August 12, 2007 1:51 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Ah, the Cool French Girl.

I was influenced by the Cool French Girl in two phases of my life:

1.) The Naro Theatre in Norfolk, VA. This was long before cable tv, Netflix, etc. ...this was the sole place you could go to see something different. They showed foreign films, documentaries, independent films, cartoons, silents (with live organ), shorts...everything really.

I was enthralled by the foreign films. The French movies, particularly, always seemed to have female lead roles, which we don't, to this day.

That is when I saw Fanny Ardant, Francoise Dorleac... I'm drawing a blank on the names, I saw the ads sometimes more than the movies. I was a kid back then, but it was definitely a culture clash.

2.) Bravo tv channel, back when they showed foreign films only, no ads, and were operating only about half the day.

That's when I saw Sandrine Bonnaire, Julie Delpy, Nathalie Baye, Isabelle Huppert, Juliette Binoche... Sophie Marceau was never really my favorite, I thought of her as cute, along the lines of Brigitte Bardot, cute and sexy. But Sandrine Bonnaire, Julie Delpy, Isabelle Huppert...did some scorching work. Thinking of Vagabond, Monsieur Hire, La Passion Beatrice, Violette...don't think we've ever produced movies like these.

As far as why French women don't get fat, I can agree on the mass transit vs. driving thing. When I lived in San Francisco, I hardly ever saw fat people. It's difficult to have a car there, there's nowhere to park, so you have to walk or else walk to and from the bus...no driving.

The rest of it imo is cultural. If it's not acceptable, culturally, to be fat, fewer people are fat. It's not the food itself, it's not even quite the walking factor. It is primarily cultural. I'm drawing a blank as to why our own government doesn't do anything about Americans getting fatter and fatter; it's certainly a public health issue.

Study Says Obesity Can Be Contagious
bugmenot

August 12, 2007 2:14 PM,  Audrey_H said...

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August 12, 2007 2:16 PM,  Audrey_H said...

Cool. The French girl has been my style icon for years. I just love being in Paris, sitting in a cafe, watching all the chic women in their trenchcoats and scarves.


Audrey (- who has brown hair with bangs a la Jane Birkin, green eyes, French-style makeup, casual clothing - and who walks everywhere :)

August 12, 2007 8:12 PM,  Dain said...

Lol, Audrey! I'm so jealous. I admit I don't really know much about Sophie Marceau, for some reason I just remember that quote of hers--I thought it was sweet. I guess Jane Birkin is a far better style icon, or Francoise Hardy or something like that, as Marceau barely expresses interest. In any case, I just chose her for her coloring: it's standard French coloring (blonde is rare). I love Isabelle Hupert, she is such a good actress. Have you seen La Pianiste? Intense movie.

If you want to know the reason why Americans are so fat, you should consider that the government is kind of in cahoots. More or less it's because of the corn industry; it's a special type of corn, one that isn't even edible until it's treated, but the stuff is used to feed livestock and therefore, in much of our meat and dairy, and used to make corn syrup, which is in EVERYTHING. There's a film out called King Corn which details all of this really well. It's worth watching.

August 12, 2007 11:02 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Ugh? I had an even worse theory. I mean I'm looking at it, being overweight is not that different from smoking. It is going to cut decades off your life expectancy.

The problem is that it's profitable from both ends...you can make money selling diet products to these people, and at the same time, you can make money selling bigger and bigger clothes to these same people.

That corn theory is interesting. I wouldn't be surprised...

The Cool French Girls that I remember best, are from when I was young and impressionable, that's why I remember Sandrine Bonnaire and so forth so vividly. I have not seen La Pianiste. I'll have to put it on my Netflix queue...but you've got to see Vagabond if you haven't. :)

August 13, 2007 9:02 AM,  Audrey_H said...

Marceau is stunning. Another French beauty is Marina Hands in Lady Chatterley. Birkin and Hardy are beautiful too, perhaps in a more casual and quirky way. And Charlotte Gainsbourg. Oh, and Juliette Binoche... she's classy.

August 13, 2007 11:26 AM,  cmm said...

I totally agree with that corn theory. I went through a french girl phase a couple o'years ago. One of the things I did was not eat anything that had high-fructose corn syrup in it. Do you know how hard to find ANYTHING pre-made that doesn't have that stuff in it? Its ridiculous. Just absolutely ridiculous. I ended up baking all my own bread for awhile there because TRY finding bread w/o it in that doesn't cost an arm and a leg a loaf. I lost 10 pounds eating good cheese, homemade bread, real butter, wine, good dark chocolate, salad w/ homemade olive oil dressing, good yogurt, etc. High quality food, real-sized portions and ssssssllllloooowwwing down to savor and enjoy ones food, it really does work.
Huh.
Why on earth did I ever stop doing that?
It takes alot more time and alot more effort, thats why. And I am a lazy,lazy gal at heart. And now I'm a 30 pounds fatter gal too....

August 13, 2007 12:47 PM,  Audrey_H said...

"Slowing down" is the key word here. Taking the time to cook properly, use fresh organic ingredients, and enjoying eating it, is totally different than stuffing your face with fried fast-food in front of the tv. By eating slow, you won't overeat, since the "I'm full!"-message from the stomach to the brain will come more naturally (and without stomach pain and guilt). I think it's extremely important to learn how to chill out and slow down, especially when it comes to eating food, since we're multitasking everything and expecting it all to go faster and faster nowadays.

June 27, 2007 8:32 AM,  cmm said...

Just wanted to add that the Loreal Mascara works just as well on my eyelashes. I do have fairly thick lashes, thick, lots of them, but they are short.

My one and only complaint is that as the tube gets older, the mascara seems to get clumpier. This should not be a problem as it is SO cheap you can and should be replacing it frequently. I'm just lazy and didn't.

I normally do not like and/or use a waterproof formula because, again, I'm lazylazylazy and waterproof mascara generally needs a makeupremover to remove it and I don't like the extra step. However, we put up a very small aboveground pool this summer. I either would not go in it because I was wearing mascara or I'd go in and then have to deal with icky, runny mascara. I bought the waterproof version of Voluminous a few days ago. It works really well. It doesn't TOTALLY stand up to pool water, but its much better than regular mascara. Plus, we're starting to get into the summer heat,humidity and allergy season here, so I'm sure it will also prove helpful in dealing with those summer issues.

As for the extra step in removing it at night, I've been using plain ole olive oil to cleanse my face. That takes it right off. No extra step required!

June 27, 2007 9:51 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

I was wondering where the heck you were! :) That's terrific that you have a pool. Just the thing for summer.

P.S. I syndicated the comments on the left-hand sidebar...so we can just check over there and see if there are new comments. It's not a fancy feature in that all it does, is list the comments on the current page--whether it's the main page, archive page or individual post page. But it's better than nothing.

June 29, 2007 3:21 PM,  Dain said...

I can't do waterproof. I'm bad enough at removing the stuff in the first place, but I'm thinking of seeking out a good makeup remover. I'm glad to hear Voluminous works for fuller lashes, though. You know this was Kevyn Aucoin's fave? He used this and Shu Uemura Basic (which is a much more natural look), but he loved Voluminous the most.

June 7, 2007 2:00 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Yeahhhhh...you've put your finger on something.

I'm looking to own fewer, better, cosmetics. I would rather use the same lipstick over and over again, and have it become my signature lipstick... That's one reason the whole "limited edition" shmeer cheesed me off so much. If it's worth making in the first place, it's worth keeping in production.

Further...we've become an entirely "disposable" society, what we buy has become...junk. I mean there are tons and tons of junk to be bought, by us, or else there's an entirely different layer, an expensive layer, but there's nothing in between.

I'm still pondering what to do, when I UEU MAC Strawberry Blonde lipstick. Ironically, when I do use it up, it will be my #6 MAC empty. I could get a free MAC lipstick, but there isn't even one MAC lipstick on my wish list.

I have a q--how many Nars lipstick formulas have you tried? I've heard some of them are dry, then I've seen mixed reviews. Are the sheer ones less dry? How about the lip stain glosses?

June 7, 2007 3:08 AM,  Dain said...

I would definitely say that the lipsticks are your traditional wax formulae, even the sheer ones. NARS really ought to update. Yes, they are all a little dry, but that's actually quite nice when it comes to something like red lipstick, because they don't smear. And the stain lipglosses smear like crazy, though I love Daredevil as a color.

June 7, 2007 1:09 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Hm. That is a bit disappointing.

That is a problem I have with Malibu, used as lipstick. The color is brilliant, better than most regular lipsticks (while still functioning perfectly as a blush color), but too dry, no matter what I put on my lips under or over it.

For a multiple-purpose product I could accept it, since most multi-purpose products really aren't, and it's still the world's best blush.

I've decided though, it's still worth losing my Nars lipstick virginity. I'll guess the lipsticks will work with lip balm of some sort, should it be necessary. :)

June 8, 2007 8:59 AM,  cmm said...

Amen, sistah, about all the "junk" there is to choose from. Thing that really gets is me that its not even cheap junk. You're paying way to much $$ for junk. I'm a super-tightwad, have had to be being out of the workforce for 18 years, but I wouldn't mind at all paying good $$ for something if its worth it. REALLY, REALLY, TRUELY worth it.

I do think a NARS lippie is worth it. I do love mine and I don't think it was outrageously priced. (DH would think otherwise if I told him)It is drying on me. I am turning into Queen Of The Sensitive these days anyways, so maybe it won't be so bad on you. Lipbalm with it does work.

I bought the Nars sight-unseen only using Dains rec and it was spot on perfect. So ya don't ALWAYS need to try it on. ;)

June 8, 2007 1:23 PM,  Dain said...

I mean, NARS lipsticks offer rich, true pigment, which is particularly nice with the older lipsticks and even nicer if you're looking for a red. I don't think they're drying per se, it's just not a very updated formula. I think www.bluemercury.com has some pics, not all, but some. They might give you a better idea.

June 8, 2007 6:46 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Yep...we have already entered a brand new era.

In the past, the things were expensive or hard to find (expensive in terms of time), and the space to put them in was cheap.

Now it's the other way around...the things are cheap (relatively) and easy to find, all you need are Internet access and a credit card, and the stuff is shipped right to your door, or else you go to a single store (Wal-Mart) and buy everything there.

But now, the space is expensive...because we're still thinking in terms of buying things and keeping them, rather than buying them and throwing them away.

Anyhow that's my theory. We have yet to adjust to the "everything's disposable" mentality, so we end up with more and more junk and less and less space. The space now is worth more than the physical items.

Yeahhh...I almost bought Sexual Healing sight unseen, just because of the groovy name. :D I still don't know exactly what I'm looking for...if I wanted a look-alike to MAC Strawberry Blonde, I could go for Niagara. I don't know. I'd like to try several of them out, I feel the right one will just jump out and scream "Buy me!"

June 10, 2007 6:14 PM,  Dain said...

I agree! It's the same with clothes. The right thing screams out, "Buy me!". Though it takes some knowledge of your own style for that instinct to be accurate.

June 11, 2007 1:17 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Yeah it's funny...I suppose you first learn what screams "Don't buy me!"...what isn't going to work. You just know in an instant when you see it.

Now "Buy me!", that takes longer ime. A lot of things "work" on me, that I know I'm not going to care for in the long run.

June 11, 2007 1:19 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

rotfl I changed my user image for Blogger, looks like the image URL gets stored with the comment.

March 22, 2007 9:12 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Welcome back! Sounds like excellent, well-thought-out shopping.

Isn't it a kick in the butt that you have to replace MAC's limited edition lipsticks, with lipsticks in the $22+ range? I've been looking on and off for a substitute for Strawberry Blonde. The closest clones appear to be Julie Hewett Gem Noir and Nars Niagara (although I think the latter is a bit too bright and orange to be an actual clone).

The third candidate is a Victoria's Secret lipstick, Love Bite, but I dunno...I have no idea how long VS keeps their stock before discontinuing it (for some reason, I doubt it's overly long).

Now if MAC just made real lipsticks the way they used to...mumbles...