The Creme de la Creme of Relaxation

I doubt a body cream can cure stress but Aveda’s lovely Stress-Fix range certainly does contribute to a feeling of relaxation, and the roll-on oil (Stress-Fix Concentrate) helped calm my nerves during a frenetically busy period, professionally and personally, not long after it was first launched a couple of years ago. Stress-Fix Body Creme (£36) is the latest addition to the collection and looks set to become a staple of the at-home spa regime, to be used after a bath laced with Stress-Fix Soaking Salts.. Like them, it has a predominantly lavender scent. The creme has a rich, but easily absorbed, texture and feels very nourishing. Aveda has devised a couple of rituals to be carried out using the body creme, in order to benefit fully from it.

Body Creme Ritual for Hand and Arm: Apply the body creme to the hand and forearm with long gliding strokes. Massage the palm using circular motions, including the heel of the hand, the centre of the palm and the base of each finger. Extend the arm and position the hand palm down. Starting at the outer wrist and moving toward the elbow, massage the oustide of the forearm using gentle, kneading motions. Turn the forearm over and position the hand palm up. Starting at the inner wrist and moving toward the elbow, massage the inside of the forearm using gentle, kneading motions. Repeat on the other hand and arm.

Body Creme Ritual for the Body: After showering, massage Stress-Fix Body Creme into the hands and hold them under your nose while taking a deep breath. Massage tense areas such as the neck, shoulders and forearms using the Ayurvedic technique of circular motions at the joints and back-and-forth ones between them. Apply to the abdomen with circular clockwise motions.

Style on Film: Fading Gigolo

This was the outfit Sharon Stone was wearing in the scene in John Turturro’s new movie Fading Gigolo that made me sit up and pay attention to the clothes.. It’s the ensemble she’s wearing for her first encounter with Fioravante (Turturro), the florist who diversifies into prostitution at the behest of his pal, played by Woody Allen. Dr Parker (Stone) is his first client. A very satisfied customer, she enthuses about him over lunch with her friend – all the while looking as if she got the memo of channelling (in a weirdly appropriate way) Belle de Jour-era Catherine Deneuve’s look, at least hair-wise. I don’t remember seeing the next outfit in the film but the pic was taken during filming of Fading Gigolo, and could well be Dr Parker in dressed-down mode.
This chic cream coat is reminiscent of the iconic one worn by Kim  Novak in Vertigo.

Sharon Stone’s bare legs are featured throughout Fading Gigolo – as if to highlight that they don’t appear to have aged since they first stole the show in Basic Instinct, back in 1992.
* Fading Gigolo opens in UK cinemas on Friday, May 23

Nailing The Pulp Fiction Look – Again

It’s hard to believe that it’s 20 years since Pulp Fiction exploded on to cinema screens, making household names of enfant terrible director Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L Jackson, resurrecting the career of Bruce Willis, making John Travolta cool again – oh, and most importantly for anyone interested in style and fashion, launching a world-wide vogue for vampy dark, blood red, nails. Uma Thurman (pictured) may not have been the very first person to sport Chanel’s Rouge Noir nail polish, but she single-handedly (well, ten digitally) sparked a frenzy for the No18 nail colour in the Chanel collection.  Indeed, her Pulp Fiction nails were probably the most influential in movie history ..

Pulp Fiction was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1994, and had its UK and US theatrical release four months later. That year marked the start of both Chanel’s reign as the purveyor of the must-have polish and the waiting list phenomenon (I finally got my paws on a bottle in Copenhagen in 1995) – and signalled the end of the idea that only pretty, neutral or pink shades were acceptable. Rouge Noir opened the floodgates for blue nails, black nails, and anything goes nails. So, “Happy birthday!” to both it and Pulp Fiction. And you can celebrate by painting your nails and/or going to see Pulp Fiction which is being screened in Cineworlds up and down the country for one day only (Tuesday, May 20).

* Chanel Le Vernis in Rouge Noir (£18) is available nationwide. For stockists, call 020-7493 3836.

 

Ring the Changes

I love the colours in Matte Effect, the new summer collection from out-there beauty brand Illamasqua – and I love this Bowie-esque image, created by the company’s dynamic creative director, Alex Box. The new range comprises three Matte Lip Liquids (£18.50 each), which go on as liquid but dry to intense matte colour, and three Velvet Blushers (£21.50), which are long-lasting matte, cream-to-powder blushers. And the other new product is Matte Veil (£30), a mattifying gel which provides a terrific base for make-up. It’s very unusual for a summer collection to be all about matte, but if there’s a convention to be turned on its pretty little head, Illamasqua is the make-up range to do it …

Chanel Style, Bottled

Good news for lovers of Chanel No5 Eau Premiere, the fragrance that offered a contemporary twist on the classic No5 when it was launched in 2008 … It’s now available in the elegant bottle that helped make its parent perfume an icon of pop culture and a dressing table must-have.

Chanel No5 Eau Premiere looks set to be a classic in its own right. Luminous, airy and feminine, it has a floral bouquet of voluptuous ylang-ylang, jasmine and May Rose, with a creamy heart of vanilla and musky base notes.

The new, non-refillable spray bottles are available in 50ml (£68) and 100ml (£96).