Spring fling: L'eau de Chloé is a string of pearls, a latté in hand and a trip back to '86 at my friend's powder room

When I was nine, I loved going to my friend Jennifer’s house.

She was a year older and seemed to have her finger on the pulse. She was the only child of sophisticated parents and her home reflected that. On the main floor there were no obvious signs that a child lived there. As opposed to the toy-strewn chaos of my place, Jennifer’s house lacked any signs at all of a kid’s presence – it was like a hotel.

When we played, we were instructed to play in her in her neatly organized rec room, tucked away, deep in the basement. I didn’t mind being banished because in the bathroom- there was always a bar of Dove soap. We used fragrance-free, jail soap at my house, so this was a taste or scent of how the other half lived. In the commercials they didn’t even call it soap, it was a “beauty bar” and the fact that Jennifer was using it to wash her ten year-old hands was just…decadent.  I’d make any excuse to use the washroom so I could wash my hands. I loved how the soapy clean smell lingered on my skin- it was like perfume.

L’eau de Chloé is set to launch this February as a new interpretation of Chloé Rose (2008). It’s a beautifully light chypre-style fragrance that shimmers bright citrus up front and dries down to a warm, soapy rose. I’ts very pretty on the skin and hours later, it’s soft but still there.

(From Wikipedia- Chypre is the name of a family (or concept) of perfumes that are characterised by an accord composed of citrus top-notes, a floral middle, and a mossy-animalic base-note derived from oak moss and musks. Chypre perfumes may be modified by other notes such as patchouli (most often), vetiver, labdanum, ambergris and sandalwood oil. Read more about chypre here.)

As a scent, it’s sheer and girly, and very suitable for day time because it’s “clean” smelling. The rosy smell comes from rosewater (which is probably what triggered the soap scent memory).

I think the corrugated glass bottle is absolutely gorgeous (pictured at top). It reminds me something that belongs on a vanity dressing table of a well-heeled young woman:

Why, doesn't every upstanding gal's dressing room look like this? Chloé says oui

L’eau de Chloé is a very pretty feminine fragrance. It’s a perfect spring scent that is easy to wear- especially with pearls. Which you have since you’re a well-heeled young woman.

Images courtesy of Chloé. L’eau de Chloé ($82 and up for the Eau de Toilette) is widely available across Canada at department stores and cosmetics counters such as Sephora.

Cissy Skirt, $98

Rochele skirt, $98

Babs wrap, $198

Thandie tunic, $138

Ritchie dress, $278

Corinne dress, $98

Marci dress, $198

Ricci shift, $178

Deb dress, $198

Images courtesy of Lilly Pulitzer.

Bianca Balti glows on the March 2012 cover of Vogue Japan

The cover: Vogue Japan’s March 2012 issue

The model: Bianca Balti, aka. Linda Evangelista look-alike (see below)

The set: In studio, white-out backdrop.

The garb: Bejeweled in Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit.

The photographer: Giampaolo Sgura

The final word: Obviously this is one sexy shot one really, after seeing our own flesh & blood Linda Evangelista show us all how it’s done decades ago, we can’t help but wonder at this cover. It’s still lovely, and if anything it shows us that chin-sweeping hair can look not only dramatic but very fun.

Now doesn't this Vogue Italia cover featuring Canuck Linda Evangelista remind you of Bianca?

ColorStay nail lacquer by Revlon promises to last 11 days with the combined use of the ColorStay base and top coats. Yeah we're gonna tap that asap!

Okay okay, we already featured new spring nail polish colours last week, but this weekend we came across a product review about a new 11-day lasting polish.

And yeah, you wanna know about it, dontcha?

In case you’re not into nails or you’ve been buried under a giant rock of crushing digital negligence, our world has been taken over by the Shellac phenomenon.YES! With high shine that delivers flawlessly chip-free tips for two weeks (yes! two!) or more (seriously!), you can bet that the stuff is fused to your nails in a most mysterious process. In fact, the process is short of involving lasers (well- ultraviolet light- close enough). Removing the stuff also requires salon assistance and the at-home attempts can be devastingly scary (we’ve seen it. bad, bad idea. shudder).

That said, Shellac is lovely if you think you want to start it and never ever stop going into salons every three weeks for a mani or pedi. Did you know that the stuff is a resin and has been used on wood as a finish for years? Why, that makes a lot of sense.

So for the non-Shellacing sort, we’ve got a near-rival option by Revlon ColorStay.

For the 11-day amazingness, apply the ColorStay collection’s base coat, colour, then top coat. And then voilà! 11 days of gel nail-esque gloss despite recklessly washing dishes and suffering random dings on the streetcar. Sounds like a revelation.

We found an awesome nail lacquer fan blog, Squared Nails, where the product was tested and adored. We’re next on the testing block and practically racing to a department store as we type (!) to pick up the nude shade. The ColorStay collection boasts 32 modern shades of long-lasting good fun, so if you’re more into reds or blacks, there’s something here for ya.

Image courtesy of Revlon, where you can view the digitized colours and imagine what they really look like. Best chance: check out Squared Nails to see her three colour tests.

Cashmere sweater, €298.00, Zadig et Voltaire

Antonia Zander, $720

Cleminson cardigan with elbow patches, £95, Aubin & Wills

alpaca-blend sweater with elbow patches, $206, See by Chloé

Top with elbow patches, £9.99, H&M

Striped shirt with elbow patches, $50, TopShop

Blazer with elbow patches, $358, JCrew

And I just love this navy and brown colour combo for men from J.Crew.

Wallace & Barnes sweater, $118, JCrew

Images via Aubin & Wills, H & M, JCrew, Net-a-Porter, Stylebop, TopShop,  Zadig et Voltaire,

Chanel welcomes spring nails in citrus pinks and oranges named after their release month. Pictured above, June

Here’s a quick fix to those January blues: nail polish in pretty tulip colours.

Butter London's collection offers higher colour saturation and some metallic shine

Essie's pastel trio for spring 2012

Fruit punch trio at Essie for spring 2012

Chanel's lovely pink hue for May 2012

Nars' vision for spring is intensely bold and beautiful

Diamond violet's metallic shimmer for spring by Nars

OPI's spring 2012 collection reflects the colours of Holland: "vivid tulips, windmill-dotted hillsides and bustling canals"

Zoya's spring pastels. We'll take one of each

Zoya launched a special Fleck Effect of sparklers- we're really into this pretty pink shade

And this stem green, also from Zoya's Fleck Effect collection

What colours will you be applying to your nails this season?

All images courtesy of featured manufacturers. Products widely available in Canada and USA at salons, drug and department stores.

Chanel Iman looks an awful lot like Chiquita Banana in the February L'Officiel magazine cover on news stands now, but we love it anyway.

The cover: L’Officiel magazine‘s February 2012 issue.

The model: Chanel Iman.

The set: A turquoise backdrop with digital rendering rough-cut and pasted on like a grade five collage featuring the print oft those fun Dolce & Gabbana shorts, bustier and bolero combo.

The photographer: Russell James

The final word: We love the fun vegetable and fruit prints from the Dolce & Gabbana spring 2012 collection: rich in colour, fun in spirit and bright for spring, red onions never looked this good.

Chanel Iman is glowing on this cover- the creamy beauty rocks the coral lipstick and the retro vibe of a fun little outfit in which to welcome sunshine and a fresh crop of fashion. Yeah, it’s a little Carmen Miranda as Chiquita Banana but thankfully she’s been spared fruit as a fascinator- and frankly, we were expecting to see one with all the wonderful Phillip Treacy shananigans of recent years (see below).

Lady Gaga sports a Philip Treacy lobster fascinator. Fascinating!

Sarah Jessica Parker received quite a bit of press when she rocked this green Philip Treacy head piece

Backstage at the making of the L’Officiel editorial shoot in Cape Town, South Africa:

Entrance to C. Wonder, NYC

The clothes and accessories definitely have a Tory Burch feel to them, what with the gold letter C on almost every item and the spread of jewel tones throughout the store, but the prices are fairly affordable.

Clothes at C. Wonder

Jewelry, C. Wonder

Handbags, C. Wonder

Shoes, C. Wonder

Bikes, eyeglasses & sunglasses at C. Wonder

In addition to clothes and accessories, C. Wonder has a beautiful collection of home wares. The monogram shop is also eye-catching and who doesn’t love something personalized?

Home goods, C. Wonder

Monogram shop, C. Wonder

Read more about C. Wonder here and click here for store locations.

Photos by Jordana.

Thoughts?

Doubters- we were. Moroccanoil devotees and pushers, we are. Treatment oil, about $40

Obviously, the revelation of 2011 was completely unexpected: after countless eavesdropped accounts about how simply sensational the Moroccanoil product is, we finally tried it.

And now we’re in love, and our boyfriends are too- not just with our sweet-smelling locks, but they’re also using the stuff because it’s just so damn good.

If you’re still thinking that you haven’t read anything bad about Moroccanoil’s products because there’s some giant conspiracy to sell expensive bogus elixirs using modern marketing’s clever allure of deliciously tanned bottles suited up in bikinis of sea-turquoise labels, yeah- we know where you’re coming from. Well that’s just wrong wrong wrong!

Right, so now we’re also (non-commissioned) fanatical recruiters.

Okay so first things first: the Treatment stuff is amazing (pictured at top). In every way. And no, it doesn’t leave your hair oily- unlike other oils- your hair drinks the stuff like a tall glass of water, and then feels silky, lightly glossed and styled all day long. It’s so effective for hair that’s straightened using a flat iron- our best use of the stuff. It’s also really great for luscious waves and curls, hydrating nicely without the weight or any trace of being there except keeping things under control- like Spanx for your hair.

It also should be noted that the Moroccanoil scent is rather, um- how to put this?, ridiculously amazingly addictive, its sublimity makes it a must-have at all times, which also explains why some paramours have permanently ‘borrowed’ our bottle and are using it daily (and sometimes more) much to our furrowed brow and Moroccanoil withdrawal- which really isn’t pretty (and, despite attempting to play somewhat cool about all this, we both know he likes the stuff a little.. too much maybe? Hmm, darling- are you reading this? You said you’d buy me another bottle.).

We should also add that the collection of Moroccanoil products keeps other aspects of hair management rolling nicely: we’ve still got our lovely styling cream, which is perfect for protecting pre-blow drying, and the voluminous hair spray is a glossy quick fix.

So this is the year you’re going to get into Moroccanoil if you haven’t already. We called it.

Hydrating Style Cream to protect hair

Luminous hair spray for glossy positioning

Images courtesy of Moroccanoil; available at salons and at my boyfriend’s house.