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Showing posts with label Lipstick Alley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lipstick Alley. Show all posts

Elizabeth Taylor~ Style Icon

As you may know the fabulous Elizabeth Taylor has passed away. I heard about her untimely passing on the drive to work this morning.


I recall watching SATC when Charlotte was inspired by Elizabeth Taylor after watching her True Hollywood Story. She came out of her apartment wearing an incredible pink dress as shown below after feeling revived following the mourning of the loss of her pregnancy. 




"I'm a survivor," she once said, "a living example of what people can go through and survive."


 


Elizabeth Taylor's style and grace has influenced many women across the decades.  Born Elizabeth Rosamond Taylor on Feb. 27, 1932, in London to American parents, the girl for whom the phrase "violet-eyed beauty" would become synonymous arrived in Hollywood in 1939 as her family fled war-torn Europe. A neighbor secured Taylor a screen test with Universal Pictures. She was put under contract, and at age 10, debuted in the 1942 comedy, There's One Born Every Minute.


Liz Taylor was no stranger to marriage. Hilton was Nicholas Conrad Hilton Jr., the hotel scion and future great uncle of Paris and namesake Nicky Hilton. He was also the first ex-Mr. Taylor. In 1957, the 24-year-old Taylor wed producer/impresario Mike Todd. The marriage lasted only 13 months. The culprit wasn't divorce; it was a plane crash that claimed Todd's life. Enter Eddie Fisher.

"The thought of having a love affair with Elizabeth never entered my mind. Never," Fisher wrote in his autobiography. "But at about 4 a.m. [one] night…she called me. I don't remember much of our conversation, except she said emphatically, 'When you get back, we have to talk. I want to see you.' I assumed she wanted to talk about Mike. Which demonstrates how little I understand women."
And thus commenced the Taylor-Fisher affair, which begat the Reynolds-Fisher divorce, which, in 1959, begat the Taylor-Fisher marriage. And thus commenced the Taylor-Burton affair, which begat Burton's divorce from his wife, which begat Taylor's divorce from Fisher, which, in 1964, begat Taylor's marriage to Burton.



"What do you expect me to do?" Taylor asked once. "Sleep alone?"





Taylor went on to marry Richard Burton, then Larry Fortensky, and finally David Gest. 





Not only was she a style icon she was also the owner of the worlds biggest diamond, the Hope Diamond. 
 


I remember playing around my mothers dresser and spritzing on some of her White Diamonds, Elizabeth's perfume. RIP Liz ♥
 


 




http://www.eonline.com 






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DIANA ROSS

Diana Ross has been an icon since I was a child and she still looks amazing! Did you get a chance to see her on Oprah? I hadn't the slightest clue she was interviewed recently but learned about the show today at the tea party so of course I had to share the interview with you ladies. Diana is my hair idol. I've always loved the big hair don't care swagger she's carried throughout the years AND check out the bod on her. I pray that I look that great after children and with age.













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Everything you see I owe to Spaghetti!

Who am I speaking of? Well none other than Sophia Loren. Birth name Sofia Villani Scicolone. Growing up in the slums of Pozzuoli during the second World War without any support from her father, she experienced much sadness in her childhood. Her life took an unexpected turn for the best when, at age 14, she entered into a beauty contest where she placed as one of the finalists. In the sixties and seventies, Sophia was a bona fide international movie star, and she continued to make films in both the U.S. and Europe, starring opposite leading men. From the eighties onward, Sophia's appearances on the big screen came few and far between. She preferred to spend most of her time with her husband, and raising sons.



These days Sophia divides her time between Switzerland and Los Angeles where she is close to her sons and their families. Despite her position as showbiz royalty, she relishes her discrete, low-profile lifestyle, claiming throughout the years "Showbusiness is what I do, not what I am." With a career that has already spanned six decades and been honored with 50 awards, Sophia Loren remains one of the most beloved and recognizable figures in the international film world.



Interesting facts about Sophia: 


She may have been the voluptuous sex goddess as an adult, but until the age of 14, she was a skinny child and considered an ugly duckling, nicknamed 'The Stick'.



She served 18 days in prison in Italy in 1982 for tax evasion.



Measurements: 38C-24-38



Often called the "Italian Marilyn Monroe".



 Godmother of Drew Barrymore.











 


I can't wait to go to Italy to eat spaghetti and drink wine!
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YSL

"It's YSL daddy, I ain't got to spell it!" Nicki Minaj








Up next on Lipstick Alley is the one and only Yves Saint Laurent. Last night I watched his documentary on Netflix. I love couture fashions just like the next girl but an appreciation for the clothes comes from knowing the history of the maker.......










Born in 1936, Yves Saint Laurent grew up in Oran, Algeria. At 17, he left for Paris where he showed his drawings to Michel de Brunhoff, director of Vogue, who published several of them immediately. Following a stint at fashion school, Saint Laurent was introduced to Christian Dior by de Brunhoff and he went on to work for Dior until his death in 1957.



After taking over as art director for Dior, Saint Laurent launched his first collection for the company, the Ligne Trapéze, that year. It was a resounding success the world over and won him a Neiman Marcus Oscar. In 1960, Saint Laurent created his revolutionary "Beat Look" collection which used couture techniques to refine streetstyle. However, his dramatic designs were too much for the house of Dior and a year later they lifted bars on his national service.



When he returned from service in 1962, Saint Laurent set up his own fashion house with Pierre Bergé and continued to rock the establishment. In 1966, he introduced le smoking, his legendary smoking suit, which prompted the consequent androgynous revolution. He is now credited with a range of other innovations including the reefer jacket (1962), the sheer blouse (1966), and the jumpsuit (1968), as well as ready-to-wear culture as a whole.



In October 1998, Yves Saint Laurent showed his last ready-to-wear collection for the Rive Gauche label he had founded more than 30 years before. But, according to a sorrowful spokeswoman, the 61-year old designer was simply too overwrought to take his final bow. US designer Alber Elbaz was hand-picked to succeed him, but found that his career there was swiftly terminated after the Italian fashion Gucci bought full control of the business at the end of 1999 and handed the reins to powerhouse designer Tom Ford. Yves Saint Laurent retained control of the haute couture business and continues to show in Paris each season. These days, the reach of the Saint Laurent empire he founded and sold on is vast: the company produces menswear, furs, jewellery, perfumes and a range of accessories, all of which are distributed worldwide.



During his career, Saint Laurent was arguably the industry's greatest designer. Over the years, he received countless accolades: in 1985, he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by President François Mitterand; in 1995, he was promoted to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honour, finally becoming a Commandeur six years later. His status as a national icon was also cemented when, at the final of the 1998 World Cup, near Paris, 300 models presented a retrospective of YSL creations, to celebrate the designer's forty years in fashion, in front of 80,000 football fans and more than 170 international sports channels.



In January 2002, the 65-year-old designer announced his retirement. Paying tribute to his mentors, including Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Schiaparelli and Chanel, he revealed that his decision was based on a disgust with an industry that had become ruled more by commercial gain than art. "I have nothing in common with this new world of fashion, which has been reduced to mere window-dressing," he said. "Elegance and beauty have been banished." The news came just 16 days before he presented his final haute couture collection. In a fitting end to his 40-year career, the show constituted a thorough retrospective of his work: over an hour and a half long, it featured over 250 outfits, 40 of them new designs, and 100 models. A tearful Yves Saint Laurent took his final bow as his long-time muse, Catherine Deneuve, sang Ma Plus Belle Histoire d'Amour.
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2010 in Review 1st Edition

Boy o Boy has this year gone by fast. It just seems like yesterday I was standing awkwardly amongst the 20 somethings at Geisha House, patiently awaiting the ball to drop so Jason could finish his photo shoot and we could go home. Now 2011 is upon us and I'm trying to decide what to do this year. I definitely don't want to end up in a club again, that's for sure!


I thought with the New Year approaching it would be fun to do a 2010 Review/Blog list of all my great discoveries in no particular order. Enjoy the 1st Edition!


1.Kimonica Maganda♔

Her blog is my latest discovery thanks to her fiance' Trav, one of my Elementary school homies. I enjoy her witty, fashionable and honest posts about everything on her mind.

MinxMaven:SuperMama:CosmoGirl:BlognessMonster:Coffee:Sushi:Glitter:Fabulosity:Boom:Pow:::You can't sit with us!!!Check her blog out at  Cosmos et Cupcakes.


2. Mia MiMi J Johnson

Mia MiMi is a Makeup Artist extraordinarie and also a classmate of mine from good ole' CAU.

3. Savvybrown

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Personal Paperie Creations by JGenese

Up next on Lipstick Alley is none other than Mini aka J Genese introducing Personal Paperie Creations, her very own handmade stationery and more business.






Look how beautiful my wedding invitations turned out. Janarda did a fabulous job! Thanks Mini. If you are in the market for stationery, handmade invitations, baby shower decor and the likes she is the woman for the job. Her company is called Personal Paperie Creations by JGenese based in NYC but ships anywhere. 





Here are some products she designed for Baby Showers:
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It's BARBIE

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1984),[3][4] better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian rapper and singer-songwriter.[5] In August 2009, Minaj signed to Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown.

Minaj was born on December 8, 1984 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago[7][3][4][8][9] to parents of Indian and Afro Trinidadian descent.[10] She lived inSaint James, Trinidad and Tobago[11] with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough ofNew York City. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens.[3] According to Minaj, her father drank alcohol, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.[12] She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet.[3] She graduated from LaGuardia High School.[13][14] At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program.[13] She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia, but lost her voice on the day of the audition. She once worked at a Red Lobster restaurant in the Bronx.[13]



Alter egos


While growing up Nicki was surrounded by constant trouble and fighting between her parents.[24] To escape her real life problems she would create characters and live her life through them.[24] In an interview with New York she stated, “[t]o get away from all their fighting, I would imagine being a new person. "Cookie" was my first identity—that stayed with me for a while. I went on to "HarajukuBarbie", then "Nicki Minaj". Fantasy was my reality.”[24]
For her debut album, Minaj created another alter-ego named "Roman Zolanski".[25] She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Nicki rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin sister". Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from Pink Friday, Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos.[26] In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Nicki rapping.[25] Minaj stated that on her debut album, fans will get to "meet" Nicki, Roman and Onika.[25]














 I like Nicki Minaj's fashion style. She is edgy, feminine and very unique. I have to admit that at first listen her rapping was nothing to write home about but now that I actually listen to her words she has steadily won my heart as a fan. I think what I like most about her is that she is real or at least that is what it seems to me, not some made up caricature pretending to be someone purely for sales. Team Nicki has a home here! 




Lipstick Diva, 
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Donyale Luna

Next up on Lipstick Alley is Donyale Luna. Donyale was very exquisite and ahead of her time if you ask me. She was also very troubled and struggled with racial identity as she claimed multiracial lineage of Indigenous Mexican, Indonesian, Irish and, last but least escapable, African American. Let's just say she was an exotic chameleon, so to speak, atleast in her own mind.





Brief excerpt from her Wikipedia bio 

After being discovered by the photographer David McCabe, she moved from Detroit to New York City to pursue a modeling career. In January 1965, a sketch of Luna appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar. She became the first African American model to appear on the cover of British Vogue (March 1966); the photograph was by David Bailey. According to The New York Times, she was under exclusive contract to the photographer Richard Avedon for a year at the beginning of her career.

An article in Time magazine published on 1 April 1966, "The Luna Year", described her as "a new heavenly body who, because of her striking singularity, promises to remain on high for many a season. Donyale Luna, as she calls herself, is unquestionably the hottest model in Europe at the moment. She is only 20, a Negro, hails from Detroit, and is not to be missed if one reads Harper's Bazaar, Paris Match, Britain's Queen, the British, French or American editions of Vogue.











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Coco before Chanel

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” ~ Coco Chanel





The first contender on Lipstick Alley is none other than the legendary Coco Chanel. This post is inspired by my next Netflix on deck, Coco before Chanel. Today we will discuss 7 little known facts you should know about Coco. Behind that designer Chanel bag is the legend herself! Named as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, legendary designer Coco Chanel was a pioneer in the world of fashion. Her kind of fashion was inspired by menswear and she believed in simple yet highly expensive designs.



“Not only did she make “black” the black it is today, but she also created the wardrobe staple that none of us can live without- the little black dress!”





1. She LOVED Pockets!









I've always wanted a vintage Red quilted Chanel purse.


2. It was started as her hobby!



Chanel started her career by designing hats which later became a big hit with aristocratic Parisians. It was her innovative and fancy hat designs that got her attention. Maybe it's time you turned your hobby into a career!



“Coco was a revolutionary figure in her time, and her persona remains a powerful force in the fashion world to this day.”









3. Hoisery turned High Fashion



Did you know that before she became a fashion legend, Coco Chanel used to work as a clerk in a small hosiery shop? Legends do start small! From humble beginnings to grandeur!





“Mademoiselle Chanel knew of the power of celebrities. She would dress famous actresses with her new fashions so as to be walking advertisements. Since then, countless actresses have been fortunate enough to be the face of the House of CHANEL.”









4. Tan skin is IN!



If you thought tanning became fashionable by accident, think again! It was Coco Chanel who made it seem fashionable when she got burnt by sun rays way back in 1923 on a cruise towards Cannes! It sure is all in the attitude!





“Innovation! One cannot be forever innovating. I want to create classics.” Coco Chanel







5. Home at the Ritz



For more than 30 years Coco Chanel made the mighty hotel Ritz in Paris her home! It was rumored that German officer Dincklage (with whom she was having an affair) made arrangements for her to stay in the hotel!





“There are people who have money and people who are rich.” Coco Chanel













A Hathaway in Devil Wears Prada
(one of my fav movies)


6. No. 5 was her favorite number, go figure ;0)



Maybe there was something special in the number 5 - enough to have Coco Chanel superstitious and in awe of it. Chanel No. 5 was introduced on 5th May 1921! No coincidence on this!





“In 1921 Chanel’s signature fragrance came out. It was called Chanel No.5, because it was the fifth sample product she created. Marilyn Monroe commented it was her favorite, and still today a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every 30 seconds.”



7. Coco never wed



Coco Chanel might have dated and had affairs with plenty of men but she never got married. Maybe she thought it would take away from her dedication to the fashion world.













“Coco Chanel is my heroine, because she was able to attract lovers with ease and even nonchalance. I don't think that she had a bond with any of her lovers that was durable enough to make it into the canon of fashion lore. At one time, however, she conducted her entire business out of a lover's flat. I like to think that she fell freely into this arrangement, but refrained from committing more to it than was actually reasonable.”





Li’l Pony, Elegance is Refusal









Top Websites on Coco Chanel That You Can Browse Through!





1.http://www.chanel.com/

One of the most comprehensive sites listing virtually everything you want to know about this famous designer. You'll find everything from fashion designs to pictures to her biography here.



2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Chanel

This site has everything from her initial years to the time she built her own empire. So if you are looking for inspiration, then this is the site for you!



3.Coco Chanel at Celebrina.com

This cool website lists out some of the best quotes of Coco Chanel. Many of these are rather humorous as they're directed towards men! Read on and enjoy!



4.Coco Chanel at Women's History

Do you want to read the complete biography of Coco Chanel? You can read up on her life history here on this site. It's definitely worth a few minutes of your time.



5.Coco Chanel at My hero

Seeing is believing? Take a look at some beautiful pictures of this famous fashion queen. This site also has a concise biography.
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Sweet Disposition √ enter Lipstick Alley

In an effort to reach out, interact with you Lovelies and get to know each other more I decided why not do a weekly feature on a Lipstick Lovely? This was inspired by Dapper Dame Wednesdays.  Many of you are artistically inclined, stylish & bloggers as well. I want to know you better and in turn others will learn more about your sweet disposition too. I’ll make this a weekly thing, every Tuesday, I shall post one featured Lovely on a Lipstick Alley post, please take some time to read them to learn more about her.







If you would like to be featured on Lipstick Alley, please send me an email by clicking on the envelope located at the top right corner of the home page or ping me at lipstickmanual@gmail.com.



Here are the requirements for the feature:



1. You must be a follower via google or bloglovin.



2. Answer these interview questions below:



-Introduce yourself to the world (real name or alias).

-Do you have a blog or business? If so what's the url and tell me more about why you blog?

-Where do you find inspiration for life, blogging etc?

-Describe your Fashion style.

-What's your life's motto?

-If you could do anything in the world for a living what would it be?

-Anything else you want to share.







3. Link back to http://www.lipstickmanual.blogspot.com/  on your blog letting your readers know about your interview on Lipstick Alley.





Thanks I hope you all participate and for supporting the blog! ☺





Lipstick Diva!
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