diamonds are a girl's best friend

One young woman is pulling my hair through a curling iron, another is patting pale foundation onto my face and the other is painting my nails a deep red.

They are pulling me together into Marilyn Monroe, using old hollywood hair and make-up, trying desperately to make the curls hold in my straight hair and the make-up stick onto my moisturized face. A vintage book, bought of ebay for $100 and stolen from a library in Austria sits a few inches away from me, it contains secrets to 40's hairstyles. I have arrived naked faced, in yoga pants, a light top and sneakers on my feet. I am woman of 2009 being taken back through the decades.

Afterwards I slip into a small sparkly dress, diamond straps grazing my shoulders, and pull my arms through a goose feather jacket. My friend, the photographer, slips a large jewel onto my finger and we're ready for action.

With an old camera, we try out polaroids, and I attempt to find a sexy Marilyn somewhere inside of me. In the natural light, my make-up looks outlandish, but under the camera's lens it follows my friend's vision to old hollywood glamour. The polaroids are a glimpse of what's to come, beautiful prints, carefully photoshopped, and blown up large.

After the shoot I wipe off my make-up, pull my hair back into a bun, zip up my sporty jacket, throw my sunglasses on and head home to walk the dog. Comfortable in my skin, I inhale the smell of burning firewood in the park, and I'm taken back to the smell of chimneys in France.

It was a well balanced day, starting off with a little glitz and glamour, and returning to a quiet night, alone with a home made dinner, a hot bath and book awaiting me.







"In Hollywood a girl's virtue is much less important than her hairdo. You're judged by how you look, not by what you are. Hollywood's a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for kiss, and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty." -Marilyn Monroe