Lancement des nouveaux produits d’Unilever

photo(2)Il y avait la crème de la crème des crèmes en ce mardi de décembre dernier à la salle Belvédère dans le Vieux-Port de Montréal. Entendez crème de beauté. C’est ce jour-là qu’Unilever a en effet choisi pour dévoiler les différents produits de ses marques dont pas mal de nouveautés. Unilever c’est Dove, Simple, TreSemmé, NeXXus, Vaseline, AXE. Au total 14 kiosques, des démonstratrices, des hôtesses, des maquilleuses, un monsieur en blouse blanche qui analysait les cheveux de ceux qui lui en fournissaient un exemplaire grâce à un microscope, des dizaines de pots de crème qui hydratent, exfolient, nettoient, raffermissent… le vocabulaire me manque mais il y en avait pour toutes les peaux et pour tous les cheveux.

Pour débuter cette soirée, la blogueuse parisienne Capucine Piot de www.babillages.net a donné un conférence sur les grandes tendances beauté et soins personnels, tant chez les hommes que les femmes. C’est le très polyvalent Philippe Fehmiu qui a officié et s’est transformé en maître de cérémonie beauté.photo(1)

photoAprès avoir virevolté d’une station à l’autre en essayant de comprendre notamment toutes les subtilités de la technologie Hydra-Légère riche en nutriments, je me suis dirigé vers le coin « Homme » où se trouvaient un bar à whisky et un fauteuil de barbier. Comme je suis parfois raisonnable, je choisis la seconde option et me retrouve quelques instants plus tard le visage recouvert d’une serviette chaude, sous les mains experte de Nasrin Pahlevan, une femme barbier qui exerce le reste du temps à l’hôtel Delta. On hydrate la peau, les pores se dilatent et Nasrin se saisit du fameux rasoir. Même si j’avais entièrement confiance dans le travail de cette professionnelle du poil, quand j’ai senti le froid métallique de la lame au niveau de ma carotide, je n’ai pu m’empêcher de repenser à cette scène de Mon nom est Personne où le rasage est disons… tendu.

Mais tout s’est bien passé, pas besoin de revolver pour me sortir de ce fauteuil incliné. Le nettoyage de ma barbe a été agréable, j’ai presque failli lui demander de la raser totalement pour que ça dure plus longtemps…

Bon anniversaire le Saloon Bar de Montréal !

Le Saloon Bistro Bar a fêté dignement ses 20 ans d’existence. Bon anniversaire le Saloon !

Ouvert en 1992, cette institution du Village Gai de Montréal située à deux pas et demi de la station Beaudry, a marqué le coup en organisant une fête placée sous le signe du cirque et de la fête foraine. De 17h à 22h la soirée étaient réservée aux médias, personnalités et invités privilégiés.

Tandis que ces invités sirotaient tranquillement leur cocktail à base de Perrier sur la terrasse, plusieurs artistes et acrobates y allaient de leur performance de danse ou de sauts à l’intérieur de l’établissement. Toujours impressionnant de voir des acrobates à quelques centimètres seulement de son nez. 

Dehors, sous un soleil encore fort, on pouvait rencontrer le styliste Denis Gagnon, dans un très joli bermuda noir. Derrière ses énoooooooorme lunettes qui permettent de l’identifier du premier coup d’oeil, il discutait avec passion et des amis. Non loin, Madame Simone, « personnificatrice » emblème du Village accueuillait les convives qui ne manquaient pas de se faire prendre en photo avec elle, une fois sur deux.

L’ambiance sonore était assurée par les DJs Rich Spence, Steve Aries et Paskal Daze et les plaisirs à avaler étaient concoctés par le chef Sébastien Savard. Il parait que l’ambiance est montée crescendo et que les cowboys et cowgirls ont veillé jusque très tard dans la nuit…

Le Saloon
1333, rue Sainte-Catherine est (à l’ouest de la rue Papineau), Montréal
www.lesaloon.ca

Les heures d’ouverture du Saloon sont flexibles selon l’achalandage et les saisons, toutefois, les heures de fermeture seront révisées à la hausse au besoin.

  • Lundi : 11h à 22h30
  • Mardi : 11h30 à 22h30
  • Mercredi : 11h30 à 22h30
  • Jeudi : 11h30 à 23h
  • Vendredi : 11h30 à 24h
  • Samedi : 10h à 24h (déjeuners servis jusqu’à 15h)
  • Dimanche : 10h à 22h30 (déjeuners servis jusqu’à 15h)

La terrasse sera accessible du mercredi 26 mai jusqu’au 12 septembre

Photos: www.dugraff.com

Photomaton et Musée McCord

Prise de photo pas trop "muséale" avec l’ami Thomas.

Petit cliché-souvenir avec l’ami Thomas Bastien à l’occasion d’un souper bénéfice organisé par le Musée McCord, à l’Arsenal, au cœur de Griffintown. Il faut être sérieux en toutes circonstance, sauf s’il y a un photomaton avec des accessoires…

Et une photo le lendemain, au bal annuel du Musée McCord, un coup de fil très fruité.

 

 

 

There is a $24 000 bee in Galerie d’Este (Guerlain)

On November 28th, Maison Guerlain (House of Guerlain) and the Galerie D’Este came together to celebrate the art of collecting in an event that showcased Guerlain’s emblematic symbol, the Bee with Golden Wings.

When someone told me the price of the insect was $24 000, I tried to avoid moving my arms the Italian way, as I sometimes do when I speak… I’m not sure my insurance company would back me up if I broke this expensive piece of art. Marie-Line Patry, (Fragrance and Beauty Events Director for the USA) and Robert Poulain (Director of the Peau de l’Ours, a contemporary art buying collective) are the two aficionados that presided over this grand unveiling. I didn’t speak with them but some names in an article make it more serious. At least, I believe it does.

I had a brief meeting with a Guerlain perfume specialist who touched my skin (in a non erotic way of course) and told me that the Guerlain perfume that fits me best would be Tonka Imperiale (you can smell it here). It was a nice smell but I was not entirely convinced. I think it would smell better for someone around. I keep the name of this perfume in my head for 2028. My Ralph Lauren’s Polo will do the job until that.

Throughout the evening, other collection flacons have been showcased. If you’re curious and wanna see the expensive and beautiful Bee (Baccarat crystal sculpture) or just have a look at the paintings and sculpture of Galerie d’Este, they will be on displayuntil December 4th.

GALERIE D’ESTE           
1329, AVENUE GREENE, MONTRÉAL
T. (514) 846-1515
MÉTRO: Atwater
art@galeriedeste.com

First "Quartier de la mode" Fashion Show at Musée de Beaux-Arts de Montréal

Défilé Quartier Mode Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal. © David Nathan

A Fashion Show, in Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal on a Monday night. How could I possibly resist such an invitation? Well, I didn’t and attended it at Pavillon Jean-Noël Desmarais. It was actually the first edition of "Quartier du Musée, Quartier de la mode" (Museum and Fashion district). 13 fashion designers located around the Museum gathered and show their best.

Good point of this défilé, the setting was awesome. As you can see in the video, the models were walking on the floor and not on a raised catwalk. Benches had been set in the middle of the catwalk and Autumn leaves put on the floor which gave a nice atmosphere.

Défilé Quartier Mode Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal. © David Nathan

Bad point: it was waaaaaay too long. Instead of having two models walking in the same time, they made them walk all the way around one by one which slowed down the rhythm as you can imagine. As my friend Geneviève Vézina-Montplaisir mentioned it in her article for Metro, make-ups and haircuts lacked originality and sparkle.

Anyway, it was a good way to have a glance at Fall/Winter collections 2011/2012 from designers such as like Martin Lim, Marie Saint Pierre, Isabelle Elie, Yves Jean Lacasse and Michel Desjardins.

A Fashion Show on a Monday night… I can’t wait to see what Saturday has to give!

A glass of wine and the Gaultier’s exhibition please…

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- What would you like with your glass of Merlot Sir?
- I think I’m gonna have a black shirt and a pair of jeans, thank you.

Matching wine with clothes just like we match food and wine is a pretty weird thing to me. Anyway, this is what happened tuesday at the Musée des beaux-arts of Montréal where took place a wine-fashion-show.

A delegation from Rhône Wines came here to communicate about their products, in an original way, like always. Last year they invited medias and wine professionals to have Dinner in the Sky. 50 meters above the ground, we enjoyed glasses of l’Hermitage, le Lirac and Côte-Rotie with the fine food of Giovanni Apollo.

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This year, they chose to create a fashion event. Well, there was a catwalk but unfortunately no models to walk on it. And since bottles have no legs (unless you’re really drunk)… there was instead a presentation from the vivacious and smiling wine specialist Hélène Dion. She drew parallels between wines from the Rhônes and pieces of Gaultier’s work. Well, to be honnest, I was not convinced by this whole demonstration. Interesting on a historical and cultural level though, but not relevant when it comes to the matching stuff. What Madonna’s corset Gaultier designed for her has to do with a wine from the Rhône? Or with any sort of wine? Don’t ask me, I’m still looking for the answer.

After a short period of wine tasting I headed up to the Gaultier’s Exhibition. Intensity, originality, beauty. Even the fashion-dummies can speak! If you have not been there yet, don’t hesitate any longer, this is a crazy and splendid dive into Jean Paul’s crazy head you have to take.

You still have time, it lasts until October 2. Before that, why not having a glass of wine…

Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal
www.mbam.qc.ca

Happy Birthday L’Assommoir Bernard!

L’Assommoir Bernard is now a big boy. Not a grown-up yet, but still, he has reached age of reason yesterday. How many litters of beer in seven years? How many meals? How many pick-up lines pronounced? How many of them led to a kiss, a relation… a happy couple with twins? Well, there was no answers to any of theses questions yesterday. It was all about celebration, music, nice music (loved the remix of Gainsbourg Requiem pour un con)… even live music when Steph (de Shawi) Lemire invited a sax player to play over a bunch of songs.

The singer Jérôme Charlebois was there to support his brother Victor, one of the owners of l’Assommoir. Then he left to go to the rehearsal of the Saint-Jean big concert in Parc Maisonneuve.

From 5 to… at least 11pm (old myself had to go to sleep), big boy L’Assommoir Bernard has celebrated in a nice atmosphere its seven years of existence. Happy Birthday big Boy, see you when your’re 18!

Lingerie and Micro-Financing in Westmount

Yesterday I was happy to attend the first anniversary of Boutique Incognito, a “lingerie store”. This is located in Sherbrooke West, a far far away country named Westmount. So far that my Bixi key is useless there…

But the 5 to 7 was also the launch of Glob Love who mainly sell lingerie online but which has also a section in Incognito store. Liana Artinian is the passionate girl who started this brand, only for women. For more that six years, she’s been working in the fashion business (buy and sales departement) before launching her personal collection. She has completely forgotten about her college background in psychology… unless making lingerie clothes is a way to explore women’s mind, but let’s not enter this field where my mind could get easily lost.

Liana not only makes fine and very classy European-style knickers, nighties, cams and other delicate bodysuits, she is also involved in helping micro-finance by giving 5% of Glob Love’s proceeds to Finca. This non-profit organization provides small loans, and other financial services, to the world’s lowest income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living. FINCA currently serves more than 815,000 clients in 21 developing countries.

“My goal would be to donate up to 20% to Finca” she told me as I was typing ungracefully on my recently bought iPad. To support this good initiative Stéphanie Émond from Finca Canada was also there. She told me about her job and how Canada was late in terms of micro-financing, a concept that is more developed in Europe.

As a reward for such talking and typing, I slalomed through the crowd of girls (80% of them, yes my working conditions suck but I can’t complain, I’m my own boss…) and enjoyed a Base-Vodka cocktail in a far far country but so so sexy !

Boutique Incognito
4922 Sherbrooke St. W. (near Prince Albert)
514-564-5666

Pictures © Stéphane Charbit/ Glob Love
Left to right: Liana Artinian (Glob Love) Stéphanie Émond (FINCA CANADA)

There’s an Eagle on rue de la Montagne…

Since yesterday, Tuesday 21th, there is an eagle at 2070 De la Montagne Street. If you’re an ornithologist, don’t get too exited though, I am only referring to the English translation of the French word aigle, which is a shop when you put a capital "A" at the beginning instead of this ridiculous little "a".

5pm: the first guests/curious arrived to discover this wide two-level store. Well, actually the official opening was yesterday but the unofficial opening, which is basically the same things but without the appetizers and the cute waitresses serving wine in two colors, was like two weeks ago.

Aigle is a french brand created in 1853 (OMG time flies), which first specialized in rubber boots, then in non-rubber other stuff. Today Aigle has many shop around the world, more than 30 countries. Montreal is a happy girl, not only she has a new Aigle store but also gets the Canadian Head Office of the brand, which has been transferred here.

If you can’t go to the store, there is still the digital option:

More info: www.aigle.ca

(514) 903-8836
Lundi à Mercredi : 10:00 à 18:00
Jeudi et Vendredi : 10:00 à 21:00
Samedi : 10:00 à 17:00
Dimanche : 12:00 à 17:00

Pictures © Stéphane Charbit / David Nathan (www.davidnathan.ca)