Eye | Feminine Delights From Emily Baker, Ladurée, DKNY, Eve Ensler & Lebanon

Emily Baker Goes ‘Soft Serve’

Emily Baker Goes ‘Soft Serve’ By Stephen Ward For Marie Claire Australia February 2015

‘Soft Serve’ celebrates a feminine style — one that doesn’t always empower women, frankly. Yet a ‘Soft Serve’ is always my personal preference in dealing with life and especially when savoring the sublime pleasures of Laduree macaroons.

As for the global Boys Club, a ‘soft serve’ often leaves us with our pantaloons down. Read on.

If Not Paris, Try Ladurée in New York

One of the consummate pleasures in life is enjoying macaroons (macarons) from  Ladurée in Paris. Luckily for the entire world, Ladurée spread their sublime, culinary delights far and wide — to Switzerland, London, Dublin, Sweden, Luxembourg, Milan and even Japan and Singapore.

It was only in 2012 that Ladurée opened its shop on Madison Avenue and 2014 that a Ladurée Tea Salon finally opened in Soho, a boutique in Miami. São Paulo, Brazil is also blessed with a Ladurée presence. Read more at Vanity Fair.

A Sensual Blush in Paris

Les Merveilleuses De Ladurée Adds Sensual Blush To Paris Landscape Anne 10/15/2013

For any readers who won’t know about my life passions — I adore Paris. In the decade I was a key executive with Victoria’s Secret Stores, lastly as the brand’s first Fashion Director, Paris was my home monthly.

There are many facets of Paris life that I enjoy — and especially in a city where older women are considered full of vitality and sexy at every age.

Top of the list was a Parisien appreciation for beauty and sensuality — two essential characteristics in the Ladurée brand.

From the article:

The French understand that eating an occasional macaron does not make a woman fat. And thinking about food doesn’t cause us to eat more of it. In fact, scientific research indicates that Imagining Food Pleasures Decreases Actual Consumption.

I’ve long believed that America’s obsession with sin, sex and guilt is a major factor in our obesity epidemic. Granted, the French are more vigilante in monitoring food consumption than Americans. But they also enjoy pleasure and their bodies, too. Food is not a substitute for the denial of life’s other pleasures.

Within this mindset, blushing and bathing with Les Merveilleuses De Ladurée products makes perfect sense and a divine personal treat, like wearing that splendid French lingerie that only its owner may see. Facing herself in the mirror, she sees a real treat, a feast better than food — a woman at peace with herself. ~ Anne

RelatedLadurée’s Most Sensual Macarons Nurture Fantasy & Pleasure Worldwide with its reminder that American women can be scandalous when in France.

Marloes Horst For DKNY’s ‘Delicious Delights’ Spring 2015

Donna Karan is the quintessential Smart Sensuality designer for Anne of Carversville women. Her DKNY brand (all now owned by LVMH, along with all DK) is launching a new range of fragrances that remind me of macarons. Called Delicious Delights’, the scents are a subbrand in its ‘Delicious’ fragrance and beauty category.

Dutch model Marloes Horst licks the proverbial two-scoops ice cream cone, savouring bright pastel colors much like the scents’ bottles. The fragrance range includes three enticing flavors—Fruity Rooty, Cool Swirl and Dreamsicle — all looking for your ‘Delicious Delights’ body in March 2015.

Macaroons for Peace

In Praise of Macaroons, Peace Treaties & Women Breaking Bread Together Anne 10/17/2010

Perhaps only a dumb blonde would associate this beautiful picture of women in India with global peace. I couldn’t resist this next, equally-inspiring and even more macaroon-like image of Pakistani women in Pushkar province with the notion that only women can join hands and put a stop to this global violence and madness.

Yes, I was trying to express feminine wit but also a fundamental world truth about female empowerment. This moral view about women’s empowerment has taken its share of hard knocks since I wrote this piece in 2009.

On our side is the noble voice of Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai and the women Kurdish soldiers. On the opposition’s side is a small but significant and growing number of female terrorists.

Just last night a major international incident broke out at the Miss Universe contest. Presumably, mostly men are driving the wedge between Israel and Lebanon. But watching the smallest spark ignite major protests over a selfie consumes me with sadness. Read on.

Feminine Truth Serum in the Middle East

Just last night I binge-watched the last five of eight episodes of the BBC’s ‘The Honourable Woman’ for which star Maggie Gyllenhall won a best actress award at The Golden Globes in her role as Israeli tycoon Nessa Stein. Nessa’s relationship with Palestinian Atika Halibi, played by Lubna Azabal, is fundamental to the thriller’s plot line. Macaroons and blood, both, are in abundance in this exceptional, complex drama.

Events played out in more straight-forward, Boys Club fashion for Miss Lebanon when Miss Israel Doron Matalon took a selfie with Miss Lebanon Saly Greige (left and center left in photo), accompanied by Miss Slovenia and Miss Japan. Miss Israel uploaded the photo to her Instagram account.

Lebanon’s TV station Al Jadeed ‘ribbed’ writes NBC News Greige for appearing with Matalon, given the hostile relationship between Israel and Lebanon.

“Since the first day of my arrival to participate to Miss Universe, I was very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel (that tried several times to have a photo with me).” Greige continued, “I was having a photo with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia and myself; suddenly Miss Israel jumped in, took a selfie, and put it on her social media.”

Matalon was unapologetic for the selfie, addressing the issue on her own Facebook page: “It doesn’t surprise me,” Miss Israel wrote, “but it still makes me sad. Too bad you can not put the hostility out of the game, only for three weeks of an experience of a lifetime that we can meet girls from around the world and also from the neighboring country.”

The Miss Universe Organization has released a statement regarding the controversy, calling the incident “unfortunate.”

It’s illegal for a Lebanese person to have any contact with Israel or an Israeli. Foes are calling on Miss Lebanon Saly Greige to step down. So much for sharing a plate of macaroons at the Miss Universe Pageant 2015 in Miami.

Eye | Lifetime's Whitney Houston Biopic | Hollywood & Gaza | Cindy Crawford On Why Supermodels Happened

Angela Bassett Directs Whitney Houston Biopic

Lifetime TV premiered on Saturday January 17 ‘Whitney’ with ‘The Butler’ alum Yaya DeCosta as Houston, directed by Houston’s ‘Waiting to Exhale’ costar Angela Bassett in her directorial debut.

Elle.com interviews Angela Bassett about her relationship with Whitney Houston and the pressures on her to deliver a film true to Whitney’s life and spirit, while maintaining the truth about the superstar’s demise and death.

Cindy Crawford On Why The Supermodels Happened

‘I feel like I lived through the heyday of modelling,’ true supermodel Cindy Crawford told London’s Evening Standard in ‘It’s not so super for models now … magazines want stars on their covers’.

Crawford explains: The reason supermodels could come into being was because Hollywood actresses wanted to be taken seriously. They didn’t want the red carpet to be a catwalk, which it has now become.

Crawford and husband Randy Gerber are good friends with George and Amal Clooney, being in the tightest circle around the couple at their Venice wedding last September. The supermom of two explained:

 “I think George decided — and Amal, too — which I thought was smart of them, typically, that either you spend all this time and energy trying to make it secret or you go, ‘You know what? We’re getting married in Venice and we’re going to have this great party and we’re going to do exactly what we want.’

“So that’s what they did and I really respect them for it.”

NY Post Andrea Peyser Jabs At Amal Clooney

It wasn’t only the row over Amal Clooney’s Golden Globes white gloves that made headlines this week. Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser moved against the influential human rights lawyer over her proposed role on a three-person commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip.

It wasn’t enough that — for whatever reason — Amal Clooney cited a too busy schedule to allow her participation — a point not clarified at the Golden Globes podium.

Could the reason be the possibility of her future husband running for political office? Whatever the reason, declining was not enough for Peyser, who criticized Amal for the following statement:

“I am horrified by the situation in the occupied Gaza Strip, particularly the civilian casualties that have been caused, and strongly believe that there should be an independent investigation and accountability for crimes that have been committed.”

AOC hates to tell Peyser that many Americans are concerned about what happened in Gaza in the summer of 2014. Israeli actions in Gaza produced a significant split in Hollywood, with actors and industry notables expressing the same concerns as highlighted by Amal Clooney.

Hollywood’s Concerns for Gaza

Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz have been heavily criticised by some Hollywood industry figures after speaking out against the summer 2014 Israeli offensive in Gaza.

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