Alexandra / Paris

Author: Garance Doré

On Tuesday, I met up with Alexandra between a couple tapings of her show, La Mode La Mode La Mode. We had some soup and chocolate nuts and a cup of Boost tea by Kusmi, and took some photos. Then, as usual, I pounced on her with questions.How do you get your hair to be like that? Where do you get all your books? And your gloves, where’d you get those? And the tea, you really think this Boost by Kusmi is good? What do you think of…I thought about sharing all that with you, but seeing as if I were to transcribe all the advice she gave me, this blog would quite quickly become: The Awesome Advice of the Awesome Alexandra Golovanoff… So I decided to reframe it a little and make it a post about…. tadaaaaaaa:PARIS!Ooookay, some of Alex’s favorite places in Paris, only places a real Parisian would frequent. Oh, and as far as the Kusmi Boost tea goes, we’ll talk about it more later. Has a brand just created an it-tea?Oookay, back to Paris!Best place for a cup of coffee?Café de la Croix RougeCafé de Flore. Classique, but I never get tired of it.NFTE (Note From the Editor) (That being me) : It’s true. For a long time now I wouldn’t go to Flore because well, I thought it was too touristy/cheesy. But I was totally wrong. I love it. It’s a nice place where I always meet super nice people – case and point, Alexandra.)If you had to pick a museum?Les Arts Déco, rue de Rivoli.A good restaurant for lunch with friends?Les Deux Abeilles, rue de l’Université in the 7th. It’s a little café kept up by a girl and her mother, a perfect girly landmark, and amazing desserts.Oh, and for brunch? You know a good one?Brunch is Paris is a tough one. Of course, there’s always the hotels! But outside of that, Sunday at Mama Shelter in the 20th. It’s really good and perfect for a group of friends or family.NFTG – Note from the Garance: I’ve never had brunch at Mama Shelter, but I’ve had their best cocktail, le Bubble Bomb. I’d go just for that. It’s just that good – and the servers are super cute too. If you want, I’ll totally try to go get the recipe.You’re favorite multi-brand boutiques?Le Bon Marché! And Brand Bazar on rue de Sèvres as well, for the ambiance and just to rummage around…NFLG : I love Bon Marché. It’s pretty, super Parisian, calm, chic and I love the voice that does the announcements over the PA. But why don’t I know this Brand Bazar? Why!?Where do you go for a bargain?Monoprix. Or Uniqlo.NFLG : Monoprix. yeaaaah. It’s such a French girl thing. I’ve never seen one outside of France. Do they exist.NFTT : (Note from Translator Tim) : For those of you who’ve never been, Monoprix is the closest thing France has to one stop shopping. Think Target, and then picture it a fourth the size. Voilà!What about a manicure?I’m hard to please. There’s always OPI on rue de Grenelle, but I’m not a huge fan of the metal tools they use.NFLG : It’s true. I went Monday – miss NYC much, Gaga? – and even if the result is sublime and the price is reasonable, that freak me out with all their metal tools… It looks a little Chainsaw Massacre to me…. Ahhhhhh.Outside of that, avoid the disappointment and expense and just do it yourself. I do a lot of the time, usually while groaning because as much I love putting on polish, it’s not the easiest thing to do well.NFLG : I’m with her.Your hairstylist?My heros! It’s Fred!NFLG : Uuuuuhm okay. Fred is a star hairstylist, and he goes directly to Alex’s house to do her hair. Next time, I’m tagging along.Your spa?Yeah, for that I’m pretty difficult and often disappointed. My last decent massage was at Ban Sabai near the Bastille. Oh man, I felt like I was in Thailand!Sometimes I’m gonna give the new Spa Six Senses a shot on the rue de Castiglione… I’ll let you know…A hotel?I like the Montalembert. Chic.To have a drink in a place, you can head over to the Meurice, and for tea, Lutetia. For the club sandwhich, the bar in Crillon.Your PMU? Ahah.(The place that has nothing to do with fashion but you still live to go.)To the Saint Pierre market. (The Marché Saint Pierre is a fabric market). I love rummaging through stuff, what can I say?!————-Et voilà!!! Tell me if you know some of these places.Oh, and please, I could really use some help putting together a more complete list of questions. Simple, useful. Pleaaaase!!!! What would you want to know about a city? Helllllpppp!!! I’m so bad at questions!!!!Translation: Tim Sullivan