Author: Cold Cream 'n' Roses

#beauty #cosmetics #makeup #skincare #fashion An eclectic collection of #music posted on #Mondays

Patriotic nails – Isadora, OPI for Merle Norman, Le Métier de Beauté – Updated for July 4

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Isadora, which is from Sweden, posted this picture of patriotic nails on Facebook:

Patriotic Nail art from Sweden’s Isadora

Isadora Wonder Nail polish shades:

  • no 603 Tip White
  • no 702 Blue Jeans
  • no 653 Chelsea Red

And don’t ask me about the red hands! 🙂

Merle Norman likes to trumpet its “Made in the USA” credentials. OPI created its Americana nail set to celebrate Merle Norman’s heritage. It features red, white and blue mini OPI Nail Lacquers. The Americana nail set features:

  • Hussy – a ravishing red polish. No, it’s not named for a brazen woman who’s got her mitts on your man (and believe me, I’ve had to deal with one), it’s named for a classic car. 
  • Alpine Snow
  • Yoga-ta Get this Blue! 
  • RapiDry Top Coat
OPI for Merle Norman Americana nail set

And once again, my apologies for the lousy picture quality, but it’s the best I could find. 😦

See set from Le Métier de Beauté:


If you want to support Obama’s presidential campaign, you could create a patriotic theme using the nail polish set that Richard Blanch of Le Métier de Beauté created for the Obama campaign’s Runway to Win.

Richard Blanch of Le Métier de Beauté for Runway to Win

Shades:

  • Red-y To Win Red – “A delightfully deep red, a bold pop of color that makes a statement.”
  • Victory White – “A soft, clean white perfectly polished for every day wear.” 
  • Bo Blue – “A shimmering sapphire blue, a fun take on the classic navy.”

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

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We recognized Canada Day; we would be remiss to not recognize our very own Fourth of July:

American Flag

We associate the 4th of July with parades, barbeques, and fireworks, but let’s take a few moments today to reflect on The Declaration of Independence.

Read Declaration of Independence on the National Archives web site.

Listen:

Audio mp3 Reading by Bill Barker, who portrays Thomas Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg
Audio mp3 Reading by John F. Kennedy

The Declaration of Independence closes with these words:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.


Indeed, several signers suffered for the cause of independence.

It surprised me to hear a man from Eritrea and a man from Pakistan say that they had memorized the Declaration of Independence in their home countries.

The Declaration of Independence is housed at the National Archives in Washington, DC. I was privileged to see the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights arise from out of their vaults prior to visitor hours.

Nina Simone performs Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne #MusicMonday

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After my recent #MusicMonday features on Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne and Female jazz vocal compilations, it seems fitting that I feature Nina Simone’s unique styling of “Suzanne”:

In the 60s, Nina Simone was known for protest songs such as “Mississippi Goddam.” She also performed songs such as The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s “Feeling Good,” Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s “I Put a Spell on You,” and “Ain’t Got No/I Got Life” from the musical Hair with her one-of-a-kind styling.

In a future #MusicMonday feature, I’ll present Nina Simone’s cover of Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn’s “Love Me or Leave Me.”

Canada Day

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Canadian Flag

July 1 is Canada Day. Warm wishes to all our Canadian readers on that day!

Canada Day marks the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada was divided into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867.  Happy 145th birthday, Canada!

Want to mark Canada Day with music?  Here are The Style Page’s picks:
Classic Canadian Songs – folk music from Canada

Smithsonian Folkways describes Classic Canadian Songs in this way:

Canadian identity was once truly a mosaic—of disparate regions and small communities widely dispersed over a vast and inhospitable landscape. Classic Canadian Songs from Smithsonian Folkways showcases the rich musical traditions from generations of European settlers and contrasts with that of Aboriginal peoples fiercely determined to preserve their ways of life in the wake of colonialism and its injustices.

Hymns of the 49th Parallel – k.d. lang covers songs by fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and others

Famous Blue Raincoat – Jennifer Warnes is best known for her overwrought duets with Bill Medley (Dirty Dancing) and Joe Cocker (Top Gun), but this is her heartfelt tribute to the songs of Leonard Cohen (again!). Leonard Cohen himself appears as the voice of Fire that consumes Joan of Arc. Moody and melancholy, one friend said that this album was music to slit your wrists by.

Northern Songs: Canada’s Best and Brightest – this Starbucks Hear Music CD features signature songs Constant Craving by k.d. lang, Angel by Sarah McLachlan, Cowboy Junkies’s cover of Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane, and more.

Local love

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Shout-outs to some of the businesses that I patronize:

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5 Biggest Black Beauty Myths

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Featuring advice from MUA @AshuntaSheriff.

See the 5 black beauty myths you have to read to believe
5 Biggest Black Beauty Myths

This is a TotalBeauty.com African-American hairstyles article
From not needing sunscreen to not being able to pull off blonde hair, African-American women get a lot of bad beauty messages. To put an end to the lies that are still being told, we talked to beauty experts and asked them to debunk the biggest African-American beauty myths. Finally, the truth is here.

Female jazz vocal compilations #MusicMonday

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It all started with a TV commercial for the 2-CD set Lady Sings The Blues of songs performed by female pop and jazz vocalists.  Perhaps Capital Records was trying to, er, capitalize on the success of Norah Jones (Norah is signed with Capital subsidiary Blue Note and her cover of Roxy Music’s More Than This is featured on the CD set).  Curious, I purchased the 2-CD set, and I was hooked.  I began buying similar CD compilations from places as diverse as The Sharper Image (before it closed its brick-and-mortar stores), Bed Bath & Beyond, Whole Foods Market, and my local Hallmark store.  Here’s a list of some CD compilations of songs recorded by female pop and jazz artists:

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In upcoming weeks, I’ll feature videos of Nina Simone and Dinah Washington.

Leonard Cohen’s "Suzanne" #MusicMonday

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Can you tell that I’m a fan of Leonard Cohen?  An inductee into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, he was most recently awarded the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize.  Love this: one great Canadian artist wins a prize named in the memory of another great Canadian artist.

Leonard Cohen’s song “Suzanne” has been covered by many artists, but “Bird on a Wire” and, of course, “Hallelujah” are his most popular songs.

Here is the earliest recording (1966) Of “Suzanne,” by the folk group The Stormy Clovers. The video comprises photos of The Stormy Clovers, Leonard himself, and the Montreal waterfront.

And here is Leonard performing “Suzanne” with Judy Collins, who brought his songs to the attention of the broader listening public:

In an upcoming #MusicMonday post, I’ll feature Nina Simone’s unique styling of “Suzanne.”

Blast from the past: 60s #cosmetics ads

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When I was a kid, I hung out with my next door neighbor, who was two years older than me.  I liked her company more than that of her sister, who was only a couple of months older than me.  Gayle and I might have been young, but we were precocious in our fondness for clothes and cosmetics.

Here are a couple of items we coveted, but our mothers wouldn’t let us buy:

Source: flickr.com via STYLE on Pinterest

Lipshine from Helena Rubinstein’s Lightworks collection featured a “Splitstick” that was gloss on one side, color on the other, packed in a graphic black and white tube.

I love those swingy, pleated tent dresses!

Body Paint by Coty Originals has to be one of the most unusual cosmetics I’ve seen.  It came in a paint bucket complete with paint roller and pan.  Shades were blue, green, and mauve.  There were also four flesh tones.

This ad was scanned from the July 1967 issue of Seventeen.  The dress is by Betsey Johnson.  Can you believe that she’s been around this long?

Kjaer Weis Sweetness Lip Tint

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Coral is big this summer, and while I usually eschew trends, I’m embracing this one.  Why?

I recently purchased Lasting Finish Lipstick in 012 (coral) from Kate Moss’s collection for Rimmel London and the red-coral lipstick that Poppy King created for J. Crew.  I like the Kate Moss lipstick better than the Poppy King lipstick because it doesn’t spread beyond the lip line.

Here’s another coral lip color I’m craving:

Kjaer Weis Lip Tint in Sweetness

Kjaer Weis Lip Tint in Sweetness is described as a “beautiful coral/orange, sheer lip tint.”  It would be a nice alternative finish to the Kate Moss and Poppy King lipsticks.  I also like the one-of-a-kind packaging.

I interviewed Kirsten Kjaer Weis in November 2011.  Since then, she’s added an online store to the Kjaer Weis web site.