Vive le Quatorze!

July is the month for national celebrations. July 1 was Canada Day and July 4 was Independence Day. Today, July 14, is France's turn. It's Bastille Day, which commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789. The Bastille was a symbol of the absolute power of Louis XVI (he later died by the guillotine, as did his wife Marie Antoinette). Bastille Day also commemorates the birth of the French republic.

The French celebrate Bastille Day in grand style, including an air show where the tricolor is flown and a fireworks extravaganza at the Eiffel Tower.

Bastille Day air show

Fireworks extravaganza at Eiffel Tower 

Beauty #Blogazons Weekly Roundup - July 13

Beauty Blogazons weekly roundup - July 13

Beauty Binge: What good is your make-up if it's melting down your face? Beauty Binge helps you win the war against summer meltdown!

My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog : Laura goes crazy over an oldie but a goodie: MAC Azalea Blossom.

Beauty Product Review: Have you heard the Bzz? Check out my Smooth 'N Shine Keratin Power Semi-Permanent Hair Tamer review and see if it's worth all the Bzz!

Mani Curiously: E's loving Essie's Mirrored Metallics collection! Check out Penny Talk and her review of this shiny new stunner!

The Lacquerologist: It's time for The Lacquerologist's six month blogiversary Nail Art Contest! Submit your manis now!

Ishah x Beauty: Ishah x Beauty explores skincare with Mary Kay and finds the best microdermabrasion product ever!

The Science Of Chic: Carly raves about the new Maybelline Beauty Balm! Find out why it's her favorite summer face product.

Spontaneous Chick: Learn how to make sugar scrubs and get some of my favorite recipes.

Amber Did It!:Matching mom & daughter watermelon nail art

Midnight Manicures: Follow Jeanie at Midnight Manicures as she takes you on an adventure with China Glaze's newest collection "On Safari".

Geniabeme Beauty Blog: Genia takes the Revlon Red Lipstick Challenge! Take a look at her red lips!

adore-a-polish Swatch of Julep O Canada!

The Beauty Professor: The Beauty Professor swatches all seven shades of the Rouge Bunny Rouge Fire Drops Loose Glitter Pigment...prepared to be dazzled!

iHeartPrettyPolish: Essie Rae showcases Revlon Facets of Fuchsia polish in her Friday Favorite with a Flair Post!

Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom: The new metallics from the Zoya fall collection, NYFW Diva, are featured.

Beauty Apocalypse: We found a primer that makes your make-up wear like armor and clears your skin!

Polarbelle: Venique Nail Lacquer has a fun new summer 2012 collection called Desire the Desired and can be compared with part of China Glaze On Safari.

Beauty by Miss L: Showed some of her favorite summer must have accessories.

All Things Beautiful: Shares a glitzy, shimmering, & gorgeous haul from Ricky's NYC featuring Mattese Elite Makeup & Nail Polish!

Shades of Beauty, Inc.: POLL: What products make up your DIY Spa Days?

Best #beauty business tweets

@nordstrombeauty will host chat w/ @napoleonperdis Th July 12 3-4pm ESTto celebrate launch of #cosmetics line hashtag #Nordbeauty
— thestylepage (@thestylepage) July 5, 2012

Ex-President Sarkozy's home, offices searched - news.yahoo.com/ex-president-s… via @YahooNews suspected illegal campaign financing by L'Oreal heiress
— thestylepage (@thestylepage) July 3, 2012

@findation is a global project to create the world’s largest database of matching foundation shades.
— thestylepage (@thestylepage) July 3, 2012

@MyBeautyBunny #India government mulling ban on animal testing for cosmetics cosmeticsdesign.com/Regulation-Saf… via @CosmeticsDesign pressure from PETA
— thestylepage (@thestylepage) July 2, 2012

#Lipstick effect: Why women buy more #cosmetics when times are tough deseretnews.com/article/865558… to attract a mate?
— thestylepage (@thestylepage) July 3, 2012

Petula Clark - "Downtown" #MusicMonday

Petula Clark might well have been the top female pop vocalist of the mid-1960s, with hits such as "Downtown" "Colour My World" "I Know A Place" "My Love" "Don't Sleep in the Subway."

Here's my favorite: the peppy "Downtown":



Petula Clark today:

Lipsticks for #nationalkissingday

Today is National Kissing Day, and I'd like to mark recent additions to my lipstick collection:

#nationalkissingday @LolaCosmetics Naughty/Nice two tone lipstick lolacosmetics.com/NaughtyNiceLip…
— thestylepage (@thestylepage) July 6, 2012

#nationalkissingday @nycnewyorkcolor City Duet 2-in-1 Lip Color in Waldorf Roses drugstore.com/nyc-city-duet-…
— thestylepage (@thestylepage) July 6, 2012

#nationalkissingday Original Tangee Lipstick @VTStore was often a woman's first #cosmeticpinterest.com/pin/1069605598 … via @pinterest

— thestylepage (@thestylepage) July 6, 2012

#nationalkissingday new @karen_murrell lipstick shades: Carnation Mist, Fuchsia Shock, Coral Dawn, and Sandstorm samsstylingroom.wordpress.com/2012/06/27/kar…
— thestylepage (@thestylepage) July 6, 2012

Thanks Karen for sending me your newest lipstick shades!

Patriotic makeup

Beautypress had a feature on Patriotic Makeup Looks for 4th of July incorporating red, white, and blue.

Patriotic makeup - from beautypress.com

Get the look:

• Red - Wear a cherry red stain. it "would guarantee the light and airy feel you love, with the lasting power you desire!" 
• White - Apply white eye shadow to your inner corner.  "It instantly brightens your entire eye up and gives you that wide awaken look!"  Apply a neutral skin tone color to the entire lid.  
• Blue - Apply a blue eyeliner to your upper and/or lower lash line. "It can really make your eye color pop and make the whites in your eye look whiter!"

Patriotic nails - Isadora, OPI for Merle Norman, Le Métier de Beauté - Updated for July 4

Isadora, which is from Sweden, posted this picture of patriotic nails on Facebook:

Patriotic Nail art from Sweden's Isadora

Isadora Wonder Nail polish shades:

• no 603 Tip White
• no 702 Blue Jeans
• no 653 Chelsea Red

And don't ask me about the red hands! :-)

Merle Norman likes to trumpet its "Made in the USA" credentials. OPI created its Americana nail set to celebrate Merle Norman’s heritage. It features red, white and blue mini OPI Nail Lacquers. The Americana nail set features:

• Hussy - a ravishing red polish. No, it's not named for a brazen woman who's got her mitts on your man (and believe me, I've had to deal with one), it's named for a classic car. 
• Alpine Snow
• Yoga-ta Get this Blue! 
• RapiDry Top Coat

OPI for Merle Norman Americana nail set

And once again, my apologies for the lousy picture quality, but it's the best I could find. :-(

See set from Le Métier de Beauté:

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

We recognized Canada Day; we would be remiss to not recognize our very own Fourth of July:

American Flag

We associate the 4th of July with parades, barbeques, and fireworks, but let's take a few moments today to reflect on The Declaration of Independence.

Read Declaration of Independence on the National Archives web site.

Listen:

Audio mp3 Reading by Bill Barker, who portrays Thomas Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg
Audio mp3 Reading by John F. Kennedy

The Declaration of Independence closes with these words:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.


Indeed, several signers suffered for the cause of independence.

It surprised me to hear a man from Eritrea and a man from Pakistan say that they had memorized the Declaration of Independence in their home countries.

The Declaration of Independence is housed at the National Archives in Washington, DC. I was privileged to see the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights arise from out of their vaults prior to visitor hours.

Nina Simone performs Leonard Cohen's Suzanne #MusicMonday

After my recent #MusicMonday features on Leonard Cohen's Suzanne and Female jazz vocal compilations, it seems fitting that I feature Nina Simone's unique styling of "Suzanne":

In the 60s, Nina Simone was known for protest songs such as "Mississippi Goddam." She also performed songs such as The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun," Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse's "Feeling Good," Screamin' Jay Hawkins's "I Put a Spell on You," and "Ain't Got No/I Got Life" from the musical Hair with her one-of-a-kind styling.

In a future #MusicMonday feature, I'll present Nina Simone's cover of Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn's "Love Me or Leave Me."

Canada Day

Canadian Flag

July 1 is Canada Day. Warm wishes to all our Canadian readers on that day!

Canada Day marks the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada was divided into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867.  Happy 145th birthday, Canada!

Want to mark Canada Day with music?  Here are The Style Page's picks: