I Believe This Calls For A Proper Introduction!

Panic at the Disco! songs happen to be my soundtrack for just about anything I do, including my attempt to write this article (¯Ready To Go ¯). A good friend introduced them to me in the summer of 2006 and I am eternally grateful J. At that time I was already a year behind since they released their debut album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, on September 27, 2005.

                Let me start with some introductions. Originally it was Ryan Ross and Spencer Smith who began playing together and started their music career as an amateur Blink 182 cover band. This was all happening in the self proclaimed entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas. Popular culture has made it this ethereal place tucked away in a desert with ‘The Strip’ as a thirst quenching oasis. It was not long before fellow Las Vegas citizens Brent Wilson and Brendon Urie (who has made many a teen’s heart beat just that bit faster <3 ) joined the group. Nevertheless, it was not this town of glamour and entertainment that motivated them. On the contrary, they felt the Las Vegas music scene had become repetitive and was in need of new sounds. This is a reason they felt the need to bring something new. They soon came up with their tongue in cheek name ‘Panic! At The Disco’ inspired by the song Panic by Name Taken. Their rise to fame was like a fresh breeze. When Pete Wentz, bassist of Fall Out Boy, listened to a link P!ATD had sent him he promptly flew to Las Vegas to hear them play. Even though he had only heard them in a garage he did not hesitate to sign them and the rest is history.

Their first album is still a fever I can’t seem to sweat out ;) Firstly, there were the long song names that so refreshingly had no literal meaning, such as ¯I constantly thank god for Esteban¯or even ¯I write sins not tragedies¯. Furthermore, the names were inspired by popular culture, more precisely the books and movies they loved (I think I like them even more since I discovered this). For instance, two songs are a quote by Natalie Portman in Closer (2004), ¯Lying Is The Most Fun You A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off¯ and ¯But It's Better When You Do¯. ¯The Only Difference Between Martydom And Suicide Is Press Coverage¯ is from a Chuck Palahniuk book called Survivor. They also have a not so subtle reference in their last song, ¯Build God, Then We’ll Talk¯, to the Sound Of Music song “My Favourite Things”, giving it their own touch:

There are no raindrops on roses,
And girls in white dresses.
It's sleeping with roaches,
And taking best guesses

At the shade of the sheets and before all the stains
And a few more of your least favorite things.

To top it off they are also visually captivating. Their video for ¯I write sins not tragedies¯was not only an ear pleaser but also an eye pleaser as they had a flair for theatricality and vaudeville inspired costumes, which made it better than an average music video. It would also go on to win Video of the Year at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. It would also kick start their highly praised circus inspired tour and by the end of 2006 it was clear P!ATD had charmed the world. (Currently the somewhat popularly inspired video for ¯Ready To Go¯ is worth a look.)

 Adding to their credibility on the music scene is the fact that their songs have the potential to have so much meaning on a personal level, and still seem frivolous and fun at the same time. Yet, they do not use cliché lyrics or words and with regard to a theme you can have fun guessing.  Actually for seventeen year olds, when they wrote the album, I was quite impressed with their vocabulary. I am not sure if I could have used the word ‘surreptitious’ quite as well as them at that stage (¯There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey. You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet¯). Nevertheless, the mainstream media were quick to classify them as emo. However, it still helped catapult them to fame. Also judging by some lyrics (such as below) I do not think they were too bothered about what the world thought or labels for that matter:

¯London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines¯

Panic! Meet the Press
It's time for us to take a chance
It's time for us to take a chance
Panic! Meet the Press
It's time for us to take a chance
It's time for us...

While we're just a wet dream for the webzine,
Make us it
Make us hip
Make us scene
Or Shrug us off your shoulders
Don't approve a single word that we wrote

For their next album it was clear they were somewhat older and they wanted to focus on the music in its basic forms. Pretty Odd did not have the characteristically theatrical sound so many of us had grown to love and they had dropped their exclamation mark. Yet, considering they were so young when the first album was written and Brent Wilson had left, to be replaced by Jon Walker, it should not have come as much of a surprise. Although they had seemed to age beyond their years at this point the music was still fun despite its melancholy undertone. ¯Northern Downpour¯ just seems so heartfelt, ¯Folkin Around¯ is a song I imagine cowboys are having a great party to and ¯She Had The World¯ is just something I can imagine Darcy and Elizabeth from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice having a dance to (even though this music would definitely have never fitted in that time). Pretty Odd is like a porthole to a world I can escape to when I need to put things into perspective.

                After this album it was very quite around PATD and in 2009 it became known that Ryan Ross and Jon Walker had decided to go their own way. It was rumoured that there were artistic differences between the band members. Luckily Panic! At The Disco is back in 2011 with an exclamation mark. It took two years for the remaining two band members, Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith, to come up with their yet again unique sound and third album Vices and Virtues. As I mentioned before I love that the songs can have meaning on a personal level and that there is so much emotion. You can truly sing it out however you want to ;) My personal favourite when it comes to raw emotion is ¯Lying Is The Most Fun You Can Have Without Taking Your Clothes Off¯:

Is it still me that makes you sweat?
Am I who you think about in bed?
When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking as you're sliding off your dress?
Then think of what you did
And how I hope to God he was worth it.
When the lights are dim and your heart is racing as your fingers touch his skin.
I've got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch, a better fuck
Than any boy you'll ever meet, sweetie you had me
Girl I was it, look past the sweat, a better love deserving of
Exchanging body heat in the passenger seat?
No, no, no, you know it will always just be me

If you sing this out loud you actually feel good about yourself not to mention confident. Urie confirmed this and very convincingly emphasized it at a concert in Trix Antwerp on 11 May. He also performed this song much more effectively this time around than at their first concert in Belgium at the AB in Brussels back in their Fever days. ¯Hurricane ¯is another one of those songs. Need I say more:

Are you worth your weight in gold?
Cause you're behind my eyelids when I'm all alone.
Hey stranger, I want ya to catch me like a cold (achoo!).
You and God both got the guns,
And when you shoot I think I'd duck.

I led the revolution in my bedroom
And I set all the zippers free.
We said "No more war! No more clothes!
Give me peace! Oh kiss me!"

Hey! Hey! We are a hurricane!
Drop our anchors in a storm.

If you are having a fight listen to ¯ The Calender¯ which is a beautiful song with my favourite line because it is just so pure and lyrically said: ‘at night your body is a symphony and I’m conducting’. The whole album is rife with great words, tunes and references to popular culture among which Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is probably the most obvious. This album can truly be to you whatever you want it to be, just listen to ¯Always¯ or ¯Sarah Smiles¯  if you do not believe me. Just listen and you will not be disappointed.  

I wish more people would ‘catch them like a cold’ and appreciate them for the interesting, escapist, motivating and dare I say inspiring music. Surprisingly enough, when it comes to Panic! At The Disco I really will ‘dance to anything’. (and that’s a big thing because I’m not much of a dancer J)

Smells like...

Perfumes are timeless and often shrouded with mystery, allure, confidence, but above all a generous dose of popular culture. Celebrities generally advertise perfumes and are constantly creating their own fragrances, designers up their credibility with a signature scent, perfume adverts have themselves become studied works and the world continues to fall at the perfume industry’s feet. Therefore, it is an appropriate subject for this next article.

       Contrary to what you might have thought I am going to start with the traditional fragrances as they are actually coming back into fashion (I guess fashion has a habit of doing that J.  I am going to leave the early history for what it is though. Nevertheless, in my eyes, when it comes to classic scents, Chanel No.5 is still the mother of all contemporary perfumes with apparently a bottle still being sold every 30 seconds. It was created in 1921 for Coco Chanel by Ernest Beaux. The perfume is said to be inspired by the midnight sun, as well as by lakes and rivers in the Arctic circle which Ernest had visited the year before he created the perfume.  It has notes of Ylang-Ylang, Neroli, Grasse Jasmine, May Rose, Sandalwood and Vanilla. The fragrance has remained the same throughout the years. Marilyn Monroe, very much an icon in popular culture, initially meant the breakthrough for Chanel No 5. Not only through an advertising campaign that would come to set the tone for the Chanel No. 5 advertising campaigns but also thanks to her iconic words: “What do I wear to bed? Why Chanel No. 5 of course”. [1]   Chanel No.5 was further solidified during those years by popular culture artist Andy Warhol who made one of his famous works of art using the perfume as inspiration.



Today I think we are probably all familiar with the impressive Chanel advertising campaign with Nicole Kidman and later also French actress Audrey Tautou (see pictures below). What the perfume radiates has actually given Chanel products (bags, shoes, jewellery) an overall appeal as a timelessly classy and stylish brand.  Other classic scents are among others Dior, Shalimar by Guerlain and L’air du Temps by Nina Ricci. For men classic scents are Bleu or Allure by Chanel, Cool Water by Davidoff, Armani Code or something by Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger. 



The new generation of women who have to become the target group for these classic perfumes are cleverly seduced at an early age. This is done by creating strong advertising campaigns around  youthful, fun, happy spin-offs of the classic perfumes. Often the respective adverts are very colorful and they seem to radiate life.  The girls featured in these adverts have a natural glow, an overall attractiveness but also sexiness and they nevertheless issue a strong personality. For example Miss Dior Chérie which is currently featuring the intriguing actress Natalie Portman as face of the campaign. What gives it an extra boost is that celebrated director Sofia Coppola, known from among others Lost in Translation (2003) and her dreamy, visually often stunning films, also directed the television advertisements for Miss Dior Cherie.  In a similar way Keira Knightley is the fresh face of the Coco Mademoiselle perfume. Additionally, the deal is sealed with a catchy tune (maybe like perfume puts a finishing touch on an outfit). This is definitely a reason why classic perfumes are making a revival. It seems to me it can lower the threshold when it comes to buying a Chanel No.5 or a J’Adore by Dior later on.

 The television advertising campaigns:

Miss Dior:

Miss Dior Chérie featuring Natalie Portman:

Coco Mademoiselle:

Nevertheless, the perfume industry does not let a season pass by (in Europe summer is nearing) without releasing a fresh batch of perfumes. It seems the new perfumes this season are very much inspired by flowers. Although there are many others, I will only be discussing Marc Jacobs (the talented, influential designer) who has embraced this trend to the full  giving it a twenty first century twist by creating original packaging. The two perfumes I am talking about are Daisy and Oh Lola! (a new perfume to be released in July this year and derived from Lola). It is rumored that it-girl Dakota Fanning will be the face of the new perfume, which sounds promising. When it comes to these perfumes they are described as “refreshing, playful, irresistible and perfect to face the upcoming summer days”. In my eyes he has the ability to create edgy, yet still elegant designs. This is further accentuated by the fact that Marc Jacobs has also made it a must-have accessory. You can actually buy Daisy and Lola rings which are great with almost any outfit and you can slide them open to release solid perfume that you can then apply with your finger. It is most handy and to be honest an ingenious idea which I am fan of.  There is also a pop art version of the Daisy perfume which I thought was quite interesting.

 

               

                To tell you about the upcoming smells it seems the weirder the better J. Three examples pop to mind. It probably will not have passed you by that anything ‘vampire’ is extremely popular at the moment. Of which most of all the HBO serie True Blood and of course the Twilight sensation. This is why it may not be weird to hear that an Italian company has come up with unisex perfumes inspired by our blood types. Then there was the rumour Karl Lagerfeld was working on a perfume inspired by the smell of paper and books. Nevertheless, this has been denied. Yet, we can still rely on Lady Gaga to shake things up as she is also said to be working on a signature fragrance although it seems a very risky smell as the press described it as a perfume that was to smell like blood and semen. Lady Gaga clarified this misconception, "I wanted to extract sort of the feeling and sense of blood and semen from molecular structures, so that's where [the rumors] came from and that is in the perfume but it doesn't smell like that."[2] There are also original names such as Paris Hilton’s perfume ‘Just Me’. The point is somebody tells you you smell good and asks what you’re wearing you can reply it’s just me. I liked that idea J

When it comes to my current personal favourite it is Incredible Me by Escada. It is not the most original design or anything but the smell is great. It is soft with just a whiff of something that spices it up which makes me feel alive and confident.  I also love the slight vanilla undertone. It also helps that I sometimes get complimented that I smell nice. Surprisingly, I also have a favourite when it comes to men’s perfume. I love the Hugo Boss XY  because you can wear it to work and at the same time it has an extra tanginess that almost radiates fun and makes me believe there is more than meets the eye.

What I want to emphasize is that the creators of perfumes use their inspiration to create great fragrances but it is an industry that in the end channels popular culture to make it work. They use famous actors and actresses in their campaigns, directors or famous photographers to design their adverts and keep creating new perfumes inspired by what people are watching, doing or connects them in some way J

(On a personal note: I know this was not my promised Sims article (I probably should not have said that was going to be my next one ;) It is definitely coming soon and feel free to comment!)

[1] http://www.suite101.com/content/icons-chanel-no-5-perfume-a44263

[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/25/lady-gaga-perfume-blood-semen_n_828273.html

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Teaser: Royal Wedding Sims style!

Recently I stumbled upon this video the Sims creators came up with as a result of the pending Royal Wedding (only one more day to go if we’re counting down). Let me continue slightly on this hot topic. Not only England has royal fever, it seems global these days (Recently my mom even bought a Kate and William cookie tin and book ;)

Just to give an example of the proportions this wedding has taken on: we here in Belgium have about five bigger Flemish channels and 3 of them (Eén, VT4 en VTM) will be broadcasting the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. To be honest, I do not really see the point, but I guess it gives plenty of experts in relevant domains (stylists, cooks, florists etc.) and of course royalty watchers such as Jan Van den Berghe (on VTM) a chance to have their say. Whether we want to watch or not I do think it might just be inevitable. Nevertheless, I know I am quite curious as to the best kept secret, the dress J

However, with this short video I wanted to introduce the world of The Sims in a relevant context and of course from an angle inspired by popular culture. This angle of popular culture is further demonstrated in the video below.

Here we see the music video of ‘Ballad of Mona Lisa’ by the band Panic! At the Disco in its Sims version. Again it becomes clear that popular culture motivates people to experiment with other types of popular culture. In this particular case people are experimenting with the possibilities of The Sims. On a personal note I have the utmost respect for these creations. This use of popular culture in other forms of popular culture is not uncommon. For example Blink 182 refers to Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) in their song ‘I Miss You’. More precisely they sing the words, ‘We can live like Jack and Sally if you want, where you can always find me, we’ll have Halloween on Christmas, And in the night we’ll wish this never ends’.  

However, it was my aim with this short article to entice you to read my upcoming article on The Sims. To me The Sims is popular culture. I will of course elaborate on this in my article. Moreover, the game has a unique ability to suck girls into the gaming world. The short video clips above already illustrate why popular culture is involved and provide clues as to the article without me having to say anything yet!

Hier komt het kleed ...

In onze huidige cultuur is een huwelijk niet enkel meer ‘liefde’ tussen twee personen. Toch lijkt het mij dat het in beste instantie iets persoonlijks en authentieks zou moeten zijn. Misschien stom om te zeggen maar ik vind dat ze het in de romantische komedie 27 Dresses (2008) (een aanrader voor liefhebbers ;) toch mooi hebben verwoord. Het moment waar de mannelijke hoofdrol aan het uitleggen is wat eigenlijk zijn favoriet deel van het huwelijk is, komt dicht bij wat ik zou hopen dat het in essentie zou zijn, "When the bride comes in and she makes her giant grand entrance, I like to glance back at the poor bastard getting married. Cause even though I think he's an idiot for willingly entering into the last legal form of slavery, he always looks really, really happy". Het komt niet pretentieus over maar recht uit het hart.

                Desalniettemin worden we tegenwoordig overspoeld met allerlei reality programma’s en celebrity invloeden wanneer het op huwelijk aankomt. Bijvoorbeeld reality shows als ‘For better or for Worse’, ‘Whose Wedding is it Anyway’ of ‘Bridezillas’. Moest je nog meer nodig hebben staat ook het internet vol. Bijvoorbeeld famouscelebrityweddings.com of bridestelevision.com. Vooral in de Amerikaanse cultuur kan dit heuse proporties aannemen. Bovendien moeten er mensen naar kijken want anders zouden ze deze soort programma’s niet aan de lopende band produceren.

                Weinig verrassend is dan het feit dat de huwelijksindustrie bijzonder lucratief is. Wel is het belangrijk in het achterhoofd te houden dat deze industrie bestaat uit verschillende domeinen die elk een rol spelen op de grote dag. Er zijn de bloemisten, de ‘wedding planners’, de traiteurs, de schoonheidsspecialisten, de muziek, de locatie en de kers erop, de taart! In deze post wil ik verder ingaan op wat tegenwoordig toch wel een bijzonder prominent onderdeel geworden is van een gemiddelde vrouw haar huwelijksdroom,  de bruidsjurk. Het fenomeen ‘de bruidsjurk’ is mede zo belangrijk geworden dankzij de aandacht die eraan besteed wordt in de populaire cultuur.

                Films, magazines en celebrities waaronder Oprah hebben er mij attent op gemaakt dat Vera Wang dé ontwerper is in huwelijksland. Zo dragen Anne Hathaway en Kate Hudson in Bride Wars (2009) op maat gemaakte Vera Wang’s in de slotscene. Maar wie is ze en hoe heeft ze haar imperium kunnen uitbouwen? Vera Wang groeide op in the Upper West Side van New York. Haar moeder was een vertaler voor de VN en haar vader was een olie en farmaceutische magnaat. Tot haar twintigste was ze een professionele ijsschaatster. Ze zou later redactrice van Vogue worden voor 17 jaar. Ze is op toevallige manier in de huwelijksindustrie terecht gekomen. Na een lange en vermoeiende zoektocht naar een bruidsjurk, zonder succes, besloot ze haar eigen perfecte bruisjurk te ontwerpen voor haar extravagante huwelijk. In 1990 zou ze Vera Wang Bridal House Ltd. openen in New York.[1] Ondertussen is ze een gevestigde ontwerper en heeft ze reeds bruidsjurken gemaakt voor menig een bekend figuur. Onder haar klanten behoren Chelsea Clinton, Alicia Keys, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Hudson, Hilary Duff en Sarah Michelle Gellar. 

                Even spraakmakend wat betreft bruidsjurken was de Vogue fotosessie in de eerste Sex and the City (2009) film waarin Carrie Bradshaw (en voor deze die niet weten wie het is: de actrice Sarah Jessica Parker in de Sex and the City serie en films)  bruidsjurken showt van verschillende topontwerpers. Vera Wang passeert het revue maar ook Oscar de la Renta, Dior, Monique Lhuillier en Christian La Croix.Uiteindelijk besluit Carrie te trouwen in een jurk van Vivienne Westwood. Het opmerkelijkste is het feit dat fans overal ter wereld na het zien van de film ook deze jurk wilden. Bijgevolg was de jurk op korte tijd uitverkocht. Weliswaar de korte versie die beschikbaar was voor 9 875 dollar. De lange jurk (zoals hieronder te zien op de foto) moest je persoonlijk bestellen bij Vivienne Westwood zelf voor maar liefst 15 700 dollar.[2]

De speculaties zijn ook volkomen bezig over de jurk die actrice Kristen Stewart (als personage Bella Swan) zal dragen in de verfilming van het laatste Twilight boek Breaking Dawn. In het boek wordt het kleed beschreven als een ontwerp uit de jaren 1900 met tikjes moderniteit. Het zou gracieus en elegant zijn. Het tijdschrift InStyle heeft reeds in 2009 aan 10 topontwerpers gevraagd om hun versie van haar kleed te ontwerpen, weliswaar enkel op papier. Onder deze ontwerpers zijn er opnieuw grote namen als Max Azria, Lela Roze, Christian Siriano en Zac Posen.[3] Spijtig genoeg ontbreekt Vera Wang uit deze lijst. Het had interessant geweest om haar visie op het kleed eens te zien. Volgens ET Online zou het Zac Posen zijn die het kleed gaat ontwerpen maar het blijft natuurlijk speculatie.

Links het ontwerk van Max Azria voor InStyle en rechts die van Zac Posen.

Wat betreft de link tussen populaire cultuur en huwelijksland zal deze enkel versterkt worden door het veel besproken, nakend huwelijk van Prins William en zijn verloofde Kate Middleton. Op 29 april 2011 geven ze elkaar hun jawoord en de media is, onder andere,  volop aan het speculeren over wie het kleed van Kate Middleton zal ontwerpen. Het is namelijk niet enkel een huwelijk. Omwille van de status van de personen in kwestie kan men spreken over een historisch event. Het zou volgens kenners gaan tussen Bruce Oldfield, Phillipa Lepley en een favoriet van Kate Middleton, Daniella Issa Helayel.[4] De Telegraph onthulde op 20 december 2010 dat een ontwerper bezig zou zijn aan het kleed in Buckingham Palace. Het zou een weinig bekende Britse ontwerper zijn die uiteindelijk dan in de beroemdheid zal gecatapulteerd worden. We kunnen wel met zekerheid zeggen dat het niet Vivienne Westwood zal zijn aangezien ze gezegd heeft dat ze Kate Middleton niet stijlvol genoeg vond voor haar creaties.[5] Zelfs Victoria Beckham, die zich heeft ontpopt tot invloedrijke ontwerpster, was niet buiten de speculaties gerekend. Kate Middleton is fan van haar ontwerpen en heeft reeds gevraagd om enkele ontwerpen te zien die ze zou kunnen dragen voor officiële gelegenheden. Het zal beginnen bij haar huwelijksreis waar ze enkele ontwerpen van Victoria Beckham zal dragen.[6] 29 April 2011 belooft alvast een even spannende dag te worden voor de populaire cultuur als voor het gelukkig paar zelf.

Waarschijnlijk kunnen jullie het raden maar ik droom stiekem, weliswaar in de toekomst, ook wel van een huwelijk. Van het moment waar ik mijn sprookjeskleed kan aantrekken en de man van mijn dromen voor mij staat met ‘the look’ ;). Daarna het feestje, de openingsdans, de taart en de gezelligheid van het te kunnen delen met mensen om wie ik geef. Hmm, ik kijk er nu al naar uit! Laten we die bruidsjurk nog even verhuld in mysterie want zoals het spreekwoord gaat ‘It’s bad luck to see the dress before the wedding’ ;)

[1] http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/vera-wang.html

[2] http://geniusbeauty.com/fashion-and-wear/carrie-bradshaw-wedding-gown-by-vivienne-westwood-sold-out/

[3] http://www.instyle.com/instyle/package/general/photos/0,,20241149_20299475_20661592,00.html

[4] http://www.suite101.com/content/who-will-design-kate-middletons-wedding-dress-a312826

[5] http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20110222_120

[6] http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20110217_067

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Oh Popularly Inspired

‘Step right up’, ‘In the spotlight pink’, ‘So many clowns so little time’ and ‘Juggle men’. They are not just smart little wordplays but the names of that ‘thing’ which has the ability to give us girls that extra boost. Maybe just an added ingredient to that infectious smile J. I am talking about nail polish (and the above mentioned names are just the neutral colours) (see picture below) [1]. Then again, I am not going to discuss just any nail polish. This you might have already been able to deduce from the title. Yes, I am going to talk about the brand OPI and how it is unique in its use of popular culture to inspire a wide colour pallet.   

To illustrate my point four examples come to mind. The foremost example is probably the rush of teenage girls for ‘The One Less Lonely Girl Collection’[2] in association with Nicōle by OPI. One less lonely girl is first and foremost a Justin Bieber hit. In other words, it is a collection inspired by the teen idol himself. Surprisingly enough he also helped mastermind the colours. Needless to say the female ‘beliebers’ went crazy over this collection and I remember reading that the collection only needed a day after release to be sold-out pretty much all over America. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the media has been neglectful in mentioning that the money made from this collection is not for Bieber’s personal gain but goes to the non profit organisation Pencils of Promise. This is an organisation which builds schools in the developing world.[3] [4] Justin Bieber hopes the organisation can build more schools with his help and of course that of his fans and just people that like nail polish ;)  It seems crazy that a boy triggered such a rush. It gives new meaning to never say never!

                 Here you can see the full collection with names like ‘I’ve got Bieber Fever’, ‘I’m a Belieber’ and OMB!.[5]

A classic example is of course the collection designed around international superstar Katy Perry. A collection described as dazzling, colourful and totally unique on their website.[6] Not only are the colours totally inspired by the candy colours Katy seems to be so fond of but they can be spiced up with a black colour you can apply over the base which then simulates a ‘shattered’ effect.

Both Katy Perry and Serena Williams have worked with OPI[7]

Game, set, match for Serena Williams this season! After all, who needs a grand slam when you have a Glam Slam? (the name of her OPI collection). She will soon have three more glam slam collections of which the release will cleverly coincide with the three remaining tournaments: The French Open, The U.S. Open and of course Wimbledon.[8] However, whether it is her nails, her interesting outfit or simply her presence on court, she’s ‘simply smashing’ (name of her Australian Open colour)! Now Serena is already assured of her upcoming glam slams!

                It does not stay with popular personalities. Also cities and places have proven to be an inexhaustible source of inspiration. For example the spring/summer 2010 Hong Kong collection reflects the edginess of this trendy, cosmopolitan city with colours such as ‘Red my fortune cookie’, ‘Dim Sum Plum’ and ‘Panda-monium Pink’. There was also the Swiss collection and for spring/summer 2011 OPI has released the Texas collection with lovely ‘sorbet’ like colours ‘Do you think I’m Tex-y’ and ‘Suzi Loves Cowboys’.

                I am also at liberty to say that since I was not a fan (I thought it was quite overrated) I felt it necessary to also personally test this nail polish. I was pleasantly surprised. Although it has an above average price of 13.95 euro (this is what I payed for one bottle of OPI’s ‘Hot and Spicy’ from the Hong Kong collection) I noticed the difference. First of all, OPI has an amazing array of colours, with equally irresistible names, to choose from.  No other current brand can quite equal this feat.  Secondly, it was easy to apply (thanks to the lid which actually proved to be very comfortable to hold), it was quick to dry and it does not seem to lose its effect after a day or two (something which irritates me with other brands who actually advertise the fact that their nail polish is long lasting). Last but not least, you also get more polish than in an average bottle, namely 12ml. Yet, what really distinguished OPI is that this nail polish signifies a lifestyle. Basically, I noticed that I not only felt ‘hot and spicy’ but that thanks to the great colours and equally catchy names I could really choose something to match my personality and mood and at the same time allow myself to feel a little glamorous like Katy Perry or Serena Williams or in a weird way even close to Justin Bieber J The fact that OPI can successfully translate popular culture to its brand is what sets them apart from the rest. It keeps the brand fresh and it keeps people coming back for more. In spite of their popular image they still manage to retain a professional and exclusive image by keeping their price a little above average and only selling their products in beauty salons. So be popularly inspired!

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[1] http://www.opi.com

[2] Interesting fact: In his shows he always picks a girl from the audience to sing this song to. He then ends by giving her a hug and a rose J

[3] http://pencilsofpromise.org/who-we-are

[4] http://www.nicolebyopi.com/collection/one-less-lonely-girl-collection

[5] http://www.nicolebyopi.com/collection/one-less-lonely-girl-collection

[6] http://www.opi.com/

[7] http://www.opi.com/

[8] http://www.opi.com/