Category: movies and culture

Beauty Sleep…Fact or Myth…

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

One of my favourite activities as a young child was going to the cinema with my mom…and also at home, and when movies came on TV, I was in the living room with my mom, watching classic films like Psycho, Gone with the Wind and Sound of Music. Disney films were also a treat. My mom took me to the theatrical release of Sleeping Beauty when I was four and after seeing it, I was floored, mesmerized by the romance and I wanted to keep seeing it. It was so magical and amazing that a princess cheated death and aging by sleeping and was awoken again by true love! I wanted to ask my mom to take me again to see it, right after leaving the theater,  but I was too shy to.

Time to wake up! After 100 years of sleeping or so…she’s definitely rejuvenated!

The story of Sleeping Beauty struck a cord in me, because I think that’s because sleep is connected to beauty. It’s when we rejuvenate and replenish ourselves with energy, strength, spirit. It’s when we regenerate our tissues, bones and hair. It’s how we reset our physical and mental programming to face the everyday world. And every minute of it is worth gold. For example, I myself went a little crazy a few weeks ago when I was not sleeping well, stressed and anxious with modern day life challenges. And it showed in my complexion: my skin was bumpy and flacid, puffy eyes, limp lifeless hair, and low energy to the nines.

A break down on why sleep is so important:

  1. Life is always stressful: Between family, work and social obligations personal ambitions, daily life is full of anxiety, worry and distress. Sleep not only helps us have energy for these things, but is a key factor in keeping  mental health to face these things.
  2. It helps us regulate water/hormonal, emotional balance: I remember gaining water weight in the cheeks and hips when I was not sleeping well…and even my emotions were up and down…sleep is something that balances our body functions. Exercise also helps, but not as much a good rest, in my opinion.
  3. My complexion suffered. Wrinkles appeared out of no where, the smooth texture of my skin was gone…even make-up didn’t cover this up…
  4. My immune system was lowered and I was prone to infections and illnesses, allergies…etc
  5. I became very depressed and unable to think positively. I know that I have often battled sad days, we all have, but when I was lacking sleep, it felt that much harder, that much more severe.

So the bottom line? “Beauty sleep” does exist, because being well rested is a vital part of physical and mental health. What ways have you been neglecting a good sleep hygiene? Doctors say eight hours a night is ideal…so are you hacking it, or what can you do to make sure you get that? It’s worth the effort to get good sleep because then you get to wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed to face the world!

Habits from Paris…French Bohemian Mindset…

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

I lived in Paris France for two years a while ago, when I was just an art student, aspiring to be an artist, that was when I moved to Paris as a young woman to move in another artist and settle down–whatever that meant.  But I learned a lot about lifestyles back then, and I admit till this day, although I am a Canadian born and raised, (Torontonian for that matter) I still hold dear a lot of the French mentality and outlooks on life and still adore Parisian Bohemia.  So let me share with you all a few of my experiences…I want to talk about the mindset of French bohemia, because the fashion will always follow suite…

Forget the beret! These mindless stereotypes of what the French are about are ridiculous. (wearing hats in general is cool though!)

We live in North America, the land of donuts and coffee, cold winters, fast food, and malls, cars and outlets.  Suburbs, churches and barbecues…flannel shirts and jogging pants. But my experience living in Paris tells me there is a more elegant, thoughtful way of living… And by looking at most fashion trends, it is actually super in style at the moment. French Bohemia is about being a free spirit, not following rules, or worrying about the 9-5 agenda.  It’s more about having the ability to have free time, rather than about what to do with it.  Hanging out with friends because they are cool, and not because it’s cool to hang out and an obligation to be social.  It’s really about simply enjoying life, but more specifically enjoying the visual and meaningful beauty of life. And how the two connect. Here are some things I’ve learned:

  1. Try to dodge trends by finding old things you forgot about. Dig into your closet and look for items of yours that are simple, classic, and chique.  French styles are often simple, and not looking like a slave to the trends is key (even if you are!).
  2. Eat less, but eat well.  The French are all about liking food, but good food.  I often have a day of very little indulgences, but for dinner, I will have treats like fish and chips, burgers, pizza, ice cream. Flavourful things in moderation…Pleasurable things…but just a little.
  3. Be interested in visual culture.  I mean this in a general way.  You don’t have to be into art and know everything about it academically (like I do as a former art student), but notice movie posters, graphics on your daily products, architecture and design. Work up to visiting an art show, weather it is at a small local gallery, to a big city art museum.  Just enjoy looking at things and thinking about how things look. People watching (not leering, or gawking or staring) is a fun pass time when on patios.
  4. Care about how you look.  BUT–don’t fuss over your appearance, and don’t be vain by thinking you’re all that, but put a bit of effort into your appearance.  Wear clean, fitted clothes, have manicured nails…give yourself the right to “judge a book by it’s cover” because well, the cover says a lot about something! Don’t be afraid to be a little superficial and care about the face value of things.
  5. Enjoy life, don’t stress. Avoid stressful things/activities as much as possible …ie event/parties you don’t want to go to.  If you don’t think you want to do it, unless you risk social shame for opting out, do opt out! There is nothing worse that regretting going out to an event.  Better to stay home and relax any day.
  6. There is always a more elegant option to whatever you are eating. Instead of toast, have a croissant in the morning!!! my favourite breakfast ever! (beats bacon and eggs too!) Instead of having a muffin, have a cupcake…Instead of ham and cheese sandwich, do ham and brie (a french cheese), instead of watered down coffee, try espresso. Little variations in daily mundane life such as standard food is a great way to add a bit of french to your life.
Me enjoying my favourite breakfast of all time due to its simplicity and deliciousness. A flakey, moist, buttery croissant, with a cup of hot coffee. yum!

What is your favourite way to be embody a bohemian babe? Do you like the fashions it’s famous for?  Do you like stalking the sale rack at the closest Free People store to you, or finding a way to make braids and plaited hair and staple? Wearing that vintage dress you found with sneakers?  How do you show you are a free sprit?

 

Movie Make up Inspiration: The Love Witch (2016)

~ Emmie Reve ~ 1 Comment

I think almost everyone knows that I like horror movies quite a bit, but what I even like more are genre b movies mixed with art house, such as Anna Biller’s 2016 feature film The Love Witch that is half satire and half homage to the campy melodramas of the 60’s.  Visually, you almost can’t tell it was made a few years ago, with its rich popping colours that compete so much with the a sharp dialogue to tell the story of love, attraction, revenge, and “magick”.  The movie centers around a young woman named Elaine, who was jilted in love by her former lovers and husband. Elain is on a mission to take control of her life by means of joining a witches coven that teaches her to use potions, rituals and magick to get rid of her abusive husband.  After that, Elaine moves to a small idyllic town to get a fresh start, and to also find “love” by any means, including seducing and casting spells on the local men.

Spellwork and bold colours make this film a magical delight to look at.

I adore how the movie is so female centered and encourages that we sympathize and root for the femme fatale protagonist who is also over whelming her victims, um, I mean “dates” with her powerful magic–to the point to death sometimes…But is it her magick at work, or just the craziness of love in general?  Treat your senses to the richness of it’s look, and then decide for yourself.  Is it inherently feminist, since it is about a women deciding to control her love destiny, by any means? Or sexist since she uses her foxy looks to get what she wants?  It’s all up for debate, but one thing is for sure, The Love Witch can also stand alone for a piece of visual art.  And I am just digging the fashion and the make-up!  That retro/vixen/glam/goth look is soooo gorgeous.

Samantha Robinson plays a young witch, the love seeking Elaine. I have a crush on the hair, make-up and fashion she dons in this movie.

How to get this retro glam make-up:

Step 1: Prep the face:

This look requires smooth, creamy even pale skin.  Almost porcelain like.  I find bb creams to do the trick since they often lighten your skin tone and give you a really matte finish. (most do at least, don’t get the “dewy” kind).  Set bb/foundation with a light powder.

Step two: Define eyebrows:

They should be as dark as your hair, slightly defined, with medium thickness, softly blurred with a eyebrow comb. Draw them with a slight arch, to give a bit of retro drama!

After prepping face, I drew in my eyebrows with a soft brow pencil. make sure you comb it to get it even as possible.

Step three: Find a pretty turquoise eye pencil or high pigment eye colour

Powder eye shadows will not work, because they are too subtle.  You wont be able to see a turquoise coloured powder on your lids, since your skin tone also kills some of the blue/green colour. Instead of using heavy primers and shadow bases on your lid, simplify by finding a soft eye pencil in the right colour.

This is the pencil I found and it’s a gorgeous celedon colour, slightly lighter than the torquoise that the love witch uses…the shadow is to set it.

Fill in the upper lid in turquoise until almost to the brow bone,  then smudge the harsh edge lines of the colour with your finger, and set it with either translucent power, or a blue/green shadow on top.

See how pencil liners show up, even when it’s a light colour?
Because it is a pencil, you want to smooth the edges and pat with your fingers to make it less harsh. don’t forget to set lids with powder.

Step four: Black lining your eyes, Cat eye make-up:

You need three products for this!  I know, this is crazy, but the reason you need three is for colour intensity, precision, and setting of the black line. So first off to use is black pencil as close to the upper lash line as possible.  The second step is setting it with a thin layer of black eye shadow with a thin brush.  Third step to making the black line into the defined shape of a dramatice cat eye with liquid liner/pen.  Also fill in any light/uneven areas in the black line with pen for maximum drama.

This is before I put on fake lashes. Using 3 products: liner, shadow and liquid/pen gives the pigmentation and drama needed for a retro cat eye line.

Step Five: Mascara and False Lashes…

Mascara and fake lashes are key to the look.  Nothing says vampy witchy gal more than a cat eye with fake long lashes the reach for the skies!  I like to do two coats of mascara and then add some demi lashes, since my eyes are small, but if you can, go for full lashes to complete the look.

Let me read your future! Add anything victorian looking and glamourous to your outfit and now you are a love witch!

Okay, thoust ready to go out into the world casting spells on unsuspecting lovers wherever you go…Just be careful wielding that feminine power of yours and I hope no casualties are a result.  I cannot be held responsible. 🙂