Passion Poem by gershon hepner

The makeup that’s most beautiful is passion,
unchallenged by the pressure of esthetics;
a favorite flavor always, never out of fashion,
it’s natural, and far cheaper than cosmetics,

Elaine Sciolino “A Guide to the French. Handle With Care, ” writes in the NYT, March 22, about her experiences in Paris, where she has been the NYT’s Paris correspondent for five and a half years:
Feeling Sexy Is a State of Mind, or: Buy Good Lingerie
In her close-fitting sweaters and pants and tailored leather jackets, Eliane Victor is both stylish and alluring. The retired author and journalist is in her late 80s. For French women, being sexy has nothing to do with age and everything to do with attitude. Arielle Dombasle, the actress and cabaret singer married to the philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, dared to expose her breasts on the cover of Paris Match and took off her clothes in a song-and-dance revue at Crazy Horse in Paris. Some people feel she tries too hard. But give the lady some credit. She’s turning 50 and has a Barbie-doll body.A 600-page sociological study of sexuality in France released this month concluded that 9 out of 10 women over 50 are sexually active. The sexiest French women seem naturally skilled in the art of moving, smiling and flirting. Chic French women prefer to peel and polish rather than paint their faces. Too much makeup, they say, makes a woman seem older, or worse, “vulgaire.” “The most beautiful makeup for a woman is passion, ” Yves Saint Laurent once said. “But cosmetics are easier to buy.”


3/22/08