Maison Anna: Enough of that!!!

Maison Anna: Enough of that!!!: Enough of 'Keep calm and carry on'- the only one that was ever any good was the original. I'M SICK to my back teeth of seeing 'keep calm a...

Enough of that!!!

Enough of 'Keep calm and carry on'- the only one that was ever any good was the original. I'M SICK to my back teeth of seeing 'keep calm and shop local',' keep calm and eat cupcakes',  don't keep calm and f... off in my veiw!!!!
If only I was funny and could come up with something better tthan the above. We doctored our 11 YEAR old poster- that's how long this trend has been going- I kid you not I was amongst the first...( ha ha- what a claim!!!) I can't decide whether I'm proud of myself for being such a commercial trend spottter or whether I feel embarressed about the slew of C..P that ensued because of it..... ours now says 'keep Anna and Harry on it' to remind us to just keep slogging away at the mundanity.
 More stuff I HATE includes the ridiculous expressions 'trending' and 'channeling' as in 'she's channeling Betty Catroux' or whoever- seriously, what ever happened to proper language?
I supose I should have just had a 'sick day' a la USA instead of sharing this vitriole...

Great products- Sensitive skin stylee and bathroom bargain cabinet

  I really love oils ( it's gotta be that I'm over the hill of over forty and so now my skin just sucks up everything...) It smells divinely of jasmine, quite subtle actually, not cloying.Just feels so luxurious as you spritz it on. To be honest though, I think you need to put moisturizer on over the top to seal it in.( I use MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE-see below) It's also great on the ends of your hair. Tames and smoothes the the split ends a bit, stops it being too squeeky clean and is also great when your hair is on the greasy side- sometimes adding more oil to the oils works and looks like a look( best in summer) adds gloss generally and it's lovely when you move your head as you can smell it in your hair.

Wrong time of year to talk about this stuff ( BIAFINE) really, well for me anyway- Although I really do wish I was going somewhere hot and sunny. This is from France and I urge that you buy some from the pharmacy when you go.My mum put me onto it( she lives in south west France) when she got burnt by the oven (I think) a few years ago and the pharmacist told her to use it and it was miraculous. Really its for burns, sunburn included but I now use it instead of aftersun if I've got that slightly sunkissed feeling(because I admit- vanity got the better of me and I slather on the suncream or spray or oil and I NEVER go lower than 50 on my face and only ever down to 25 on my body these days if I've been in the sun for weeks..... (I sound like an international sun worshipper!- I'm not- but I live in HOPE)

 I've got really sensitive skin but I love products and so I've learnt the hard way that I tend to have reactions to lots of things. I'm also really lazy but want to look high maintenance and I can't stand, either the clutter of tonnes of products, or the time it takes to use them all. I think I'm also a bit of a puritan and want 'NO fuss'and dont want my products to shout out how vain I really am!!

So here is my fave product.... 'A-derma exomega cream'. I discovered it a few years ago. I used it to treat my sons ecxema and it worked a treat. I rediscovered it when I had a weird reaction to I'm not sure what ( I could post the pics but it wasn't funny- great lumps like bruises on my face) 

 I now use it every day on my face and body (if I can be bothered, I mean about putting moisturiser on my body) It's ultra rich in texture but ultra hypo sensitive in it's formula. I've told loads of people about it, ranging from people with rosacea and ecxema to dry skin complaints and reactive skin. It seems to work for every one. £10.99 for a big tube- can't go wrong. Alongside it is the facial wash oil. I read a while ago that lots of facialists think water is the enemy when it comes to good skin and in some ways I agree but I LOVE washing my face(along with cleaning my teeth it ranks as a top cheap pleasure in life for me) So I now use this. It's an oil but you can wash it off. So I take a leaf out of Eve Loms book and use it with a hot cloth for extra cleansing and exfoliating or just use it as a gentle wash depending on my skins needs.

I put a couple of squirts of this oil, as I said -I love oils, in my moisturiser  (exomega)and probably, because of it's carrot colour it seems to enliven my complexion and give a bit of a glow. My sister gave me this and I love it. I don't think it is particularly bargain bathroom cabinet though!

 And for bargain beauty- these just take the biscuit- little cheap bottles of nail varnish all in a row,packaging has remained approximately the sames since I was a child, colours that are 'inspired' by the major beauty houses..... lots of their constant range have names of cities- love that too...HOW MUCH BETTER DOES IT GET????!!!I particularly like'London' red and 'Wichita' pale pink almost white (good french manicure colour I don't do the fake weird white tips, which only work on toes, if you don't look too hard, in my opinion!.) But experiment with any of them!MAVALA

 And when your nails have gone all yellow from too much pretend 'rouge noir' ( Rio by Mavala)

 paint this on. It really is genius- It's got bluish particles in it's white base which are almost luminescent as though it might glow in ultra violet light- don't KNOW if it does. But it disguises the horrible yellow stain from wearing too much dark polish. I use it as a base coat too, in the hope that it will work as a barrier ( it can't) but a word of caution only one coat is enough. Rimmel  nail whitener.

 and so ends my smoke and mirrors of high maintenence beauty post....

 xxx

Style edit-hooked on classics-

How do I define a classic? Well, for me the truly classic are those looks from any time that despite being a bit dated still look good. I'd go so far as to say that these are often the more subdued looks of a time rooted by some classic rules. As much as I love those with an outlandish personal style, I love longevity and when I shop I think about this. I may want  a classic trench but if I'm going to buy one I will get the most up to the minute, cut not the cut that SEEMS the most classic. And if I am buying something that has an outlandish silhouette I'll buy it in a classic colour. Mind you, rules are there to broken and there are exceptions- sometimes the whole package has to be garish loud and OUT THERE and if it wasnt , it wouldnt be good!

 But  day to day I can't deny that I love realism and for me to be truly well dressesd is to be appropriate with the unexpected. Let's start with the denim jacket- my least favourite so called classic- looks great on MM though!

Trench, Chanel bag-still looking for my perfect pair of these....

                                         Rolls Royce and tartan- really like the patterned tights too.

                                            trench and backcombed hair and a bow

                            Louis Vuitton bag- white shirt, slacks, db jacket, good shades, travelling in style never goes out of style

                                          Red lipstick

white plimsolls, daps, sneakers, tennis shoes ( call them what you will) an black suit. Eternally cool etternally effortless.

                                                        mans shirt tied at waist

                                                      Spotty fur- a bit off but so ON.

 stripes,frayed denim and espadrilles

                                                   its the way you wear it- right?

                                                         denim and t shirt and sneakers

                              romantic white peasant blouse, great fitting jeans, mans belt and attitude

                                              Chanel suit, chignon and a cigarette- they just go!

                                                                   stripes

More Chanel- this era just seems perfect- LOVE the shoes, the bag, the jacket...

the black polo neck

                                                           rock chick skinnies- forever....

                                                                 chandelier earrings

                                              

The ultimate breton stripe top- note how it rides up the neck

from google images, tumblr 

style edit- put you in the shade. cant get the hat or the hair right try some shades

                            I was always advised to get glasses that emulate the shape of your brow and if they don't make sure they cover them entirely. I'd add that if you have a round face don't wear round specs and if you have square face don't wear square, etc - you get the gist!Big granny specs on Marisa Berenson

                                                 Big ray bans Debbie Harry

                               Cute wing on MM- good example of following her brow shape.

                                               

                        with Alain Delon- Is that the chicest fleece youve ever seen???!!!

                                               Note the unpierced ears- thats real chic!!!

my favourite - I would LOVE these.

pictures from google images, tumblr