Bonjour/hi!
Huge news for people who like buying hot French makeup lines not online but IRL — ideally at the mall, after going to The Cheesecake Factory: Violette is now on sale at Sephora, both in-store and online. I wear Violette more than any other brand — mostly because it’s very easy to wear and does not ask of me more than I can give it at this moment [current mood: “Day in My Life as a Human Just Trying to Exist in February 2025” (Instagram link)]. Anyway, I specifically rec: the very Parisian red-lip Bisou Balm in Bêtise, the Yeux Paint in Dieu Bleu, and the super-glossy Bisou Jelly in Aïssa.
Now, the news from France!
1. I was excited to see this WSJ article on “the island hiding in plain sight” [WSJ gift link] on the Seine, thinking maybe it was the Impressionists’ favorite Île de la Jatte or something — but lol, no, it was Île Saint-Louis, notable for being directly in the center of Paris and perhaps less notably but still crucially as the first place I landed when I moved to Paris 11(!) years ago. I do not know if it is actually hiding?? It is literally right there, in the middle of the whole city?? And while it’s true it’s very quiet at night, during the day it is heaving with visitors going in and out of Berthillon??
I do want to call out that awesome illustration from the story above, by Laura Junger [Instagram link] — publications so rarely invest in these anymore, it’s wonderful to see one here! I lived right under the poodle on the right!
2. Paris Fashion Week is this week! While we await the shows to come, here’s a video of the street style outside Dior’s Haute Couture show in January.
3. Google has revealed the 20 trending destinations for summer 2025 — Paris is #2. San Francisco and Chicago have fallen off of it? (I can guess the problem with SF but Chicago? Chicago is great! I mean, SF is great, too, but I feel like Chicago should get better press in the tourism dept.) Anyway, the full list is here.
4. The Hôtel de Ville — a properly magnificent and opulent building — will open its doors to tourists later this month; see here for a peek at what’s inside.
5. The Louis Vuitton-cobranded chocolate shop from Maxime Frédéric will soon debut its Easter collection of chocolate eggs — good lord!
8. Quartz takes a look at the five most expensive Michelin restaurants in Paris — by contrast, these are the 24 cheapest, with meals under €55 (I know that’s not actually cheap, and I’d like to point out that a lot of people can make delicious food with a huge budget, and really the greater accomplishment is to do it on a budget, non???)
9. “Can Macron’s Accent Stop Trump Fanboying for Putin?” [Daily Show/YouTube link]