Roberto Cavalli Opens First Nightclub in Florence, Italy

Designer Roberto Cavalli opened his first nightclub in the beautiful city of Florence in Italy this past week. Cavalli chose a 15th century deconsecrated church as the location of the club which was in a desperate need for a restoration. The church, and now his nightclub, is near the 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria del Carmine, and it is adorned with Renaissance masterpieces by artists such as Masaccio and Masolino. “I feel I helped recover a real jewel,” says Cavalli of the recovered church which is now turned into a luxurious nightclub. Cavalli along side with architect Italo Rota took full advantage of the high ceilings of the original building and also added additional level. A lounge bar is located on the ground floor; a stage with a piano is placed in a niche where the altar used to be, and a 50-seat restaurant is on the upper floor. The decor is greatly nature inspired including steel leaves decorating the columns, a huge twisting steel snake on the side of the bar, an aquarium, an oversize shell on one wall, and seats with the designer’s infamous animal prints. Cavalli will open two more nightclubs in the upcoming year, one in Dubai at the end of January 2009, which will have a “a huge stairway” and plenty of glittering Swarovski crystals, and the other in Milan in February 2009. The designer is also working on renovating Milan’s former Just Cavalli Café and turning it into a Club.

Giuseppe Zanotti Christmas Shoe Design

Designer Giuseppe Zanotti is releasing a limited edition shoe design for Christmas. The design is absolutely glamorous as the 1.5-inch chrome platform with the 5.5-inch heel accompanies the black suede ankle straps luxuriously decorated with Swarovski black diamond micro-crystals. Starting on December 1st, these beauties will be available at Zanotti boutiques priced at around $1,300.

Pearl Facial & Body Wrap: Beauty, Elegance and Glow!

The ultimate jewels of femininity and elegance, pearls bring to life the magic of the ocean. For many ages, pearls have been a sign of classic beauty and purity. But their appeal lies not only in their jewellery purpose, but also in their spa properties. Since ancient times, pearl dust has been highly desired for the great value of its minerals, proteins, and amino-acids, which strengthen the skin and improve its moisture retention ability. Pearl dust hydrates our skin and leaves us with a healthy radiant glow. Research has also revealed that pearls influence the transfer of melanin to the skin surface, filtering the sun’s rays and counteracting the sun damage. Because of its magical glowing properties, the wives of the Chinese emperors were well-known to apply pearl powder on their skin daily.

There are facial and body wraps available with pearl dust in many spas. This luxurious treatment aims at moisturizing and improving the oxygenation to the skin, as well as leaving our skin as smooth and pure as the fairy pearls. Pearl facials are also well-known for their anti-aging treatments. There are also many face creams and cleansers that you may buy with pearl dust and use it at home! Go on and feel like an Empress!

Versace Opens on Via Veneto in Rome

Italian fashion house Versace seems on its luxurious rise as it just opened a 200-square metre store on Rome’s Via Veneto, making it the fourth Versace store in the fashion city. The luxury brand is debuting a new architectural concept with a beautiful white exterior and it is the first luxury brand to open on the infamous Via Veneto, a street which is famously associated with Italian cinema. The Versace Group says, “Via Veneto is the ideal location for our new boutique, given the many ways the street epitomises Italian glamour - the cinema, the celebrities, a world Versace understands so well. Via Veneto has also become a street synonymous with luxury and our Maison is the first to open a store there. We are confident that the location is a perfect expression of our current development strategy.” Donatella is going luxury all the way as she also launched a $2,100 fragrance “Gianni Versace Couture.”

Versace’s Luxury $2,100 Fragrance “Gianni Versace Couture”

Donatella Versace presents the ultimate fragrance “Gianni Versace Couture” which is meant to return the Italian brand on top of the luxurious beauty sector. The fragrance was created in cooperation with Euroitalia Company from Milan and it targets the high class with its high class price tag of $2,100 per bottle. It comes in a white leather small suitcase with golden details. The distribution of Gianni Versace Couture will be exclusive and it is expected to hit European markets in November of 2008 and in December for the US.

The limited edition comes in a 100 ml bottle and the fragrance was created by Sophie Labbe of IFF. The perfume is floral-woody with irresistible scents of the citrus juices of bergamot, mandarin, red berries and tangerine combined with floral romance bloomed in Sambac jasmine, heliotrope and almond and woody essences like Tonka beans, patchouli and sandalwood.

Rigby & Peller With Pink Lingerie For Breast Cancer Awareness

As we all know, October is the international Breast Cancer Awareness international month. Lingerie giants Rigby & Peller have launched a limited edition collection Alondra with special pink designs for this month in support of this important cause. 10% of the October sales from the Alondra range will be donated in aid of the Breast Cancer Haven charity. The desirable collection is suitable for all occasions and features a full range of sizes as well as the bras are available in full cup, plunge or balcony styles. Alondra is delicately crafted from soft mesh tulle with Art Deco inspired organic embroidery and it is luxuriously adorned with ribbon and crystal trim. The pale pink color is especially designed for Breast Cancer month. Prices range from £64.95 for the bras and £38.95 for the bikini brief. You can visit their website to take a look at the beautiful pieces. Rigby & Peller hope to raise and donate £3,000 for the Breast Cancer Haven charity, which you can visit here and learn more about it.

Cleopatra’s Soft Secret: Milk Baths

Throughout history, it has been widely written that Cleopatra bathed herself in milk baths almost every day. The Queen of Nile had the most radiant, soft and young skin and for this, she was known worldwide for her beauty. Today, Cleopatra is still the glowing icon that many women look up to for beauty tips. Even if it means digging in Egyptian BC history. Milk baths however haven’t just been used by Cleopatra. Elizabeth I of England and Elisabeth of Bavaria both have acclaimed the beautifying secret of bathing in milk.

Milk baths utilize lactic acid which dissolves the proteins holding together the dead skin cells and thus, exfoliates the skin. The rejuvenating baths help to exfoliate, soften and smooth the skin, accelerate the skin cell renewal and moisturize and relieve stress. What is crucial though is the use of fresh milk!

Making a milk bath at home is not a hard task and most importantly, it is a misconception that one needs to fill up the entire bathtub with fresh milk. You only need to pour a couple of cups of fresh milk into the tub as the warm water is filling. In general, two to three cups of milk is enough but you may use as much as you want. You may also use milk powder if you would like. For the honey, you may add one or two teaspoons to add fragrance and nutrients to the water. You can also add sea salts, which I love to do, and any other oils you like. You can also add petals and flowers in the tub for that extra sensual luxury and romantic appeal. Definitely worthy of a Queen!

Some people say that the milk baths leave their skin way too oily. You can use fat free milk instead. The oily skin just means that your skin got very moisturized which is a great thing because it cleansed better and you do not need to apply additional moisturizer after your bath.

As an alternative, you can always buy milk powder or milk bath products from beauty stores. Just make sure it is organic and fresh! You may find milk baths in many delicious flavours such as strawberries, vanilla, lavender and the yummy chocolate. I should also note that cleaning your bathtub is a bit inconvenient after your milk bath, but your baby soft skin is certainly worth it!

Next Page »