If it's Good Enough for James Bond.........

This blog is about everything decadent (as the tag-line for our company is “Decadence for Divas”) and what more decadent a place than Monaco.
If you are from the USA you have Vegas. But if like me you are from Europe, then we have to settle for this little principality.

I have been to Monaco a few times, but the thing that strikes me is just how over-crowded and built up it is.

Here are some more facts I’ve gathered about the “playground for the rich and famous” :-

*Monaco is only about the size of Hyde Park (London), which is ony about 350 acres. Now you get a feel for just how small this prinicipality is.

*70% of people rent their homes in Monaco, including one of their richest residents Sir Phillip Green (owner of TopShop).

*the average rent for a “normal” apartment in Monaco starts at 25,000 GBP/ $40,000 or 30,000 Euros PER MONTH!

*A 4 bedroom duplex, facing the harbour will set you back 60M Pounds to buy. That works out to about 30,000 GBP/squared metre!

* 1.5 Million GBP will buy you 47 squared metre; basically a shoe box with no garden, or no pool. The most basic accomodation you can imagine.

*There are more millionaires per squared metre than anywhere else in the world.
There are approximately 2,000 Millionaires and 50 Billionaires currently living in Monaco.

*There is NO crime, and the papparazzi are banned from the principality.

*Every car licence plate is scanned and recorded as it enters Monaco.

*The streets are scrubbed clean every morning, and there is no graffiti anywhere

*40,000 workers from France cross the border everyday to work.



*Monaco is 6X the size of the Vatican

*It is the most densely populated independent country (as you can see from the photos)

*The Gran Prix started in Monaco in 1929,and is now broadcast to 100M people. It is now deemed the most glamorous Gran Prix in the world.

*Lets not forget the principle reason people move to Monaco; it is a tax haven.

* Jack Nicholson called Monaco “Alcatraz for the rich!”



So there you have it, some trivia about one of the most glamorous places in Europe.
If you could, would you want to live there in a shoe box simply because your postcode was Monaco? I’m really not sure I would. I think I would prefer to live just across the border in France and get more “bang for my buck!”
I would love to hear your views, and if Monaco is on your list of “Places to see before I die!”



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Every DIVA's Dream!

My favourite store in the whole world (Selfridges) had a huge event last week. They opened their doors to the biggest shoe department in Europe (wouldn't you have loved to have been there). Just reading about it made me feel SO homesick.

Even Carrie Bradshaw could not have dreamed it up;35,000 sq ft of shopping space dedicted sole-ly (sorry!) to shoes.

It was unveiled on the eve of London Fashion Week.
Fashion royalty such as Vivienne Westwood were among the guests celebrating the London department store's new Shoe Galleries, where Paolo Nutini serenaded guests.

The vast space - which is bigger than Tate Modern's Turbine Hall - will showcase over 5,000 pairs of shoes from 120 brands, ranging from designer styles by the likes of Roger Vivier and Jimmy Choo, to collections from high street chains including River Island and All Saints.

Designed by architect Jamie Fobert, there are six different salons, each with a different look. In one, shoes are showcased like works of art on floating glass panes, appearing to float across the room. In another they are spotlit on long dark blue shelves.

And in anticipation of the shoppers likely to spend hours trying on the coveted designs, there is plenty of plush fuchsia pink seating.
The space will play host to 30 designs from labels including Balenciaga and Marc by Marc Jacobs, available exclusively to Selfridges.
There are 11 designer boutiques too, each with their own distinct style. The Chanel area is a recreation of Coco Chanel’s apartment, while the Christian Louboutin boutique boasts a red carpet and a trompe l’oeil chandelier.Can you imagine how wonderful to spend a Saturday afternoon playing about in Coco Chanel's apartment?

Ugg Australia hopes to inspire shoppers to buy its sheepskin boots with a chalet-style boutique, while Topshop's is the brand's first footwear department outside of its own stores.

The department even has its own restaurant, an outpost of French eatery Aubaine, should you run out of steam mid-shop.

Selfridges’ director of accessories, Sebastian Manes, said: 'The Shoe Galleries will be a new and exciting way to experience shoe shopping within one huge space.
'The new department will fit perfectly into the essence of what Selfridges is - a place where everyone can find something extraordinary to buy, from the inexpensive to the luxurious.'

Definitley a "pit-stop" for me when I go in December.

Next blog post I will bring you more fun facts about the fabulous shop called Selfridges.



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Every Diva Loves Lipstick

OK here's the deal. I LOVE lipstick. I haven't got my head around lip-gloss yet, as one gust of wind and my hair is subsequently stuck and smeared across my lips. So lipstick is still my faithful friend.

Here are some more "beauty by numbers":

13.2 BILLION :
is the number of British Pounds consumers spend on cosmetics and toiletries. If you ask my husband he will say 10 billion of that comes from our house!!

1770:
The year Parliament made lipstick illegal, declaring women who "seduced men into matrimony by cosmetics means" witches! Of course stuffy old "suits" always know best about cosmetics. Why do we never think to ask them??

19:
This is the century in which Eugene Rimmel invented the first ever Rimmel.
God Bless Eugene Rimmel! May he be canonised (well he's my saint).

5:
The number of lipstick shades the average woman owns.
A "conservative" estimate I would say. It's more like 5 per season or brand in my make-up bag.

1:
The number of bottles of Chanel No.5 sold every 30 seconds.
I must be the only woman on the planet that has never tried Chanel No.5.Freud would say this stems from some traumatic event that happened in my childhood-perhaps!

81%:
The percentage of British women who wear lipstick.
I often wonder if this number is greater or smaller in France and the US.

What are you thoughts? Would love to hear abut your favorite lipsticks. Or maybe you can't stand the feel of lipstick on your lips; maybe you're a "gloss girl".
Do share your make-up secrets; Diva's united by lipstick!!!!!!!


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