vogue...

We know, it’s soooo un-PC for us to be promoting smoking… but who can deny it… the right cigarette on the right girl… can be, no, IS glamorous… (see: above specimen).

This summer, ra! ra! is obsessed with iconic brand Vogue Ephemere! Produced in Russia (where else?), the slim line cigarettes are a world away from those dirty fat Camel Lights dispersed from 80’s Spanish vending machines. And like all good brands de jour, Vogue is doing limited edition collaborations… so vogue.

We don’t yet have our hands on the newest collaboration by French designer of graffit fame Etienne Bardelli (above), but we are SMOKING! with the African inspired iridescent snake skin packaging Ephemere Azur & Ephemere Topaze by Jean-Pierre Ollier.


See also previous designs Bleue, Lilas & Menthe designed by the Russian modern artists. Named 'Unveiling an inspiration' these packs feature the paintings of Maria Pogorjelskaya, Anna Platonova and Olga Polikarpova.




Due to their long, thin, femininity, we here at ra! ra! sarcastically refer to them as 'bitch sticks'...

That Way In-Kleined

Browsing through her archives ra-rette recently stumbled upon a classic old favourite: Steven Klein’s ‘Domestic Bliss’ shoot, featuring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, for W magazine, 2005. Think of it what you will, but ra-rette is Number One Ambassador for gender stereotypes, of which ‘Domestic Bliss’ is the ultimate portrayal…






New York based Klein has hit a New Romance tabloid hot spot again with his most recent shoot for W, featuring newlyweds Bruce and Emma Willis, in his stripped back, evocative creation of ‘Honeymoon Hotel’.






Be inspired, intrigued, shocked and delighted by his vast collection of endless collaborations.

www.stevenkleinstudio.com

sex... art... imagination... creation...

xxxx

The Sun Also Rises

ra! ra!’s preparing to relocate - we’re heading to Spain for the summer! And before anyone embarks on a Spanish summer adventure (or Paris too for that matter) there is some obligatory reading one must undertake - Hemmingway’s, The Sun Also Rises.

Set in the 1920’s, the book tells the tale of the doings of wealthy ex-patriate writers who are living in Paris and their escape to Spain for the Pamploma Fiesta. They fill their time with inconsequential drinking, dancing and outright debauchery. Though some of the themes and plot might be a bit tragic (escapism of the Lost Generation, Jake rejected by the love of his life due to erectile disfunction from WW1 injuries), the reading itself sets the tone perfectly for the summer ahead.

Café De La Paix

Ra-rette recently returned from a weekend in Paris with her bestie, The Kittycat and she just had to share with you Café De La Paix. When The Kittycat, an ex-inhabitant of beautiful Paris, suggested they go for oysters and champagne, of course ra-rette smiled and agreed.

One of Paris’ most famous café’s, designed by the same Garnier that designed Opera Garnier, Café De La Paix is old world luxe to the max. The highest, most ornate ceilings a girl could imagine, the quiet hum of French spoken and the distinctive clink of silver cutlery on fine china plates, the unmistakable sounds of decadence.


This quaint table for two is where they devoured fresh oysters from the seafood counter & sipped on Moet & Chandon Rosé. And to complete the afternoon the girls floated (you know that heavenly post-afternoon-champagning float) to the pedicure parlour for a glossy coat of OPI Big Apple Red polish on their paws.

A perfect afternoon in Paris.


http://www.cafedelapaix.fr/

Savour The Glamour

Saturday afternoons are made for old movies. Nothing makes a girl feel more fabulous than viewing the perfectly groomed stars and sets of era’s gone by, the pop of champagne or dripple of scotch in every scene, always a drink at the ready.

And nothing encapsulates beauty and glamour more than Sophia Loren, Marlon Brando and a 1960’s cruise liner. Who would have thought faux clad wood could look so good? But alas, it does, in ‘A Countess from Hong Kong’ (directed by Charlie Chaplin).

The perfect beauty inspiration for Saturday night preparation!

xxx

Drink Up Beauté!

Ra-rette is in LOVE with Fauchon! And she’ll find any excuse to combine her love of food & beauty… so here it is.

Beauty is not just skin deep, what’s on the inside counts too you know! So start sipping girls. Heavenly French providores Fauchon (www.fauchon.com) have invented a range of Beauty Teas. Match your tea to your beauty needs: there's The Slimming Tea, The Beautiful Skin Tea and the Anti-Aging Tea.

Fauchon, ‘Paris on your lips’…who could resist?

xx

Doctor! Doctor!

Last Wednesday was a perfectly sunny day & Miss Ra-rette was dreaming of days gone by. The days when not only fingers but lawns were manicured too, when milk was delivered in glass bottles with foil lids, when woman wore gingham aprons and kitchen appliances were all shades of pastel. The days when martini hour still existed before the sun had set & the crackle of the wireless radio kept romance dancing.

And as Ra-rette dreamed, she put the finishing touches of her new Chanel ‘Fire’ red varnish on her nails and then set to the kitchen to lovingly prepare her working man his evening meal. Until…. aaaahhhh! Calamity Jane! Ra-rette burnt her fingers on the hot steam from her pie! Yeeeeouch!

She grabbed the frozen peas & wrapped them in her pretty apron & placed them on her fingers until the pain finally subsided… quite quickly thanks to the Gin & Valium she’d placed earlier on her bedside table for later that evening.

But then what? No ra-rette wants angry scars on her hands! She asked me quietly while we were collecting the mail if I could share with her my list of wonder creams for woman injured whilst undertaking the duties of the home. Of course I congenially smiled & agreed….

Top 5 Emergency Lotions & Potions

1. Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant (www.elizabetharden.com.au)
2. Ella Baché Cream Intex (www.ellabache.com.au)
3. Palmer Cocoa Butter Formula Vitamin E Scar Serum (www.etbrowne.com)
4. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair (www.esteelauder.com.au)
5. Arnica Cream (www.brauer.com.au)

rainbow styling!

Just when we thought fluoro was dead, gone, never to be seen again (‘Thank Gosh!’ we hear you say), yet another brand collaboration, OPI & Sephora, bring you their latest range of shades for your claws… none other than Day Glo Flouro, the Digital Diva collection!


And as spring fast approaches, Colour! We Welcome You! (and the brighter the better!). These colours, bursting with Pantone®brilliance, have been given names such as Skinny Jeans, IM Beauty, Hi Def and Techno Girl. So it’s gotta be either a Sydney Ksu-bot or Acid House Raver that have been ruling this product development team.

http://www.sephora.com/

A note not on beauty

If life was literally and not just proverbially like a box of chocolates, then ra-rette would sure hope it was a box of Pierre Marcolini’s, the chocolates that her bestie (aka The Kittycat) keeps bringing her back from Brussels. These, fellow friends, are heaven in a chocolate, to be enjoyed, slowly, delicately and guaranteed to leave you smirking as contently as a Cheshire cat.

Ra-rette especially loves the latest delivery from The Kittycat - The Palets Fins 16. A perfect grid of 16 ever so thin chocolates filled with flavours like Caramel Passion (ra-rettes favourite), Caramel Gingebre, Caramel Beurre Salé and Praliné Pistache Noisette. These fine squares of chocolate perfectly explain why Pierre Maconlini chocolatier has been described as ‘the creator of happiness’.


http://www.marcolini.be/EN/accueil.html

raise the brow!

If your apartment is anything like ra-rettes, filled with the warm, subtle light of vintage chandeliers and retro lamps, you too will be struggling to keep your eyebrows high brows. Stray hairs lingering as low as the dark grey sky…

Consequently ra-rette was left with no choice but to make covert missions to the fitting rooms of her local American Apparel store, pretending to try on the same pair of black tights over & over again as a decoy, to her one-on-one time with the bright lights & big mirrors, in an effort to re-acquaint herself with her perfect arch. That was, until, she discovered New Best Friend, tweezermate, a 10X optical magnifying mirror with light attached that fits perfectly into your hand, your bathroom and your purse. Take a bow now please…. TWEEZERMAN.

Other products we love from tweezerman are the polka dot tweezers and the special edition Dream Garden Collection of tweezer sets in vintage floral pouches to suit your mood and your outfit.

www.tweezerman.com

meeeoooww.... new season make-up

Pre-empt the spring, don’t wait for the sun, make haste & hit your nearest MAC store. There’s nothing quite like a new season MAC make over to get your groove back and this season is MACs cutest collection to date. MAC and Hello Kitty have joined forces to bring some bling into your spring with Hello Kitty Kouture, a limited edition range of Swarovski crystal compacts, Hello Kitty Mild, a softer colour collection for mysterious kitten princesses and Hello Kitty Wild, all out fabulousness for the unmistakable queen kats that never let their presence go unnoticed. See the colour collections at www.maccosmetics.com and be sure to enter the Hello Kitty Sweepstakes! puss puss.

And beyond the shiny and the new, sitting stable in their places, ra-rette was so happy to see her two iconic, can’t live without, MAC colours, MARGIN for the cheeks and SMUT for the eyes. Oh please never let them go.

There’s really only a few things that can calm the feelings of doom from the constant grey clouds above: red wine, a good movie with a friend, a warm bowl of pumpkin soup, and a lovely, candle lit bath. The later that is, until you emerge looking as shriveled as your sweet old Nanna (Puff! goes the talcum powder!).

Bathing oils are probably not on the top of any girl’s list but desperate times call for desperate measures and if you’re like this ra-rette & short of a dime, don’t despair because it’s nothing a drop or two of Olive Oil straight from the cucina won’t fix. But if you dream of something a little more decadent & aromatic than Papa Giseppi’s olive groves… look no further than the Apotheke for our new favourite brand Dr Hauschka (www.drhauschka.co.uk). With a range of 5 bath oils to suit your mood including Lavender, Lemon, Rosemary, Sage and Spruce, we’re going to start to ‘warm and vitalize the body’ with lovely Lemon. Oil Up! x.

Hello & welcome to the wonderful world of ra-ra-beauty star!

If you’re anything like this team of ra-rettes then you’re just a girl, a cute bambino, living your life in two parallel universes, on one side searching for love, laughter & inner-happiness, and the other on the eternal quest of beauty. Now in a world where, in some corners, beauty seems to go far beyond skin deep, often in an outward&/or upward direction (see: the lips of Angelina Jolie, Pamela Andersons breasts, any body part you choose of Paris Hilton), you might ask ‘but surely inner-happiness and beauty are one?’. Well, you’re right. Finding inner happiness is the real meaning of beauty, but we figure that while a girl is searching for enlightenment & love, it sure can’t hurt for her to look pretty along the way.