Body: March 2008 Archives

Agent Provocateur is an ultra-sexy lingerie company based in London, that has become a smashing success all around the globe. Their philosophy is summed up this way: "a woman wearing a scrumptious pair of turquoise tulle knickers promotes in herself a sexy superhero feeling which exudes itself as a confident and positive sexuality." Well put and I couldn't agree more!

Anyway, inspired by the success of their lingerie line, Agent Provocateur has gone on to design and produce complementary products including books, shoes, jewelery and (the topic of today's post) a very successful collection of fragrances...

OPI launched their Spring/Summer 2008 India-inspired nail polish collection. In their typical manner, they were very creative in choosing the names of the colors: "I'm India Mood for Love", "Curry Up Don't Be Late!", etc (check the illustration inside).

The colors are beautiful and there is at least one for every taste, from discreet to classic to exotic to chic. Actually, three of these nail polish colors have their matching lipsticks and lip liners.

Now, another cool thing: if you girls (or guys) want to see what the polish color looks like before buying, all you have to do is go to the OPI Studio site:

www.opi.com/opi/opistudio.aspx

choose your skin tone and let the testing begin! (don't you just love technology?)

I don't know if you girls have read "Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnik (if you haven't, I highly recommend it), but in the book the author makes some sharp observations on the cultural differences between France and the States when it comes to beauty.

For one, Gopnik writes, the French believe that almost any body problem can be effectively dealt with by applying the right lotion. As a result, hundreds of pages of French beauty magazines are filled with advertisements for various fat-zapping formulas. Articles on diet and workout routines are there too - hiding coyly on the very last pages - "if all else fails".

As appealing as it sounds, I am a little skeptical about the efficacy of creams alone: I mean, what - I can continue gobbling down cheese cakes and cookies and just keep on getting thinner? But even if it's not a magic bullet, I concede it might work in combination with regular workout and healthy lifestyle.

So, for those willing to give it a try, Biotherm has a new product: the Body Resculpt Abdo, a "stomach tightening concentrate" that "defines and firms the stomach with a non-sticky gel formula".