration. That’s the buzz word out here. Whether we’re talking about what we put into our bodies or what we slather onto our skin, preventing ourselves from being “dried out” is key. Low humidity, bright sun and temperatures that range from frigid cold to blistering heat—often coupled with fierce wind and dust—is how weather in the Rockies may best be described. None of this makes for a particularly hospitable environment for our skin. And to make matters worse (at least for our skin), we love to play outdoors here in the West. I mean really playing hard as in long days of skiing, hiking and for many, even dirt bike riding!
I’m grateful for the many wonderful products that help me affront this often challenging climate year-round. My bathroom boasts glorious creams and oils that allow me to appear radiant throughout the driest of times. Most of these have been sourced through trial and error. Ever put a cream on your skin and then ten minutes later your skin feels taught and barren? Well, those don’t pass muster in my house. No, I need to feel juicy.
Marking a Milestone with Good Wishes and a Great Face Cream
My Super Salve
Well, it’s finally arrived. The moment I have been somewhat anxiously anticipating for the past year, at least the last six months. Today I’ve officially hit a major mile marker on my roadway of life. Not sure if I’m comfortable enough to say what it is, but it’s a big one. You can only guess.
I breathe deeply and nearly sigh as I write this. I began preparing for this monumental birthday last March. Before that I felt more dread than hope. Then I decided to change my attitude around it. I wrote a list of clear and concise affirmations of what I wanted to manifest most in my life, began saying them out loud on a daily basis and then after a couple of months, procured a luxurious face cream. Yes, I contacted my friend Cassandra at Clarins and she furnished me with a shopping bag full of potions, lotions and sprays. They have been my saving grace these past couple of months as I’ve barreled toward this day.
Am I sounding shallow? I hope not. I think we all need sensory experiences that ground us in our daily lives. Consider the feelings triggered by the smell of freshly-brewed coffee in the morning, the sound of a loved one approaching the door, the feel of your pet nuzzling up for attention, the taste of buttered toast with jam, the sight of the sky easing into darkness at the end of the day. We are comforted and nurtured by these sensations more than we realize and I’ve found that the more I tap into these feelings, the more they serve as an emotional compass in my daily life.
HydraQuench Rich Cream by Clarins has been this sort of balm for me every day and night these past couple of months. It has been the constant that—along with many deep breaths—has calmed me in good times and in bad, through sickness and in health and through richer and poorer (mostly!) in this wacky marriage with myself that is now blankety-blank years strong. Its enveloping texture and fresh clean scent has soothed me amidst my early morning and late night thoughts of where I should be in my life, what I should be doing now. With each creamy application, I’ve been reassured that I’m right where I’m supposed to be, so enjoy it. The fact that this beautiful product offers superlative skin care for very dry skin and cold climates has been a bonus. Most times when I apply it, I swear that HydraQuench Rich Cream must have been created with the Rocky Mountains in mind.
Good Enough to Eat
And the slathering hasn’t stopped there. Every couple of days or so I glaze myself with Delicious Self-Tanning Cream, also by Clarins, a glossy and chocolate-y caramel-colored sensation that resembles a gooey French dessert. Its most effective and soothing ingredients are, in fact, caramel, cocoa bean and cocoa butter. Yum-ME! If only I could fall into a vat of it on my most woeful days. Instead, I luxuriate in the seamless golden tan it casts upon my skin. This glorious cream makes the many days I’ve not been able to leave my desk for a hike all the more bearable.
The few times I have bronzed in the sun this summer, I’ve been coated with this French company’s Multi-Cellular Protection SPF 50+ Sunscreen. It’s touted as being “smart sun for younger looking skin” since it protects against harmful UVA and UVB rays while nourishing your skin with a five-plant formula of extracts made from senna, pea, plane tree, olive and baobab. It’s in its marvelous combination of plant extracts that Clarins truly excels. They’ve been making holistic concoctions, many of which are characterized by a distinctive scent, way before it became fashionable to do so.
Oh, How I love this Eau
The aromatherapeutic benefits of their products can stay with you for hours. I’ve always been a huge fan of their Eau Dynamisante, an invigorating fragrance introduced to me decades ago when I first visited France. Its notes of lemon, patchouli, rosemary and thyme have remained with me all these years. And since I’ve been in need of an extra boost this summer, you can bet I’ve been giving myself a little spritz at least once a day, sometimes more when the going gets especially rough. Breathe. Eau Dynamisante by Clarins makes the breathing all the more delightful and exhilarating.
So here I am. Me and my face cream and an armful of various other soothing products. We’ve made it to this big day together and I know that with their help I’ll be more fabulous than ever in the years to come. As my Mom wrote in her birthday card to me, “It gets really fun from now on.” Wow, that was a surprise, but I sense it must be true. She’s aged gracefully, surely with the help of some fine face creams as well as a terrific sense of humor.
I count my blessings. I’m grateful for my Italian genes that belie my age, a mostly sunny personality and the ability to look on the bright side of a situation, no matter how dire. Most of all though I’m grateful for good health and all the wonderful people, places, things and experiences that have shaped my life thus far. My life continues to resist going exactly where I want it to go. The big book deal has yet to occur, true love still seems elusive, bill paying challenges me more than ever and hanging on to certain old behaviors and beliefs that impede my growth can still be a problem.
Hélas, life is not perfect. And neither am I. But there’s always hope. The first step is acceptance; the next is a long, languorous application of a gorgeous face cream. I look into the mirror, smile and think of my Mom saying “Oh cripes.” Yeah, that’s it, oh cripes. Now it’s time to get on with it.
One way or another, I think I’ll punctuate this birthday with an exclamation point. At the half century mark, a period just doesn’t seem to cut it!
Know that Clarins is committed to the environment and many of their products and their packaging reflect this concern. I was especially impressed with their Gentle Beauty Soap, made of shea butter and hazelnut oil, that provides a green alternative to most facial cleansers that come in plastic. It’s great for airplane security as well.
Read Clarins, Cassandra and Me for more about my love for this great French company.
Hunny and Me at Gateway in June Before My Clarins Self Tanning
Approach every birthday—and every day for that matter—like a gift to be unwrapped with much wonder and excitement.
Now I’m off to the pool to fan myself.
Beauty Being Green Shopping: Beauty Being Green Shopping
by maribeth
Comments Off on Beauty Products Roundup for the Holidays and 2009
Beauty Products Roundup for the Holidays and 2009
Some of Booth's Bootiful Booty
My Clarins obsession (see my Clarins posting) spurred a whole series of discoveries and contemplations of many other wonderful potions, lotions and beauty enhancers that I thought I’d share with you. Best of all many of the goods on my current wish list offer great value and are readily available at totally affordable prices. Most can also be purchased online, so there’s still time for last-minute holiday shopping.
Booth’s skin care products will keep your skin satiny soft and smelling luscious well into the new year. Their Tahitian Monoi Body Soufflé seems good enough to eat and as the label says, you can apply it all over your body in the morning. Or evening. Or morning and evening. Or morning, noon and evening. Well, you get the idea. You’ll likely even want to share it with a loved one!
CARGO'S PlantLove Lipstick
Looking for a gift idea that won’t impact your wallet? How about a tube of lipstick, a small yet always much appreciated mini luxury item? CARGO, the innovative cosmetic line that was launched nearly ten years ago and that also ranks as a favorite among the stars, has come out with PlantLove lipsticks, luscious tubes of color that are exciting both for their environmentally-friendly packaging and the precious cargo inside. No mineral oils or petroleum are contained within the botanical formula of their lipsticks yet they glide on to your lips like soft butter on bread. Made entirely of corn, the tube is also covered with flower paper embedded with real seeds that you supposedly just have to moisten and plant. Not sure how well that works but they do look pretty.
Why not consider a bottle of quality shampoo for you or the last few on your list? Only if it’s one of Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree blends. Specially infused with Australian Tea Tree Oil, these formulas care for your hair and scalp with the help of many moisturizing and invigorating properties. The Tea Tree Lavender Mint is particularly good for triggering your daily dose of shower-aromatherapy.
Here in the mountains I’ve learned not to mess around with my skin care which is why I’ve started to use Skin Medica TNS Ultimate Daily Moisturizer with an SPF of 20 on a daily basis. I’m sure you’ve all heard that some sunscreens can do more harm than good. You can be ultra safe with this sun protection and all other Skin Medica products since this is a company focused on enhancing skin appearance and reducing the signs of aging.
And here’s the latest update from Bobbi Brown, another of my favorites: You can now buy the Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual at booksellers nationwide. Click here to have a sneak-peek at the video. May we all feel beautiful and good in our skin throughout this new year and forever!
