Being and lipstick

Posted by Isabel Dexter at 01:40 on 10 Jul 2009

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Realised my past blogs sound like I'm not feeling the love for the City of (Marlboro) Lights at the moment. Au contraire Rodney, au contraire. In fact Paris is perfect, especially at 10am in Carmen's (a veritable temple of insomnia), when you can go straight from dancing to Papa Don't Preach to talking about lipstick shades with a bearded man. And they say no-one talks to strangers in Paris!

The New Blonde (my new English best friend here who has suitably big backcombed hair and a penchant for laughing out loud in the street, despite the mixture of dirty looks from the girls/complete adoration from the preppy French boys) thinks I'm pretending I'm at university again, but without the Sartre. I have learnt not to mix my rosé with my Bordeaux this week if I want to stay pretty, but I also flirted with the sales manager in the Louboutin shop and learnt how to blend Nars' Lolita with Trans Siberian. Le truc (the thing/trick...) is to pick the sheer formulation and blend with your little finger. The paler your skin, the more blue-red the colour should be. Try Shanghai Express if you have very dark hair and very pale skin. It is only in our decisions that we are important.

It was La Artiste's birthday this week and to celebrate I am including some of her advice about How To Be The Perfect Parisian Girl. Because - she is so wise.
1. Don't smile at strangers in the street.
2. You can never have too many black dresses.
3. Beauty is about mystery. (OK, I made this one up myself, but I think it suits her.)
4. Red lips, pale skin and some black eyeliner are classic beauty looks for a reason. (Let the reason be seduction...)
5. French boys love fringes on girls. (As in hair, not dressing up like a cow girl. French boys probably hate that, too. Think the yee haw aspect would scare them.)
6. Don't talk loudly on the metro. Better not to talk at all on public transport.
7. Ensure your make-up is always expertly applied.
8. Learn to look individual in a discreet way. So change the buttons on
a trench coat or wear a gorgeous brooch on a plain dress.
9. Mix boutique buys with vintage. But keep it subtle.
10. A little bit of rock 'n' roll is good for the soul. But not too much. Never be too much.

Finally, a thought from Jean-Paul himself. "Tout a été réalisé, à l'exception de la façon de vivre." (Everything has been figured out, except how to live.) Well, darling, that's what Paris is for.

Photo courtesy of Pauline Auzou

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