Tribute to Elegant Short Hair

I have been really inspired by the elegance of short/medium hair.  I've been looking at a lot of the images in hair style magazines and studying the before and afters of haircuts where women have gone from long to short or medium length hair - and it became clear to me that not everyone suits long hair.  There is a freshness and youthfulness that is created by going shorter.  Short hair is stunning and even sassy.  Here is a little tribute to women who have cut their tresses and look absolutely amazing:

The model in this Chanel fall 2009 cosmetics ad looks so chic in her short pixie hair style.  She looks really sophisticated and elegant.  I also love the lipstick she's wearing - its called 'Amusing' - great colour!

Audrey Tautou works that 'Tom Boy' Sex appeal so well - in fact, she may even 'own' this look!  I think she should be the poster girl for going 'short' - she looks fabulous with shorter hair in comparisson to long hair - remember when her hair was longer in the movie 'The DaVinci Code'?  Audrey is beautiful regardless of her hair length, but she looks so much sexier and sassier with a shorter-do! 

Rachel Mcadams is one of those stunning women who looks great with blond hair, red hair, short hair, long hair etc- she just looks good period!  I love her hair in this picture - its short/medium and has that sexy, textured, slightly wind-blown look, like she just came back from a walk along the beach!  Can't you just see her with this hair, red lips, wearing pearls with a white blouse and a pencil skirt or a little black dress - she would be oozing with elegance!!!

Check out Jessica Alba's short, layered style - does she not look uber-classy?  She looks so feminine and her hair shows off her soft and romantic appeal!  I have to say that Jessica looks equally stunning with long. wavy hair, but this look gives her that sophisticated edge!

I think that the world fell in love with Katie Holmes when she cut her hair short - she went from being a young, sweet actress to a classy, modern fashonista!  In fact, she became a style icon.  Katie a perfect example of how "cutting it all off" can change your life!!!

 Selma Blair is another great example of someone who gained instant 'chic' with going shorter.  She looked okay with longer hair, but Selma gained glam and sophistication as soon as she cut her hair short.  She looks 'tres' sexy with this style!!!


I wanted to blog about short hair because I think that many people still have the misconception that short hair isn't sexy - that people won't take them seriously and they will be considered 'cute' instead of sexy.  There is also the misconception that going short is for new-moms who simply don't have the time to take care of their hair, giving short hair the bad name of being for women who don't have time to look elegant. I wanted to expose the truth - that short hair is in fact sexy, sophsticated and beautiful!  It is for a woman who is ready to claim her power in the world and define her own sense of elegance!!!

Shorter is Sexier!

Today I made a decision to say 'goodbye' to my long layered hair.  My ends were always looking fried and my hair simply didn't have any shape or movement anymore - it was starting to look lifeless.  I always had the notion that only long hair was sexy on a woman and then I realized, "hell no" - some of the most attrative women and celebrities have short to medium length hair and they are oozing with sexiness.  I think that a woman who cuts her hair with confidence and allows her hair to become a trademark of her strength, femininity and courage is the epitome of 'sexy'!!!  I wanted to "cut off" all the "dead ends" in my life (pun intended) - I want my life to be uncluttered and not weiged down by circumstances and things that aren't necessary and working for me.  In the movie 'Coco avant Chanel" - Chanel cuts her hair at the exact moment when she defines herself to the world and her lover turns to her and says "A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life".  That quote really spoke to me - I had been toying with cutting my hair for a while, but never did because someone would always say "guys like long hair" or "short hair isn't as attractive as long hair" - I say "screw what everyone else thinks" - I'm reclaiming my power - I'm cutting off all the things that weigh me down and I'm embracing change!!! 

A little about me

One of the blogs I follow posted these series of questions and I really enjoyed reading the responses - it made me feel like I had a certain connection to the author of the blog.  I decided that I wanted to answer these questions as well so that I can share a little bit about myself with you!

1. What time did you get up this morning?


5:30 - I always wake up at the time to get ready for work (a little nutty on my part, but I'm more of a morning person and I like to relish in my morning routine)
2. How do you like your steak?

Medium
3. What was the last film you saw at the movies?

The King's Speech
4. What is your favorite TV show?

Brothers and Sisters


5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

Zurich - I fell in love with Switzerland when I traveled to Europe two summers ago - Zurich really made an impression on me, as did the Lake Como region of Italy and the Alps
6. What did you have for breakfast?

Cinnamon and Raisin 'Eizeikeil' english muffin with homemade nutella (a healthier version made of hazelnut butter, maple syrup and a dash of cocoa powder) with some hebal tea

7. What is your favorite type of food (i.e. cuisine)?

I love all food, but I have to say that my favourite type of food is a cross between healthy-comfort food with gourmet flair - I love a nice cut of lamb where the meat if fall off the bone (like a braised shank or leg of lamb) - but I also have days where I go vegetarian (I love this one restaurant in Toronto called 'Fresh' - they make the best bean burrito wrap i've ever tasted) .  One of the best food memories I had was in Zurich where the hotel I stayed at made an amazing salad with hard-boiled egg, goat cheese and this amazing dijon-honey dressing - to this day its the best salad I've ever had!  I could write about food forever, so I'll stop now - lol

8. What foods do you dislike?

Anything that is unhealthy or processed - I'm not a big fan of fried foods or fast/junk food - I haven't eaten at McDonalds or another fast food joint for 'years' - after you grow to love healthy, real, fresh food, the fake stuff just doesn't cut it anymore!

9. Favorite place to eat?

As I mentioned before, I love 'Fresh' and I had a fantastic experience at a restaurant called 'The Rosewater Supper Club' in Toronto - it was during Toronto's Wintelicious week and on their specialty menu I ordered the braised lamb shank - it was out of this world!!!
10. Favorite salad dressing?

I really like a dijon honey type of dressing or a dressing with asian flavours like sesame oil and rice wine vinegar!

11. What’s your favourite car?

I've always found jaguars to be very classy

12. What are your favorite clothes?

I like clothes with a classy edge but also on the urban chic side - I like stores like Banana Republic, Rw and Co and I like the looks of Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren.  Nothing beats a crisp white shirt with a black pencil skirt and some basic pumps or knee high boots and a trench coat for the cooler weather- I 'love' that look
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?

One place I have not yet been to is Paris and I'd love to be able to explore that city and take it in.  However, I'd also love to go to Tibet and Nepal - I love the idea of going on a spiritual journey somewhere!  Experiencing my own 'Eat, Pray, Love' type of adventure
14. Is your cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?

ALways 1/2 full
15. Where would you want to retire?

I would love to retire to a villa in Tuscany or somwhere in Fance - and live a very simple life, cooking, going for walks in nature, sitting at a cafe and people watch all day - this would be the ultimate retirement experience for me!
16. Favorite time of day?

I'm a morning person and I love lazy mornings, where you lounge around in your p.j.'s until noon drinking tea, reading, pondering the meaning of life - lol

17. Where were you born?

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?

Soccer and Hockey
19. Are you a morning person or a night person?

Morning - 100%
20. Do you have any pets?

Yes, I'm a pround new mama - I adopted a kitten from my local humane society and I just adore her - I named her 'Duchess' and her personality totaly suits that name - lol - I just love her to bits
21. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?

Yes, my best friend just found out she's pregnant for the second time - I'm sooooo happy for her and wish her only the best!

22. What did you want to be when you were little?

I always wanted to be an author - perhaps one day I'll write that best selling novel!!!

23. What is your best childhood memory?

Going to Miami with my grandparents - they had  condo there and I went to stay with them twice a year - I have a lot of great memories being on the beach, swimming etc
24. Are you a cat or dog person?

Both - I love all animals!

25. Do you ever want to get married?

Only if I meet the right person - I don't want to get marrried for the sake of getting married - i'd rather be single and happy and self-fulfilled than stuck in a loveless marriage.
26. Any pet peeves?

People stuck in a poor me, pitty party attitude and 'negative' people and attttudes

27. Favorite Pizza Toppings?

I tend to put a lot of veggies on my pizza and create different kinds of pizza - one of my faves is to make a greek type of pizza with goat cheese, kalamata olives, tomato and red onion - mmmmm!!!

28. Favorite Flower?

Hydrangea


29. Favorite ice cream?

I like plain vanilla frozen yogurt (but it has to be on top of apple crumble or sauteed apples with cinnamon and brown sugar - mmmmmm)
30. Favorite fast food restaurant?

I'm not a fan of fast food, but if I 'had' to choose something fast, I'd probably go to subway or some type of deli sandwhich shop


31. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?

Tiffany's or Nine West (I love their shoes and boots, they fit my foot like a glove and are so comfortable regardless of how high the heel is)


32. Do anything spontaneous lately?

Getting a kitten was a pretty spontaneous choice for me - but one of the best choices I've ever made!

33. Like your school/job?

I really enjoy being a teacher, but I'm the type of person who loves to pursue other things as well, so I'm going to be doing my yoga teacher training soon and I'd love to take some more cooking classes!
34. What was your last vacation?

New Years in New York!!!

35. Last person you went out to dinner with?

I went out with a group of friends for  a fantastic dinner in the city
36. What music are you listening to right now?

Smooth jazz (Sinatra, Dean Martin, Michael Buble) - I love that genre of music!

37. What is your favorite color?

I love delicate shades of blue and navy
38. What are your favourite hobbies?

Cooking, Yoga, painting, reading and anything related to self-discovery
39. Coffee or tea drinker or other?
 
I'm a huge herbal tea fan!!!
 
 
I really hope that you ejoyed reading my answers - I'd love to hear back you and even read some of your answers and responses! 

Neutral Palette

Lately I've been playing around with a neutral-warm palette.  In this pic I'm wearing Brule and Cork eyeshadows with Teddy liner, Prism blush and Taupe lipstick (all from MAC).  I'd love to hear your feed-back about this look on me - its very simple for day, but as many of you know, I love that 'le no makeup look' effect.  I still love my 'cool winter' colours, but sometimes I feel like something a little softer and more natural. 

In the future I plan on exploring the neutral palette in more detail and even giving some celeb photo examples.  Right now my favourite neutral lip looks are: baroque (which I wrote about in my previous post about lipsticks for brunettes), Napoli and Blonde Venus (both by NARS) and Cinnamon (Laura Mercier) - Stay tuned for more info and pics about these colours!

Lipsticks for Brunettes

I have a love affair with lipstick - I am 'obsessed' with finding the perfect lipstick colour.  I have gone through numerous lipstick phases, trying every colour imaginable, yet I always seem to return to my favourite 'brown-based' lipstick shades, which I am now convinced is the perfect colour family for Brunettes.  I've discovered something profound about lipstick - the perfect colour for you should pick up on the undertones of your hair, natural lip colour and skin-tone.  Brunettes often have a very 'rich' colouring to their hair (meaning it can often have a subtle reddish or chestnut tone).  The perfect colour will pick up on this subtle undertone.  It only goes to say that brunettes with that rich haircolour should try lipsticks that are brown based with red, plum and pink undertones.  Here are some of my favourite shades of lipstick - I've posted a picture of the colour itself, followed by a picture of me wearing that colour so that you can see how it brings out the natural tones in my hair, eyes and skintone.  I tried to keep the rest of my makeup neutral (wearing pewter eyeshadow my Laura Mercier on my eyes with a little black mascara and a neutral toned blush).  If you are a brunette, consider trying some of these shades - you won't be disappointed!

My absolute favourite brown toned lipstick is a colour called 'Baroque' by Chanel - it is the 'perfect' blend of brown-plum and red and will bring out the best in any brunette.  The colour may seem dark in the tube, but on the lips it morphs into the most amazing colour:

Another brown based plum colour that I love is a lipstick by MAC called 'Verve' - its such an amazing colour and perfect for any brunette:

I think that every brunette needs to own a brownish-pink colour - its the perfect go with anything 'everyday' colour!  My favourite bronwish-pink shade is 'Twig' by MAC:

Catherine Zeta Jones has always been an inspiration to me when trying to find that perfect 'brownish-red' colour.  This shade NEEDS to be in every brunettes makeup bag.  After seeing Catherine in 'No Reservations' it almost became my mission to find 'the' brownish-red lipcolour - I think I've come pretty close - the winner for me is 'Viva Glam 111' by MAC (note: this picture came out very dark for some reason, the viva glam doesn't usually look this dark on me - if you want the colour to come out more subtle, just blot on the colour or use a lipbrush):

I hope that you enjoyed my tribute to lipcolour shades that I think are the best for brunettes.  I find that Catherine Zeta Jones and Katie Homles are two actresses that have stayed true to wearing their favourite brown-based lip colour shades.  Check out Catherine and Katie in the following photos:

Andrea Laliberte

I absolutely love Andrea Laliberte's art and posters.  I currently have the 'New York' poster hanging in my bedroom and just ordered 'Roma' and 'Paris' from allposters.com
I think that Andrea really captures the essence of the fashionable, confident woman! 

This is the art peice that I have hanging in my bedroom - I love how Andrea encorperates timeless, classic fashion with highlights from the city in the background!

Love that light blue trench and the shoes - I just want to crawl into this art peice and talk to that woman (and possibly steal that trench coat - lol)

This woman just seems to personify what it means to be 'italian' - you can just feel it from looking at her - I love her long, flowing, feminine hair - in fact, once this arrives, I'm going to take it to the hairdresser  and say 'give me that cut and colour'!

Tres Chic!  I love how this woman is dressed - this to me is pure class and elegance!!!

I have this hanging on the wall in my kitchen - it inspires me everytime I walk by it or see it - Black and Red is one of my favourite colour combinations - I love the boat neck 'little black dress' and the pop of colour with the shoe, purse and lipstick - Once again, this is what means to be a stylish woman!!!

Don't you just want to jump into this art piece and be in Vienna wearing that dress?

Do you know what I really love about Andrea Laliberte's art?  It focuses on the strong, classy, sophisticated, european, CONFIDENT woman - this is the woman I want to be - perhaps I see myself in her art or see the self that I aspire to be - but there is something that really speaks to me and this time i'm going to 'listen'!!!

European Women and their Allure

It feels like forever since I've blogged something.  I went through some 'heart-ache' just before the Christmas season began (with a breakup) and then re-discovered myself in 'New York' during New Years and now I'm in a very content place again.  It brings me back to how I felt after my Europe trip 2 summers ago - there is something so appealing and alluring about Europe and its people.  Everyone seems so laid back and they really live the philosophy that "its about the journey, not the destination".  They also value love and feeling 'loved' - something my ex wasn't able to provide me because of his own personal difficulties - but I don't hold anything negative against him - in fact, I really believe he was in my life as a 'teacher' - he taught me (through what he wasn't able to give me) that I deserve to know and live my worth and be with someone who sees my true value!  And that's what I want to blog about in the new year - topics that inspire me to value myself!  For some reason, I have always seen European women as the type who know the secret of valuing themselves -they often look so comfortable in their own skin and I think the world sees them as beautiful because they know this about themselves on the 'inside' and that inner sense of beauty shines outward for the rest of the world to see - so here is my tribute to European women:

I think 'simplicity is elegance' is the true philosophy that European women live by - they are never 'overdone' with their clothes, makeup and their look is often so simple, yet we are in 'awe' of how they create that look.  Maybe its because we try too hard to look a certain way, that the end result is forced.  With European women, the look is never forced, but its always classy, feminine and naturally 'sexy' - There is no clevage showing in this photo, yet she looks so sexy - its all in her attitude about what it means to be a women!

I have always been inspired by Latetia Casta's look - she has that 'pouty lip' French thing going on - I think this is a perfect example of that unspoken 'mystery' that European women seem to master so well - I think it has to do with self-respect and self-restraint.  They don't give themselves away on the first meeting - you don't hear their life story the first time you meet them - they are self-controlled and let you in only a little bit at a time - but its this very self-control that makes them so alluring!

Monica Belluci is definitely the poster girl for the beautiful and alluring Italian woman - she owns her look so well - She embraces her rich, espresso brunette hair and always looks feminine.  I love her look - she is somewhat of a modern Sophia Loren - she seems to look better and better as she ages and this a huge lesson that we should embrace and learn - learn to love yourself at every stage of your life!

Audrey is such a 'classic' French woman and actress - she embraces the casual-sexy look!  I remember reading in a magazine an interview with Michael Kors - he was asked what makes a woman 'sexy' and his reply sparked a 'lightbulb' moment in my mind - he said that men don't necessarily want the 'bombshell beauty' - instead they want a woman who can embrace the tom-boy within and be more casual with their sexiness - Audrey is completely like that - she works her short gamine hair style and her makeup is always fresh and classic.  Many european women have that 'tom-boyish' sex appeal and I think Michael Kors is right - it is 'sexy'!

Audrey Hepburn became an icon in American Film, but her roots will always be 'European' - Audrey completely embraced the 'tom-boyish' sex appeal and her class and allure are still an inspiration to women today.  Her style is simple, elegant, casual yet so feminine, alluring and elegant - She is definitely one of my favourite style icons and muses - I just love her!!!

Carla Bruni - Actress, singer, wife of the French President - oozing with European sophistication and class - this woman has it going on!!!  She knows how to work her beauty and be poised and stylish.  Check out the next photo of her:

I love how simple her hair and makeup are in this photograph - she isn't trying to be a 'bombshell' yet she looks uber-sexy.  She plays up her features every so slighly but just enough to let her true beauty come through.

I think that we can all embrace the style and lessons of European women, regardless of where we were born or who we are or what we do - This New Years I've decided to embrace my sense of self and make this the year of valuing myself.  This year I embrace my inner casual 'tom-boy' sex-appeal!!!  Enjoy being a woman, value it - respect it and when it comes to men - be with one who values who you are and know that happiness doesn't depend on something or someone outside of yourself - you need to own it - thats what it means to be sexy and alluring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!