Tag: brigitte bardot

Sunshine In Saint Tropez.

As someone who is a huge fan of Classic Cinema and Blonde Bombshells, one place that I simply had to visit during my stay in Cannes was the stunning, Saint Tropez. This beautiful place was made famous by French’s most famous Film Star, Brigitte Bardot and has also been her home for almost sixty years! 

Sadly, I may not have had the pleasure of seeing BB herself, but, it’s very clear how loved and respected she is by the people of Saint Tropez – her beautiful face is everywhere! One of my favourite French Films is probably Brigitte’s most famous and iconic one; And God Created Woman (1956) and as it was pretty much all shot in Saint Tropez, it was a pretty incredible experience to literally walk in the Sex Kitten’s iconic footsteps. I bet when Roger Vadim and Brigitte were making this movie over sixty years ago, they had no idea of the huge impact they were going to have on this small little fishing village!

One of the things I really wanted to see whilst in Brigitte’s chosen home was the Musée De La Gendarmerie Et Du Cinema, also known as The Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum. Currently showing there until January 2018 is the, Brigitte Bardot; Myth Of Saint Tropez, which is a whole photography exhibition dedicated to BB herself. This was an amazing experience for me to witness and it also featured a few of Brigitte’s actual film clothing, an original portrait and autographs! My only criticism was I wish it had been bigger – the more BB the better! Sadly, I realized after visiting that there was a second floor in the building which also featured a permanent Brigitte section with other French Actresses. Therefore, I may just have to return!

Walking around Saint Tropez in the beautiful sunshine was such a wonderful memory for me, it was truly like a treasure trove, with so many amazing spots to discover. Whilst exploring the streets of Saint Tropez, I stumbled across this incredible Artist, known as Cserg, with most of his work featuring Brigitte and autographed by the lady herself! Sadly, his shop was closed and I didn’t get to meet him, but you should definitely visit his website and appreciated his incredible work. 

However, even if you’re not a BB Fan like myself, Saint Tropez is so aesthetically pleasing and perfect for photographers or scenery lovers. Ultimately, I only wish I’d have been able to have spent more time there as I don’t feel I got to appreciate 100% of what Saint Tropez has to offer. Although, I did see so many amazing things in one afternoon – so, there is a silver lining! 

Overall, I was most definitely impressed with this beautiful village and it without doubt met all of my expectations. It’s truly so heartwarming to see how over half a century later, the citizens recognize how much Brigitte has done for their home and without doubt made it a household name. On Brigitte’s 83rd Birthday, Saint Tropez will be unveiling their sculpture of their Blonde Bombshell, which will reside outside The Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum – a beautiful tribute for a beautiful legend.

Follow me at;

For inquiries or collaborations contact me at;

meganmonroes@icloud.com

Old Hollywood Actresses I Relate To.

As you probably know by now, Old Hollywood is a huge passion of mine and I have spent a lot of time learning about the stars and watching movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood.  I was tagged on Instagram to post six Old Hollywood Actresses I relate to and I must say, I found it a lot harder than I expected! After  narrowing my list down to about nine stars, I finally picked my beautiful six.

Marilyn Monroe

(1926 – 1962)

I think it’s safe to say that I relate to Marilyn the most out of all of the Stars I’ve picked. Marilyn suffered with depression and anxiety, she was her biggest critic and a very sensitive soul. She also loved to read, learn, adored animals and looking after others. Marilyn was also very misunderstood and people often judged her on their perceptions, without knowing who she really was.


Gene Tierney

(1920 – 1991)

Gene suffered a mental breakdown and experienced depression and anxiety throughout her life. During her lifetime she was very candid about her mental health and contributed to lowering the stigma considerably in today’s society. I absolutely adore Gene, she was a beautiful soul and I relate to her suffering, but her recovery gives me hope.

Brigitte Bardot

(1934)

Brigitte is strong willed, passionate and determined, never following societies expectations and always being her own person. She fights for what she belives in and loves to love and be loved. She adores animals and fights for those who can’t fight for themselves. Brigitte is also misunderstood and has been judged by certain perceptions which are not accurate.

Audrey Hepburn 

(1929) – (1993)

I like to think I have Audrey’s caring heart and sensitive soul. She had so much joy for life and was very humble. She thought other people were more important than herself and gave so much to those in need. I can relate to her passion about what she believed in and her determination to help in whatever way she could.

Katharine Hepburn

(1907) – (2003)

Katharine was always a bit of an outsider and rarely followed societies expectations. She was quirky, an individual and a bit different. She was very ahead of her time and could be quite sassy and I like to think I have some of her spirit. She was reliable, loyal and devoted a lot of her time to those who needed her.

Carole Lombard

(1908) – (1942)

I like to think that I have Carole’s sense of humour, she was witty, loved to laugh and could be a bit cheeky! She didn’t always act like the lady people expected her to be in a time when women were meant to behave in a certain way and I love that about her. 

Follow me at;

Brigitte Bardot Hair.

You may not have seen Brigitte Bardot’s films, or even know much about her, but I can guarantee you will know her hair! Brigitte’s Bombshell Locks are without doubt one of the most Iconic Hairstyles of the 1950s and 1960s.

I’ve only started to learn and love Brigitte in the past couple of years, but I know that since I was a little girl I’ve always loved her look and of course, her beautiful hair!  To this day her hair is emulated by millions of people all around the world and today, I decided to try my own take on it.

When asked recently by a Journalist about her iconic look she simply said,

“I never decided anything. I always hated people fussing with my face and hair. I could get by on my own, pinning up my hair any old way.”

I decided to try two different, yet similar beehive hairstyles that were inspired by Brigitte. The first was more controlled and after I’d created this look, I decided to mess it up a bit and recreate Brigitte’s famous style, my favourite being around 1958.

I much preferred the second style, mainly because the first style felt too controlled and fancy for me, plus I was very conscious of pulling all of my hair off my face. I adore the tousled bangs look with the big curls and I felt much more comfortable with the second style.

When I usually style my hair similar to Brigitte’s I usually tend to do it when my hair is straight, however, I think it looks much closer to her style a day or so after my pin curls have dropped. Brigitte’s hair was never really pin straight in the late 1950s, it was styled to look like it had just been put up, but it always looked so wonderful! I wouldn’t be surprised if it only took Brigitte a few minutes however, she sure perfected her tresses!

If you’re interested in seeing Brigitte’s hair on film, then I think the best one to watch to see this iconic hairstyle is Come Dance With Me! in 1959. Before I’d watched any of Brigitte’s films, I once got a compliment comparing my look of the day to hers from the film, that meant so much and has always stayed with me!

When creating this hairstyle, I was surprised at how much little time it took for me to style! Of course, it helped that my hair was already pin curled a few days ago, firstly, I brushed each curl separately and twisted it around my finger. After that, I used my fine tooth comb and parted the top section of my hair, backcombed it ever so slightly, twisted it up and clipped it in. I decided to add a red bow to my beehive, mostly because I was inspired Brigitte herself in A Ravishing Idiot in 1964.

After I created this more controlled style, I decided I wasn’t fully happy with the style and wanted it to be more similar to Brigitte’s. I was anxious to how it would turn out, but I decided to go for it anyway, if you never try – you’ll never know! I simply took out the clips, used my comb and separated a small part of the front of my hair and parted it in the middle. I then brushed the hair around my face and twirled the curls around my fingers, and re-clipped the majority of the top section back!

I absolutely adore this hairstyle and although I can never pull it off as good as Brigitte, I think I did a good job overall. Don’t intimidated to try different hairstyles and be inspired by iconic looks, it’s always fun to be creative and give it a go!

Although Brigitte has always stated she didn’t really consider herself an actress and that in her film roles – she would simply be Brigitte, I think she’s far too self critical. She has a lot more talent than she gives herself credit for and therefore I thought I’d recommend some of her iconic movies. You can also see her dance in some of them too, something she has always adored, she actually trained for years in Ballet.

Brigitte Bardot Film Recommendations:

And God Created Woman (1956)
Une Parisenne (1957)
The Truth (1960)
Contempt (1963)
Shalako (1968)

Follow me at;

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

I want to apologize again for my of posts, I’ve had a very hectic week emotionally so I’ve been pretty drained. However, I’ve finally recovered from my Chicken Pox and I  actually put make up on for the first time in about nine days on Wednesday, yay!

On Thursday, my beautiful friend Laura aka livingforthenow, came to stay for a few days, sadly she left today. However, we had a lovely time together though and had a nice big catch up, I know Laura thanks to my favourite person, Marilyn, and we have been best friends since we finally met one another the day before Laura’s Wedding, two years ago! Marilyn always draws me to such beautiful people, inside and out and I am forever thankful to what she has done to help me, but that’s another story! Since meeting face to face at Laura’s Wedding, we have seen each other on three other occasions, (I think!) and she has helped me so much with my anxiety and depression, she’s basically Marilyn reincarnated. Even though we don’t get to see each other every day, we talk all the time and no matter the distance between us, that will never break our friendship.

Therefore, I wanted to do a post on our time together the past couple of days, being blog obsessed, we took quite a few photos and the highlight includes seeing Terminator Genisys with our girl, Emilia Clarke, *swoons*, did I mention we’re obsessed with Game of Thrones? I’m a bit embarrassed to say, but I think I’m the only person that hasn’t seen any of The Terminator films, so apart from needing an update on the first two from Laura, I thought it was great! I’m not a huge Sci-Fi person but I do like to try other genres and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Arnie looked great too, who said ageing is a bad thing?

My present from France from Laura and Paul! I am so in love with it, I almost cried with happiness!
My present from France of Brigitte Bardot from Laura and Paul! I am so in love with it, I almost cried with happiness!

As you can see it has lots of Brigitte references, Saint Tropez, which is one of her favourite places, Initiales BB, which is the name of her Autobiography and Et Dieu Crea La Femme, the name of her breakthrough iconic film – And God Created Woman (1956). Laura said that they had Marilyn ceramic photos too, but of course being in France she thought Brigitte would have more meaning.

Friday was such a lovely day, although the weather was great, that didn’t stop us from going to the pictures and seeing Terminator! After we watched the film, we decided to get something to eat, and where else would I suggest other than Pizza Hut? You really can’t go wrong with Pizza. It was so nice to be able to get these photos on my new/old phone, Laura very kindly brought her old iPhone 5C for me to have, my iPhone 5 is two years old and likes to lose battery constantly.

Of course I had to get a picture with Emilia and Arnie, well it may only be a poster but that’s fine by me as I’d be way too anxious if they were the real people! Talk about Star Struck!

When we got home I asked Laura if I could practice my hair and make up skills on her and she willfully obliged, which was very nerve racking but exciting at the same time! After Laura washed her hair, I let it dry naturally and then I spent almost two hours pin curling Laura’s hair, she was so patient and put up with me poking and prodding her hair! Here are photos of Laura’s Pin Curls and her full make up which I did the next morning, before I took her hair out of the curls. I was so nervous doing Laura’s make up, it can be hard enough doing your own let alone someone else! But thankfully she loved it, phew!

After finishing Laura’s make up, it was time to take the curls out, I was really excited but also nervous, as I didn’t know what Laura would think of her bombshell look! I knew she would look stunning though and I definitely wasn’t wrong! I felt quite proud of my work, although it’s really not that hard when you have such a beautiful friend to practice on!

Here’s how Laura’s hair looked when I first took it out, she couldn’t get over how short and curling it was as she didn’t think her hair would turn out the way mine does, how wrong was she?! She wanted her hair to be longer and the curls less tight, so I brushed each one individually and Laura thankfully approved. I couldn’t get over how much her hair looked like Marilyn’s, she looked just like she had stepped out from the 1950s – a gorgeous blonde bombshell!

Laura wore her new dress she bought yesterday from Primark, it was the perfect figure hugging pin up style and I couldn’t stop complimenting her! What gave me such a wonderful feeling was her reaction, she hugged me and told me how good she felt about herself, I could have cried!

I had such a lovely time with beautiful Laura and I’m so thankful to have someone who’s so supportive and understanding in my life. I can’t wait for October!

Follow me at;

Bardot Beehive.

So today I took inspiration from one of my favourite stars, Brigitte Bardot! I adore BB with all of my heart, her look is completely timeless and she is without doubt one of the most beautiful women who ever lived. Besides her obvious beauty, she is an incredible actress (The Truth (1960) is a must) and has devoted her post acting career to saving beloved animals. I wrote to her last year with a couple of my favourite photos and she personally signed them all, which I am incredibly thankful for and now they are displayed pride of place on my bedroom wall. 

I think the most recognizable feature of Brigitte’s would have to be her blonde beehive, which was one of her signature hairstyles. Needless to say, when I have a 1960s inspired day Brigitte is my muse, along with Sharon Tate of course, but this post is all about Brigitte.

When recently asked about her famous makeup and hair dos she had this to say,

“I never decided anything. I always hated people fussing with my face and hair. I could get by on my own, pinning up my hair any old way.”

Above are three pictures of Brigitte’s Beehive during the filming of three of her films;

  • The Truth (1960)
  • Please, Not Now! (1961)
  • A Very Private Affair (1962)Obviously my hair doesn’t look exactly the same as Brigitte’s (sadly) but I tried my best and hopefully you guys will try this hairstyle too! 

    Firstly, I separated the top of my hair by placing both of my thumbs through it, bringing them both together to  make an almost U sign and lifted it up from the rest. I then proceeded to tease that section of hair thoroughly and then brushed over it only slightly. Brigitte’s beehive often had a messy feel to it, which made it look effortless and I tried to capture that to. I used my favourite hair brushes, my Tangle Teaser Brush and a Tooth Comb.

Push the hair forward and then clip it in place with bobby pins.
Push the hair forward and then clip it in place with bobby pins.

After I had clipped the beehive in place I then added my signature touch – a flower! It also happens that Brigitte loves wearing flowers in her hair, she still does now at 80 and why not?  Flowers are especially easy to buy in the summer in places such as Accessorize and TopShop, but I wear them all year round, they’re such a great accessory!  

I also took some close up pictures of my beehive up close so you can see the detail. I have always left the front of my hair down and backcombed it to blend in with the beehive, purely because I prefer that style. However, it just so happens that Brigitte leaves pieces of her hair down too, so that’s a bonus! It also looks more effortless and less controlled which is the look I was going for.

I also added some boho style earrings to complete the look, I love the detail compared to my normal silver hoops and the colours are beautiful! I think I got these from Accessorize, they have such lovely earrings, it’s always my go to place.


As for my makeup, I tried to copy Brigitte’s signature style, the peachy nude lips and the winged eyeliner. However, I left out the heavy black eyeshadow as I don’t think I can pull it off like Brigitte does, maybe with some practice I may try it out, who knows! Instead, I went for white and golden colours and added some dark shadow in the crease of my eyelid. I used my NARS Lipstick in Brigitte and I also used my MAC Lip Pencil in Hover and Mac Velvet Teddy.


As for clothes, I wore a floral fitted dress that I bought from H & M last year. I don’t regularly shop there as I never seem to find clothes that suits me, however, every so often I come across something lovely! I added a white embroidered lace overlay cardigan to give it that 1950s feel and also keep me warm, both the dress and cardigan really complimented one another. The only problem with the dress is that it’s not cotton material, so can get a bit uncomfortable in hot weather!

Here are some close up details of the dress, I absolutely adore the pattern, I am obsessed with anything floral! I also love how the dress is fitted at the bust and waist, but flares out so it still stays comfy.

I hope you enjoyed this look and even try a Bardot Beehive too. I love mixing my favourite decades of style together and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t give it a go. Please ignore my pink socks, (lol!) I assure you my ankle boots hid them.

Follow me at;

Favourite Films Of The Sixties.

Here is the third post in my, “Favourite Films” series and this will be on the last of my most loved decades, The Sixties! This era of film was the time for flower power, twisting the night away, big hair, winged eyeliner and the end of the Hays Code in motion pictures. The fashion and films from the Swingin’ Sixties could be considered the most iconic of the century; Bond, Go Go Boots, Mini Skirts, Clint Eastwood and Brigitte Bardot automatically spring to mind.

Like my previous posts, I will list my favourite films from this era in categories, choose my most loved stars and their movies and bold my favourites.

Alfred Hitchock's Psycho was something audience's had never seen before and the Box Office Receipts show it.
Alfred Hitchock’s Psycho was something audience’s had never seen before and the Box Office Receipts show it.

Brigitte Bardot

  • The Truth (1960)
  • Love On A Pillow (1962)
  • Contempt (1963)
  • Shalako (1968)
Brigitte Bardot in Contempt (1963)
Brigitte Bardot in Contempt (1963)

Sharon Tate

  • Eye of the Devil (1966)
  • Don’t Make Waves (1967)
  • The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
  • Valley of the Dolls (1967)
  • The Wrecking Crew (1968)
  • 12 + 1 (1969)
Sharon Tate in a publicity still for MGM in 1965.
Sharon Tate in a publicity still for MGM in 1966.

Audrey Hepburn

  • The Unforgiven (1960)
  • Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
  • The Children’s Hour (1961)
  • Charade (1963)
  • Paris When It Sizzles (1964)
  • My Fair Lady (1964)
  • How to Steal a Million (1966)
  • Two for the Road (1967)
Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963)
Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963)

Musicals/Comedies

  • Let’s Make Love (1960)
  • West Side Story (1961)
  • Something’s Got to Give (1962)
  • The Notorious Landlady (1962)
  • Irma la Douce (1963)
  • Promises! Promises! (1963)
  • Mary Poppins (1964)
  • Barbarella (1968)
  • Olivier! (1968)

Drama

  • La Dolce Vita (1960)
  • Too Hot to Handle (1960)
  • Psycho (1960)
  • The Misfits (1961)
  • One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
  • Splendor in the Grass (1961)
  • Cape Fear (1962)
  • Dr. No (1962)
  • Lolita (1962)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
  • The Birds (1963)
  • Marnie (1964)
  • The Night of the Iguana (1964)
  • Repulsion (1965)
  • The Sandpiper (1965)
  • Arabesque (1966)
  • Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
  • Belle de Jour (1967)
  • Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
  • Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)
The Misfits (1961)
The Misfits (1961)

I hope you enjoyed this post and watch some of the films I’ve recommended. If you’ve watched any good ones that I’ve not listed then please tell me, I’d love to watch more from this amazing decade!

Here’s the few 1960s movies I have on DVD that I’ve yet to watch;

  • The Loves of Hercules (1960)
  • Gyspy (1962)
  • It Happened at the World’s Fair (1962)
  • It Happened in Athens (1962)
  • The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
  • Viva Las Vegas (1963)
  • Harum Scarum (1965)
  • Morituri (1965)
  • Spinout (1966)
  • Speedway (1968)

Follow me at;