Louis Vuitton’s Diamond Flower Collection

Louis Vuitton have launched two patented diamond cuts based on their infamous monogram flowers; the round cut flower diamond and the pointed cut flower diamond. These stunning cuts took over three years to develop and have between 61 and 77 facets, which is absolutely amazing as a typical diamond has about 58 facets! The diamond beauties were mixed to create the collection Les Ardentes, which means “the blazing.” The sparkling collection features a bracelet, two brooches, a pair of earrings, a necklace and a ring. The collection is really beautiful and I especially love the bracelet which combines a diamond ribbon as well for the ultimate French romantic elegance.

New French Manicure by Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent is recreating the well-known and most-loved French manicure for its new Holiday Bow Collection. The French fashion house, known for its exquisite French beauty line as well, is introducing some new modern chic on the infamous pink and white shades by substituting them with Deep Blue tips and Moonlight White bottoms, calling it “contemporary sophistication.” The two new shades of the brand’s La Laque polishes will be available in stores soon.

Hermès Covers Citröen 2CV

Any time you hear of the infamous Hermès, you think of exquisite leather. The legendary Citröen 2CV got this exquisite leather makeover by the French high fashion house. This cute 60th anniversary gift for the mini 2CV by Hermès was introduced at the Paris Motor Show on October 7th, which for men is like Paris Fashion Week for the ladies. Hermès detailed the natural leather trim from the door facings, the interior rearview mirrors, the gear knob, the steering wheel, and the driver’s sun visor with some haute couture flavour. The two seats are also made by the French brand with natural leather and grey beige cotton canvas. The bonnet and interior trim at the rear of the 2CV is also made of Hermès cotton canvas.

For more info and pictures, go here.

Gisele Covers US Photo November-December 2008 Issue

A while ago, Supermodel Gisele Bundchen covered the French Photo magazine for its October Edition. And now, the Brazilian blond beauty is on the US Edition of the Photo magazine, for the November-December 2008 Issue.

The New Chanel No.5 Eau Première!

The world’s most legendary fragrance, Chanel No.5 will get a fresh new makeover at the end of the month when the French brand will launch Eau Première. Chanel No.5 was developed by Mademoiselle Chanel herself 90 years ago and remains one of the most famous perfume worldwide today with estimates that a bottle is sold worldwide every 55 seconds. “I want to give women an artificial perfume,” said Chanel. “Yes, I really do mean artificial, like a dress, something that has been made. I don’t want any rose or lily of the valley, I want a perfume that is a composition.” Truly a composition of scents such as neroli, jasmine, ylang ylang, amber and vetvier and the new Eau Première will reinvent itself with a softer, younger and and more modern version than its original seductive legend.

Gisele on Cover of French Magazine “Photo”

The French magazine “Photo” has chosen supermodel Gisele Bundchen for the cover of its October Edition, shot by Patrick Demarchelier. The magazine is well known for featuring naked top models on its covers and for this special edition, featuring this special Brazilian beauty face, the magazine comes in two covers with different Gisele versions. One of the left you can see one of the covers and to see the other Gisele spicy photo cover, go to the magazine’s website. “Photo” is a French magazine about photography and its editorial line features mostly fashion and nude photography.

Power Catamarans: New, Hot and Fast

Power catamarans may be a recent addition to the popular yacht market but they have been in existance for a very long time. The catamaran was first discovered to be used in a small fishing community in the southern coast of Tamil Nadu, India in the 5th century AD. The development of the power catamaran incorporates the best features of the motor yacht combined with the multihull characteristic. Nathanael Herreshoff designed a racing catamaran in 1876, which was banned by the New York Yacht Club because it was actually too fast.

In fact, power catamarans or power cats, are known for their increased speed, more space, and less expensive engines. Another attractive feature of these power cats is their stability. Because of their double hulls and greater beam, the catamarans offer a steadiness that single-hull yachts cannot offer. However, the larger beam is one of its disadvantages since many marinas simply cannot fit you.

The catamaran design remains relatively young and so, there is a great future for experimentation compared to the monohull yachts. There are already  power cats with hydrofoils, power cats that rely on solar energy and even power cats that look like single hulls above the water because of its faux bows feature. The market for power cats is still in its early stages but we see a growing trend and popular interest is on the definite increase.

The faster speed and increased space combined with the attractive lower costs attract many yacht lovers, but as for any other new market, make sure you do your research and examine your options carefully, talk to power cat owners, and most importantly take you time and find what best suits you!

As for my opinion, I can definitely state that I love these power cats! Ever since sailing in the Caribbean in one of these beauties, I fell in love. It offers great space and the speed is unbelievable! Yes, it can be harder for single-hull yacht owners to adjust since it is much larger and it sure feels different when you sail it; both because of its better steadiness and quicker loping motion compared to single-hulls. One thing is for certain, power cats are truly attractive and their design offers that little extra adventurous visage that is so appealing.

Some of the Current Power Cats: Aeroyacht are French builders that offer many sailing cats, but the Blubay TC 45 is a high performance hydrofoil power cat. Fountaine Pajot are a well known French company that offer power cats from 35 feet to 55 feet, including the Summerland 40 motoryacht. The Brazilian builders Sunboats offer mega hot luxurious catamarans from 83 feet to 155 feet, with features such as helipads and the ability to beach the yacht, the two pictures you see here show the Sunboats with these two hot features. With a slogan of “These are the yachts Da Vinci would have designed,” the Italian builders BRB yachts offer great layouts such as the three cabin layout with the master suite filling one entire hull and the four stateroom version of the 62 feet power cat.

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