Archives for June 2011

This month’s reader giveaway: Experience the elegance of Bulgari’s Jasmin Noir body cream

June 3, 2011 by

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” said Leonardo da Vinci. Somehow I don’t think he had beauty routines or vanity tables in mind when he said this but you never know. He was a Renaissance man, after all.

Bulgari's new body cream absorbs easily, leaving an intoxicating scent.

I recently found a new product that’s really rather captivating in its simplicity, Bulgari’s Jasmin Noir body cream. The plain black jar, minimally adorned with a single gold band, catches the eye. The rich, yet light, cream is a joy to use, keeps skin summer-soft and eliminates the need for any other fragrance.

Earlier this week, I slathered some on after a shower and then dashed out the door for a blowout. “You smell fantastic. What is that?” Nava, the stylist, asked me as she washed my hair. Leaning back, with my feet up, it was the perfect way to relish the feeling of well being and pampering.

Bulgari says it was drawn to jasmine for its “intriguing ambivalence and complexity,” noting that the flower’s scent changes hour by hour. “At dawn, the translucent white flower has a fresh and delicate scent, then at midday it releases a citrusy fragrance that recalls orange blossoms, which then transforms in the evening into the characteristically warmer, more seductive notes.”

Perfect for a femme fatale, no? Also available: soap, bath & shower gel, body lotion and perfume. Bulgari’s Jasmin Noir Body Cream is $90 for 6.9 ounces. To buy it, visit Neiman Marcus.

Best of all, I have an extra jar for this month’s reader giveaway! To enter, just leave a comment on any FNB post, June 1-30. The winner will be randomly selected at the end of the month and announced in early July. Include your email address in your comment so that I can notify you if you win. Your email will not be shared. (The winner of the April giveaway has been selected and contacted.)

Product Source: Bulgari has provided a product for review and a product to give away to a reader. I did not receive compensation.

Filed Under: Noir Stuff Tagged With: , , , ,

Pick up L.A. Noire, where limelight meets streetlight, but be warned: it is hard to put down

June 2, 2011 by

By Logan Senn

L.A. Noire – the newest installment in a long line of genre-defining games from Rockstar Games and Team Bondi – fuses a sandbox-style, open-world, first-person detective game with the gritty and compelling backdrop of post-WWII Los Angeles. This daring venture, from the gaming think-tank made famous through the Grand Theft Auto series, has broken into uncharted territory with the first game ever to seamlessly blur the lines between gaming and cinema, doing so in near-perfect fashion.

Aaron Staton

As the opening cinematic sequence beautifully displays the glitz and glamour of golden-age ’40s Hollywood, we are introduced to our leading man Cole Phelps (Aaron Staton of “Mad Men”), an LAPD Detective who was thrown into his position headfirst after a brief stint as an officer in the war. The storyline follows Phelps as he climbs the ranks and battles over a seemingly unending quest to tackle cases of corruption, drugs, arson and murder, all the while fighting with his own brutal conscience and his decisions about morality.

It sounds more like the plot of a twisted noir novel than that of a multimillion-dollar gaming endeavor, but I assure you that every possible facet of this cinematic journey has been overly developed to the point where you can hardly discern between the enveloping story and the gameplay itself.

L.A. Noire is the first game on record to use Team Bondi’s new MotionScan animation-capture technology. With MotionScan, the game’s producers were able to capture actors’ facial expressions and body language with an accuracy never seen before on any gaming console. More to the point, it asks players to use every aspect of their intellect to evaluate and engage with the in-game characters’ physical actions and reactions.

This is a groundbreaking game on many other levels as well. The size and scope of the game are completely unmatched in anything I’ve ever come across on a console system. Everything from the scenic Los Angeles backdrop to the rich and enthralling soundtrack have been fine-tuned to deliver the true feeling of the dark and twisted world around you.

As far as the gameplay goes, there is little available on the open market to compare it to. The game delicately walks the tightrope between beautiful CGI and actual interactive gameplay. There are times in which the player has trouble figuring out when it’s actually time to pick up the controller and start playing. The cinematics are breathtaking, and the new sandbox engine far exceeds the greatest expectations of the most seasoned gaming veterans.

I would compare it to the GTA (Grand Theft Auto) series, but that would be doing L.A. Noire a serious injustice. You could spend countless hours exploring the rich scenery of a Los Angeles long forgotten. Angelinos may take particular interest here in that it’s pretty darn fun to explore your neighborhood as it looked nearly 70 years ago. With more than 60 model cars available, the driving is authentic and the shootouts feel realistic but not overwhelming.

The most interesting aspects of the game, however, are the deeply layered interrogation scenes. Each one of the dozens of cases comes with its own cast of characters, offering hundreds of unique and diverse plotlines. It’s up to the player to read and interpret the facial expressions and body language of the suspects, and the outcome of the story depends on your ability to do so accurately. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Noir Style Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Honey, your June horoscope is here …

June 1, 2011 by

Marilyn Monroe

Susan Hayward

Fate reigns supreme in film noir, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love us some zodiac fun. Hope your June is full of brides wearing black and plenty of men with beachworthy bodies. And happy birthday, Gemini and Cancer! A special shout-out and remembrances to Gemini A-listers Marilyn Monroe (June 1), Tony Curtis (June 3), Angelina Jolie (June 4), Isabella Rossellini and Roger Ebert (June 18), Kathleen Turner (June 19), and Cancer treasures Billy Wilder (June 22), Frances McDormand (June 23), John Cusack (June 28) and Susan Hayward (June 30).

Gemini (May 22-June 21): This month, when you get that let’s-put-on-a-show! feeling, go with the urge. No experience, no cash, no contacts? No problem! See where enthusiasm and can-do energy will take you. Even if it doesn’t take you all the way, you will be generating exciting ideas and forging new paths. Man du Jour will make this a summer to remember; cut him some slack if he forgets to chill the champagne or shows up with a mere dozen roses. Keep him sweet – you may need him to work the curtain. 😉

Cancer (June 22-July 23): “Didn’t we just have this conversation?” you might find yourself saying, your typically dulcet tone poised to become an impatient snarl. In other words, there could be a few minor communication snags that try your patience and leave you flummoxed. Wait, I take that back. Flummoxed? I think not. Self-possessed and supremely confident, you can handle anything that comes your way. This month, try to dole out a bit of patience for those less capable than you. Be extra flexible the weekend of the 16th. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Noir Horoscopes
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