Be Ispired by the Style of Marie Antoinette!

Terribly late, but as they say, better late than never! Here's my second post on my Parisian escapade - this time we go back to the "beauty" and "books" part of the blog title, with a look at some gorgeous Marie Antoinette-inspired finds!

 

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette silhouettes in the ticket office of the Palace of Versailles.

  

 

The central courtyard.

 

 

The Hall of Mirrors, one of the most remarkable features of the Palace (photo Wikipedia).

I have always been intrigued by the figure of Marie Antoinette - on my last visit, to learn more I turned to the brilliantly informative, yet highly readable, "Queen of Fashion", by Caroline Weber (available from Amazon), which takes a comprehensive look at the Queen's sometimes ill-fated style choices.

 

 

This time around, I opted out of non-fiction reading materials, and turned to the fab Marie Antoinette trilogy by Juliet Grey:

 

 

 

Full of historical details that will satisfy even the most die-hard history buffs, these three novels (I'm currently in the middle of n. 2) are a pleasure to read and, although fictionalised, allow the reader to learn quite a lot on the transformation of Marie Antoinette from Austrian archduchess to France's powerful and reckless queen.

 

I was also inspired by some new make-up releases in the Dior collection. Following up on the Chérie Bow collection for Spring 2013, the French fashion house this year came up with the truly drool-worthy Trianon collection, inspired, of course, by Marie Antoinette penchant for pastel colours and is reminiscent of the atmospheres at Versailles!

 

A look below at the products available in the collection:

 

 

Via Coco's Tea Party.

 

 

I got myself two of the nail polishes, as seen above - Porcelaine, which is a pale, slightly shimmery baby blue, and Perlé, which in truth is something truly fabulous and which I hope will form part of the permanet Dior make up collection (it will, I believe). On the Dior website, it is described as a frosted effect nail polish (should be used on top of a pale coloured polish for best effect, in my opinion), inspired by the porcelain of the 18th century. It is a matte pale mauve on application, but I find I like it best with a glossy top coat applied on top - in fact, I can hardly stop admiring my nails when I have it on!

 

So, will you too be inspired by the current trend for all things Marie Antoinette?

If so, be sure to take a look at my collage below and see if you can find something that inspires you!

 

 

1. Estée Lauder Paris Macarons Pure Color Nail Polish Collection for Spring 2013 (limited edition, alas, but some of the shades regularly crop up on eBay);
2. Ladurée Marie Antoinette rose infused tea, 8.40 (loose leaf) or £12 (tea bags);
3. "Marie Antoinette" film by Sofia Coppola (available on Amazon);
4. L'Oreal Paris mini nail polish in 202 Marie Antoinette (approx. £4.99);
5. Ladurée Marie Antoinette macarons (the ganache filling is Marie Antoinette tea-flavoured);
6. "Let Them Eat Cake" Marie Antoinette earrings available on MariannaLondon on Etsy (approx. 18.90);
7. Marie Antoinette Paris Pastel Collage Mood Board, from LauraLaurentSalon on Etsy (approx. £12);
8. Marie Antoinette silk scarf, from EmmaKisstina on Etsy (approx. £97).

Hope I have inspired you to unleash your inner style queen!

Now, I'm a bit hungry after all this writing, so I'm off to nibble on a macaron... :)

 



 







Dior #553 Princess Nail Polish

Ieri ero bloccata in una coda eterna alla Procura della Repubblica, così ho deciso di fare un salto veloce in profumeria per passare un po' il tempo.

La profumeria più comoda è Rossi Profumi di via Clavature, dove comunque avevo già in programma una visita perché in questi giorni e fino al 3 aprile hanno in promozione il mascara Hypnose Drama di Lancome, che è quello che uso solitamente, a 24€ invece che 34,50€.

Così sono entrata e ho trovato una bella sorpresa, perché il giorno prima era arrivata la nuova collezione di Dior, Sparkling Shine.

Come ormai saprete, il mio punto debole sono gli smalti, e questa collezione vede l'uscita di ben quattro nuove sfumature e un top coat trasparente effetto gel.

Da destra a sinistra, i colori sono:

• #343 Spring Ball;
• #553 Princess;
• #643 Diablotine;
• #433 Délice.

La mia scelta è caduta sul più tenue dei quattro, Princess, che mi ha colpito anche per il nome.
D'altra parte, chi non vorrebbe essere una principessa, anche solo grazie a una passata di smalto scintillante? ;)

Va detto che i glitter argentati sembrano meno visibili nel prodotto visto dal vivo, probabilmente le fotografie sono stata leggermente ritoccate per far risaltare lo scintillio al massimo.

 

Confesso che non sono particolarmente attratto dagli smalti glitter, non fosse altro perché poi sono un vero incubo da rimuovere, ma in attesa dell'uscita dell'agognato Taboo di Chanel, ho deciso di coccolarmi con questo nuovo smalto, anche se di rosa nella mia collezione ce ne sono già parecchi, e sarà difficile battere la consistenza cremosa di May della collezione Chanel della scorsa primavera.

 

 

 

Ma staremo a vedere al momento dell'applicazione!

Dior Chérie Bow Make Up Collection for Spring 2013

Dior came up with a fantastically elegant make-up collection for Spring 2013, endearingly named Chérie Bow.

The bow, apparently, "was Christian Dior favourite final touch, a timeless and emblematic code of the House of Dior", from which the current make-up collection draws inspiration to come up with a veritably girly treasure trove of delicate pastel pinks and powdery greys, that instantly made me think of a pile of pastel-coloured macarons and queen Marie Antoinette (one of the nail polishes is, in fact, named "Gris Trianon").

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette in the eponymous 2006 movie, directed by Sofia Coppola. 

The collection is almost unbearably cute, featuring an exciting, brand-new make-up innovation, the "Twin Set", or "the new eye-shadow pen", as it is presented on the Dior website, where it is additionally described as a double-ended pen, with a super soft pencil at one end and a foam blender impregnated with shimmery powder in the same nuance as the pencil at the other end. A bit pricey at £24.50, but I'm definitely saving up for one of these!!

"Twin Set" in (L-R) Fishnet Black, Grey Sigh (pictured both ends), Ballerina Pink and Beige Ribbon. 

Then there are two new 5 Couleurs eye palettes, decorated with a hounds-tooth check motive which was a particular favourite of M. Dior himself.

5 Couleurs Chérie Bow in (L-R) Ballerina Pink and Charming Pink

There are of course heaps of other products (four new shades of Dior Addict lipstick, two blushes, a gorgeous fuchsia lip glow and more...), but as I have a particularly soft spot for nail polishes...well, I'm going to drool over those for a while!

There are three new shades of Dior Vernis and a new shade of Nail Glow in the collection, each more lust-worthy than the other, in my opinion!

Dior Vernis in (L-R) Rosy Bow, Tutu and Trianon Grey and Nail Glow Chérie Bow Edition

#355 Rosy Bow is "a bright, radiant pink with a hint of coral";

#155 Tutu is "a pale pink imbued with softness";

#Trianon Grey is "a tender and delicate grey";

while Nail Glow is "a treatment nail varnish that makes pink pinker, and brightens nail tips for an instant French manicure look" (all quotes from the Dior website).

With Tutu it was love at first sight, and I just had to get it and the Nail Glow.

Currently I'm wearing one of my latest purchases, Chanel Emprise, but this afternoon I'm planning to take it off and paint a new mani in lovely Tutu. Or perhaps just paint a coat of Nail Glow on top of Emprise, just to see what it looks like! Oh, I'm excited already!!

Maybe I should have got two bottles of each, just to be on the safe side...