A Soupcon of the Loire, and a Touch of Paris

Raining in Paris, and this town has us so tired, we got the punchy giggles on the hop-on-hop-off tourist trap bus today. Drinkig progressively more cheap good white wine to justify drying off in bar after bar on the way home. Much more on this later, but for now, how about some nice bike footage of France? Click above.

A few random shots from our desultory travels.

Very Fancy Beret

Cute Boy in Front of Famous Book Store

 

Did you hear? Napoleon died, and thought this subtle resting place was fitting.

 

Berthillon Gianduilla Orange and Spice Cake on Isle St. Louis

Thanks for stopping by.

Love, BeautyJones!

 

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Paris a Go Go

Conciergerie, entrance to the kitchens

What a busy day! Today we have started our 6-day Paris Pass, which cost a lot, but you get to go to pretty much all of the major stuff in this town, and take the subway, so today we did six things afforded by it. We are going to max out this puppy, if it kills us.

Here's what we did, like crazies, in only one day:

Marie Antoinette thinks, what if I'd let them eat, maybe some of my cake. I mean, I really had a lot of freakin' cake, and I never was going to eat all of it....

3d experience of Paris in Archaeological Crypt

• The Archaeological Crypt of Paris, a museum of the History of Paris, about 35 feet under the street in front of Notre Dame. There are Roman ruins and the stones of medieval houses made of repurposed Roman blocks, their latin inscriptions and leafy capitals still visible, and the remains of the old Seine-side docks down there, with plenty to learn about. And this was supercool because it had many interactive 3d models of the city at different times in history, including a detailed reconstruction of the various building stages of Notre Dame. It's fun for me to imagine Paris as a small Roman outpost city, and then a medieval fortress beseiged by Vikings. Rick Steves said the place merited only 15 minutes. We spent 45.

The Conciergerie, the Old Royal Stronghold, and Prison and Court of the Revolution

• The Conciergerie was originally where the kings of France held court, before the Louvre rose up on the Right Bank and was expanded and made progressively more and more fancy and monumental. The Concergerie then became a court and prison during the Revolution, and eventually was the place where Marie Antoinette waited to be bundled off to La Guillotine. A visit to the Conciergerie begins as you step down into a huge gothic space that could have inspired the dwarves' great hall in The Lord of the Rings. It is the first floor of a castle of the Middle Ages with soaring gothic limestone arches above, and it's amazing that it's still here. Then you sit and watch a blow by blow slideshow on the Conciergerie's key role in the Revolution, the experience of an accused, how they would enter the prison, where their trial would take place, where they would be held, and take their doomed and hopeless exercise with the other prisoners, and finally, where they would be prepared for death. Then you walk through these rooms, seeing the place where they prepared the condemned for execution by cutting the hair and tearing open the back of the chemise. There is a table with a beautiful and scary pair of scissors just waiting to be used. And, of course, Marie Antoinette herself is there in effigy with her back to us, praying as she waits for trial. This macabre room is a reconstruction, because her brother-in-law Louis XVIII, when he got on the throne, demolished the old rooms and created in their place an expiatory chapel dedicated to Marie Antoinette, with an altar, and a stained glass window showing her initials, and dark walls decorated with silver tears. Also on the walls are paintings of her last days, and in these there's an idealization of Marie Antoinette that borders on sanctification, with the Queen in glowing white clothes, her eyes toward heaven as if she is St. Joan, while the the bestial revolutionaries send her to her death. There is one room simply lined with large plaques listing the names of those killed during the Terror. It was over two thousand seven hundred people. We looked for Stoney's family name Ledoyt there, and lots of spelling variations, and thankfully, found nothing. But we imagined what it must be like for those who can find the names of their relatives there. The Conciergerie is a great place to get a sense of the complexities of human nature and the challenges of creating a better world from a system of dramatic inequity. At best, it's a cautionary tale.

Windows of St. Chapelle

• Near to the Conciergerie is St. Chapelle, which is a jewelbox of gothic stained glass built by Louis the Ninth to house his fancy new relic fresh from the Crusades, the Crown of Thorns. This is being restored, and there was an interesting video showing all the care that is being taken to brighten and restore the windows, retaining the original look. The view of the tall ceiling with colored light streaming in is eye-popping, and not to be missed.
• After a refreshing stop at Quigley's Irish Pub, in which I learned that my last name is Northern and a bit Protestant, from the friendly Irish Catholic barkeep, we had a wine tasting at O Château, near St. Eustache and Les Halles. We learned that anything called a 'Domaine' is a small wine producer, and that a white wine in a green bottle is usually dry, whereas a white wine in a clear bottle is usually demi-sweet or sweet. The wines were good, a Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre, a Rose from Provence, and a Bordeaux from the Dordogne, and the tasting was included with the Paris Pass. The prices of the bottles, had we wanted to buy, were at least twice as pricey as they should have been. Our fellow tasters were mostly English speakers, some from Scotland, some from South Africa, and they were a lot of fun.

Our Scottish Jokester Friends at O Château

 

After the wine tasting we visited the courtyard of the Louvre at Cafe Marly and had a very expensive half bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, which we justified by remembering that we'd shared a lunch of chicken gyro and fries takeaway served to us by Madame DaFarge at the Cafe Soleil for 5 euros 50. The view of the Pyramid at the Louvre was almost worth it. Stoney enjoyed the many willowy waitresses with very long legs and very short skirts.

• Finally, we took the subway from the Musée d'Orsay stop to the Eiffel Tower to catch the Bateaux Parisiens cruise of the Seine, which took forever to load and unload, but was a silly good time, full of French singing and giggling, and gave us pastel sunset views of the key monuments, including the Conciergerie, Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay.

Conciergerie at Dusk

Because we were out until ten pm, we got to see some things lit up as we stumbled back to our digs on the Isle St. Louis.

Notre Dome in the Blue Hour

View of Notre Dame from Isle St. Louis

Today, we take on the Louvre. Wish our feet luck!

Au revoir from Paris!

 

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Paris Diary 4/20/13

Maccarons in St. Germain. Mangez!

St. Sulpice Church, key in The DaVinci Code

I just can't sleep on planes, so here I am, as my husband snores lightly next to me, organizing my photos and thoughts at one in the morning Paris time.

Cour du Commerce St. Andrea in St. Germain

We are staying in a very cute boutique hotel in the St. Germain area, which is the 6th arrondissement. Paris is divided into arrondissements or little neighborhoods that each have the feeling of little villages with their own unique character. They spiral outward from the original city island in the Seine, called Ile de la Cite, like the swirls of a snail shell. In the 6th arrondissement, you find the area of Paris known as the Latin Quarter, because it's the part of town that contains several universities, including the Sorbonne and the University of Paris. The University of Paris is the oldest university in the world, in fact, the faculty of the University created that word 'Universita', which was the name of the guild they formed for their new trade as educators. In the Middle Ages, the students actually spoke Latin to each other, Latin being one of their main courses of study, which became a common language for students from all over Europe, so that's how this little neighborhood came to be known as the Latin quarter.

Hotel Esprit St. Germain

The hotel is called the Esprit St. Germain, or the spirit of St. Germain, and it's on Rue St. Sulpice, which fans of The DaVinci Code may remember for the church of the same name, where is found the Rose line, which is supposed to be the meridian line of Paris. There is a plaque on the floor where the sun shines through a lens in a window and dramatically hits key points on the summer and winter solstices and the equinoxes. This configuration was designed by the famous French astronomer Sully in the 18th century.

But enough history! What have I been eating? The short answer is: too damn much.

Duck foie gras at Le Comptoir

Le Comptoir's Filet

Saumur white wine and crusty bread at Le Comptoir

The recent Paris episode of Bourdain's The Layover inspired us to wait in line for Le Comptoir, where we ordered the filet of beef because we kept seeing it go by and it looked and smelled so delicious. It was a lot of very pink delicious beef. Amazing poivre wine sauce. The beef tastes better, richer more minerally, and yet lighter than our beef in the States. There was some kind of buttery mashed potato and parsnip wine sauce vat o joy on the side that we simply could not stop eating, even though it seemed to contain an entire stick of butter. I had the duck foie gras because it's amazing stuff, and because L.A. has outlawed it. LIttle baby romaine, caramelized pickled onions, wine reduction, plummy mustardy jam on the side, and some very lovely round Saumur white wine with some tropical fruit and stone fruit notes to wash it all down. The wine was so reasonable! The steak was not reasonable at all. Wow! Yum!

Le Comptoir has gorgeous mini rack of lamb, lots of different kind of terrines, including Bourdain's fave, the black boudin. We're thinking of going back tomorrow to try more things off the menu, since it's just down the block from our hotel. The Bourdain episode means this place is packed with eager American foodies, so better to eat here late, around two or so, like we did. As we enjoyed our wine and it got later, we noticed the kitchen staff coming in with bags and bags of fresh produce for the impending dinner service. We also saw that as it got later, the English-speaking tourists gave way to lots of passionate French foodies, a good sign.

Le Comptoir is near a nexus of major streets, so it's an optimal place to people watch. French men really love to rock the brightly colored scarf, and they make it look so good. They are not allergic to pink, as are their American counterparts. I must try to take more street style photos.

My husband was so thrilled we ended up on this double decker airbus with Air France. It was very comfortable, even in coach, and there's loads of carry on luggage space. The screens on the back of the seat in front of you have the all-important on demand media center with plenty of TV and movies, and there's also a live map to show you where you are, and views outside the plan from three cameras, one mounted on the tail facing forward, one on the nose, and one on the belly of the plane showing the clouds and landscape below. Very fun! Stoney kept telling me were were not on a plan but a really cool spaceship.

The chocolate and maccaron stores in St. Germain are ridiculous and tempting and wrong. Yes, I've eaten more than my share of chocolate truffles now and I'm only one day in. Trouble, people. Thank goodness I'm biking for a week starting Sunday.

Chocolate Fishies

Candypalooza in a French Newstand. Buhbye, Diet!

More Crazy Candy!

Art de Chocolate

What exactly do they serve at Schmuck's?

Menu at Schmuck's

Just down the street from Le Comptoir is a restaurant called Schmuck's, which serves something called a Schmuck Burger. Would you try it? Now I do speak a bit of Yiddish, and I'm very concerned.

Menu at Schmuck's

Well, that's it from today's Paris Diary! Thanks for visiting my blog!

 

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Spring FOTD Pinks, Lavenders and Raspberries

Here's a springy FOTD look using a Mac Holiday Glamor Daze palette I got for Christmas. It's got some lovely shimmery mauves, taupes, purples and pinks. I used the Sleek Makeup eye primer palette, the frosty pink shade, to anchor this, and Face:

 

• Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentrée
• LaRoche-Posay Primer SPF 50+
• Revlon Colorstay Oily/Combination Foundation in Natural Beige
• Maybelline Fit Me Concealer under eyes
• Dermablend Concealer in Sand on blemishes

Cheeks:

• Sleek Makeup Face Form in Light

Eyes:

• Base: Pink Shimmery Shade from Sleek Eye Primer Palette (top row second from right)
• MAC Fabulousness Smokey Eyes Palette, which contains the shades from left to right: Love Spice (frosty pink), Satin Taupe (frosty taupe with silver shimmer), Taupleless (lustre mauve) Spellcaster (Matte bluish purple black) Black Slip (shimmery plummy black). Love spice on Lid; Satin Taupe in crease. Spellcaster deep in crease and on upper and lower lash line. Black Slip to deepen in crease and along lash line
• Smashbox Eye Tech to Go in Taupe on Brows
• L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black
• Urban Decay 24/7 Pencils in Rockstar and LSD. LSD is that crazy bright purple. I put it just under the eyes in the center, and rimmed the rest with Rockstar, which is a softer bronzier purple.
• Maybelline Eye Studio Eye Precise black liner pen. Gotta use this for the right finish. My favorite eye liner.

Lips:

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Raspberry Pie - such a fun rich fuchsia shade!

NOTES:

• The Sleek eye primer creased. I have tried the purple one and, unfortunately, it creased after about four hours. This makes it a no-go for me. For my upcoming trip to France, I'm going to depot several of my Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes shades and some Maybelline Color Tattoos into some Cinema Secrets welled palettes so I have some nice colorful bases for me. What would Paris be with out a dark shimmery smokey eye, I ask you? Answer: Unimaginable.
• I do like the colors in the MAC Palette. I still don't see what's so great about MAC shadows that I should pay fifteen bucks for each one, rather than five to seven bucks for one equally lovely Inglot or Makeup Geek one. Or four bucks for an amazing drugstore palette like Wet n' Wild Color Icon in Comfort Zone. Still, it's pretty and such cute packaging

Thanks for visiting my blog! Please feel free to comment below.

Love, BeautyJones!

 

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Long Time No See

I've been sick and very very busy at work, so that's my excuse. Sorry I've been away for awhile. I'm preparing for a trip to France for two weeks.

Going to Paris and cycling the Loire Valley. Please comment below and let me know what you'd like to see. I'm thinking of doing a simple travelogue, and, of course, in Paris, there will be some makeup and some fashion, because that place is modelopolis twenty-four seven - lots of eye candy everywhere.

Here is a collection of looks from the last two weeks, and some products I hadn't gotten around to photographing, and my little depotted palette of lippies for your viewing enjoyment!

 I've had this Sleek cream base palette for a while and am finally getting around to using it. Thinking of taking it to Paris, but I'll be test driving it first. Planning on putting it over my MAC Soft Ochre paint pot to see if it will crease or not. I love the variety of colors in there!

 On this day I was wearing a cherry-colored cardigan, so I thought I'd pull the blue out of it and onto the center of my lids with some irridescent Naked Cosmetics Twilight action. This Twilight collection has lovely iridescent cool tones. I used the darker periwinkle in this set. These pigments are lovely and I haven't heard enough about them. Go check them out at nakedcosmetics.com.

 This was a burgundy eye look using Naked Cosmetics Urban Rustic collection. I just love using burgundy on my eyelids for a bold look. It's a strong look, and yet takes fewer steps to achieve. This kind of round filling in of the eyelid reminds me of the look of silent film stars. It has some mystery and romance. I did very little else on my face, but I think this would look so cool with a similar lip shade for evening.

 Hooded eyes hide the burgundy when I'm looking at you.

 I love this black velvet jacket. I got it at TJ Maxx a million years ago, but it's going to Paris with me.

 This aqua blue shade on my eyes is also from the Naked Cosmetics Twilight set. It's a warmer blue, slightly dreamy and tropical, but I just use it as a sheer wash here. I'm pretty sure I used the NYX jumbo eye pencil in Milk to get this look.

 And here's a neutral eye look with some warm browns in the crease. These kinds of shades are easy to find, but I must say, I'm still totally in love with my Mehron naturals palette. The shades are so true, matte, pigmented and blendable, and I can do an entire eye look with one brush - my bdellium 776 in the yellow bambu collection, which is a dupe for the MAC 217 brush.

 A warm pink lip shade brings out the warmth of this neutral eye look.

 Here's my Zpalette with all, and I mean ALL of my Revlon Just Bitten Balmstains depotted into it. Each of these little tins is metallic, so you can rearrange the shades to your heart's content. And I used a candle to gently melt the product into the tins, once I'd scraped them gently out of the tubes.

I also mixed together 2/3 Revlon Cherries in the Snow and 1/3 Revlon Fire and Ice for the one in the upper right hand corner. Top Left is Milani's new lipstick in Red Label.

I don't think you can do Paris without a few Red Lip days, do you?

Anyway, thanks for dropping by. Please let me know what you are up to in the comments below, and see you sooner than later, this time, Lovely Peeps!

Love, Beautyjones!