Elegantly Wasted

Advantages: fashion tips for the lay-deeez
Disadvantages: slow introduction to the main character

...Louise Canova is an American living in London. She's 32, childless and already feels as if her marriage has reached crisis point. The last thing she feels is 'elegant'. By chance she discovers a gem of a book in a second hand bookshop. It's entitled 'Elegance' and is an A-Z of style written by Madame Antoine Dariaux, a French fashion expert. This book is the beginning of a new Louise as she reads Madame's advice on everything from ideal wardrobes to husbands. She decides it's time for a life change. * What I thought * To start off, this was a little cliched. Louise is frumpy - so naturellement her mother in law is an ex-model. Her hubby is more interested in gardening than noticing what Louise is wearing. As soon as Louise starts reading 'Elegance' she gives herself the Trinny and Susannah treatment and throws out...

kirstymack80 03.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Elegance - Kathleen Tessaro

Elegant and Enigmatic

Advantages: Beautiful photos, revealing, informative, sensitive
Disadvantages: None

...I am very interested in film stars of the 1950s and 1960s. One of these is Audrey Hepburn, who I loved when I watched My Fair Lady on TV as a child. I was looking for a biography to buy about her, so looked through Amazon and Ebay for something suitable, as I wanted to learn more about her life. When I saw the front cover of this book, I knew I had to buy it. The picture is stunning ? a young Audrey with short hair and a pink blouse, looking back towards the camera. Then I saw it was written by her son and I was even more intrigued. I bought Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit by Sean Hepburn Ferrer from Ebay for £5.99 (£9.49 with postage), but it is also available from Amazon for £9.12. Sean has also written a second book on his mother called The Audrey Hepburn Treasures, which I hope to buy soon. I read An Elegant Spirit...

KarenUK 24.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit - Sean Hepburn Ferrer

Pro Elegance - Pretty but not the best

Advantages: Does straighten hair pretty well
Disadvantages: Cheap feel, heat functions dodgy, quite pricey for what you get!!

...I was bought these straighteners after my last pair literally blew up!! I have naturally curly hair so life without straighteners is just unimaginable!! They look very stylish and the colour makes them look just like the description Pro Elegance, but they feel very plastic like when you pick them up and they are very light (one feature that is useful when you have to spend an hour with your hands above your head so to speak). They come complete with a heat protective mat, case and hair clips again all in the bronze colour, these are useful tools. They have three different heat settings but the dots rubbed off after a few uses so I now have no idea which is which so I often end up burning my hair as I accidently put it on the wrong setting, mmm whats that smell!!!! They have a reasonable cable length which most don...

Shar412 06.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of BaByliss 2088 U PRO 230 Elegance

Babyliss for (Slightly) More Elegant Hair

Advantages: Reliable, sturdy hair dryer with a good length guarantee
Disadvantages: Mine's about to pass its guarantee

...Byliss Elegance is well worth the money, comparing admirably to dryers of twice the cost. The 2000w dryer has three heat settings and two speeds. I find that I prefer the middle heat setting as the lower is quite cool and the higher can burn my scalp if pointed at the same place for too long! As with many dryers this one comes with a cool shot button. I've never really found a use for such a thing in my day to day life, but nice to know it is available if I'm ever in the mood. My hair is currently about chin length but around the time of our wedding was over half way down my back. The dryer coped with the long hair beautifully. I spend a lot less time drying my hair when I have my dryer than when I've been borrowing my mother-in-law or mother's hair dryers on trips to their respective homes. This dryer is also proud of ionic technology which I...

Mountainlilly 02.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Babyliss Elegance

A little bit of Parisian elegance

Advantages: Enjoyable, leisurely and well written
Disadvantages: A sudden ending

...I picked up this book in Waterstones a couple of months ago. I had chosen two other books in their 3 for 2 section, and was browsing for another one when this title caught my eye. Of course I had to pick it up and read the blurb on the back, and luckily, in addition to the fantastic title, it sounded like an interesting read. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery tells the story of Renee, a concierge in a fancy Parisian apartment block, and Paloma, a 12 year old girl who lives in that apartment block. On the surface, Renee appears to be a typical concierge, who is simple, uncultured and eats bland and funny smelling food. However, she is very intelligent, much more so than most of the inhabitants, but hides it as a concierge should not be cleverer than her rich employers. Paloma is also incredibly intelligent, but, in order...

eilidhcatriona 13.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery

Elegant on the cover, ugly inside

Advantages: Good cover, interesting excerpts from another book
Disadvantages: Not funny, unsympathetic main character and lots of stereotypes

...and starts to read ? Each chapter begins with a lesson from Ms. Dariaux. From Accessories to Zippers (via negligees and tanning), Louise is soon making dramatic changes to her wardrobe. But elegance is more than just looking the part, as Louise soon finds out. It involves radical life changes! >> WHY I?D GIVE IT A MISS << If I could sum up my opinion of this book in a few sentences, I?d say: If you like chick-lit, than borrow this from friends or the library (but bear in mind that it is not as funny or as warm-hearted as others in this category) If you don?t like chick-lit, stay well clear. But whatever you do, don?t buy this book! There are several reasons why you should not buy this book. The first is the characters themselves. Let?s start with Louise. She isn?t too bad at first ? a bit frumpy, self-obsessed and lacking...

Maia 17.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Elegance - Kathleen Tessaro

Not So Elegant

Advantages: Good range of sizes, easy to apply, look nice and slightly natural. They are a good length
Disadvantages: They are pe glued and fall off in the first hour of application and need to be glued down

...like many of the other packs of nails on the market ? contained in a small cardboard box which has a plastic front so as you can see the shape, design and general size of the nails inside it. In my opinion the packaging for these nails was quite plain and simple as it mainly consisted of the Elegant Touch Logo in a purple coloured box at the top of the pack of nails as well as a diagram of a lady?s hand wearing the nails. On the back of the pack there was some general information regarding the false nails and the fact that they were pre glued. It also showed you some other examples of the other packs of false nails available in the Elegant Touch range. I opted for the Petite Sized nails as these aren?t as long as the other sizes and I also opted for the ultra short style design which is basically your typical French tip styled nail...

just.bcoz 19.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Elegant Touch Pre-Glued Nails

Delighting in Elegance .....

Advantages: Stylish design, speedy functionality
Disadvantages: price, minor issues (see review)

...I spent almost double the amount I had planned for a replacement kettle but I have to say that I am very pleased with my purchase. The Tefal Elegance (Model 520) jug kettle lives up to its name of "Elegance". In my view it is in a class of its own for styling, presentable enough to be carried through to the dining room and placed on the table when required. The kettle scores well on basic functionality too. As there's no space taken up inside the jug with an element, there's nothing to cake up with the deposits from hard water. There's also nothing to stop you heating a small amount of water very quickly indeed. If, like me, you like to get other jobs done "while the kettle is coming up to the boil" then you may need to readjust a little as the kettle will be ready before you are. Surprisingly there's nothing on the outside...

Discerna 27.03.2003 · Read review
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Review of Tefal Elegance Jug Kettle

easy elegance

Advantages: romantic, pleasent, easy read
Disadvantages: no real plot, not involving

...Again, I recieved this book in the post for my birthday, the synopsis sounded quite good, i was intrigued so I quickly began the book. The main character has become bored with her life, she is stuck in a rut and in a loveless marriage. She finds an old book in a second hand book store and becomes inspired to change. She becomes obsessed by following the advice of the A - Z of elegance and her life starts to radically change. She leaves her husband and you follow her to a new job and some new men. Eventually she finds a good guy and falls in love. This book is a nice, pleasent easy read. It's fairly romantic and I did find myself wanting her to get together with the guy at the end. The snipits from the old book she finds are amusing at first but become a little boring and I found myself skipping through them. If you want something...

mussonanna 19.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Elegance - Kathleen Tessaro

An Elegant Kettle

Advantages: Attractive design, quick boil
Disadvantages: Cannot see the water level easily

...When my daughter moved into her own house one of the things she needed was a kettle, and I decided that I would buy her one. She had quite a modern kitchen, white with brushed metal handles, so I knew I wanted to get quite a modern style kettle. I started off by looking at what kettles were available and quickly decided that Stainless Steel was the way to go. There were numerous kettles available but I decided to go for a mid price jug kettle (I paid £19.99 for this one in May 2005) and from a brand I knew (and trusted), Tefal. Appearance I chose this kettle partly for its looks, it is quite elegant looking, as it name suggests! The main body of the jug is brushed stainless steel, so no worries about it looking messy with fingerprints (a problem with shiny stainless steel) or if it got scratched. The handle, spout, lid and base are...

ellmont 17.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Tefal Elegance Jug Kettle