Review: Lessons from Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott

Ok, so this is a review about another French style and lifestyle book, just like Ooh La La in the previous post. But this book is actually written by a blogger whose blog I had been reading for quite some time before I got the book, Jennifer L. Scott, who writes the excellent blog The Daily Connoisseur. And I have to say that when I started reading the book, I did recognize some of the things in it from the blog, but there was also plenty of new stuff in it. So I was definitely wrong to put off getting this book for quite some time, because I thought it would be too similar to the blog!

I liked how the book covers a lot of aspects, not only fashion or diets or something like that, but a whole lot, and it is also very personal, which is something I really appreciate in these types of books. Some people have complained that Jennifer writes too much about her current life in the book, but I personally thought the balance was just right.

I also think that a lot of the tips mentioned in this book are more detailed and practical for every day life than advice in many similar books. So if you find other books about French style and living like the French a bit too impractical and judgmental, Lessons from Madame Chic is definitely worth taking a look at!

All in all, Jennifer L. Scott has manage to convince me, not only as a blogger, but as an author too, and I do think this book is one of the better ones in it's genre, just like Ooh La La (reviewed yesterday).

Review: Ooh La La - French Women's Secrets to Feeling Beautiful Every Day by Jamie Cat Callan

I love French style and lifestyle books, as you may have noticed if you have been reading this blog for a while. (Ines de la Fressange's Parisian Chic is an excellent introduction to these types of books, for instance)
I also really enjoyed Jamie Cat Callan's book Bonjour Happiness! (reviewed here), so when I saw that she had actually written more books besides that one, I knew I had to get the other ones too. The next Jamie Cat Callan book I got was Ooh La La - French Women's Secrets to Feeling Beautiful Every Day, because who doesn't want that?

And I must say that like Bonjour Happiness!, Ooh La La is also a very well written book, I guess I like Jamie Cat Callan's style in general, and it had a lot of little useful tips that I really enjoyed reading about, and that I think I will be useful for me. Some of the advice in the book, however, were things I already do, or just don't fit my general lifestyle, so I guess most people will not be able to use all the advice in this book, but hey, even if just some of it comes in handy, that's pretty good, no?

Some of the advice in the book are about lingerie, choosing perfume (and why perfume is important in the first place!), aging gracefully and taking time to relax and spoil yourself a bit, but a lot of other topics are covered too. One of my favorite pieces of advice in the book was how guilty pleasures are fine, if you only indulge in them occasionally, but if you make them a very big part of your life, be it a reality tv-show, chocolates or something else, they are actually bad for you, and won't feel special or indulgent after a while. So true, yet it's easy to get carried away when you have a guilty pleasure you really enjoy...

But the book is also filled with personal anecdotes from Jamie's own time in France, which I think makes this book way more interesting than just a regular "rules" book.

So I was definitely just as pleased with Ooh La La as with Bonjour Happiness, and would definitely recommend this book to all Francophiles or anyone who is a bit curious about French women in general.

And needless to say, I will definitely see if I can get my hands on more books by this author as well!