May 23
There's lots happening at Cannes – Sacha Baron Cohen and Kelly Brook are pulling stunts, Cheryl Cole is dressing up, and critics are responding to the hotly anticipated
On The Road with disappointingly tepid reviews. But our favourite thing to come out of the film festival is this little gem of a short film for Prada, which was launched at the festival yesterday. Directed by Roman Polanski, the three-minute piece stars Helena Bonham Carter as a glamorous woman who seems to have too much time on her hands and Ben Kingsley as her quiet, fashion-loving psychiatrist. Make sure to watch till the end. LE
May 21
There have been two birthdays here at The Gloss over the past week and by coincidence we both picked the
Whitefriar Grill on Aungier Street to host our celebratory meals. The Gloss' advertising sales director went to the new-ish restaurant (it's been there since September) on Saturday night while I went there on Sunday for a boozy brunch. This morning we compared notes: "Weren't the staff just lovely?" "Did you try the chips?" "I don't have a single complaint." "Me neither." Suffice to say, we both loved it. The staff are preternaturally pleasant: funny, kind and knowledgeable. The food is delicious: crab cakes with eggs benedict, huevos rancheros, mixed grill for brunch; duck shepherd's pie, slow-cooked rabbit, roast spiced monkfish for dinner. And the cocktails are amazing. I am something of a Bloody Mary fanatic and am often disappointed in Dublin; lots of bars don't even stock tomato juice and when you do happen across a place that serves them, they're watery and the seasoning is wrong. At Whitefriar, they are delicious and given an extra kick with chorizo-infused vodka. Genius. Not a BM fan? Try a mimosa or a bellini. Prices generally are very fair for the standard of food that chef and owner Geoff Nordell is creating, but there is a deal (€55 for dinner for two and bottle of house wine) on Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays that has to be the best value in the city. LE
May 21
We were really sorry to see that one of Dublin's best pharmacies, Nelsons Homeopathic Dispensary on Duke Street, is closing down at the end of June. Especially since this year marks 20 years since it first opened, bringing the best organic skincare, homeopathic remedies and informed, independent advice to the centre of town. It's always been the first port of call if you're looking for the best natural and organic skincare. Stand-out brands include Pai, one of our favourite sensitive skin-friendly ranges, and New Zealand organic skincare range Antipodes – how calming does Avocado Night Cream (€38.59) sound? It's not as messy as it sounds, fortunately. There's also tried-and-trusted names such as Dr Hauschka and Weleda. There's 20 per cent off all own-brand items throughout June. Pay a visit before time is up to appreciate this little gem and stock up on supplements, travel essentials and Bach's Rescue Remedies, not forgetting some Bearna 100% Pure Argan Oil for body and hair.
SH
May 18
Okay, so maybe not quite as important as, say, the upcoming referendum - but if your heavy
Nespresso habit has you in an environmental bind (surely all those empty capsules can't be great for landfills), good news has come in the form of two new recycling posts in Brown Thomas Cork (from this month) and Dublin (from June). Bring your empty capsules along to each store for designated recycling - or, if you order your coffee online, the nice delivery man (not George Clooney, as had initially been hoped for) will take the old ones away for you - minimising both your journey and carbon footprint.
NS
May 16
We can now reveal that at our Tommy Hilfiger shopping event tomorrow evening
at 6.30 in the Grafton Street store, a whopping 30 per cent discount will
apply! So, if you haven't already registered for the event by emailing
register@thegloss.ie, please do so before midnight tonight so that we can
ensure your name is on the door! As well as two live bands and a DJ, there
will be delicious canapes and drinks, bodalicious models and lots of
Hamptons-style fun and games ... If the sun keeps shining, it may just feel
like summer has finally begun! We'll see you there!
Register now at
register@thegloss.ie
May 15
As the Lucian Freud exhibition draws to a close at the National Portrait Gallery in London – opening until midnight to try and cope with the demand – we highly recommend Martin Gayford's Man with a Blue Scarf, a brilliant in-depth portrait of the artist himself. As one of Freud's subjects, art critic Gayford spent countless hours with the artist, gaining a fascinating insight into how he worked and lived. So there are lots of dinners at the Wolseley as well as reminiscences about Francis Bacon behaving badly in Soho. You get a really compelling sense of Freud's completely uncompromising personality, making this a read for anyone with even a passing interest in art. Other true stories worth packing (or downloading) for holidays:Dior by Dior, the couturier's stately biography, and Blow By Blow, a riveting account of Isabella Blow's intense and overblown life, lived in the red, told with a fair amount of self-pity by her husband Detmar. For fiction, try Alys Always by Harriet Lane, whose devious narrator reminds us of Notes on a Scandal, and Andrew Miller's Pure, set in pre-revolutionary France; fans of Patrick Suskind's cult book Perfume will be intoxicated by it.
May 15
Despite select protests to the contrary, it is a truth universally acknowledged that some fashion purchases can be an investment. And what's more, luxury can occasionally be had for a bargain. Without getting into personal definitions of the above and how they can differ, those who are in the know will appreciate tomorrow's sale at Bonhams, featuring not just jewellery but also a grand selection of Hermes bags - Kellys, Birkins, and more, in every colour of the rainbow. They come with dustbags, boxes and papers - at a fraction of their brand-new cost and without the multi-year waiting list. As mentioned, the 'bragain' reserve is relative - but these bags are in pristine condition, and the auction even includes rare colourways such as the pop-bright neon Kelly pictured.
The auction will take place tomorrow, May 16. Online bidding is welcomed; for the full catalogue and more information please click here.
NS
May 14
Pho20graphy, an exhibition by photographer sans pareil Barry McCall opens
this Wednesday May 16 -June 11 2012 at the gorgeous Copper House Gallery,
off Synge Street in Dublin 8.
Pho20graphy is a selection of works from McCall's book, published last year,
a 20-year retrospective which showcased his extraordinary photographs of
fashion and celebrities. The incredibly talented Mr McCall, whose passion
for his subject just never wanes, has photographed everyone interesting who
has ever visited this country, as well as public and private figures, from
Hollywood stars to artists and actors. Saoirse Ronan will open the
exhibition tomorrow, before a private gathering for his many fans and
friends. All of the exhibition works, together with editioned prints, will be for
sale, with all proceeds going to the ISPCC.
Www.thecopperhousegallery.com
