#avon fashion 2018

[the-richie]

Arts and media

Actorm, Western Star, Silver Screen, Between Take, Hooray for Hollywood, Artist, Ballerina, Cake baker, Chef, Bakery chef (2018)[39],Cookie chef (2014)[40], Cupcake chef (2015)[41], Dessert chef (2013)[42], Pancake chef (2012)[43], Pasta chef (2021)[44], Pastry chef (clothing pack 2014)[45], Pizza chef (2009)[28], Smoothie chef (2016)[46], Spaghetti chef (2017)[47], Sweet chef (2013)[48]

TV chef (2009)[49]

Circus performer (1995,[50] 2010[51])

Dancer (2011[52])

Ballroom dancer (1991,[53] 2014[54])

Cabaret dancer (2007[55])

Can-can dancer (2009,[56] 2011[57])

Rockette (1992[58])

Showgirl (2008[20])

Fashion designer (1960,[59]: 2  re-released 1995;[60] clothing pack 1992,[61] 2001,[62] 2002,[63] 2012,[64] clothing pack 2015[65])

Fashion editor (1965,[66] 2000[67])

Fashion model (1959,[68] Fashion Model Collection 2000–2020,[20][69] Top Model 2008,[70] I can be... Fashion Model 2012[71])

Fashion trend forecaster (1999[72])

Film director (2015[73])

Film producer (2005[59]: 48 )

Floral designer (2012[74])

Game show host (1987[75])

Interior designer (2022[76])

Make-up artist (Barbie loves MAC 2007,[77] I can be... Makeup Artist 2013[78])

Musician (2017,[79] 2019,[80] clothing pack 2020[81])

Bard (2004[82])

Lute player (Japan-exclusive Barbie Styled by Yuming 2000[83])

Pianist (playset 1989[84])

Rock star/guitarist (1986,[85] Barbie and the Beat 1989,[86] 1998,[87] 1999,[88] 2010,[89] 2013,[90] 2015[91])

Saxophonist (clothing pack 2018[92])

Violinist (2013,[93] clothing pack 2021[94])

Music producer (2021[95])

News anchor (2010,[96] 2019[97])

Photographer

Baby photographer (2008[98])

Fashion photographer (2012[99])

Pet photographer (2022[100])

Photojournalist (2019, collaboration with National Geographic[101])

Rapper (1992[102])

Singer (Solo in the Spotlight 1960,[103] re-released 1990 and 1995;[104][103] Barbie and the Rockers 1986,[105] Japan-exclusive 1987,[83] Barbie and the Sensations 1988,[106] Bandstand Beauty 1996,[107] 2002,[108] 2013[109])

Country Western singer (Country Western Star 1994,[110] Country Rose 1997,[111] Rising Star 1998,[112] 1999[113])

Jazz singer (2007[114])

Lounge singer (2006[115])

Pop singer (Pop Sensation 2002,[116] Pop Icon 2010,[117] Pop Star 2019[118])

TV news camerawoman (2018[119])

Business

Edit

Avon representative (1999[120])

Babysitter (accessories only 1963,[121] accessories only 1976,[122] 2010,[123] 2013,[124] 2014,[125] 2015[126])

Bake shop worker (Japan-exclusive 1998, 2006[83])

Business executive (clothing pack 1959,[127] Career Girl 1963, re-released 2006;[128][129] Day to Night 1985, re-released 2018;[130][131] 1992,[87] Working Woman 1999,[132] clothing pack 2020[133])

Café worker (playset 1998[134])

Candy and ice cream parlor worker (1988[135])

Cashier

McDonald's cashier (playset 1982,[136] playset 1994,[137] 2001[138])

Pizza Hut cashier (playset 2001[139])

See's Candies cashier (1999[140])

Supermarket cashier (playset 1992[141])

Chief Sustainability Officer (2022[142])

Coffee shop worker (2020[143])

Crepe shop worker (Japan-exclusive 1987[83])

Department store worker

Makeup department worker (playset only 1982[144])

Fashion department worker (playset only 1982[145])

Entrepreneur (2014[146])

Farmer (2018[147])

Chicken farmer (2019[148])

Florist (1999,[149] 2021[150])

Food truck operator (2020[151])

Grocery store worker (2018[152])

Hair stylist (2014,[153] 2015,[154] 2021[155])

Ice cream cart owner (1987[156])

Ice cream shop worker (1989,[157] playset 1998,[158] 2022[159])

Mary Kay consultant (2003[160])

Noodle bar worker (2020[161])

Outdoor beauty store worker (Canada-exclusive 1999, 2002[83])

Palmer's clothing store employee (Austria-exclusive 1996[162])

Pet boutique owner (2008[163])

Pet groomer (playset 1994,[164] 2013,[165] clothing pack 2020[166])

Restaurant owner (Japan-exclusive 1990,[83] 2021[167])

Shopkeeper (Pioneer Shopkeeper 1996[168])

Secretary (2007[169])

Snack stand worker (playset 1992[170])

Waitress (2006,[20] clothing pack 2012,[171] 2017[172])

Soda fountain waitress (Coca Cola Series 1998[173])

Education

Edit

Art teacher (2002,[174] 2007,[175] 2011,[176] clothing pack 2013,[177] 2020[178])

Ballet teacher (2007,[179] 2010,[180] 2017[181])

Cooking teacher (2010[182])

English language teacher (2017[183])

Music teacher (clothing pack 2012,[184] 2014,[185] 2019[186])

School teacher (India-exclusive 1991,[187] clothing pack 1993,[188] 2006,[20] My Favorite Career 2010,[189] 2019,[190] clothing pack 2021[191])

Elementary school teacher (1995,[192] 1997,[193] 2000,[194] 2007,[195] 2008,[196] 2010,[197] 2011,[198] 2012,[199] 2013,[200] 2015,[201] 2018[202])

Preschool teacher (playset 1997,[203] 2009,[204] I can be... Nursery School Teacher 2012[205])

Sign language teacher (1999[206])

Spanish language teacher (2000[207])

Student teacher (1965,[68] re-issued 2009[208])

Yoga teacher (2012[209])

Medicine

Edit

Animal rescuer (2016[210])

Arctic animal rescuer (2012[211])

Marine wildlife rescuer (2013[212])

Dentist (1997,[87] 2003,[213] 2010,[214] 2015,[215] 2019[216])

Doctor (1988,[217] 1993,[218] Spain-exclusive José Carreras Doctora Barbie 1995,[83] 1996,[219] 2010,[220] 2012,[221] 2013,[222] 2015,[223] 2019[224])

Eye doctor (2015,[225] 2017[226])

Nurse (1961,[227] re-issued 2009.[228] Civil War Nurse 1995,[229] 2006,[230] My Favorite Career 2010,[189] clothing pack 2011,[231] 2012,[232] 2014,[233] clothing pack 2015,[65] 2017[234])

Paramedic (2021[235])

Pediatrician (1995,[236] playset 1996,[237] Children's Doctor 2000,[238] Baby Doctor 2001,[239] Happy Family Baby Doctor 2003,[240] Play All Day Baby Doctor 2006,[241] I can be... Baby Doctor 2008,[242] I can be... Kid Doctor 2010,[243] I can be... Pediatric Doctor 2011,[244] 2013,[245] 2015,[246] 2016[247])

Surgeon (1973, re-released 2021[248])

Veterinarian (1985,[85] Brazil-exclusive 1992,[83] clothing pack 1993,[188] Pet Doctor 1996,[59]: 41  Pet Doctor 2005,[249] Play All Day Zoo Doctor 2006,[250] I can be... Zoo Doctor 2008,[251] I can be... Pony Doctor 2010,[252] I can be... Pet Vet 2012,[253] Panda Caretaker 2014,[254] Zoo Doctor 2015,[255] Farm Vet 2016,[256] 2021[257])

Military

Edit

Army medic (1993[87])

Paratrooper (2000[258])

United States Air Force pilot (1991,[59]: 32  2001[259])

United States Air Force Thunderbirds pilot (1993[260])

United States Army officer (1989,[261] Desert Storm 1992[262])

United States Marine Corps sergeant (1991[87])

United States Navy petty officer QM1 (1991[87])

Political

Edit

Campaign fundraiser (2020[263])

Campaign manager (2020[263])

UNICEF Ambassador (1989[1])

United States Presidential candidate (1992, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016[264])

Vice presidential candidate (2016[265])

Public service

Edit

Canadian Mountie (1987,[266] 2013[267])

Detective (1999,[268] 2014[269])

Firefighter (clothing pack 1993,[188] 1995,[87] clothing pack 2011,[270] 2015[271][272])

Judge (2019[273])

Lifeguard (Baywatch 1994,[274] 2011,[275] clothing pack 2014,[276] 2015,[277] 2021[278])

Park ranger (2020[279])

Police officer (1993,[87] clothing pack 2011[270])

Science and engineering

Edit

Architect (2010[280])

Astronaut (1965,[68] 1985,[281] 1994,[282] clothing pack 1997,[283] My Favorite Career 2010,[189] clothing pack 2012,[284] I can be... Mars Explorer 2013,[285] clothing pack 2014,[286] 2017[287])

Astrophysicist (2019, collaboration with National Geographic[288])

Chemist (2018[289][290])

Computer engineer (Computer Engineer Barbie, 2010), (accompanying book pulled by Mattel in 2014[291])

Conservation scientist (2022[142])

Entomologist (2019, collaboration with National Geographic[292][293])

Game developer (2016[294])

Marine biologist (clothing pack 2012[295])

Polar marine biologist (2019, collaboration with National Geographic[101])

Microbiologist (2022[296])

Renewable energy engineer (2022[142])

Robotics engineer (2018[297][298])

Paleontologist (1996,[219] 2012[299])

SeaWorld trainer (2009,[28] 2013[300])

Space scientist (2017[287])

Wildlife conservationist (2019, collaboration with National Geographic[101])

Zoologist (2021[301])

Sports and athletics

Edit

Aerobics instructor (1984[85])

Baseball player (1993,[302] 2018[303])

Major League Baseball player (1998[59]: 44 )

Basketball player (2018[304])

National Basketball Association player (1998[305][306])

Women's National Basketball Association player (1998[307])

Bowler (2000[308])

Boxer (2020[309])

Cheerleader (1963,[310] clothing pack 1964,[311] clothing pack 1992,[312] Coca-Cola Cheerleader 2000,[313] Pom Pom Divas 2006,[314] Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Barbie 2007,[315] 2010,[316] clothing pack 2011,[317] 2013,[318] 2014[319])

Equestrienne (1976,[320] clothing pack 2010[321])

Figure skater (1990,[322] 1996,[323] 2000,[324] clothing pack 2011,[325] 2012,[326] clothing pack 2014,[327] 2015,[328] clothing pack 2021[329])

Figure skating coach (2019[330])

Golfer (clothing pack 2018[331])

Gymnast (1993,[332] clothing pack 2011,[270] 2012,[333] 2015[334])

Gymnastics coach (2009,[335] 2013,[336] 2016,[337] 2019[338])

Hockey player (Tim Hortons 2020,[339] 2021[340])

Martial artist (clothing pack 2012,[341] 2017[342])

Matador (1999[343])

Olympic athlete

Olympic climber (2020[344])

Olympic figure skater (1975,[345] 1988,[346] 1997,[347] 2002[348])

Olympic gymnast (1974,[349] 1995[350])

Olympic karate (2020[344])

Olympic skateboarder (2020[344])

Olympic skier (1975[59]: 21 )

Olympic softball player (2020[344])

Olympic surfer (2020[344])

Olympic swimmer (1975, re-released 2021;[351][352] Australia-exclusive 1977,[83] 2000[353])

Rhythmic gymnast (2017[354])

Scuba diver (1994[59]: 37 )

Skateboarder (2017[355])

Skier (2011,[356] 2012[357])

Para alpine skier (2022[358])

Snowboarder (2012,[359] 2022[360])

Soccer coach (2019[361])

Soccer player (1998,[362] Italy-exclusive A.C. Milan/Inter Milan 1999,[363] 2011,[364] 2013,[365] 2014,[366] 2015,[367] 2022[368])

Swimmer (2012[369])

Swim teacher (2008[370])

Tennis coach (2017[371])

Tennis player (European Sports Star 1979,[372] clothing pack 1997,[373] 2012,[357] 2014,[374] 2020,[375] clothing pack 2022[376])

Track-and-field runner (2012[377])

Volleyball coach (2017[378])

Volleyball player, Aircraft engineer (2019[380]), Carriage driver (1998[381]), Flight attendant (American Airlines 1961–64,[382] Pan Am 1966,[383] United Airlines clothing pack 1973,[384] Japan-exclusive Japan Airlines 1997,[385] 2006,[386] My Favorite Career 2010,[189] clothing pack 2011,[270] 2012,[387] Virgin Atlantic 2019[380]), Pilot (Flight Time 1989,[388] India-exclusive Flight Time 1995,[83] 1997,[389] Airline Pilot 1999,[87] clothing pack 2011,[270] 2012,[390] 2014,[391] 2015,[392] 2019,[393][380] clothing pack 2021[394]), Race car driver (2010[395]), Formula One driver (Scuderia Ferrari 2000[396]), NASCAR driver (1998,[59]: 45  1999[397], Tour guide (Toy Story 2 Tour Guide Special Edition 1999[398]), African safari guide (clothing pack 1995[26]), Train conductor (Travel Train Fun 2001[399]), Train hostess (Travel Train Fun 2001[399]), Travel agent (playset 1986[400]), Bee keeper (2018[401]), Candy striper (clothing pack 1964[402]), Cat burglar (Barbie by Christian Louboutin 2009[403]), Construction worker (clothing pack 2020[404]), Cowgirl (1997,[405] 2004[406]), Dolphin trainer (2013[407]), Drum majorette (1964,[408] 2002[409]), Jillaroo (1993[410]), Magician (2013[411]), Maid (Japan-exclusive 1987,[83] 2006[412]), Spy (Mystery Squad 2002,[413] Spy Squad 2015[414]), Starfleet security officer (1996[415]), Superhero (Flying Hero 1995[416]), Ocean treasure explorer (2013[417]), Usher (2007[20]), Wild animal trainer (clothing pack 2010[418]),Wilderness guide (2021[419]), Zookeeper (2013[420])

Guy who hears about any career and says “oh like Barbie”

[lboogie1906]

Eva Marcille Sterling (née Pigford; October 30, 1984) is an actress, fashion model, and television personality. She started her career by winning the third cycle of America’s Next Top Model.

She was born in Los Angeles. She attended Clark Atlanta University, she left the school shortly after winning the third season of America’s Next Top Model at the age of 19. She married attorney Michael Sterling (2018), and the couple has two sons.

She has appeared on the cover of Brides Noir, Women’s Health and Fitness (May 2005), King (June 2005), IONA (November 2005), and Essence. Her other modeling credits include CoverGirl, DKNY, Samsung, Red by Marc Ecko, Jewel, In Touch Weekly (June 2005), King (November 2005), WeTheUrban, IONA, UNleashed, Star Magazine, Elle, Elle Girl, Apple Bottoms, Lerner Catalog, Avon Campaign 4 and Rolling Out.

She has guest-starred on several series on several Television shows. Her guest-star credits include two episodes of Kevin Hill, one episode of Smallville, one episode of Everybody Hates Chris, and one episode of The Game. She has appeared in Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.

She joined Season 10 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta as a friend of Nene Leakes and was promoted to a full-time cast member in 2018 for Season 11. She departed the series after two seasons in 2020. She is currently cast in All The Queen’s Men and The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.

In 2019 she founded cEVAd, a CBD oil company. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[garylancs]

Fourteen Lines

A Poetry Blog.

The 12th century Italian renaissance poet and scholar Francesco Petrarca is widely accepted to be the first poet to use the form, commonly known as The Petrarchan Sonnet. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/sonnet#:~:text=The%20Petrarchan%20sonnet%2C%20perfected%20by,sestet)%20rhyming%20CDCDCD%20or%20CDECDE.

Thomas Wyatt, an admirer of Petrarca, is credited with adopting the sonnet in England in the early 16th century, rhyming ABBA ABBA. The rhyme scheme of the sestet ( the final six lines of a fourteen line Petrarchan sonnet) varies: common variants are CDC CDC or CDE CDE. The ‘classic’ English or Shakespearean sonnet contains a sestet sub-divided into a third quatrain (typically EFEF) and a couplet, together this formed the classic three quatrains and a couplet. www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/shakespeareansonnet

The traditional sonnet is fourteen lines of iambic pentameter linked by an intricate rhyme scheme. Iambic pentameter refers to the poem’s rhythm; basically, each line of the poem has ten syllables, and every other syllable is stressed. 

 The traditional sonnet usually ends with a rhyming couplet such as.

“ So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

There are four primary types of sonnets:

Petrarchan Shakespearean Spenserian and Miltonic

Edmund Spenser was an English poet in Elizabethan times, he is considered one of the greatest poets in the English language. John Milton was an English poet and renowned intellectual, also on the Elizabethan era.

We have covered the Petrachan and Shakespearean sonnets earlier in this blog, if you wish to learn more about Spenser and Milton, please follow the embedded links. https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Biography_of_Edmund_Spenser.html?id=fUx_EAAAQBAJ#v=onepage&q=edmund% 

Images – Copyright WikiMedia.Com

Prior to the Elizabethan age, many sonnets revolved around religion and worship. Shakespeare dramatically changed this fashion, he wrote poetry about emotions such as lust, misogyny, and infidelity.

William Shakespeare, born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor. The prolific writer was active during the Elizabethan and Jacobean period. The period is also known as the English Renaissance or Early Modern Period. Shakespeare is arguably England’s most famous writer. https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/william-shakespeare-biography/

Wendy Cope OBE was born on the 21st of July 1945. Cope has currently had five collections of adult poetry published, as well as two collections of children’s poetry. Cope is one of the most acclaimed poets writing in English, though she writes traditional poetry she is perhaps best known as a ‘comic poet’. https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/wendy-cope

Image; Copyright ‘The Guardian’ 2016.

Let us look at two well known ‘past and present’ sonnets:  Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 22’ followed by Wendy Cope’s ‘On Sonnet 22’.

Sonnet 22 – William Shakespeare (1609).

My glass shall not persuade me I am old,

So long as youth and thou are of one date,

But when in thee time’s furrows I behold,

Then look I death my days should expiate.

For all that beauty that doth cover thee

Is but the seemly raiment of my heart,

Which in thy breast doth live, as thine in me;

How can I then be elder than thou art?

O, therefore, love, be of myself so wary

As I, not for myself, but for thee will,

Bearing thy heart, which I will keep so chary

As tender nurse her babe from faring ill.

      Presume not on thy heart when mine is slain;

      Thou gav’st me thine not to give back again.

On Sonnet 22- Wendy Cope (2018).

My glass can’t quite persuade me I am old-

In that respect my ageing eyes are kind-

But when I see a photograph, I’m told

The dismal truth: I’ve left my youth behind.

And when I try to get up from a chair

My knees remind me they are past their best.

The burden they have carried everywhere

I heavier now. No wonder they protest.

Arthritic fingers, problematic neck,

Sometimes causing mild to moderate pain,

Could well persuade me I’m an ancient wreck

But here’s what helps me to feel young again.

My love, who fell for me long ago,

Still loves me just as much, and tells me so.

‘Sonnet 22’ is written in iambic pentameter; the rhyme scheme conforms to the pattern ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

‘On Sonnet 22’ is written in the classic style of the Shakespearean sonnet, the rhyme scheme is identical to ‘Sonnet 22’, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

It is obvious that Cope’s sonnet is a homage to Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 22’. Both write about youth, love and the ageing process. Shakespeare is probably alluding to ‘the fair youth’, a young man who Shakespeare wrote several sonnets for. Sonnet 22 is quite a sombre sonnet, the writer warns that if the lover breaks the writer’s heart, then his heart will also be broken. Interestingly the line in which he warns of the broken hearts is known as a ‘Volta’, the Italian term for ’turn’. The volta signifies a turn of thought or argument in a sonnet. In the Petrarchan sonnet the volta commonly occurs between the octave and the sestet. In a Shakesperean sonnet it is normally before the finale couplet. The Volta was, and still is a commonly used literary device.

Unlike ‘Sonnet 22’ by Shakespeare, Wendy Cope employs a lighter, warmer tone with ‘On Sonnet 22’. The speaker is clearly talking about her own ageing process, she suggests she can convince herself she is ageing well in front of a mirror, however, when confronted with a photograph the truth hits home, talking about her physical health, her joints, the pain she suffers, calling herself ‘An ancient wreck’. The final couplet differs from Shakespeare’s couplet. The volta used in Sonnet 22 is absent in Cope’s sonnet, in ‘Sonnet 22’ the volta conveys a sad sentiment.

Cope ends ‘On Sonnet 22’ with a warm, self-satisfied couplet, congratulating herself that she is still in love, illustrated by the compliments of her partner. Cope has respected the original work, shown by retaining Shakespeare’s original rhyme scheme and style, Cope however has created a warmer emphasis.

[businessauthor123]

The Global Direct Selling Market Growth is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate between 2021 and 2026. In 2021, the market is seeing growth at a steady rate and with the rising adoption of strategies by key players, the market is expected to rise over the projected horizon.

But what is direct selling? It is a business model in which a company utilizes person-to-person interactions to sell products. Typically, the process involves an independent seller buying the goods from the parent company and then selling them to other individuals, sometimes recruiting them to also become independent sellers. Also, direct selling companies specialise in anything from wellness supplements and cosmetics to household items and fitness gear. Since 2015, the global retail sales from direct selling have increased from about 184 billion U.S. dollars to approximately 192 billion dollars in 2018. Direct selling companies specialising in wellness products make up a 33% share of sales in this industry, making it the largest direct selling product category (statistica.com).

Key trends

If we are to look at the leading player, the United States, the top direct selling companies are Amway, Avon, and Herbalife; each reporting revenue of at least four billion dollars in 2018. Of these three companies, Amway is the largest as it offers a broad range of products such as nutritional products, cosmetics and home goods making up the vast majority of the company's sales. The second largest company, Avon, specializes in makeup, fashion, and home goods. Avon has seen a decline in net sales since 2013, decreasing from about eight billion U.S. dollars to about five billion dollars in 2018. Herbalife primarily offers weight management and nutritional products, and reported net sales of approximately 4.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2019.

The recently-released 2020 Growth & Outlook survey by the Direct Selling Association reveals the following: 

Retail Sales Remain Steady: The direct selling channel generated $35.2 billion in retail sales in 2019. 

Consumer growth: Health and wellness products lead the channel in terms of size and growth with person-to-person sales as the most prevalent method of engaging with consumers.

Americans seeking entrepreneurial opportunities: There were 6.8 million direct sellers in 2019, a 9.9% increase from the prior year. 87% of direct sellers (5.9 million) are part-time. 

A survey conducted in April 2020 by Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights found that 55% of online consumers said they were ordering more online than they were before the virus hit, up from 26 percent in March. And 22% said in April they were ordering a lot more online, as opposed to only 6% in the March survey, states a report on .directsellingnews.com. It goes on add that there’s evidence that much of the increase in online shopping is from those purchasing online for the first time: ClearSale analyzed April 2020 e-commerce customer data from clients in five of its major markets: the U.S., Canada, Australia, Mexico and Argentina —all countries where some form of lockdowns were in effect. The analysis showed that across all five countries, the average number of brand-new online shoppers rose by 12% between March and April.

India’s status

As far as India is concerned, last year, the country recorded the highest year-on-year growth and CAGR over three years, in the top 20 Direct Selling markets around the world. According to a joint report by IDSA and data insight firm Kantar, the Indian direct selling industry has witnessed a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 16% and grown from Rs 8,308 crore in 2015-16 to Rs Rs 13,080 crore in 2018-19. In this, wellness tops the chart of leading segments in Direct Selling followed by cosmetics and personal care. The Indian Direct Selling Industry’s contribution to the exchequer stood at around Rs 2,500 crore in 2018-19, said the IDSA report (Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/indian-direct-selling-industry-records-usd-2-47-bn-sales-in-2019-ranks-15th-globally/articleshow/77055159.cms?from=mdr).

To conclude, direct selling is no doubt a thriving industry that continues to empower millions across the world. Given it’s several advantages and a rising interest among the marketing fraternity, the industry is most definitely on a growth curve.

[mediaevalmusereads]

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score. By Cat Sebastian. Avon, 2018.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genre: historical romance, LGBT+

Part of a Series? Yes, Seducing the Sedgwicks #2

Summary: Once beloved by London's fashionable elite, Hartley Sedgwick has become a recluse after a spate of salacious gossip exposed his most-private secrets. Rarely venturing from the house whose inheritance is a daily reminder of his downfall, he’s captivated by the exceedingly handsome man who seeks to rob him. Since retiring from the boxing ring, Sam Fox has made his pub, The Bell, into a haven for those in his Free Black community. But when his best friend Kate implores him to find and destroy a scandalously revealing painting of her, he agrees. Sam would do anything to protect those he loves, even if it means stealing from a wealthy gentleman. But when he encounters Hartley, he soon finds himself wanting to steal more than just a painting from the lovely, lonely man—he wants to steal his heart.

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: graphic sexual content, allusions to sexual abuse (off-page), graphic sexual content

Overview: I’m going to be honest - I picked up this book because it was available at my library. I didn’t necessarily go looking for it, but I saw that it was a queer interracial historical romance and I was sold. But then I remembered that I had a mixed response to Cat Sebastian’s writing, and as I made my way through this novel, some of the things that irked me before irked me yet again. This is not to say that the book is bad or does a disservice to queer, interracial romance; rather, Sebastian’s writing style and way of putting plots together just doesn’t jive with me, though your mileage may vary.

Writing: Sebastian’s prose is relatively straight-forward in this novel, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s about what one would expect in a romance novel, so I don’t begrudge it for catering to its audience. What I found exhausting, however, was that Sebastian seemed to want to tell more than show. There were multiple points throughout this novel where Sebastian would state something that I felt could have played out through the plot or could have been implied rather than spelled out. I also found that there were some details that seemed to be thrown in without much bearing on the plot or characterization. Personally, I would have liked to see Sebastian hold back a little more and let the reader figure out the world for themselves.

Plot: The non-romance plot of this book follows Sam Fox, a Black tavern-keeper who teams up with disgraced gentleman Hartley Sedgwick to recover a nude painting of his friend, Kate. The painting was completed at a time when Kate was financially desperate, and it was hung in the home of a baron who enjoyed salacious art. Hartley, the baron’s “godson,” is looking to exact revenge on the baron’s heir, and destroying the painting is just the way to do it.

What I liked about this plot was all the topics it brought up. The painting allowed Sam and Hartley to talk about things like exploitation, the illusion of choice and freedom when one is poor and desperate, the dimension that gender and race brought to conversations about power. I also liked that Sam got to talk about how he, as a Black man, could potentially bear the brunt of Harley’s recklessness should any of their schemes be uncovered, and how risking one’s life and liberty for revenge just wasn’t worth it.

However, I do wish Sebastian had structured her plot a little better to include more suspense and more of a sense of urgency. As it stands, the painting plot seems to come in when convenient and then disappear into the background. Characters will go weeks without advancing any plans, and when plans do arise, they’re a bit slap-dash and reckless. I would have preferred to see the plot be more sustained, and the individual “scenes” or tentpoles be used as ways of exploring character dynamics more effectively.

Characters: Sam, one of our heroes, is a free Black man and former boxer who lives in London and runs a tavern called the Bell. I really admired Sam’s generosity and the way he created community, primarily by actively making the Bell a space where people of all backgrounds (but especially Black folk) were safe. But as much as I liked Sam, I wish he had more of a goal or something he was striving towards other than a relationship. I personally like it when my protagonists have something they want, and in this novel, Sam didn’t seem like he wanted anything other than for his business to stay the same. He didn’t even seem totally invested in the painting plot, and I wish Sebastian had given him more character development that lasted the entire novel (not just a little bit at the end).

Hartley, our other hero, is a little more complex. He’s focused on vengeance and is a bit preoccupied with class and social standing, but as the plot progresses, he has to learn to see the people around him (not the ton) as part of his social circle. I liked that Hartley had a lot to learn and had to weigh what mattered most to him; I also liked that characters felt free to call him out for his reclusive behavior, and he was generous and kind to people who society would normally shun.

Supporting characters were fun primarily because they constituted a kind of “found family.” While both Sam and Hartley have brothers who love them, they both also have friends and employees who create a little world into which they can escape when the ridiculousness of society becomes too much. There’s Alf and Sadie, Hartley’s servants who are unafraid to talk back to Hartley and who continue to be loyal despite their employer’s reputation. There’s also Kate, who couldn’t care less about who people wanted to love and who acts as a midwife to the Black community in London. I even enjoyed the nameless patrons, who don’t seem to be part of the story but who prove themselves to be part of the community when Sam is in need.

But not all supporting characters felt well-used. The constable, for example, seemed to pop in when convenient, and Martin (the baron’s heir) was complex but not present in a way I would have liked. I think in these cases, Sebastian tried to include too much, and as I stated earlier, I would have liked to see her hold back a little more.

Romance: Sam and Hartley’s romance is satisfying in that it’s a beautiful example of boundaries and consent. Hartley is reluctant to have penetrative sex with Sam because Hartley was previously sexually abused by his godfather. Though he says he did so willingly, the truth is that Hartley “allowed” the baron to use his body in exchange for money and influence, which Hartley used to support his brothers. As a result, Hartley doesn’t like to be touched, and knowing this, Sam is incredibly patient and never loses his head in the throes of passion. Sam is always asking for consent or letting Hartley take the lead, and he never becomes frustrated or wishes Hartley was different.

That being said, I wish Sebastian had given us a little more reason to believe Sam was falling in love with Hartley. I understood why Hartley loved Sam, but other than physical attraction, I don’t think I understood why Sam fell for Hartley. Also, I wish their relationship had developed more in tandem with the non-romance plot; as it stands, the book kind of meanders, and there wasn’t a strong sense of progression. As a result, I felt a little adrift, and I would have liked to see more of an arc.

TL;DR: A Gentleman Never Keeps Score features some lovely characters with a delightful found family. Though I personally wish there was some stronger character development and a more structured plot, readers might find this romance refreshing for its focus on consent, the frank discussions of race and class, and the question of “free choice” and exploitation when one is desperate.

[a-room-of-my-own]

En ce 17 juin 2021, partout, les masques tombent. Pas seulement ceux censés nous prémunir contre la pandémie de Covid, et que nous portons de manière discontinue depuis plus d'un an, mais également ceux qui entourent le juteux petit business de la lutte contre les discriminations, porté par de gentilles et inclusives businesswomen, qui seraient bien en peine de voir le motif de leurs affaires disparaître. Ainsi, pour prospérer dans l'antiracisme, il est nécessaire de voir le racisme perdurer, mais également de le débusquer là où il ne se trouve pas et d'assigner les personnes autoproclamées «racisées» à résidence identitaire, faisant de leur couleur de peau une sorte d'état civil. Il en est de même dans la lutte contre le sexisme ou contre l'homophobie et l'ensemble des atteintes visant des catégories déterminées.

Ainsi, qu'elle ne fut pas, hier, la surprise de nombreuses et candides bonnes âmes de la gauche en apprenant, via nos confrères de Marianne, qu'Assa Traoré, dont le combat pour rétablir sa vérité, davantage que la vérité, concernant la mort de son frère Adama, survenue lors d'une arrestation mouvementée, venait de signer un partenariat avec la marque de chaussures de luxe Louboutin. Rappelons que l'entreprise française est aujourd'hui valorisée au-delà des 2 milliards d'euros, depuis l'entrée de la famille Agnelli dans son capital, via sa holding Exor, en début d'année. Bien entendu, notre pasionaria, en lutte contre le racisme d'État et les violences policières, précise que les fruits de cette collusion baroque avec un mastodonte capitaliste, désormais allié à un groupe rarement célébré pour son souci de la justice sociale, seront intégralement versés à des associations de lutte «contre les violences policières, le racisme, la discrimination», comme le rappelle Marianne. Dont acte. Ce serait donc maintenant les multinationales qui porteraient haut et fort le combat contre les discriminations, sans aucune arrière-pensée commerciale, comme on peut bien l'imaginer. Parfait. On attend néanmoins de voir les représentants de Nike, BMW, ou encore Mastercard, brandir leurs pancartes contre les inégalités sociales et le capitalisme dans un cortège du NPA, ainsi la boucle serait bouclée. Nous y reviendrons.

Tous les combats sont bons, surtout quand ils font fructifier la notoriété et accessoirement le portefeuille.

Benjamin Sire

Cette manœuvre de rapprochement entre le marketing, l'appât du gain et les combats identitaires n'est pas nouvelle, mais franchit chaque jour de cocasses pas supplémentaires. On ne résiste pas au plaisir de rappeler les mésaventures de Patrisse Cullors, cofondatrice de Black Lives Matter, portant son marxisme en bandoulière comme d'autres un sac Louis Vuitton, récemment épinglée pour s'être offert une maison de luxe dans un quartier résidentiel blanc de Los Angeles, lui permettant de fuir le voisinage de ses frères et sœurs de couleur. Dans le même registre on pense inévitablement à la chanteuse Yseult, à la pointe des combats mentionnés plus haut, menés depuis son nouvel exil fiscal belge, qui, mécontente d'un portrait brossé par le quotidien Le Monde, a fait republier le papier, transformé en véritable publirédactionnel, par un média ami, avant de lancer une campagne de harcèlement numérique contre la pauvre journaliste Jane Roussel, auteur de l'article. Il faut dire que le papier incriminé ne manquait pas de mettre en exergue la fascination de la diva pour le business, son ego surdimensionné, et sa manière peu amène de considérer ses interlocuteurs. Toujours dans le même esprit, nous convoquerons aussi ici la délicieuse Camélia Jordana, qui nous parlait il y a peu «des hommes et des femmes qui vont travailler tous les matins en banlieue et qui se font massacrer pour nulle autre raison que leur couleur de peau», dont le sens du timing frôle la perfection, chacune de ses saillies militantes correspondant aux périodes où elle doit promouvoir un film ou un disque, quand ce n'est pas les deux à la fois. Rappelons néanmoins que notre damnée de la terre en lutte contre toutes les injustices ignore totalement à la fois le racisme, qu'elle n'a jamais subi, tout autant que les cités, dont sa bourgeoise origine lui a fait éviter la fréquentation.

Peut-être également fait mention de l'inénarrable Rokhaya Diallo, fashion victim élevée au grain de l'International Visitor leadership américain, dont la dénonciation du racisme et de la domination blanche au gré de sorties parfois baroques, lui permet d'assurer un joli train de vie grâce à sa présence continue sur les radios et télévisions de l'état raciste français, où elle dispense quotidiennement sa parole comme le plus parfait des dominants qu'elle dénonce. Il en est de même de bien de ses camarades entretenus par la méchante fonction publique française où, depuis leurs chaires universitaires en sociologie ou études de genres, ils peuvent diffuser à foison leur haine de leur pays. On ne se refait pas. Tous les combats sont bons, surtout quand ils font fructifier la notoriété et accessoirement le portefeuille.

Le libéralisme économique voit dans la diversité l'occasion d'ouvrir autant de niches marketing qu'il existe de catégories à promouvoir. Nous en avons eu les premiers exemples avec le développement de la mode islamiste et les burkinis siglés Nike.

Benjamin Sire

Mais tout cela est presque bon enfant au regard des activités de la papesse du mélange des genres que représente la militante «féministe» Caroline de Haas. L'ancienne secrétaire générale de l'UNEF (de 2006 à 2009), peu soucieuse à cette époque des affaires de harcèlement sexuel qui secouaient le syndicat étudiant de gauche, s'est lancée à corps perdu dans le business de la lutte contre les violences sexistes. Après avoir participé à la fondation de l'association Osez le féminisme, dont les combats à géométrie variable ne laissent de surprendre, elle a lancé en 2018 le collectif #NousToutes, lui-même centré sur les mêmes sujets, avant de franchir le pas entrepreneurial avec la création de la société Egaé, dont les activités et méthodes douteuses ont été dénoncées la semaine dernière dans une enquête d'Eugénie Bastié pour Le Figaro , également détaillées dans la dernière livraison de l'hebdomadaire Le Point. Chargée de proposer des audits, des formations et des procédures de signalement sur les violences sexistes à destination des entreprises et institutions, notre chevalier blanc de la dénonciation du patriarcat, dont l'absence de compétence et de qualification dans les domaines, notamment juridiques, qu'elle traite, fait froid dans le dos, a vu le chiffre d'affaires de sa société tripler entre 2015 et 2019, dépassant les 600.000 euros. Pour arriver à ses fins, nous apprend Le Point, Caroline de Haas, outre d'encourager ses clients à pratiquer la délation, le plus souvent fondée sur de simples rumeurs ou une volonté de nuire par inimitiés, mène des enquêtes à charge offrant de nombreux biais méthodologiques, fait disparaître les témoignages n'allant pas dans le sens souhaité, quand elle ne les bidouille pas intégralement de manière à leur donner un sens différent de celui envisagé par son auteur, bafouant au passage les règles élémentaires de la défense. Dans ce registre, l'affaire Emmanuel Tellier, du nom de ce journaliste de Télérama licencié «sans cause réelle et solide», selon un jugement du conseil de prud'hommes en date du 22 avril, par le magazine culturel, après une «enquête» de Egaé, est exemplaire. Bien décidé à laver son honneur, le journaliste s'est engagé dans une guerre sans merci contre l'entrepreneuse militante, dont le besoin de débusquer le maximum de violences sexistes, même imaginaires, est une nécessité impérieuse pour voir son chiffre d'affaires continuer à prospérer.

Tout cela pourrait être risible et anecdotique si cela ne mettait pas en valeur une tendance de fond, qui voit se rejoindre pour le meilleur et pour le fric, deux pendants d'un libéralisme que tout devrait pourtant opposer politiquement, à savoir le libéralisme sociétal, fondé sur la défense et mise en avant des identités, cher à la gauche américaine qui l'exporte partout, et le libéralisme économique qui voit dans la diversité l'occasion d'ouvrir autant de niches marketing qu'il existe de catégories à promouvoir. Nous en avons eu les premiers exemples avec le développement de la mode islamiste et les burkinis siglés Nike, entreprise dont on rappelle qu'elle ne possède aucune usine aux États-Unis et doit son succès à l'externationalisation de ses productions dans des pays comme le Vietnam ou la Thaïlande, où la main-d’œuvre ne bénéficie d'aucune protection sociale et s'affaire pour des salaires qui frôlent l'esclavage. Soyons inclusifs, mais ne regardons pas de trop près les conditions de travail des petits enfants asiatiques, pourvu que nous œuvrions pour la bonne cause.

Au cours des 30 dernières années, les pays comme la France, les États-Unis, le Royaume-Uni et le Canada sont devenus de plus en plus inégalitaires, économiquement parlant. Et plus ils sont devenus inégalitaires, plus ils se sont attachés à la diversité.

Walter Benn Michaels

Ce phénomène avait été dénoncé pour la première fois par l'universitaire marxiste de l'Université de Chicago, Walter Benn Michaels, dans son livre La diversité contre l'égalité, qui avait fait grand bruit à sa sortie en 2006. Ainsi, selon ce professeur de lettres, «Au cours des 30 dernières années, les pays comme la France, les États-Unis, le Royaume-Uni et le Canada sont devenus de plus en plus inégalitaires, économiquement parlant. Et plus ils sont devenus inégalitaires, plus ils se sont attachés à la diversité. […] Je pense que les gens se sont de plus en plus attachés à un modèle libéral de justice, dans lequel la discrimination — racisme, sexisme, homophobie, etc. — est le pire de tous les maux. Si ça marche, c'est à la fois parce que c'est vrai — la discrimination est évidemment une mauvaise chose — et parce que ça ne mange pas de pain— le capitalisme n'a pas besoin de la discrimination. Ce dont le capitalisme a besoin, c'est de l'exploitation», donc de nouvelles niches, comme il le confiait en 2009 à Bénédicte Charles dans Marianne. Il ajoutait, décrivant parfaitement la tendance observée: «Si vous prenez les 10 % de gens les plus riches (ceux qui ont en fait tiré le plus de bénéfices de l'explosion néolibérale des inégalités) et que vous vous assurez qu'une proportion correcte d'entre eux sont noirs, musulmans, femmes ou gays, vous n'avez pas généré plus d'égalité sociale. Vous avez juste créé une société dans laquelle ceux qui tirent avantage des inégalités ne sont pas tous de la même couleur ou du même sexe. Le patron de Pepsi a déclaré dans le New York Times il y a peu: "La diversité permet à notre entreprise d'enrichir les actionnaires"». Quelques mois plus tard, dans une conférence parisienne donnée à la Fondation Jean-Jaurès, à laquelle nous assistions, il rappelait que, si les quatre plus grandes universités américaines n'avaient jamais eu dans leurs rangs autant d'étudiants issus de la diversité, la très grande majorité des familles des élèves inscrits dans ces institutions revendiquaient plus de 200.000 dollars de revenus annuels, alors que dans les années 60, près d'un quart des étudiants en question provenait de familles modestes ayant réussi à monter dans l'ascenseur social figuré par l'american way of life. Édifiant.

Alors, la diversité contre l'égalité, vraiment? Si le fait que les entreprises se soucient de questions sociales et investissent dans l'engagement et la RSE est sans doute une très bonne chose et peut permettre de prendre le relais d'États souvent peu agiles en la matière, cela ouvre aussi la porte à l'exposition de tous les cynismes dont le marketing a le secret, mais également à la confusion voyant des entrepreneurs identitaires se servir de leur caution militante à leur seul profit, ayant besoin de voir les discriminations proliférer et toucher des domaines en lesquels leur présence n'est pas évidente pour entretenir leur pactole grâce à la candeur de bonnes âmes réellement concernées par les injustices

[blackswaneuroparedux]

During the past few weeks, I felt sometimes that the Suez canal was flowing through my drawing room. 

- Clarissa Eden (née Spencer-Churchill), Countess of Avon

Clarissa Eden, born 28 June 1920, is the widow of Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (1897–1977), who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955–1957.

Lady Eden is the daughter of Major Jack Spencer-Churchill (1880–1947), the younger brother of Winston Churchill, by his marriage to Lady Gwendoline ("Goonie") Bertie (1885–1941), a daughter of the 7th Earl of Abingdon, who had been married in 1908. She is thus a niece of Sir Winston Churchill. Her paternal great-grandfather was the 7th Duke of Marlborough, and her maternal great-great-grandfather the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry,  half-brother of the 2nd Marquess, who, as Viscount Castlereagh was Foreign Secretary during the Congress of Vienna of 1815 that followed the Napoleonic Wars.

Clarissa Spencer-Churchill was born at her parents' house in the Cromwell Road, Kensington, London. She was educated at Kensington Preparatory School and then at Downham School, Hatfield Heath, a "fashionable boarding school ... orientated to horses". Seventy years later she said she had also felt the need to get away from home—"I just wanted to get out from under the whole thing of being loved too much".

In 1937 Clarissa studied art in Paris. Her mother had asked the British Ambassador, Sir George Clerk, to keep a watchful eye on her, an unintended consequence of this being that she was taken under the wing of an Embassy press secretary who, with his wife, introduced her to a round of café society parties. Among the friends she made in Paris were the monocled Fitzroy Maclean, a future politician and adventurer who was then third secretary at the embassy, and the writer Marthe Bibesco. Together with two female contemporaries, she made a visit to the Folies Bergère, an unusual destination for 16-year-old girls, where the singer Josephine Baker, clad only in a circlet of bananas, became the first naked female body she had ever seen.

In the summer of 1937 Clarissa accompanied Julian Asquith (grandson of the Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith) and his mother, Katherine, on a tour, mainly by third class rail, across the Apennines in the Tuscany region of Italy. Among other artistic treasures, she saw for the first time the 15th century frescos by Piero della Francesca at Arezzo, one of which, "The Queen of Sheba Adoring the Holy Wood" (c.1452), she nominated in 2010 as her favourite painting: "in an age of violence he went on painting clearly and calmly".

When Clarissa returned to London she enrolled at the Slade School of Fine Art. Around this time she displayed her individualism by acquiring a specially tailored trouser suit along the lines of those associated with the actress Marlene Dietrich after the latter's appearance in the film, Morocco (1930).

1938 was the future Lady Avon's "coming out" year and she was regarded as "one of the more notable débutantes" in a "vintage year for beautiful girls", but, having mixed with older and more sophisticated people in Paris, she seems to have disdained the circuit—since described by Anne de Courcy as "more or less naive seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds suddenly flung into a round of gaities"—and was never presented at Court.

Another débutante of 1938, Deborah Mitford, later Duchess of Devonshire, recalled Clarissa Spencer-Churchill as exhibiting "more than a whiff of Garbo in a dress by Maggy Rouff of Paris”.

Among those with whom Clarissa danced at that year's Liberal Ball was the future double agent Donald Maclean, who complained that she was too smart to be "a proper Liberal girl like the Bonham-Carters or the Asquiths". She also knew Guy Burgess, who fled to Russia in 1951 when he and Maclean were about to be unmasked as traitors.

A 2015 biography of Burgess, a homosexual, contained claims that, encouraged by his Soviet "handlers", he had contemplated marriage to Clarissa. However, the latter, then aged 95, denied that they had been close. She described Burgess as "courteous, amusing, nice and good company", but said that he had been "standoffish" towards her and did not wish any friendship to develop.

In 1940, encouraged by economist Roy Harrod, Clarissa went to Oxford to study philosophy, although not as an undergraduate because of her lack of qualifications. While there she became associated with, among other leading academics, Isaiah Berlin and Maurice Bowra. Lady Antonia Fraser, whose father, later Lord Longford, was a Fellow of Christ Church, has described her as "the don's delight". For a short while she was tutored by A. J. Ayer, a future Wykeham Professor of Logic known for his libidinous lifestyle, although his womanising was not apparently extended to her.

When Clarissa moved back to London, she decoded ciphers in the Communications Department of the Foreign Office, where her future husband was the Secretary of State from 1940 to 1945.

Clarissa married Anthony Eden in 1952, becoming Lady Eden in 1954 when he was made a Knight of the Garter, and then becoming Countess of Avon in 1961 on her husband's being created an earl. 

Her memoir, sub-titled From Churchill to Eden, was published in 2007 under the name of Clarissa Eden.

Since the death of Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx on 6 June 2018, Lady Avon is the oldest living spouse of a British Prime Minister. 

**Portrait by Cecil Beaton

[yushomag]

https://yusho.fr/

En regardant en arrière sur la tendance des rues d'Harajuku, on enquête sur ce qui était à la mode dans les environs de ce quartier. 

Cette année, avec l'essor du renouveau des années 90 en arrière-plan, les articles à la mode de l'époque ont été adoptés et les styles arrangés cette année, et les articles qui avaient à la fois design et fonctionnalité ont été pris en charge. Voici sept éléments qui ont été sélectionnés par des chasseurs de mode actifs et symbolisent la mode de rue de cette année, à partir de shoots pris cette année.

  Classique indémodable: Air Force 1

Plus de gens portent le classique de la rue «Air Force 1» que d'habitude. Le design simple mais volumineux est facile à assortir avec une variété de coordinations, et cette année a attiré beaucoup d'attention, en particulier avec les modèles de collaboration avec de nombreuses marques. Parmi les trois types de coupe basse, coupe moyenne et coupe haute, la White Air Force 1 avec coupe basse était populaire quel que soit le sexe.

Influence des couturiers: le sac PVC

À Harajuku, les sacs en filet étaient populaires dans le passé, mais cette année, les sacs transparents en PVC tels que A5 de "nana-nana" et shopper transparent de "CELINE" sont populaires. Il y avait beaucoup de gens dans la rue qui ont unifié la couleur de leurs affaires dans des sacs et attaché des imprimés personnalisés et des boîtes de personnages d'anime.

Nature x Rue: Gilet de Pêche

Le nombre de jeunes qui utilisent des gilets de pêche utilisés par les pêcheurs comme articles de mode a augmenté à Harajuku. Il a surtout attiré l'attention des hommes en raison de ses nombreuses poches et de sa capacité à sortir sans sac. Le mélange avec des chemises pour hommes et des robes pour femmes est un style moderne.

L'élément Japonais: Hoka One One

À l'arrière-plan des «baskets profondes» et autres «flèches à fond épais», la marque de chaussures de course «HOKA ONE ONE» dotée d'une semelle intermédiaire volumineuse gagne le soutien de la couche mode depuis ce printemps. En particulier, la couleur noire de la série "BONDI" semble avoir été en rupture de stock dans certains magasins sélectionnés . La série Bondi lancera un nouveau modèle en août . En octobre, nous avons découverts le deuxième modèle de collaboration avec la marque de mode «ENGINEERED GARMENTS» .

L'hiver en été: la Doudoune

Les vestes en duvet ont une image bâclée ou bosselée, mais ces dernières années, le nombre de modèles adaptés à une utilisation en ville a augmenté et a attiré l'attention dans les rues. Cette année, des doudounes ont été développées à partir de grandes marques, de nombreuses marques de doudounes à l'étranger ont débarqué au Japon et la marque de doudoune «FIRST DOWN», qui dominait dans les années 1990, a été relancée . C'était une année avec beaucoup de discussions sur les vestes en duvet.

Streetwear au look pro: Blazer Croisé

Les silhouettes lâches ont dominées tendance ces dernières années, mais les rues récentes ont augmenté l'utilisation de vestes et d'un peu plus de vêtements. En ce qui concerne les vestes, le type unique était la norme, mais ces dernières années, les tendances masculines reviennent aux classiques, de sorte que les costumes doubles et trois pièces attirent à nouveau l'attention. Le style coordonné de cette année consiste à sélectionner un modèle légèrement surdimensionné et à serrer la taille avec un sac ou une ceinture.

Bottes Hautes: retour innatendu

Des bottes hauteur genou sont apparues de nombreuses marques au cours de la saison automne / hiver 2018. En plus du boom dans les années 90, la retraite de la chanteuse Namie Amuro qui balayait la scène de la mode à l'époque avec "Amla Fashion" semble avoir influencé. Dans les rues de Harajuku, outre les cuissardes, qui ont une longueur jusqu'aux cuisses, gagnent également en popularité.

Pour conclure dans ce Throwback 2018 des modes à Harajuku, on peut dire que ça fait du bien. En effet, fortement marqué par le mélange streetwear et habillé, on  a pu remarquer que les modes passées ont eu beaucoup d'influence sur les designs de l'année 2019, et va sûrement rebondir sur cette année 2020. 

Vous voulez d'autres articles du genre ? Faites le nous savoir avec l'année qui vous a  le plus marqué dans le fashion dans les commentaires.

https://yusho.fr/

[adavis0493]

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[juleswolverton-hyde]

Profile of a Raven (About Me Tag)

Top o’ the morning, lads and lasses,

It would seem it is time for another round of trivia about yours truly because, for some reason, you still do not know enough about a wee birdy. Regardless, I thank @xpastelgrungeheartx for tagging me, thus letting me do this.

Rules: 

1. Tag the person who tagged you

2. Answer the questions

3. Tag 10 people 

How tall are you? 162cm/5′3 (Yes, I am short. I bloody know that!)

What colour and style is your hair? Light brown streaked with grey/greyish brown at armpit length (according to this chart). Currently in the transition back to blonde. It has a completely free will of its own, but it is either voluminous with subtle curls or, on days it feels like pestering me, it looks like an untamable bird’s nest.

What colour are your eyes? It is hard to pinpoint since it seems to change all the time. Overall tones are brown, green, amber and bronze.

Do you wear glasses? Yes, I do. Not always since I tend to forget them, but most of the time I wear them. 

Do you wear braces? Thank God I do not anymore. Had them for nigh on three years.

What’s your fashion sense? This is as fluctuating as the colour of my eyes though it seems to range from British office chic to motor biker cool.

Full name? Julia, that is all you are going to get from me.

When were you born? February 20th 1999

Where are you from and where do you live now? Holland, still stuck there but hoping to emigrate to Ireland or Scotland one day.

What school do you go to? University

What kind of student are you? The one who adores the literature courses and despises linguistics, who has to push herself to actually do something academic and thus continuously thinks about quitting altogether in favour of working fulltime and travelling unlimited.

Do you enjoy school? Not really, since I prefer having the world as my teacher rather than a classroom environment. The former teaches me more valuable lessons, in personal opinion.

Favourite subject(s)? In high school, it was English. Mostly because the teacher left me to my own devices, thus granting me an hour to sit down with a good book.

Favourite TV show? Game of Thrones, The Great British Bake-Off, Sherlock 

Favourite Movie? The Wolf Man (2010) or Venom (2018)

Favourite Books? Dan Brown’s Inferno, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey, Herman Hesse’s Demian, Han Kang’s The White Book and Beth Lewis’s The Wolf Road.

Favourite pastime? Reading, writing, listening to music and travelling.

Do you have any regrets? Who does not?

Dream Job? Full-time author

Would you ever want to get married? No, I do not particularly see the point of it.

Would you like to have kids? No.

How many? See the statement above.

Do you like shopping? Book shopping? Absolutely! Online shopping on AliExpress? More than I would like to admit.

However, offline, I do not. Aside from book shopping, of course, because bookshops are a god’s gift to humankind people should appreciate more.

What countries have you visited? South-Korea (2x, Seoul, Busan, Daegu), Indonesia (Java & Bali), Hungary (Budapest), Czech Republic (Prague), Scotland (Edinburgh & Glasgow), Northern Ireland (Belfast), The Republic of Ireland (Dublin, Howth, Dalkey, Malahide, Killney), England (Birmingham, Manchester, London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Coventry, Nottingham, Oxford), Italy (Florence, Verona, San Gimignano, Sienna, Volterra), France (Paris and cities along the Cote d’Azur, Bordeaux).

Scariest Nightmare you’ve ever had? Not any I can remember, though they mostly have to do with death.

Any enemies? Ah dinnae ken.

Any significant others? Nope, and I can’t say I mind.

Do you believe in miracles? Depends on the circumstances though, generally, I do not.

How are you? A wee bit relieved because I passed my linguistics course for this block yet also stressed because of today’s exam. 

Stress outside of university looms around the corner in the form of going to try to get tickets for Stray Kids in Brixton next month (I will be in London regardless on a holiday). Here’s to hoping I can get VIP or at least a good seat.

Other than that, classically concerned all the bloody while when writing and when not on top of planning to indie publish soon. 

And that is it for this round of trivia, which paints a pretty good image of the face behind the pen for both old and new souls around here.

In any case, those who want to do this are tagged. However, in particular, I tag: @peaches-of-1, @namjoonchronicles, @ravenwolf-jin, @kwrittink & @analovegirl

Forever yours,

The Red Raven

[lboogie1906]

Eva Marcille Sterling (née Pigford; born October 30, 1984) is an actress, fashion model, and television personality. She started her career by winning the third cycle of America's Next Top Model. She was born in Los Angeles. She attended Clark Atlanta University; however, she left the school shortly after winning the third season of America's Next Top Model at the age of 19. She married attorney Michael Sterling (2018), and the couple has two sons. She has appeared on the cover of Brides Noir, Women's Health and Fitness (May 2005), King (June 2005), IONA (November 2005), and Essence. Her other modeling credits include CoverGirl, DKNY, Samsung, Red by Marc Ecko, Jewel, In Touch Weekly (June 2005), King (November 2005), WeTheUrban, IONA, UNleashed, Star Magazine, Elle, Elle Girl, Apple Bottoms, Lerner Catalog, Avon Campaign 4 and Rolling Out. She has guest-starred on several series on several Television shows. Her guest-star credits include two episodes of Kevin Hill, one episode of Smallville, one episode of Everybody Hates Chris, and one episode of The Game. She has appeared in Tyler Perry's House of Payne. She joined Season 10 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta as a friend of Nene Leakes and was promoted to a full-time cast member in 2018 for season 11. She departed the series after two seasons in 2020. She is currently cast in All The Queen's Men and The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. In 2019 she founded cEVAd, a CBD oil company. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CkWDomVLdGp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 26 November 2018

Quick Bits:

Action Comics #1005 gives us a reappearance of The Question and a HERO Dial--possibly counterfeit, possibly just doesn’t work for villains--amidst an advancement of the underground mob arc, a surprising “conclusion” to the arson case, and a revelation of who the Red Cloud is. Although there are many spinning plates, and a decided lack of conclusion to most of the arcs, I actually quite like how Brian Michael Bendis is crafting this story. You could argue that it’s decompressed, but it feels a bit like old school superhero soap opera, and that feel really works for Superman. It’s also aided immensely by the gorgeous artwork from Ryan Sook and Brad Anderson.

| Published by DC Comics

Amazing Spider-Man #10 concludes the “Heist” arc in a fairly impressive manner. Nick Spencer really seems to get Spider-Man, Mary Jane, and their world and is delivering some great character moments here, with great heart and humour. Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, Edgar Delgado, Michele Bandini, and Erick Arciniega also do a wonderful job with the art.

| Published by Marvel

Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth #1 concludes the “Drowned Earth” event in fairly epic fashion from Scott Snyder, Francis Manapul, Howard Porter, Scott Godlewski, Hi-Fi, and Tom Napolitano. While this even is definitely a vehicle to move Aquaman to his new status quo for incoming Kelly Sue DeConnick, it’s also been a great story in its own right. Building on Aquaman and Justice League mythology, while also advancing the Legion of Doom and Totality story for the main Justice League book. Also, Super-Pirate should continue as one of Superman’s looks.

| Published by DC Comics

Archie 1941 #3 explores bits of basic training with Archie getting into the usually kind of hijinks that he would and the problems back on the homefront with those left behind. I really like how this series is coming together, looking at some of the basic personal fallout from the war. Also, Peter Krause and Kelly Fitzpatrick’s art remains a huge boon to this series.

| Published by Archie Comics

Barbarella #12 brings Mike Carey and Kenan Yarar’s run on the series to a close, with a kind of retrospective as one of Barbarella’s early antagonists attempts to exact revenge. Very nice guest piece illustrated by Jorge Fornés and Celeste Woods. This has been a fun and entertaining series, definitely feeling like some of the stranger sci-fi that you see out of Europe. 

| Published by Dynamite

Batgirl #29 has some great art from Paul Pelletier, Norm Rapmund, and Jordie Bellaire for this conclusion to “The Art of the Crime”. Also some very interesting development in the status of the Dark Web and Grotesque.

| Published by DC Comics

Beyonders #4 takes a different approach to the material that the team already has, leading them to a new location wherein they hope to save the world and unravel the mystery. The light humour adds a nice touch to the otherwise dense subject matter.

| Published by AfterShock

Black Panther #6 gives some much needed backstory, focusing on the Emperor, his rise to power, and his connection to the Wakandan pantheon. Very interesting implications to both where the gods went and in the Emperor being a host for a symbiote. Beautiful guest art from Jen Bartel, Paul Reinwand, and Tríona Farrell.

| Published by Marvel

Coda #7 has some pretty big revelations as Hum & Co. confront the Pilot, and his schemes to “fix” his wife look like they’re baring fruit. Si Spurrier and Matías Bergara really are creating something epic here.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Daredevil #612 concludes “The Death of Daredevil” from Charles Soule, Phil Noto, and Clayton Cowles and with it Soule’s run on the title. It’s good, with some nice character bits and twists for this final chapter.

| Published by Marvel

Die!Die!Die! #5 burns Bethany and Theodore as “Paul” turns on them for his side of the battling senators, even as John confronts his side alerting them to something nefarious being afoot. This is still mostly an insane action book, but at least there is something resembling an overarching plot and direction developing. 

| Published by Image / Skybound

Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror #2 gives us an entertaining and somewhat strange adaptation of Poe’s Ligeia from Rachel Pollack, Rick Geary, and Michael Garland. Also a very different take on Jules Verne from Stuart Moore, Ryan Kelly, Rico Renzi, and Rob Steen. This issue is rounded out by a poem, another prose piece, and a wonderful new Black Cat short from Hunt Emerson.

| Published by Ahoy

Faith: Dreamside #3 takes Doctor Mirage and Faith into the deadside where they’re searching for Monica Jim’s soul. Very interesting landscapes and characters from MJ Kim and Jordie Bellaire, capturing the oddity of what’s going on in the story.

| Published by Valiant

The Flash #59 continues the “Force Quest” arc with a cursory investigation of the slaughter of Gorilla City. We don’t really get any answers there, but there is a broader bit of information about the four forces as a means to protect the multiverse. Also we learn just how bloody that Gemini are willing to get. The avatar of the forces motif that Joshua Williamson is bringing in is very reminiscent of the rainbow-coloured Lanterns of Geoff Johns and of the various Parliaments (and the Red and the Rot) in Swamp Thing and Animal Man, but it’s interesting to see where he’s going with this.

| Published by DC Comics

Hellboy and the BPRD: 1956 #1 begins the next chapter in the BPRD’s history, with change definitely coming as they begin operating under the government’s purview and start having more overt bureaucracy and demands on results. You can definitely see that change in the feeling of alienation that Hellboy’s having from his friends and family as he tries to deal with the loss of his dog. Interesting decision to have different plotlines illustrated by different artists, it kind of echoes the previous breakdown of the series’ stories as discrete units, but now under one umbrella much like the changing nature of the Bureau. Great art in each too from Mike Norton, Yishan Li, and Michael Avon Oeming.

| Published by Dark Horse

House Amok #3 starts to break the illusion, with Dylan relating how she became disillusion with the madness that her family is living. Gorgeous artwork from Shawn McManus and Lee Loughridge.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Infinity Wars: Arachknight #2 isn’t a bad conclusion to this origin story for the Spider-Man/Moon Knight mash-up character. Great art from Alé Garza, Victor Olazaba, and Ruth Redmond. Really like the design for Arachknight’s costume.

| Published by Marvel

Infinity Wars: Weapon Hex #2 finishes up one of the more balls-out insane Infinity Warps origin tales, from Bens Acker & Blacker, Gerardo Sandoval, Victor Nava, Israel Silva, and Joe Caramagna. This one has been an entertaining mash-up of X-23 with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver that ports over a lot of the irreverence of an All-New Wolverine or X-23 tale and all the nervous energy of Honey Badger into this story.

| Published by Marvel

Ironheart #1 is off to a pretty good start from Eve L. Ewing, Kevin Libranda, Luciano Vecchio, Geoffo, Matt Milla, and Clayton Cowles, working to give a bit more personality and relatable situations for Riri Williams. There’s still the cold and awkward behaviour from Riri, but Ewing is spotlighting that she’s distancing herself and that may not be great for emotional development. Wonderful artwork from Libranda, Vecchio, Geoffo, and Milla.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League Odyssey #3 sees Philippe Briones and Jeromy Cox take over the art duties from Stjepan Sejic, It’s definitely a different style, but it still looks good.

| Published by DC Comics

KINO #11 continues this fairly dramatic change in tone and status quo for the series from Alex Paknadel, Diego Galindo, Adam Guzowski, and Jim Campbell. It is really damn good, bringing in a fair amount of mystery and intrigue, with two Alistair Meaths running around.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #33 gives us a bit of Ellarien’s history as she navigated this universe tending towards entropy and found herself as its sole Ranger. I really like the new direction and mythology that Marguerite Bennett and Simone Di Meo are building.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Old Lady Harley #2 introduces us to a very frightening extension of the Batman idea with Bruce plugging himself in to the Bat-computer in order to police Gotham through his Bat-robots. It’s interesting, though, how Frank Tieri can go from this grim vision of the future to the more ridiculous hilarity of Arkham Asylum as an old folks home.

| Published by DC Comics

Paradise Court #5 brings the series to a close with the revelation of what’s been going on in the planned community and what its true purpose really is in dramatic fashion. This has been a good little horror thriller from Joe Brusha, Babisu Kourtis, Leonardo Paciarotti, and Taylor Esposito. If you enjoy Bentley Little or Scott Nicholson novels, you’ll probably like this.

| Published by Zenescope

Quincredible #1 is the first Catalyst Prime series to be co-branded with the Roar imprint, Lion Forge’s teen label, (though I suppose at least Superb was also rebranded with it) and it’s a pretty good debut from Rodney Barnes, Selina Espiritu, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and Tom Napolitano. This first issue introduces us to Quin, another teen affected by the Event, who has developed what might be invulnerability. Barnes focuses the story on his community involvement in New Orleans, bringing up class and racial divides, as well as a problem Quin has with bullies, to really make the story feel rich.

| Published by Lion Forge / Roar / Catalyst Prime

Regression #12 continues to be bleak, entertaining the very real idea that the “bad guys” are going to win. I think that’s probably one of the reasons why I like this series, not because the Valgeroti are right or worth cheering for, but because Cullen Bunn has created a compelling horror tale where the wrong thing feels like a satisfying end resolution. Also it comes with some phenomenal, beautiful, and grisly artwork from Danny Luckert and Marie Enger as they work their terror.

| Published by Image

Scarlet #4 is an interesting penultimate chapter to this mini from Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Josh Reed. Most of it is discussion of what will happen when Scarlet surrenders and her giving her goodbyes to her friends. Really makes you wonder what’s going to happen in the finale.

| Published by DC Comics

The Silencer #11 begins “Cold Cold Heart” and it feels like the title is working towards an end. I know that many of the other New Age of Heroes titles have been cancelled and are winding down, but I’ve not seen anything in that regard to this one. It could just be working its way through change. In any event, it’s pretty damn good. Seeing all of Leviathan as it exists now is fairly neat and the art from Jack Herbert, Tom Derenick, and Mike Spicer is great.

| Published by DC Comics

Spider-Girls #2 takes a bit of time to trade stories about Normie Osborn before going to him to warn him about the Inheritors on their world and work some magic on the scrolls of the Spider Cult. Nice character development from Jody Houser here.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #2 explores an alternate reality where Harry Osborn was Spider-Man and Gwen became the Green Goblin. It’s an interesting emotional ride as we see what happened in this reality, beautifully illustrated by Rosi Kämpe and Ian Herring. One thing that isn’t quite clear, though, is why having our Gwen help their Peter find their Gwen because she’s necessary to help our Gwen is blackmail, though. Maybe I missed something, but it seems like the heroic thing to do.

| Published by Marvel

Stranger Things #3 largely works to create an atmosphere of despair and defeat as Will continually tries to reconnect with his mother, or anyone, back in the real world and fails. The artwork from Stefano Martino, Keith Champagne, and Lauren Affe perfectly convey that feeling.

| Published by Dark Horse

Strangers in Paradise XXV #8 takes a running leap into the strange. Or stranger, as Katchoo returns with the package for Jet. Terry Moore is really taking this tale into a different direction from the initial intrigue thriller plotline. Also, a nice return of Libby and Sam from Motor Girl.

| Published by Abstract Studio

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #88 has quite a few “holy crap” moments as the Mutanimals aid the Turtles in repelling the EPF from Burnow Island. Huge revelations about Bishop’s history and a hero moment from Slash. Dave Wachter and Ronda Pattison deliver some incredible artwork all throughout. 

| Published by IDW

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Macro-Series: Leonardo #3 is one of the most beautiful Turtles books I’ve seen. The art from Sophie Campbell and Brittany Peer is gorgeous, guiding us through a fairly introspective tale of what Leonardo really wants out of life, while still advancing major plot points with the fate of the Foot Clan.

| Published by IDW

These Savage Shores #2 continues this brilliant series from Ram V, Sumit Kumar, Vittorio Astone, and Aditya Bidikar. It is a thoroughly stunning combination of horror tale, tragic romance, and political drama rolled into one absolutely beautiful package. The world is deep and enthralling, brought to life in amazing use of mostly variants on 9-panel grids from Kumar and Astone. The design sense alone makes this series interesting to read just from a technical perspective, but Ram V and Kumar put so much into the story and storytelling that it transcends just style. This is a truly great comic.

| Published by Vault

Titans #30 continues to break the team into pieces. The rebuilding, if they ever make it there, should be interesting.

| Published by DC Comics

Vampirella/Dejah Thoris #3 nicely moves this along, introducing even more of the various peoples of Mars as Vampirella searches for aid for her people. Great art from Ediano Silva and Dinei Ribeiro. 

| Published by Dynamite

The Warning #1 is fairly decompressed, slow, methodical, but there’s still an interesting premise here of genetic manipulation of soldiers and an alien invasion. The art from Edward Laroche and Brad Simpson is very nice. Laroche has a style somewhat akin to Chris Sprouse and Jonathan Luna and it works to give this a bit of distance echoed by the existential narration.

| Published by Image

Wonder Woman #59 continues G. Willow Wilson and Cary Nord’s first arc on the series, with an interesting rebirth and reinterpretation of Ares that’s possibly deadlier than the previous one. Love the artwork from Nord, Mick Gray, and Romulo Fajardo Jr. So far this has felt a lot like Greg Rucka’s original run on the series over a decade ago, a nice mix of modern sociopolitical analogues and DC’s take on Greek mythology.

| Published by DC Comics

X-O Manowar #21 sees Juan José Ryp somehow level up his artwork. The designs, detail, and storytelling this issue are just incredible, made even more beautiful with Andrew Dalhouse’s colours. Matt Kindt, Ryp, Dalhouse, and Dave Sharpe are crafting a very interesting next chapter in what started as the Divinity saga, building upon the recent Eternity mini as Aric and co. confront David Camp in New Eden.

| Published by Valiant

Other Highlights: Atomic Empire, Books of Magic #2, Come Into Me #4, DC Nuclear Winter Special #1, Fantastic Four #4, Hex Wives #2, Invader Zim #37, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Under the Spell #1, Man-Eaters #3, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #1, Marvel Two-In-One #12, This Nightmare Kills Fascists, Oh S#!T It’s Kim & Kim #4, Old Man Hawkeye #11, Pandora’s Legacy, Red Sonja #23, Redneck #17, Rick & Morty #44, Sex Death Revolution #2, Spider-Man/Deadpool #42, Star Wars: Darth Vader #24

Recommended Collections: A Walk Through Hell - Volume 1, Amazing Spider-Man - Volume 1: Back to Basics, Black Hammer Library Edition - Volume 1, The Book of Ballads and Sagas, Eternity Girl, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Volume 21, Harbinger Wars 2, The Highest House, The Mighty Thor - Volume 5: Death of the Mighty Thor, Quicksilver: No Surrender, The Realm - Volume 2, Spider-Man/Deadpool - Volume 7: My Two Dads, Summit - Volume 2: Price of Power

d. emerson eddy does not know, and has never met, those three people who have never been in his kitchen.

[bestdayblogger]

Dear September, thank you for all the little special details in my life. I like to look at small things and truly appreciate them.  I really appreciate even the silence that comes my way.  Some people don’t like silence but I really appreciate it. It’s soothing.

I love Autumn, the trees are already starting to change colour. I love Chrysanthemums. Everything around me has beauty. What plants do you like?

I’m a huge collector of Fall magazines. I love them so much. Do you like magazines? I enjoy the articles, pictures and recipes. I love to feel the pages in my hand rather then digital magazines. How about you?

Magazines from Home Depot.

I’m staying hydrated. Very important with the weather changing. I love this water bottle. This is my daughter’s water bottle. We bought this from Kitchen Stuff Plus. (My daughter dropped it and the lid broke. Unfortunately.)  Sometimes things happen. It’s okay. Moving forward.

More magazines from Shoppers Drugmart. The America’s Best Pumpkin Recipes magazine is really amazing.

I’ve been enjoying using new lunch containers for my girls. They love them so much. They are from Amazon.ca and they are called easylunchboxes.com

Loved creating new recipes in September.

I’m trying to include more vegetables in our life. Especially seasonal veggies.

Enjoyed apple and pumpkin picking this month. First time for both and loved it so much. Check out my blog post if you like.

Family Fun Apple Picking Day

Had a lovely September. I even got out and went to an event! VIP KARE Event for Furniture. check out my blog post if you like.KARE Toronto VIP Event Fall Home Furnishings Collection

Bumping into wonderful friends. Having a small photoshoot. Laughing and having fun.

CAT from My Lip Addiction

Gratitude for everyone and everything around me.

Thank you for the lovely September PR and winnings on IG

THANK YOU!

CHANEL, AVON, KARE, BLEND PR, INFLUENSTER, CHICKADVISOR, SIMON & SCHUSTER CANADA, PIXI Beauty, Sneaky Mommies.

I’m truly grateful and thank you so much.

I hope you had a beautiful September my friends. I really appreciate all your lovely comments and support. It means so much to me. Thank you so much.

Starting tomorrow I’ll be working on the VLOGS for October. Join me on the VLOG channel.  VLOG 

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Autumn in Paris! Fall Fashion by Avon Canada

  September Gratitude Dear September, thank you for all the little special details in my life. I like to look at small things and truly appreciate them.  

[mediaevalmusereads]

Born to Be Wilde. By Eloisa James. Avon, 2018.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Part of a Series? Yes, The Wildes of Lindlow Castle #3

Summary: For beautiful, witty Lavinia Gray, there’s only one thing worse than having to ask the appalling Parth Sterling to marry her: being turned down by him.

Now the richest bachelor in England, Parth is not about to marry a woman as reckless and fashion-obsessed as Lavinia; he’s chosen a far more suitable bride. But when he learns of Lavinia's desperate circumstances, he offers to find her a husband. Even better, he’ll find her a prince. As usual, there’s no problem Parth can’t fix. But the more time he spends with the beguiling Lavinia, the more he finds himself wondering… Why does the woman who’s completely wrong feel so right in his arms?

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: graphic sexual content, drug abuse

Overview: This is my first Eloisa James novel, and I picked it up because it appeared on a list of “best historical romances.” I know I should have started with the first book in this series, but this was available at the library, so I took a risk. That being said, this book did not work for me for more reasons that just the presumed references to previous novels. Though there were moments I appreciated (such as Lavinia talking about how people find her shallow but demonstrating that she’s very knowledgeable about certain things), personally, I found the story as a whole to be so devoid of actual conflict that I felt bored. I also didn’t really see much chemistry between the hero and heroine, and the hero was a bit too controlling for my tastes, so for those main reasons, I’m giving this book 2.5 stars.

Writing: James’s prose is fairly straightforward, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think if you read a lot of romance, you’ll find James writes in a way that would be expected of the genre: clear and without too many flourishes. The thing I think I can criticize, however, is the dialogue. I felt like there were scenes in which James was trying to show characters to be witty or funny, but it just didn’t work for me. Because this story is set in the 18th century, I would have liked to see some of the characteristic wit from the era, but the jokes and the jabs felt a little too surface-level for me. Others may find the exchanges perfectly amusing or charming, and that’s fine. I’m only saying that it didn’t elicit much reaction from me.

Plot: The non-romance plot of this book follows Lavinia Gray as she tries to find a way to earn back the money that her mother squandered. At the beginning of the novel, we see Lavinia proposing marriage to Parth Sterling, the wealthy half-Indian ward of the Duke of Lindlow. Lavinia proposes because she needs a husband with money to protect her family from social ostracization. We learn that Lady Gray has spend all of the family money (including Lavinia’s dowry) to fuel her laudanum addiction, and that she has also stolen jewels from a number of people (including Lavinia’s beloved cousin, Diana) to maintain their lifestyle.

While this premise seems like it would be full of tension, I ultimately didn’t feel like there was a lot of suspense throughout the novel. Despite being penniless and the daughter of a drug addict and thief, Lavinia was never in real danger of being cast out on the streets or spurned by society. Diana, her cousin, is engaged to be married to one of the Duke’s sons, and the entire family loves her so much that there is no way they would let Lavinia starve or go without friends.

Even if James didn’t want to have those risks in place, I think there could have been more work done to make Lavinia’s personal growth be the driving action of the plot. When Parth initially turns Lavinia down, Lavinia tries a number of things to secure her future: she meets potential suitors and even makes a deal with a local cloth merchant, compiling Diana’s trousseau using his wares (it’s said that because Diana is a future Duchess, everyone will want to know where her clothes are from. So it’s sort of like advertising). Here, I think there could have been more suspense; Lavinia is shown to be very knowledgeable about fashion, from the way cloth is made to how garments are sewn. However, instead of using the info to fuel Lavinia’s personal growth, it seems like James just uses it to dump a lot of mundane info on the reader. We see Lavinia visiting shops, talking about fittings, and all sorts of things, but there’s not much behind those actions. I would have much rather liked to see James use those actions as an occasion for Lavinia to reflect on herself and her skillset. Granted, there is a little of that, and I loved those moments. But as it stands, those moments of introspection feel bogged down by more trivial, mundane scenes.

Characters: Lavinia, our heroine, could have been more interesting. On paper, it seemed like she had potential: she was interested in fashion and she struggled with seeing herself as shallow. However, James buries Lavinia’s personal growth with repetitive scenes about sewing and shopping. On the one hand, I understand that making a trousseau (especially by hand) is time-consuming and labor-intensive, but I also don’t think it makes for a good story if there’s not much else going on to complement those scenes. But to be fair, there were things James did that I liked. I liked that a large part of Lavinia’s arc was about people appreciating her expertise and not thinking of her negatively just because she liked clothing. There’s also a brief bit where James writes about how fashion is the only means of expression/control available to women, but this, too, gets buried. I would have really loved to see Lavinia’s story follow that feminist message, and perhaps seen more of the main plot play with those themes as well.

Parth, our hero, really didn’t work for me. While I appreciated that James included a half-Indian protagonist in her book, and I liked that part of his arc required him to reflect on how he treated Lavinia, I ultimately found him too controlling to be likeable. Parth has a nasty habit of treating Lavinia like a child. He orders her around when she’s being difficult, calls a doctor even when she protests, follows her to make sure she’s safe, etc. I think Parth’s arc could have complimented Lavinia’s well, if James had put more time into exploring his background and social status. For example, as a mixed race person living in England, Parth could have had a lot of thoughts about how people see him, just as Lavinia struggles with how people see her. His lace factory is also legitimized by Lavinia’s expertise, and that could have been a great opportunity for Parth to reflect on the value of Lavinia’s services. While these things wouldn’t make both character arcs line up perfectly, I love to see little parallels like that in my literature because it makes the story feel like it’s “about” something. It doesn’t have to be a grand work of literary fiction with morals or messages, but I do like my stories to feel deliberate.

Supporting characters were hit or miss. While I did like Lavinia’s cousin Diana, it felt like the book revolved as much around her as it did Lavinia. The Wilde family was charming, but there were so many characters that it was initially difficult to keep track of them and their relationship to one another. Lavinia’s potential suitors served their purposes, so there’s not really much to say about them. I also felt like I was missing a lot of backstory that would make some characters or events feel significant, but that may be my own fault because I jumped in at book 3 of the series instead of starting at book 1.

Lavinia’s mother, Lady Grey, could have been a great antagonist (of sorts), but because she has very little screen time, she ultimately felt like a kind of boogeyman. While I like that James tried to treat the subject of drug addiction with compassion, it didn’t feel like Lady Grey’s story fit in thematically with the rest of the novel, and her antics mainly seemed to be included to inject drama into the last third of the story or so.

Romance: Unfortunately, I didn’t buy the romance between Parth and Lavinia. The book spends a lot of time focusing on a past between the two where Lavinia felt attracted to Parth, but his seeming disinterest led her to call him names. Now, a number of years later, the two untangle their real feelings for each other and come to terms with the ways in which they hurt each other - by Lavinia calling Parth names and Parth calling Lavinia “as shallow as a puddle.” Honestly, this dynamic could have worked, but because I was told a lot about their past and never really shown it, the conflict in the present felt a little superficial. Parth talks a lot about how beautiful and desirable Lavinia is, and I got the feeling that he wanted her for himself because of how physically attracted he was to her. I would have much rather seen the two realize that the other was way more hard-working and compassionate than they seemed, and while there’s some of that, again, it gets buried.

A lot of the conflict between the two also seems to be built on misunderstandings and the drama that is involved with Parth potentially becoming engaged to another woman. Personally, I like my conflict to be more substantial and to see the couple work through barriers to their union together. As it stands, most of the barriers in this book are their own feelings, and while that can work sometimes, I ultimately got tired of feeling like I was watching am 18th century reality show. 

TL;DR: Despite some promising elements, Born to Be Wilde suffers from a lack of real conflict in the plot as well as a fairly unlikeable hero. While I appreciate the messages that James was trying to send about not seeing women as shallow, I ultimately felt bored while reading and didn’t feel any chemistry between the main couple.

[chitrakullkarni]

BB Cream Market SWOT Analysis By Political, Economic, Social Technological Factors, 2025

The global BB Cream Market research report provides complete insights on industry scope, trends, regional estimates, key application, competitive landscape and financial performance of prominent players. It also offers ready data-driven answers to several industry-level questions. This study enables numerous opportunities for the market players to invest in research and development.

Market Overview:

The global BB cream market is anticipated to reach USD 5.41 Billion by the year 2025, according to a new report by Million Insights. It is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 14.4% over the forecasted years, 2019 to 2025. The rise in the demand for multifunctional products that serve more than one purpose is the driving factor behind the market growth. Beauty balm or blemish balm are becoming popular among the millennials. They serve the purpose of sunscreen, moisturizer, primer as well as foundation.

Key Players:

L'Oréal S.A.

Unilever

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.

Shiseido Company, Limited

Christian Dior SE

Missha US Inc.

Avon Products, Inc.

Amorepacific Corporation

Etude House, Inc.

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Growth Drivers:

Changing lifestyles and increase in disposable income among the working population is expected to drive the market growth in the near future. Pollution and changing climatic conditions across various geographical regions have created the need for the usage of such creams. These creams prevent the harmful effects caused due to continuous exposure to ultraviolet rays, sunlight or dirt, thus are becoming popular among the millennials.

The BB creams are multifunctional skincare packaging which acts as a combination of moisturizers, primer and SPF. As they serve multiple functions, their demand is anticipated to increase in the developed as well as the developing regions of the Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa.

The demand for organic or natural packaging is free from the toxic chemicals, additives or parabens is expected to boost the market in the upcoming years. Thus, many of the key players have started manufacturing the products with natural, herbal or organic ingredients. This initiative by the manufacturers is expected to create a positive impact on the market growth during the forecasted period, 2019 to 2025.

The rise in the demand for skincare products among men is expected to surge during the upcoming years. To meet these demands, the key players have started offering various packaging offerings. As the demand for male grooming products is anticipated to grow in the upcoming years, the BB cream market is also expected to surge at a faster pace.

Along with skin protection, these creams also reduce the time required for doing the makeup and thus has attracted many consumers worldwide. The working population which does not have extra time for daily makeup are the main consumers for this product. The western countries like the U.S. are the second largest consumers of BB creams owing to its extensive usage in salons and spa as well as across the beauty and personal care industry.

Packaging Outlook:

Tube/ Bottle

Air - cushion

Distribution Channel Outlook:

Offline

Online

Regional Outlook:

The region of Asia Pacific held the largest share and accounted for 40.6%, in 2018. The industry for skincare is showing significant growth since the last few years. Also, the trend for the skincare market is moving from old consumers to the millennials. Rise in the disposable income among the consumers in countries like China, India and Bangladesh is also expected to drive the demand for such creams during the forecasted period, 2019 to 2025.

Europe held the second-largest share in the global market owing to the increase in the spending power among the consumers and due to the presence of the fashion industry. Considering the countries in Europe, Germany acquired the largest share in the BB creams market. As the majority of the consumers in this region are millennials, the preference of organic, anti-aging and chemical-free products is increasing. Thus, the manufacturers are trying to engage the consumers by selling such products.

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[bouffar3000]

[resto] Ilkay Resto au Mans

KEBAB PASSION 72 – EPISODE 3 – LE ILKAY, C'EST OK ?

Le kebab est universel. Aujourd'hui, nous explorons une de ses nombreuses facettes... peut-être l'une des moins connues ?

Pris par un blues de milieu de semaine, Billy-bouffe m'embarque dans une nouvelle aventure culinaire. Car pour être un bon bouffar, il faut savoir repousser ses limites (et dé-cranter sa ceinture quand il le faut). Le moteur est encore chaud quand Billy-Bouffe me fait monter dans son bolide : «(Dé)Boucle ta ceinture, je t’emmène en zone nord ». Inquiétude et excitation. Pour un kebab avec toi, je ferais n'importe quoi. Nous traversons la Sarthe. Étais-je déjà allé aussi loin ? Rapidement, le mal du Pays me gagne. Je ferme les yeux et revois des images familières : mon Éperon natal, ma chère rue du Port, ou encore la facétieuse place Washington. « Courage. La cause est noble, et l'assiette promet d’être pleine. », me rassure mon camarade.

Nous arrivons à destination. Je jette un dernier regard au travers de l'Avenue Rhin et Danube. Je n'ai plus rien à perdre. Ici, l'ambiance est bucolique. Les hangars métalliques fleurissent, et égaient la rue d'un charme désuet. Le mont Ilkay est devant nous. Nous avançons tels les alpinistes de la malbouffe.

L'Everest de la soirée On prend place, et stupeur ; Ici la commande se passe à table. Le vouvoiement est de rigueur. Les traditionnels « Chef » sont remplacés par des « Monsieur ». Auraient-ils oublié leurs manières ? Enfin, est-ce ainsi que l'on traite ses clients ?

La commande est passée et l'attente sera légèrement plus longue que dans un kebab de centre ville. Heureusement, le ballet des voitures traversant le secteur, ainsi qu'une clientèle haute en couleurs suffisent à nous divertir.

Un paysage à couper le souffle

Notre pitance arrive table 48. Un kebab sauce harissa, un kebab Kofte sauce ketchup-mayo (des genres de boulettes de viande, un truc turc) et un Bourek (un genre de calzone à la viande hachée, un truc algérien).

Mention spéciale à la sauce harissa Première constatation : ce n'est pas l'opulence en matière de frites. Ce qui est regrettable, car dans la série frites congelées, elles étaient plutôt réussies. Nous sommes face à un kebab plus Germanique que Français. Comprenez par la, un kebab arrondi, et plutôt fourni en légumes. Nous n'avons pas traversé le Rhin et le Danube pour rien. C'est l'invitation au voyage dans notre plateau en plastique rose. Un peu chiche en viande, mais celle-ci est de bonne qualité. L'ensemble fonctionne, même si le pain est légèrement bourratif. Au niveau du Kofte, les boulettes sont chouettes. Par contre, fashion faux-pas : ketchup-mayo, c'est peut-être de trop ?

Billy-bouffe serait-il abonné aux problèmes de sauce ?

Un kebab Kofte qui pointe le bout de sa boulette

Quand soudain, la panique totale.

Il y a quelque chose de vert dans mon kebab !

Un frisson me parcourt l'échine. J’entreprends d'identifier la chose, et il s'avère finalement qu'il ne s'agit que d'une feuille de salade, fraîche et croquante.

Je suis surpris et choqué, choqué et déçu, déçu et surpris.

Les légumes, on les avais pas vus venir

Une question se pose lorsque nous arrivons au bout de nos kebabs: Où est la graisse ? Pas au Ilkay apparemment. Est-ce donc ça, le kebab en 2018 ? Avons nous remplacé la rassurante graisse par des inquiétants légumes frais ? Alors c'est ça, le monde que nous voulons laisser à nos enfants ? Le kebab diététique, le fruit de mes cauchemars, l'angoisse de mes nuits.

C'est comme coucher avec sa cousine ; ça ressemble, ça a le même goût mais ce n'est pas naturel.

Nous terminons en partageant un Bourek en amoureux. Pas mauvais, même si le Bourek, ça bourre.

Le goût de son pain m'inspire celui d'une bonne Frangipane. Serais-je Bourek ?

Tu t'es vu quand t'es bourek ?

L'addition est tout de même salée. Un véritable phénomène de gentrification du Kebab qui s’opère sous nos yeux. Un kebab pour père de famille, passé trente-cinq ans, et qui cherche encore à se persuader de sa street-crédibilité.

On m'avait prévenu que le diable serait séduisant. Que sa viande aurait du goût, que ses légumes seraient croquants.

Mais on ne peut pas tromper mille fois une personne.

Ce kebab n'a pas d'âme.

Nous reprenons notre engin, et repartons vers des contrées de graisses, après cette expérience qui nous aura changé.          

En voyant défiler les lampadaires sur le chemin du retour, je suis pris d'une pensée mélancolique. Si c'est ça le futur du kebab, j'accepterais humblement mon cholestérol pour ne pas avoir à le vivre.