Heatwave Handbag Essentials

The Poodle knows....there has been a blog post famine for the past couple of weeks, but let's be honest - if you've been in London or Paris lately the chances are that you haven't been online so much anyway! That's because it's been hot hot HOT! And when the grey skies of Paris and London reveal clear blue and sunshine, the only thing to do is get out there and enjoy it!

So I know you'll forgive the Poodle for neglecting the net for the real world for a couple of weeks!

The sunshine has also given me a chance to just get to grips with heatwave city essentials that are going to keep you fresh on the metro/tube and keep you looking, smelling and feeling fresh... So where I may have been a little quiet, the truth is that the Poodle is forever undergoing intensive research trials in the quest to bring you the must buys of right now.

The Poodle's guide to How to be a hottie, not a hot mess!

My findings:

City heat and the sardine effect on the metro can only lead to sweating en masse with your fellow commuters and city sharers, so the Poodle has put together a heat wave handbag list that will keep you sorted throughout a city summer!

1. First things first, to freshen up make sure your handbag is equipped with Dove's Body Wipes which will banish any beads of perspiration. Lightly fragranced and extremely refreshing, Dove's Body Wipes also care for your skin, so it refreshes perfectly without drying your skin.

2. Next up, you're going to need a handbag friendly fragrance that smells just great in summer. For an instant spritz of floral freshness the Poodle suggests Gucci's Flora eau de toilette with its citrus top notes and peony and rose heart, it's a breezy, easy fragrance that isn't overpowering. It also comes as a deodrant for only £24 which the Poodle thinks is just great - when it comes to fragrance, matchy matchy is always more pleasing!

3. You are definately going to need water, but we all know that plastic water bottles are just helping to clutter up the planet, so go for a reuseable, stylish, refillable wottle instead which is eco friendly and in the water bottle stakes, far superior to the average evian screw top, after all it is designed by Orla Kiely! And if the green sixties leaf print doesn't go with your Furla, then try the streamlined SIGG travel water bottle in red, from £9.95 at http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/ :

Made from a single piece of aluminium, its durable, cooling and looks pretty cool too!

Last but not least, to survive summer in the city, the Poodle believes that floaty dresses, short shorts, playsuits and flat sandals are all essential for heatwave happiness. Fashion can be your friend in summer, but the more you expose, the more grooming you're going to need to do, so invest in a full leg wax and some nourishing body oil so that whatever you bare, you can make sure it's beautiful...

Introducing your new friend:



Usiku Body Oil by Jo Wood Organics, is a multi award winner and at only £10 you can't go wrong - your skin will love you for it! With organic calendula, echinacea and vitamin E, this is a melody of lovely, natural, essential oils and plant extracts to slaver on your sun parched pins! Enjoy!

Deckchair image from http://s3.amazonaws.com/metrotwin_production/photos/28907/sunshine_large.jpg

Summer Hair Survival

Where is summer?

Ergh. It's raining, its June, it sucks! It really is a Poodle hair 'mare trying to keep your locks under control in temperamental weather conditions. My mane has been going through a whole spectrum of disasters in recent days, from sun frazzled to rain frizzed to wind beaten lank! I've had enough, and have decided to sniff out the products that will get me through an undependable summer... hopefully these will also bring you some hair happiness too!


First things first, what summer hair requires is control. I like to slick my hair back for work days to keep smart and groomed but to ensure hair style endurance you will need L’Oreal’s Elnett which you can get online via Boots at a reduced bargain price of £4.89. This is the ultimate in hair sprays and it doesn't have such a good press for nothing! It is simply one of the most reliable, firm holding, easy to brush out, overall amazing hair miracles.

Another good one is Aussie’s Dual Personality Hairspray - Hi Shine +Hi Hold, which is good value and adds brilliant shine whilst holding your locks in place for a good few hours – see it online at http://www.aussiehair.com/.


Next up, is conditioner, as hair in good condition will be easier to manage, maintain and will undoubtedly behave itself much better! Which conditioner is best for your hair will depend on a few factors… your hair type, its current condition and if you have coloured your hair at all. A brilliant all rounder that works wonders on flat hair is Charles Worthington’s Full Volume Conditioner from £4.55, whilst curly hair will ring with health after this daily conditioner for curls from John Frieda – Curl Around, promises to help protect hair from frizz producing weather conditions, with its magical silicone formula Frieda promises you soft, smooth, defined curls – check it out here http://www.johnfrieda.co.uk/products_frizz_ease_condition_curl.asp.



Finally, a summer shearing is always a good idea. I’m soon booking in for a new relooking as the French say. A trim off the ends will make your hair feel and look a thousand times more healthy and will take some of the weight off that can make your hair look flat, dull and lifeless. Whenever I get my locks lopped in Paris, I head for Camille Albane where the staff are always polite and the cuts are always just right http://www.camillealbane.com/, but if you’re Thames-side, I thoroughly recommend celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton’s own salon in Covent Garden’s Henrietta Street http://www.andrewbarton.tv/ . I believe that Chanel once said that a woman who has a hair cut is about to make important changes in her life. So whether those important changes relate to your shampoo and conditioner or your career or even your love life, a little snippy snippy can make a whole lot of life changing wow!

With love from

The Poodle

Sex and The City 2

So, I guess it's time to talk honestly about Sex and the City 2. The ultimate chick flick movie we have been counting down to. The hype grew to epic proportions with the sneak preview pics of Miranda's 80's hair nightmare, the shots of Carrie not wearing a wedding ring, the scenes caused by Samantha as she walked around NYC in a wedding dress (gasp!)?! The storyline speculation went through the roof!!! So... I braved the cinema, with sky high heels, a tribute-to-Carrie crop top, tight and light demin jeans and my very own name necklace and sat in the cinema bar with cocktails, friends and let the hysteria take over!!!

Not a good look for Miranda

The excitement caused by the ritual of going to see SATC2 was probably more exciting that the film overall. Although it was utterly fabulous in terms of fashion, the story line forgot that the film was supposed to be about the series Sex and the City and the friendships, hardships and female issues our famous four face together. As soon as the girls left the sanity of New York for the sun of Abu Dhari, the characters and the plot seemed to loose it in the heat of the Middle East. The script barely had time to squeeze in conversations between Miranda and Charlotte on the trials of parenting, and Samantha's menopause mania made her into a caricature that didn't look too convincing or empowering...Yam paste on face? Hmmm. Not a good look. Or message.

The SATC girls - in the story line desert...

Ultimately the girls or women as they now are, were all on form in terms of trend, harem pants, maxi dresses, statement shoulders and tropical textiles, but the story line lacked the depth to keep its fans animated. We didn't really feel that convinced by the Aiden kiss- as Samantha says, 'it was just a kiss' it wasn't important. Yes Carrie felt bored, yes she had a kiss, felt bad, cried, had a moment of realization, but it did feel like they were just avoiding the real issue in all of our heads... Are Big and Carrie going to have babies??? Where was the pregnancy scare?

Where was Charlotte's parenting break down?

Why didn't they cause a scene with the braless nanny?

Where was Miranda's cynicism?

What happened to Samantha and Smith?

Why the hell wasn't there more of (topless) Smith Gerrard altogether?

So... the SATC fans are a demanding bunch. We want fashion, drama, tears, tantrums, disasters and most of all, happy endings. But in this film there was monogamy and monotony, cack-handed dealings with muslim traditions and Samantha's bag of condoms. I still love the girls and I take my Poodle hat off to them for their devotion to style, but we wanted more than a fashion show, and a luxury holiday to SATC land, we wanted a taste of their reality and the real issues facing women in their 40's; not Irish boob fluff and yam paste.

As the movie drew to a close, I couldn't help but wonder if SATC should have stuck to the small screen....?

What do you think? The Poodle wants your thoughts???

xxxx

Images from www.usatoday.net www.content9.flixster.com www.static.decaturdaily.com www.culch.ie