In truth, a lady

This photographic post is respectfully dedicated to dear O.,  a woman by whose innate feminine highness and by her very special sophisticated personal taste and sensibility inexorably magnified my own inspirative and creative universe.

- F.

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— Charlize Theron —

“Photographed by Patrick Demarchelier in her gown specially designed for the 2012 Golden Globe Awards, Christian Dior Haute Couture special creation.”

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— Charlize Theron —

“Photographed by Alexi Lubomirski, wearing a dress inspired by a design from the Christian Dior Prêt-à-Porter Collection by John Galliano, Fall/Winter 2008.”

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— Charlize Theron, for Interview US, June/July 2012 —

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— Charlize Theron, by Mario Sorrenti —

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— Charlize Theron, by Dusan Reljin —

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— Charlize Theron, by Bruno Dayan —

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— Charlize Theron, for Vogue España, June 2009 —

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— Charlize Theron, by Vincent Peters —

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— Charlize Theron, by Patrick Demarchelier —

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And for more about Charlize Theron’s awesome photographic work, I strongly recommend to read and to contemplate the gorgeous post Confessions, from the beautiful blog A day with me inspired by beauty…, by Olesja

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— Rachel Clare Hurd-Wood —

First and second images: sources to be defined

Third and fourth images: by Erez Sabag

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— Juju Ivanyuk, for Harper’s Bazaar España, June 2013 —

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— Diane Kruger, for Amica Germany, January 2009 —

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— Diane Kruger, by Kate Berry —

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— HSH Princess Grace of Monaco —

“Photographed by Howell Conant, on her tenth wedding anniversary in 1966. She is wearing a Christian Dior special creation by Marc Bohan, in ivory silk with stylized veined-leaf motifs in gold lamé.”

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— Ekaterina Vilkova, by Erez Sabag —

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— Elena Melnik, for Vogue España, October 2010 —

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— Lily Donaldson, for Pirelli Calendar, 2008 —

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— Lindsay Lohan, by Mert & Marcus —

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— Laetitia Casta —

First image: by Mario Testino

Second image: by Driu & Tiago

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— Natalia Vodianova, for Vogue US, May 2009 —

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— Natalia Vodianova, by Michael Thompson —

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— Natalia Vodianova, by Ellen von Unwerth —

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— Sasha Pivovarova, for Interview US, April 2013 —

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— Elizabeth Debicki (sources to be defined) —

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— Hana Soukupová, Vogue China, October 2005 —

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— Women (sources to be defined) —

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— Jessica Stam, for BCBG, Spring/Summer 2006 —

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— Agnete Hegelund, for Van Cleef & Arpels, 2009 —

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“The result was a plethora of comparisons to goddesses and nymphs – (…) At least two writers chose to cite the famous passage in the Aeneid when Venus appeared incognito to her son Aeneas. But as Venus turned away ‘by her gait she revealed that she was, in truth, a goddess’ (vera incessu patuit dea). The novelist and essayist Sénac de Meilhan was reminded of Virgil by the Queen’s manner of walking, so light of foot and yet so majestic. Horace Walpole would never forget seeing her following Louis XV into the Royal Chapel, how she ‘shot through the room like an aerial Being, all brightness and grace and without seeming to touch earth.’ Madame Vigée Le Brun, watching her outdoors with her ladies at Fontainebleau, thought that the dazzling Queen, her diamonds sparkling in the sunlight, might have been a goddess surrounded by nymphs.”

Excerpt from Antonia Fraser’s Marie Antoinette: The Journey, Chapter 9

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— Charlize Theron, for J’adore Dior campaign —

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Vi ses!

Proceed to gate

— from Aeroflot 2012 Calendar (Календарь Аэрофлота 2012 года, “Для влюбленных в небо”) —

(models: below the next Aeroflot’s photoset)

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As a sign of more than necessary evolution and improvement – and as a part of the once heralded “journey towards changes” – this blog will be aired under a new name from now on: Halldóra. The former one – Réflexions dans le Petit Trianon – has nobly served to its purpose and will remain in the field of good past memories.

Just to mention, Halldóra is a first name of female gender and Icelandic usage and can also be written as Hallþóra in ancient Scandinavian language. Naturally, the choice of this particular beautiful name for my blog was grounded by intimate and very meaningful reasons. Nevertheless, the blog itself and all of its characteristics – with the exception of few details of visual programming – and profile (as well as the blogger!) are kept carefully preserved…

- F.

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— Marina Azarova, Irina Kobzeva, Natalya Yarunicheva, for Aeroflot 2012 Calendar (Календарь Аэрофлота 2012 года, “Для влюбленных в небо”) —

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— Eniko Mihalik, for Chantelle, Fall/Winter 2012 —

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— Eniko Mihalik, for Elle France, March 8, 2013 —

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— Jenny Skavlan, by Kilian Munch (first image) and by Solveig Selj (second and third images)—

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— Renata Litvinova, by Urs Wyss (first image) and for Interview Magazine Russia, September 2012 (second image) —

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— Photography by Julia Morozova —

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— Anna Martynova, for Commons & Sense, Spring/Summer 2013 —

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— Anne Vyalitsyna, for Allure Russia, March 2013 —

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— Anna Jagodzinska, for Glamour UK, November 2010 —

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— Charlize Theron (unknown source) —

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— Codie Young, for Lula Magazine, Fall/Winter 2011 —

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— Jodie Foster, by Peggy Sirota —

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— Diane Kruger, for Flare, April 2013 —

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Vi ses!

Visual thoughts on fashion and its aesthetics issues… #2

(Freja Beha Erichsen, Vogue Russia, September 2009)

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— The year 2012 is already in its natural twilight and the world of fashion, beauty and endless inspiration is experiencing a recurrent auroral luminosity —

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Some current wonderful fashion magazine covers

— How many things are so pleasurable to perform as the art of visual programming is?

(Thairine Garcia, for Elle Brasil, December 2012, by Bob Wolfenson — Love this cover… Elle Brasil has an undoubtedly amazing editorial quality!)

(Toni Garrn, for Vogue Russia, December 2012, by Karl Lagerfeld — This lovely cover displays an intentional and admirable “Russian essence”. By the way, I always loved kokoshniks…)

(Sienna Miller, for Harper’s Bazaar UK, January 2013 — A very beautiful, feminine, refined and delicate cover. A true New Year’s gift for any fashion lover…)

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Carice van Houten

— A pretty beautiful and talented Dutch actress who I admire. Carice Anouk van Houten was born on September 5, 1976 (wow, we both have the same age!) in Leiderdrop, the Netherlands. She has a great acting career which includes her performances in motion pictures as Black Book, Valkyrie (in this, in the role of Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg — wife of Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg), Black Death, Repo Men, Game of Thrones…

Oh, I willfully also have selected some pictures of her wearing eyeglasses. Eyewear is a fashion field to which I personally give a special attention, since I’m a person who must wear glasses 24/7 (except when I’m sleeping, for instance, of course…). Carice is a proof of how beautiful and charming can be a woman wearing glasses!

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Paulina Porizkova (née Pavlína Pořízková)

— Who had the opportunity to follow the fashion world during the ’80s and ’90s will never forget the remarkable beauty, the great talent and the name of a Czech top model and actress — Paulina Porizkova.

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Additional inspirational enhancers…

— Eniko Mihalik, Numéro #133

— Juliana Schurig, Numéro #139

— Kate Moss, Vogue UK, June 2012

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And, little drops of beauty and cuteness…

(All images below were gathered from We Heart It and Pinterest third-party accounts, so, the majority of their references and credits are imprecise to discriminate here. Es tut mir leid…)

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(Lily Cole, Like a Painting, by Miles Aldridge)

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Vi ses!

Unbounded reflections: getting a chance to…

— This post was conceived with titrated drops of healthy naïvety and omnipresent truth —

(Charlotte Tomaszewska, by Nikolay Biryukov)

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— To appreciate a lovable portrait of an admirable actress…

(Cate Blanchett)

(Diane Kruger)

(Kirsten Dunst)

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— To appreciate the beauty and the work of a true top model…

(Caroline Trentini, Brazil)

(Natalia Vodianova, Russian Federation)

(Eniko Mihalik, Hungary)

(Vlada Roslyakova, Russian Federation)

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— To have the continuous experience of reading domestic and foreign fashion publications (specially those ones which are rarely or never available on local newsstands) to note and understand how many differences and similarities they share with each other…

(Lily Cole, by Tim Walker)

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— To watch a live performance of an unique Karelian queen and to feel breathless and amazed with her style, astonishing voice, powerful music and kindness with her audience…

(Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli, aka Tarja Turunen)

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— To discover new scents and fragrances and realize that they could be so sweet, refined and feminine as their beautiful ad campaigns are…

(Jessica Stam, for Nina Ricci’s Ricci Ricci campaign)

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— To have the pleasure to learn new languages and to be able to know new countries, kingdoms and cultures which match with your personal profile and soul…

(Caroline Trentini, Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof, Berlin)

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— To know who actually was Marie-Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne, Archduchess of Austria, Dauphine of France and then Queen of France and Navarre, through the studies and books written by serious scholars and researchers…

(Marie-Antoinette portrait in hunting attire — a favorite of her mother — by Joseph Krantzinger, 1771; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien/Weidenfeld and Nicholson Archive)

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— To build a friendship with a talented person who admires your personal tastes (and vice versa) and to whom is possible to send an overseas handwritten letter (a true friendship is a real rare treasure!)…

(Diane Kruger, Copying Beethoven)

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This post is of potentially infinity lenght due to its characteristics. So, besides and behind each sentence and image displayed above there’s a myriad of other ones which are no less significatives and admirables… Thank you!

(Charlotte Tomaszewska, by Nikolay Biryukov)

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Viele Grüße!

Scent of a beauty

A couple of weeks ago, thanks to a dear friend who knows some aspects of my personal taste, I had the pleasure to be presented to the wonderful new images from the Italian fine jewellery house of Bvlgari latest scent Mon Jasmin Noir L’Elixir (2012) campaign featuring an actress to whom I’m passionate about — Kirsten Dunst. Anyone who knows me a little more closely understands how much I’m a fan of her…

Alongside the beautiful and lovely Kirsten, Bvlgari’s new campaign integrates elements of haute joaillerie (diamonds), delicate and very feminine black lace, flowers and, of course, a new exclusive designed fragrance — The final composition work result is inexorably gracious, sensitive and sophisticated as we can see on its film and photo shoot. Moreover, the campaign’s film has the signatures of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin (they also directed the masterpiece Dior Secret Garden – Versailles, already posted in this blog about four months ago).

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· About Inez and Vinoodh (info source: their YouTube channel):

“For over 25 years, the meticulous and audacious imagery of Inez van Lamsweerde (1963– ) and Vinoodh Matadin (1961– ) has challenged and reinvigorated the field of fashion photography. Working together since 1986, the award-winning Dutch partnership has built a peerless archive of work that is consistently setting new standards. In their landmark advertising campaigns, visionary editorial assignments, iconic Hollywood portraiture and groundbreaking films the pair have anticipated, articulated and defined every creative shift in fashion over the past three decades. Inez and Vinoodh are extremely rare in managing a successful art career in parallel to these phenomenal commercial activities. They have staged many solo exhibitions and collaborative projects at the world’s foremost galleries, participated in scores of international group shows and their artworks are held in numerous private and museum collections.”

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Bvlgari, Mon Jasmin Noir, 2012

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Bvlgari, Mon Jasmin Noir, 2012 — Behind the scenes

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Photo shoot

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The fragrance itself

Oh, I must state that until the date of publication of this post I haven’t had the opportunity to feel myself Mon Jasmin Noir L’Elixir scent to be able to give a personal opinion about it. But below there are some technical data found at Bvlgari’s website…

• Olfactive notes / olfactive family: Floral woody musk;
• Top notes: Golden cedrat and lily of the valley;
• Heart: Sambac jasmine and “Angel Wing” jasmine;
• Dry down: Musky nougatine and vibrant wood.

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 I must warn you that I have no relationship whatsoever or commercial interests with the products and mercantile names displayed in this post. My sole purpose was to blog about a work of an actress that I admire and to contemplate the beautiful aesthetical aspects of a published fine brand fragrance campaign. Thank you!

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Viele Grüße!

Visual thoughts on fashion and its aesthetics issues… #1

(Amy Adams, InStyle, December 2011)

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“She was an object too sublime and beautiful for my dull pen to describe… Her dress was everything that art and wealth could make it… She had a fine complexion indicating her perfect health, and was a handsome woman in her face and figure… not a feature of her face, nor a motion of any part of her person, especially her arm and her hand, could be criticized as being out of order.”

John Adams, describing Marie-Antoinette

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Ollie Henderson

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Caroline Trentini

— Carol Trentini is the Brazilian top model that I love most!

(Carol’s images source)

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Additional inspirational enhancers…

— From Russia — Kokoshnik (кокошник) & revisited  imperial style winter garments

— From Germany — Eva Padberg

— From Australia — Megan (Mog), from Mogscottstyle

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And, little drops of cuteness…

… Vlada Roslyakova

… Girl with cat (source)

… Kirsten Dunst

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Auf Wiedersehen!