Chic Habits

One of my favourite treats at the movies is a box of popcorn. I have always loved popcorn and love the thought of being in the dark, watching a movie with a big tub, just for me. I used to order Large and in the last few years in an effort to be more normal, would order Medium size.

Still, I knew a big bucket of snack food wasn’t chic and somehow thought it could be my guilty secret, because it’s dark in there. I don’t think my dream Parisian girl Sabine would do this, snack on a giant size of something that is used to fatten cattle. My latest chic habit therefore is to:

Be chic at the movies.

Before: not being able to go to the movies without purchasing a medium or large tub of popcorn to graze unattractively on. My husband doesn’t eat anything at the movies so I feel really conspicuous next to him with my tub-0-lard.

Even when I went by myself to a movie recently I still felt self-conscious. I saw Audrey Tautou’s movie Beautiful Lies and was aware that the slightly older crowd of couples did not have buckets of grossness.

After: no popcorn. Now when I go along, I take a small bottle of chilled sparkling mineral water and sip this. I can buy it at the supermarket for a small price and slip it in my bag to take along. I feel très French and chic sipping on this periodically throughout the movie.

When I leave, I can throw the empty bottle in the bin and Voila, no ‘popcorn remorse’. I don’t even miss the popcorn! It was just always something I had done and enjoyed the ‘tradition’.

I think the transition was helped somewhat by the last bucket being underflavoured, slightly stale and pretty much tasteless. It tells me yet again that when you don’t prepare the food yourself you have no power to guide the ingredients.

Does anyone else have a popcorn fixation like me?

Chic Habits

Looking after le feet. Our poor feet. They are tromped around on all day, squeezed into shoes that aren't their shape, and generally forgotten about.



I've been doing two of my favourite things lately - using stuff up, and pampering myself. In my possession I have all manner of foot creams, heel balms and minty massage oil designed for the feet. These I have both purchased myself and been given as gifts. I didn't really use them though, and much as I like decluttering, I feel wasteful throwing out products I could use if I wasn't so darn lazy.



So I've rehomed all my foot goodies in the top drawer by my bed, where I also keep lip balms and creams, and body butter and rich moisturisers for the decolletage, hands and elbows. I apply all these things every night.



If I'm tired and it's late I at least do my decolletage and hands, but if I have gone to bed nice and early it's lovely to sit there using different lotions and really beautifying myself. It's a relaxing way to spend five minutes too, perfect for bedtime.



I have added feet to the list now. Some nights I might give my feet a small massage with the oil, others I might rub in the heel balm. Because it's winter here I put on bedsocks afterwards, this way I can use the thickest and most unctuous creams. In summer when it's too hot for bedsocks the lighter moisturisers will do and then I won't have sticky feet in bed.



When I wash my feet in the shower the next day they are very soft, and it inspires me to use my foot file more often than I used to. When I moisturise my legs after a shower I always include the feet too. We ask so much of them and then bemoan their ugliness (I hear it all the time in the shop, always from women). It's about time we gave them a little TLC!

Chic Habits

Lower your voice. In an interview about beauty, the iconic actress Jane Russell said ‘The director Howard Hughes took all of us – Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and myself – and said, “LOWER YOUR VOICE!”… Lauren Bacall still has the lowest voice of anyone I know to this day. The actresses of today all have these high-pitched baby-girl voices.’

When speaking, I try to make my voice soft and feminine and was aware it could be a little high pitched and girly. After reading this quote, I now consciously try to speak with a lower voice. Not abnormally low that I would sound like a man, just lower in my normal range.

I have to say I feel more chic when I speak in a lower voice. After all your voice is part of the entire package you present to people. Along the same lines I also try to slow down my speaking voice, as I often trip over my words in a rush to get everything out. Not chic!

Chic Habits

In honour of our wedding anniversary today I am here to remind you to
Clean your jewels. The ones I’m talking about are any rings you wear on a regular basis. My wedding and engagement ring and anything I might wear on my right hand get washed in different soaps many times a day and just as often doused in handcream. I try to work around them with the handcream but it will still slosh around my gems. I don’t take them off to wash or moisturise as I’ve heard too many horror stories of them being left behind or falling down the plughole (a big fear of mine).

When we purchased my rings three years ago, I bought a pot of jewellery cleaning solution. I used it once and then put it in the cupboard. Does this sound like you? Every so often when I came across it I would pull out the pot and clean my jewels, exclaim how lovely they looked and not do it again for another six months. Now I have decided that if I put the pot in a place where I’m likely to come across it often, I can aim for clean jewellery once a week. It’s working so far and I feel sparklier as a result.

Another jewellery cleaning solution I have been told about is gin. I haven’t tried it myself but my information comes from reliable sources (my father-in-law and also Anthea Turner, ‘Perfect Housewife’). To save wastage on gin (which naturally you will not want to do, you don’t want to be left short for g&ts at 5), may I suggest finding a small container which you can leave the gin in, and label it as a jewellery cleaning solution.

The photo above is us out last night after champagne in a swanky hotel lobby bar before dinner at the rustic Italian place we were married.

Chic Habits

Moisturise your ear lobes. Do this at the same time you moisturise your face at night. You don't need any extra cream or lotion, just use the little bit on your fingers.

My French beauty therapist included my ears in the facials I have had with her, both in terms of massaging and moisturising at the end. It felt amazing having my ears massaged. Since then I have included my lobes in my skincare regime. And they do look quite plumped up and smooth.

You don't want to be one of those little old ladies with withered, dried out, hangy earlobes do you? Non, you want to be the one with beautiful, compact rosebud ears, with pearl stud earrings in.

And I think, I think I read somewhere that massaging the earlobes reduces stress. I could just be making that up but if it's true that's just another reason to do it. Starting tonight!

Chic Habits

Having mystique at home/from your significant other. I read an article recently about two women who wrote a book on having a happy relationship. Julienne Davis and Maggie Arana have a book out called Stop Calling Him Honey and Start Having Sex. It sort of tells you right there in the title doesn't it?

Apparently there are a number of behaviours which can damage the dynamics of your relationship, and baby talk/names is right up there. By calling your sweetheart, well sweetheart, or darling or dear (even worse they say are baby-talk names like Beanybum or McMuffin Poopencakes - an actual one they came across) you are giving him the same generic nick-name as your barista or child.

I am guilty of this. I use 'sweetheart', but I also call kids in the shop trying on shoes 'sweetheart'. Better to use your husband's *gasp* actual name. Apparently as hard as that sounds (and it does to me, it sounds really formal), it will get easier and 'you'll soon realise you're thinking about him in a different way, and he's responding to you better.'

The authors are not professionals, but say the book is a result of 'ten years of the two of us searching and finally finding what really works to keep a couple's sex life hot'.

One of the authors said 'Looking back, I realised that my own sex life began to disappear when my partner and I started using pet names and baby talk with each other. We seemed like the perfect couple because we truly did love each other's company, but at home, we had so many bad habits going on that feeling sexual with each other was virtually impossible.'

Other bad habits include leaving the toilet door open (when you're in there), watching tv with dinner and letting 'bodily noises' hang out in his presence. These things are harmful to your sexual desire for each other. 'Apparently, failing to shut the bathroom door begins a downward spiral that ultimately turns lovers in roommates. "Certain barriers are worth rebuilding. Give yourself more privacy for a couple of weeks. Trust me, you'll feel sexier",' says one of the authors.

It made me think about how I conduct myself when at home with my husband. There are a few things to tweak to ensure our ongoing happy couplehood.

Close the bathroom or toilet door at all times. When I am brushing my teeth or washing my face doesn’t sound that bad, but why show him at all. Rather than see me with a whizzing toothbrush and foaming mouth, why not walk into the bathroom, close the door, then come out with a minty fresh smile.

Same with washing my face, I will go into the bathroom, close the door, before emerging with a fragrant, smooth and clean face. No hairband, no goo on my face, no raccoon eyes as I’m half done.

I mostly shut the toilet door, by mostly I mean if he’s near. But if my husband is downstairs and I am up, I don’t. It’s not a big effort to shut a door, so I plan to do this all the time, even when I am home alone. It’s a good habit to keep my mystique!

The authors say you don't need to dress up in sexy lingerie, you don't need to go see a therapist and 'you don't need to change who you are or spend a fortune to save your sex life. You just need to clear away all the stuff that's got in the way of the sexual dynamic you used to have.'

This is one thing I can start today (in fact I started yesterday) to improve my life with minimal effort and no expense. Just a change in thinking.

If you'd care to join me, please let us know what chic habits you would like to bring into your life, either on your own blog or in the comments here.

Chic Habits

When I used to work as an office administrator I had my work planner, and I had my own personal A5-size diary, quite slim-line which I used to carry everywhere with me. It organised my life. My personal diary had a week-to-an-opening so I could see the entire week at a glance.

I wrote in everything:

- personal expenditure to track my budget.
- recurring appointments like the doctor or leg-waxing (the thrifty me now shaves my legs).
- birthdays: at the beginning of a new year I went through my diary and wrote in every birthday for family and close friends. That way I never forgot a birthday or was surprised and at the last minute had to rush out and find a gift.
- Personal care I wanted to do regularly, so for example I made a note when six weeks was to book a haircut or 13 weeks to have my highlights redone. I also had a note twice a week to exfoliate and apply a mask after dinner.
- Errands I wanted to run on a certain day.
- Plans for a day off.
- I noted things after the fact too - when my fridge was serviced in case there was further problems, and also when I met my husband - I wouldn't have remembered the exact date otherwise and I like knowing those sorts of things.
- Due dates of bill payments.
- Exercise planned.

You get the drift. Just like a list, it was satisfying to tick off items actioned. If they weren't I could shift them to the next day if it was appropriate.

When I left this job and started working with my husband in our own small retail business, I stopped using a diary. I relied on a big wall-planner at work and little notes for myself. I thought it seemed pointless copying down appointments we had on our wall-planner into my diary. More than five years later I am wondering why I'm not as organised as I used to be.

So I've decided to go back to what I know works for me. September isn't the best time to buy a diary so I have ruled up some pages in an exercise book to tide me over until the end of the year and get back into the habit of tracking myself with a diary.

Instead of feeling restricted, using a diary so much is actually very freeing. Once it is written down I am released from remembering it and it is there waiting for me when I open the page to that week.

I will be out hunting for a new 2011 diary as soon as they become available. I will get the same style that has always been useful to me - not too big because then I won't slip it into my bag to take home or to work, and not too small as to be useless.

I really think good organisation is a key to being chic. How can you feel serene and in control if you're late paying a bill or you've forgotten your brother's birthday?

Chic Habits

The at home facial. I have almost but forgotten about at home exfoliation and mask, which I used to do religiously twice a week, or once if I was slack. I have reached a new level of slack. The facial I had recently brought this to light.

My French beauty therapist commented on my skin being a lot more dry and sensitive than it had been the first time she had seen me eight months previous. She said the oil had trouble soaking in when she did the facial massage.

I have always had quite oily skin and had a lot of problems when I was younger with oiliness and acne, right into my twenties, so to hear this I almost don’t believe it. I am almost forty now, so I can’t expect oily skin to keep me looking young forever. And I can't keep using skin products designed for normal/combination skin forever.

She asked if I used a good night cream (the cream I have been using is quite light, not good) and was I exfoliating at home. Um, no.

The silly thing is when I did at home exfoliation-and-mask religiously (1-2 times per week) I really enjoyed the whole process. It felt quite spa-like to be in the bathroom with a basin of warm water, a clean hand-towel folded beside me, hair pulled back with a white toweling headband.

Last night I re-started my at-home routine. First, exfoliation with a gentle, natural scrub. I have also used baking soda but found it made my skin a bit pink. I will persevere with baking soda though as I know it's meant to be gentle. But in the meantime I bought an exfoliating product.

After washing off the scrub, I used the Centella floral mask which I purchased from my French beauty therapist. It can be left on or washed off as it is a moisturising one and does not dry like a clay mask. She said it can be used overnight in place of a night cream. It looks creamy and rich and contains wheatgerm and castor oils, as well as essential oils such as cinnamon bark, citrus, lavender, thyme and rosemary.

I also did my hand scrub. To finish off my home facial, I do a hand scrub, with a divine product I won in a magazine giveaway. It is called One Minute Manicure and the one I have is made from the oils of: walnut, grapeseed, avocado, apricot, jojoba and vitamin E mixed with dead sea salt and essential oils (peppermint, orange, lemon, rosemary, spearmint and ruby grapefruit - yum!).

On dampened hands I pour a small amount and proceed to exfoliate my hands thoroughly (using movements like washing them) taking special care around the drier areas like knuckles and the inside of the index finger. Also around the nails and cuticles. When it is washed off in warm water my hands feel like angels should be singing. They are quite soft from the oil, but I also add a rich hand cream like the delicious L’Occitane shea butter one.

It is actually so lovely to use that I would consider purchasing after my gift one has run out. Of course I would try to make some first with salt and olive oil, but after that maybe.

Why did I stop these face and hand treatments? Why Fiona? Would Sabine lie on the sofa watching tv in preference to beautifying herself? I don’t think so. And it’s not even like the two are mutually exclusive. I can mask, then lie. Thinking about it, mask then meditate is probably a better option. I could dim the lights in our bedroom, leave my husband in the living room, settle myself under a rug with relaxing music playing and then drift off on a rose petal, thinking soothing thoughts.

I bought a copy of ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Short Meditations’ by Susan Gregg and there is a great relaxing exercise in it:

The Rose

Everyone knows how to visualize, but we all do it differently. While one person may see images, another person may feel them or hear them. This meditation helps you practice visualization. If you try really hard, images often remain elusive, so just allow yourself to relax and have fun.

Think about a beautiful rose. Imagine a single drop of dew on the edge of one of the petals. Allow yourself to gently be with the image. How do you perceive it? If you find yourself saying, ‘I can’t see a rose,’ just let go of that thought and think about a rose. What colour is it? How big is it? Does it have a scent? Can you see any thorns? Just allow yourself to play with the idea of a rose.

Focus on the texture of the petals. Is the rose fully open or is it a bud? Imagine yourself getting really tiny and sliding down the petal of the rose. When you reach the end of the petal, see yourself floating effortlessly in the air.

Is the rose alone, in a garden, or in part of a beautiful bouquet? What does the light feel like as it reflects off your rose? What thoughts and feelings come to mind as you think about a rose?

I can guarantee if you allow yourself to play with the image, you will be able to ‘see’ it. Relax, breathe, and play. Those are three wonderful concepts that can add immensely to the quality of your life.

I chose this book out of all the others at our local Borders bookstore because it seemed the most down-to-earth and simple way to learn how to meditate. It has lots of different tips and many little meditations like the one above, which I have found very helpful as a meditation novice.

So now I'm back in the saddle, one at-home routine behind me and all is well again this morning in the land of beauty. I will do another in 3-4 days. I like to schedule them when I am washing my hair the next morning then I don't have to worry about product getting into my hairline.

If you'd care to join me, please let us know what chic habits you would like to bring into your life, either on your own blog or in the comments here.

Chic Habits

My last Chic Habits post was quite beneficial. Although I wasn't perfect at it, I noticed I did stop and think more about speaking in a positive, rather than a negative way, whether it was self-talk, speaking of others etc. A couple of times I spoke ill of others, but I think it was well-deserved. Is that a justification? Not perfect, but making the effort. This will be ongoing for me.

My other chic habit from last time was picking up and tidying as I go. I have been doing this more too. Not perfect again, but noticing and doing, more. As with all of my chic habits so far (perhaps with the exception of the early face-wash, I still can't get into that habit), I hope to keep them up as time goes on.

My next chic habit I want to focus on is:

Talking less, and being a better listener. I come from a family where the women are well-known for their talking prowess, and I am not joking. I'm really scared I will become like that too and I have asked my husband to tell me honestly if this starts being the case.

So in the meantime, I am trying to babble less, talk when I actually have something intelligent to say and not just fill a gap.

Also to consider what the other person is doing. I have spouted out a long-winded, one-sided conversation to my husband in the car and at the end of it when I get no response he snaps back into it and says 'sorry, I was just listening to that radio interview'.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this, was he too polite to say? Did I not notice him leaning into the radio speakers to hear over me? Should I have tested the water with a sample question? Was I just sitting there in the car going blah, blah, blah with every thought that ever came into my head spewing out of my mouth?

The listening better side of it should go hand-in-hand with talking less. I have a terrible habit of interrupting people when they're talking, it is to do with what they're talking about and adding to the conversation but I still do it, recognise it and then feel bad.

I got the shock of my life once when the person I was talking to stopped abruptly every time I spoke. And because I interject things, this was often. It was quite disconcerting and I haven't forgotten it. It felt like she was trying to show me up, but really she was just being polite by letting me speak. I still cringe when I think about that conversation.

I think it comes from growing up in a talking family (the female side, my dad talks about once every three months) - you have to get your words in where you can. If you didn't interject you'd never get your point across. So now when I'm talking with 'normal' people, I try to modify this.

I have also noticed this with others (people I'm not related to this time). There are some folk who simply like the sound of their own voice. They can happily speak monologue for thirty minutes plus (it feels like hour) and you literally will not have said one word. When you do, or ask a question, it's ridden over and ignored.

These people may wonder why they are often avoided by others, it's because the other person doesn't want to get 'caught' and 'trapped'! Please dear God shoot me if I ever become like this. The starting point is in my genes and I have to manage it.

So, in summary, I am attempting to undo 39 years of talking and listening behaviour. Wish me luck. Forgive me if I sound like a drama queen today.

If you'd care to join me, please let us know what chic habits you would like to bring into your life, either on your own blog or in the comments here.

Chic Habits

I only managed to score one out of three with last week's Chic Habits list. A very poor turnout Fifi.

I struck 100% with grooming, managing to shave my legs three times in the week, body exfoliation 2-3 times and total body application of lotion every day. I have been keeping this up beyond the week too, so the habit is getting more... habitual.

As for going to bed early, maybe twice I managed that. I probably had more late nights than usual. I was rebelling against myself!

The last one, my new 'early face wash' I just kept forgetting to do, and then it was bedtime when I do it anyway. So I'm not going to worry about that for now. Even though I did read somewhere else it was a good thing to do. I just couldn't find the webpage with the reason why. Dang old links.

This week my two chic habits I will be cultivating are:

Speak and think positively. This will be more pleasant for me and the people around me. It will also be quite a challenge. I can at times be cynical and sarcastic. I don't like these qualities in others and wish to minimise them in myself. Rather than notice a bad point about someone (whether I verbalise it or not) I will pick out a good point and focus on that. Whatever you think - positively or negatively becomes more over time. I want my life to be heading in the positive direction.

Tidy up as I go. Both at home and at work. Picking up and putting away, tidying and cleaning as I go makes for a calming and easy to live with home and work environment. If I notice something, fix it. Don't just walk past and let it be noticed a second or third time. I know that each time you do that, a tiny wee bit of energy leaks out of you, and yet I still do it!

If you'd care to join me, please let us know what chic habits you would like to bring into your life, either on your own blog or in the comments here.

Chic Habits

I've decided to set myself mini-goals each week, ones which are heading in the direction I want to go in. They will be simple, and things I want to work on. This week I plan to:

Get more sleep. I've been having too many late nights recently, and the black circles and bags under my eyes aren't chic. I want to have 8-9 hours per night. My preferred time to get up in the morning is around 6am, but lately I have been sleeping until nearer to 7 because I have been going to bed too late. I plan to be in bed by 9pm, so I can have a relaxing read, with lights out by 9.30.

Commit to everyday body maintenance. I'm not too bad at this but I want to be better. 1-2 times per week I will exfoliate my whole body in the shower, with scratchy gloves and shower gel. 2-3 times per week I will shave my legs and underarms. Every single morning I will apply moisturising lotion to my whole body. Currently the tallies are 0-1 / 1-2 / 5.

Wash my face after work. As opposed to just before bed when I'm already tired. I'm not sure about this one. I can see the benefit of washing off the day's grime as soon as I walk in the door, and all that lovely moisturiser has longer to soak in. However I don't know if I want to sit there with a pink and shiny face all evening. That's only the first five minutes though, after that I may transform into dewy and ravishing. I've already missed tonight, so I shall begin tomorrow. After a week I will decide if I want to carry on or go back to my old time.

Bonne nuit!