Grace Magazine

Here is the official poster for the upcoming Chanel biopic starring French actress Audrey Tautou.

Coco Before Chanel, directed by Anne Fontaine, will focus on Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel before she became the famous couturier.

Audrey Tautou will also have the lead role as the new fragrance model for Chanel No 5. She will appear in television and print ads for the world’s most famous perfume.

I can’t help it. I’m a beauty addict.

Beauty products relax me, especially when they are high quality and long lasting.

Work stress is an everyday part of my life. Thankfully, it’s not stressed caused by people I don’t like or don’t respect. Quite the opposite. I work with people I admire and trust. But we work in an extremely busy and fast-paced atmosphere.

One of my pleasures is looking good and smelling lovely. When you have to work closely with others, your fragrance can’t be overwhelming. It should be personal and enjoyed just by you.

I write often about how much I love Chanel No. 5. These are my favorite Chanel products at the moment.

Chanel No. 5 Bath Gel
I use this in the shower with a nylon puff. It produces a rich lather and provides aromatherapy benefits for my sleepy morning routine.

Chanel No. 5 Essentials Bath Oils
I follow up my shower by smoothing on this moisturizing oil before I towel off. The light scent lasts all day without overpowering. It’s a modern way to enjoy this classic fragrance.

4 Fleurs de Chanel Yeux-Eyes Exclusive Creation - Limited Edition
To add to my prettiness factor, I just purchased this eye shadow quad. The colors are soft and feminine. The packaging and presentation are romantic. I enjoy using them in the morning before my commute.

What are your favorite beauty products?

Did you ever lie awake at night and think, “I wish I smelled like Ewan McGregor?”

Well, now you can. Tee hee.

Scottish actor and global adventurer Ewan McGregor released a double whammy. He has a new book called A Long Way Down, which details his motorcycle journey from Scotland to Africa. At the same time, McGregor is helping Davidoff launch its new fragrance called Adventure.

The scent is described as vibrant, captivating, fresh, spicy and woody. Top notes include mandarin, lemon and bergamot with maté leaves and black pepper. Contrasting notes are warm spices of black sesame and pimiento with cedarwood, vetiver and white musks.

“I think it is important to go out and discover what an extraordinary world we have, and the people who live in it, and to broaden our minds instead of to narrow them…The thing about a real journey is that you have to lose control of it. You can’t control an adventure.

You have to give yourself in to accepting whatever experience is round the corner. And you never have any idea what that might be.” — Ewan McGregor

Isn’t he adorable?

Dr. Hunter’s Rosewater & Glycerine Hand Creme

An enriched version of the classic formula of glycerine and rosewater that ranks among the best for conditioning hands, keeping them smooth and supple. 2.5 oz. metal tube, boxed.

I’m on a constant search for hand creams. I like to have lots of different brands, textures, and fragrances.

Dr. Hunter’s has a light yet thoroughly moisturizing formula that takes a minute to absorb into the skin but doesn’t leave your hands feeling greasy. The rose scent is a little strong for my taste, but it calms down after a while and lasts a long time.

If I put it on before I go to bed, my hands still have a light rose scent when I wake up 8 hours later. Amazing.

$12 at Caswell-Massey

L’Occitane has some fabulous products, including luxurious hand creams, fragrant shower gels, refined vegetable bar soaps, and more.

Shopping the stores and Web site can be a little pricey. But right now, they are having a sales on over 150 products.

Here are some highlights:

Hand Creams Trio - $25.00
Three 1 oz. tubes lightly scented with Cherry Blossom, Honey Lemon and Rose. Rich and creamy. Perfect to relieve winter dryness.

Holiday Hands Trio - $25.00
A limited edition 1 oz. Hand Cream trio lightly scented with Rose, Shea Butter and Lavender. If you didn’t get these for Christmas, it’s time to gift them to yourself.

Bonne Mere Soap in Lavender - 4.3 oz. bar for $4.80
Made with a pure plant base, in the Marseille tradition of soap-making, and blended with mineral pigments so that bars are delicately tinted. Scented with the relaxing aroma of lavender.

Lip Gloss Trio - $22.00
Three 0.5 oz. lip glosses lightly scented with Cherry Blossom, Honey Lemon and Rose. For a sweet scented pucker.

And remember, each time you order you get to choose three free samples.

I highly recommend anything in the Shea Butter or Olive Harvest lines.

Caswell-Massey has been purveying luxury scented products since 1752.
Here are some gift ideas for your holiday shopping list.

Angel Soaps - $16

These charming soaps contains warm woodsy notes mingling with Italian bergamot, jasmine and lavender. Set of 3 in a gorgeous gift box.

Coterie de Rose - 4 Soaps with Porcelain Bowl - $19.99

For a touch of romance, dress your vanity or bathroom counter with a vintage bowl of these sculpted rose soaps by Gianna Rose Atelier, milled from the finest quality natural vegetable soap. Packaged in a boxed set that’s ready for gift giving. 1.75 oz.

“Noel” Hand Care Caddy - $24

A complete hand care solution for kitchen or bath, fragranced with festive winter berries and holly. This stand-out wire caddy holds antibacterial hand wash and soothing lotion, 9.5 oz. Each.

Presidential Soap Collection - $24

Ever since George Washington selected Number Six as his favorite fragrance, Caswell-Massey has been preferred by men of stature including two other President of the United States - Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. Our Presidential Collection includes three bath soaps (5.8 oz.), triple-milled for lasting performance and fragrance: Number Six, Washington’s favorite; Almond Cold Cream, selected by Eisenhower; and Jockey Club, the choice of JFK. A five-star gift.

Men’s Sampler - $19.95

A generous assortment of fine essentials for the man of discerning taste. Try out this superior collection of soaps, lotions and gels - Perfect for the frequent traveler. Packaged in a Caswell-Massey gift box.

Women’s Sampler - $19.95

For her, An alluring bouquet of petite lotions, soaps, creams and more. Enjoy this sampling of our favorite products to cleanse and calm, soothe and soften. Presented in a Caswell-Massey gift box.

Here are some tiny-sized luxury treats to give as sets or divide into individual stocking stuffers.

Bourjois Kisses From Paris Set - $18

A set of 4 mini lip glosses and a keychain so you can clip them to your cell phone or house keys.

Set comes with 4 colors: Beige Elastic 1 (nude beige), Brun Galactic 2 (beige shimmer), Rose Idyllic 3 (frosty pink), and Rose Symphonic 20 (pink pearl with glitter).

Prada Coffret - $50

A set of four mini Prada fragrances. Set includes three scents for women and one for men.

Women: Intense Eau de Parfume, Prada Eau de Parfum, and Tendre Eau de Parfum

Men: Prada Pour Homme Eau de Toilette

Little Luxuries Coffret Set - $45

There is also a mini Dior fragrance set, which includes 4 feminine scents:
Miss Dior Cherie, J’adore, Pure Poison, and Dior Addict.

Sephora Nail Polish - $4 each

Sixty (yes, 60!) glossy shades in a range of classic to funky colors.

Grace Magazine favorites include 07 (red with gold shimmer), 10 (iridescent deep red), 12 (black), 18 (iridescent pink-gold), 37 (rose with silver shimmer), and 58 (clear fuchsia).

My advice is buy yourself everything. Tee hee.

All products available at Sephora.com

Since 1730 Floris Fragrances have been creating elegant and luxurious scented products for fashionable London society.

Over the years, Floris have held royal warrants starting with England’s King George IV to today’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.

You can buy Floris products online.

Here are some lovely holiday gift ideas:

Night Scented Jasmine Fragrance Collection

Our latest fragrance is showcased in this enticing collection. Cleanse, moisturise and subtly layer yourself in this radiant floral bouquet warmed by soft musks and sandalwood.

White Rose Bath and Body Collection

A contemporary soft floral rose fragrance, Floris White Rose is blended with white flower notes to create a clean, truly beautiful, sparkling classic.

Cefiro Weekend Collection

Cefiro is a sophisticated yet subtle blend and sits at ease whether you are at work or at play. A contemporary light, green and gentle fragrance which lifts your spirits. Suitable for both men and women, the sparkly fresh top note is created with a blend of lime, grapefruit, mandarin and lemon.

Elite Luxury Grooming Collection

A mellow, sophisticated fragrance with a beautiful woody base note. Elite has a strong character: deliberate, thoughtful and provoking. the fragrance suits the mature, confident individual.

Wandering through Macy’s today, I sampled Versace’s Bright Crystal perfume. I sprayed it on my wrist and arm.

Description from the Versace Web site:

Sheer sensuality. Crystal transparency and luminous brightness: Versace introduces the new bright crystal. A precious jewel of rare beauty characterized by a fresh, vibrant, flowery scent.

The bottle is pretty with an over-the-top large crystal stopper. I like that the liquid is pink. I have a thing for pink perfumes.

A lovely floral, the scent is dominated by rose. But it faded very quickly, within 15 minutes. The last little bit left on my arm was barely noticable. If you want to wear this fragrance, you will need to reapply often.

Mall shopping is passé and while online shopping can put the entire world market at your fingertips, sometimes you just gotta take the fashonista walk down Rodeo Drive. There is no substitute for browsing in shops that most of the population wouldn’t dare enter.

I used to live in Beverly Hills and have developed relationships with several sales associates at the major stores on Rodeo Drive. I have since moved to the beach and now it takes me an hour to drive to shopping heaven. But this helps my credit card bills at the end of the month and also makes my trips to Rodeo more special.

Yesterday, I wanted to do the whole Rodeo thing: window shopping, maybe score some major purchases, lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, and catching up with all of my favorite sales people.

First stop, Hermes. I dragged a male shopping companion with me, who was looking for sunglasses. In Hermes he got sidetracked by a hat that looked really good with his face. But he decided not to buy something in the first store. He would come back if he didn’t find sunglasses that suited him. I looked at a few scarves but didn’t want to commit so early in the day.

Our next stop was Salvatore Ferragamo, one of my favorite stores on the planet. I was disappointed that the usual security guard wasn’t on duty. He is the nicest guy but he must have had the day off. My friend immediately wandered back to the men’s shoe department. I took a tour in ladies’ handbags. My real purpose for going to Ferragamo’s was to look at scarves. I love scarves. In the summer, especially in southern California, it can get too hot for scarves so I wanted something I could use to keep my hair off my face. I found this lovely blue floral silk scarf with accordion pleats.

We then made our way to the sunglass display. No one makes sunglasses like the Italians. I think we tried on the whole collection. I was on the verge of splurging on the most perfect pair of black-framed glasses with Swarovski crystals lining the sides. But I stopped myself. First of all, they were a limited edition pair that cost over $500. But I also need prescription lenses. And it would be silly to buy glasses that I couldn’t wear while driving. But all was not lost. My friend found his perfect pair of shades for $270. I also picked up this cute keychain with charms of a shoe, a bag, and the Ferragamo symbol.

After saying our good-byes to the very helpful staff at Ferragamo, we moseyed on to Chanel. The Chanel flagship store has been under construction for some time, so we had to make do with their temporary location at the bottom of the street. Chanel clothes and shoes are out of my budget but I can afford the makeup. I needed to re-up my favorite eye shadow, Horizon. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued. So my favorite makeup artist at Chanel introduced me to similar shades in their new spring collection. I bought Island, a pretty pinkish beige with a little shimmer. I asked him to help me choose a blush too.

He started with Nude. He said that Jennifer Aniston was just in and bought three of them. Someone had used it on her during a photo shoot and she had to have it. It didn’t really suit my coloring. So we settled on Orchid Rose, a peachy-pink beige with a subtle shimmer. I’m a shimmer girl in case you haven’t noticed. He didn’t want me to leave the store with my face half done. So he applied their newest Glossimer in Sundress. So of course, I had to have that too. He also threw in a bunch of perfume samples and some for my very patient male friend.

The best part about Chanel is that there is no pressure to buy. They know that most of the people who come through the Rodeo store are there for the experience more than anything and the possibility of seeing a celebrity or two.

While I was there, Diane Kruger was trying on Chanel jackets. She was trying to decide between two beige ones, a rather plain one and one with some sparkle woven throughout. I could tell she preferred the sparkly one, so did I, but her male companion was trying to talk her into the other one. I left before she was finished so I don’t know which one she ended up buying. She is very pretty in person, was wearing little or no makeup, and had on cutoffs, a tee shirt and beigey-brown cowboy boots.

On to Tiffany. We didn’t really need anything here but I can’t help but stop in every time I’m on Rodeo. It was packed with the usual tourists, but also crowded with Mother’s Day shoppers. I wanted something new for my new house that didn’t come with me from my old apartment. My favorite sales associate was showing me a cute little summer tea set that I absolutely adored. But I ended up buying a Frank Gehry vase that was only $150.

With my pocket book exhausted, we went to lunch at Trilussa, one of the best Italian restaurants in the city. The wait staff was happy to see us. I used to be a regular, at least twice a week, and they hadn’t seen me since I moved. I ordered a Prosecco and some Bruschetta to start. My friend ordered a glass of Chianti Classico. It was 4:00 so we decided to make it an early dinner instead of lunch. I ordered my favorite simple pasta: linguine with pomodori and basilica. My friend ordered Chicken Milanese with a side of pasta. Trilussa has the best tomato sauce in the world. I don’t know what they do to it, but it’s addictive. We finished up with a couple of cookies and thus ended our shopping day.