by | October 21, 2012

A history of hair straightening & a review of Mother Multi Hair Styler

the Mother Multi Hair Styler in lush packaging

I’m not ashamed to say that I knew very little about hair straighteners and have only used my pair of rather old GHD irons a handful of times over the last decade.  That was, until I was sent the innovative, Multi Hair Styler from Mother.  Its packaging was enough to seduce me.  A large, solid box which includes two pairs of titanium styling plates, heat covers, heat mat, large styling clips and booklet… assembling it, I felt like James Bond loading my revolver…

1912 saw the first straightening irons

Then I started to wonder (as I tend to!) when fashionable ladies first began to wish their hair straight?  Not only did my research reveal that clothing irons (!) were used in the 1960s by those keen to alter their curly or fizzy hair but, going back further, I discovered that the first straightening iron was created by a Lady Jennifer Bell Schofield as early as 1912.

So, back to the Mother of all….., and I must admit that my new toy gets a massive thumbs up.  The larger paddle plates are great for a sleek, soft shiny look.  Changing over to the smaller plates is easy and quick (just make sure they are cool) and with these I can add a subtle curl or flick.  I set the temperature to 180 degrees which achieved great results but also – importantly – didn’t feel too hot for my hair.  For those with more stubborn hair, the straightener can be turned up to a whacking 230 degrees and takes just a mere 30 seconds to adjust to the new temperature.

Hair Straighteners by Mother

Having carried out this crucial research into today’s straightening market, there’s no doubt that this is the Rolls Royce of hair stylers.

Buy your Mother Multi Hair Styler here or try your luck in my competition:

COMPETITION:  I have one Mother Multi Hair Styler (worth £140) to give away to a lucky reader. All you have to do is sign up to my blog (top right of homepage),  follow me on Twitter and RT the picture of my Mother straighteners on Monday 5th November.  The lucky winner will be selected randomly on Tuesday 6th November 2012. 

 

7 Comments

Filed under beauty, fabulous finds, music, prizes, shopping

by | October 19, 2012

BFI London Film Festival: Affleck’s Argo and A Reluctant Fundamentalist

Emerald Green Foundation dress by Fleur B

The BFI London Film Festival has spoilt me rotten this week.  Ben Affleck and I enjoyed his new film Argo (he is both director and protagonist) at the Wednesday night Leicester Square premiere.  As he didn’t have kids’ homework and tea to organise before belting it to the W Hotel’s Wyld Bar in time for a quick pre-screening cocktail, he was a little ahead of me on the red carpet.

belting up Argo’s red carpet at Leicester Square’s Odeon

Delighted to be dressed by the fashionista, Fleur Bird (founder and owner of the fabulous Fleur B boutiques – more of which in another post), I had flung on her beautiful emerald green foundation silk dress in a matter of seconds.

And, against all odds, @BlameLex and I were sitting comfortably in time to hear Ben’s intro to his third directorial, this much-anticipated true-story hostage mission.  In fact, that description hardly does this powerful film justice.  Upon reading the script for the first time the actor-director said that he thought: ‘This is insane, it can’t be true. Then I went on the internet and looked it up and found out it really happened so I called up and said, ”I want to make this movie.”’

The film opens with militants storming the US embassy in 1979 Iran.  It’s messy, violent and unpleasant to watch.   Six embassy workers manage to slip out of the back door and find temporary refuge in the Canadian ambassador’s home.  The clock is ticking and they are screaming out to be rescued by CIA ‘exfiltration’ specialist Tony Mendez ( Mr Ben Affleck).  His plan is crazy, his facial hair long but his execution and delivery first class.

Affleck, Goodman and Arkin in Argo

A strong Oscar contender, Argo is must see for those who love thrillers, rescue missions and Mr Affleck.  We headed at break neck speed (also on a mission) to the Sanderson Hotel to meet the actor-director in person.  A rocking DJ, serious cocktails and some great company finished that evening off.

Last night, this time accompanied by @ladylala and a couple of Hims, we saw the novel-turned-film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist.  Mira Nair’s story of an idealist torn between Islamic radicalism and American capitalism is, for the most part, grippingly portrayed.  The story unravels as Changez (Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani anti-America professor at the University of Lahore, is being questioned by a US journalist in connection with the recent kidnapping of a US academic.  His life story, shown in flashbacks, sheds some light on his fundamental struggle in the Western world at the time of the 9/11 tragedy.

Ahmed – the reluctant fundamentalist

The story itself, of an idealist reluctantly torn apart by different cultures, is probably more interesting than the slightly inaccurate portrayal of both countries’ fundamental failures. However, it’s an enlightening film with some powerful scenes of troubled Pakistan.

And, to complete London’s week of film, we dropped into the after-party for Brett Morgen’s much-anticipated Rolling Stones documentary Crossfire Hurricane – hosted at a somewhat-tired looking Quaglino’s, SW1. A clever choice of venue, I thought;  as the restaurant first opened its doors on Bury Street in 1929, it made the Rolling Stones appear pretty youthful…

 

 

 

 

 

3 Comments

Filed under film

by | October 18, 2012

a posh wax at The Chelsea Day Spa

Chelsea Day Spa, Hollywood Rd SW10

Male readers, you might want to look away.  Unless, of course, you are one of those men who is insatiably curious about female wax appointments.  As a rule, any G.G. (Groomed Girl) will make time in her busy schedule for a regular wax so – as one of these routine-loving beauty creatures – I jumped at the chance to visit The Chelsea Day Spa, 53 Hollywood Road SW10 earlier this week.

With London Film Festival in full swing this week, I needed to dig my legs out of my go-to, lived-in jeans and don a dress in honour of Leicester Square’s red carpet.  As I travelled towards the Fulham Road, I wondered if the routine waxers among us are slightly patronising.  Looking down on those who shave and not able to comprehend those who have been lasered, the routine waxer has a smug air about her.  Playing with at least three hairless weeks and a smooth finish result gives her the distinct advantage she is looking for.  But what I really wanted to find out was how the Sloane wax appointment compares to the North London equivalent.

The Chelsea Day Spa is located on the same road as Honky Tonks – the recently opened bar/restaurant I reviewed a couple of weeks ago.  Doesn’t everything look so different in the daylight and without a cocktail in hand?  The salon itself is clean, fresh, light and perfectly pleasant.  The receptionist asked me to fill in their standard registration form (oh how we all hate forms) and I was surprised to find myself answering questions such as Married?  Children?  How would this affect my waxing, I wondered?

the hot wax pre-melt

ready for the Argo premiere’s red carpet (in a beautiful, loaned Fleur B dress – more of which in next post)

Shugar, my therapist, was clearly a master in the art of waxing.  Small talk was kept to a minimum (thank goodness) and our only meaningful conversation was centred around the benefit of the hot wax (not to be confused with strip wax) for the more sensitive areas.  And now I come to my revelation:  it seems that the girls on Hollywood Road are less demanding in terms of bikini waxing than those visiting the Kings Road branch of The Chelsea Day Spa and most certainly requiring less removal than the NW3 girls.  Who would have thought that the postcodes could bring out such a trend?

Nevertheless, I left a happy customer.  While Shugar had discretely shed light on posher private parts, she had also returned me to my former hairless self, ready to strut my stuff alongside Ben Affleck at the Argo premiere.

My half leg & bikini wax at The Chelsea Day Spa would have cost £47.  The salon is offering 20% off all strip waxing until 31/11/12.

Leave a Comment

Filed under beauty

by | October 16, 2012

The long journey getting Kerouac On The Road

Riley & Hedlund in Kerouac’s On the Road

Having read the book as a teenager, I needed no persuasion to see Jack Kerouac’s long awaited novel-conversion to the big screen.  I recall finding the book, On The Road, and its characters slightly shocking (their freedom was a stark contrast to my boarding school surroundings!) and I remember our slightly risqué English teacher lingering over the sordid backdrop of the Beat Generation.

But what surprises me today is the media’s endless list of queries surrounding On the Road as it takes to our screens this week.

Why has it taken 50 years to make this film?

What happened to Kerouac after his successful cult, post-war American masterpiece?

Did fame and notoriety destroy him?

Is there any other generation-defining literature that we have ‘forgotten’ to cinematize?

Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart, who plays Moriarty’s teenage wife, Marylou, in On the Road Photo: Gregory Smith

In his work, Walter Salles (director) has probably answered most of these questions.  The film is long, rambling, aimless – just as it should be.  Because, on paper, Kerouac tells his semi-autobiographical tale of post war society in the 1950s in a reasonably long-winded way. And the film perfectly mirrors this.

We journey across America with the budding writer Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) who has recently lost his father.  Hanging out with Carlo Marx (Tom Sturridge) and Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund), they party like it’s 1949.  Wild and selfish Dean initially draws academic Sal into the liberated world of sex, drugs and jazz but, as they get further down the road, Sal is only too aware of Dean’s failures in life.

The females (Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, Elisabeth Moss) in the film are stronger characters than I remember them to be in the novel. Again, generation-defining and era-mirroring, they complete the picture of excess, irresponsibility and lack of direction.

All in all, this is a handsome piece of cinematic work.  The journey is an enjoyably indulgent one where we can spot elements of our over-partied days as well as the dangers of escapism.  However, as with the book, we are left wondering what was the tale was all about?  A road to nowhere?

On the Road is currently showing across the UK. 

Jack Kerouac DVD on sale now

COMPETITION:  So what did happen to Kerouac? If, after watching the film, you are still left wanting to know more about this iconic American novelist and poet, then I may just have the perfect competition prize for you.  I have 5 x What Happened to Kerouac?  (worth £19.99 each) DVDs to give away.   Full of unseen interviews and footage, this revealing portrait of the King of the Beat Generation shows us what happened when fame and notoriety were thrust upon an essentially reticent man. All you have to do is sign up to my blog (top right of homepage),  follow me on Twitter and RT my On the Road quote on Friday 26th October.  The lucky winners will be selected randomly on Saturday 27th October 2012. 

1 Comment

Filed under film, prizes