Warning : handbags in danger !

This is the mail I received 2 or 3 times and which made me feel sick… My purse, the must-have accessory of the feminine and modern woman, a bacteria trap ?

A study about it was carried by a journalist, Shauna Lake, from the american channel KUTV, specialised in information documentaries on unknown bacteria risks exposed to consumers.

In 2006, Shauna Lake ordered test kits to the laboratory NELSON LAB and made test on about 50 handbags of volontary women in the street in Salt Lake City (US). Then those tests were sent to a microbiologist of this laboratory to be analysed.

Disastered result : our so lovely handbang is a bacteria bomb

How ?

As we don’t live in a sterile world (we’re not « bubble kids »), our environment is full of bacteria, our purses too.
Moreover, a lot of women put their handbags down on floor (the worst thing ever : on the WC floor, so as consequences, the E. coli, an intestinal bacterium), on tables, on beds… The latter become a real germ carrier

Is it so dangerous ?

Some pretend our handbags is more dangerous than mobile phones or even WC handles. According to Beau Rollins (NELSON LABS), « it’s typical : mobile phones rather bring skin germs like staphylocoques or coccidies. The WC handles are rich of bacteria too because they’re not cleaned… It’s purse materials which convey bacteria. The germs live longer on a handbag made of cloth than of vinyle or leather. Besides purses get these results because they’re in so much places and environments. »
However this study doesn’t permit to obtain a quantification of bacteria, so it is difficult to confirm at 100 % our purses are more dangerous than our mobile phone, mp3 player or cheese in our fridge...

And the conclusion is ?

Don’t panic ! Our lovely friend is still a bacteria bearer. But you have just to make attention of the places you put it down and to clean it regularly.

Pour plus d’info, c’est par ici.
(Here for more information)

Fashion and health, incompatible ?

When I was reading news on Web (as you guess, this is one of my favorite hobbies), I was stunned by one on « the danger to be fashion ». That means : fashion is not good for health !

The Dr Shazia Khan, from the specialized Loyola University of Chicago, advices women to adopt a healthier behaviour not to undergo the bad consequences of fashion on our health.
Handbags

(Arf ! One of my weaknesses)

One of our feminine attribute implicated ! Holding heavy handbags (like more than 4,5kg… It’s amazing how much you can put stuffs in it !) can cause some body aches like back, neck and shoulders.
(That’s my case… that’s why I choose now light purses)
The Dr Khan recommands small handbags (so we’re not tempted to put in it so much useless things) or backpacks which is healthier for our back and shoulders (but I don’t like it…).
She reminds the fact that purses are full of bacteria (like E. coli, an intestinal bacterium, or staphylococcus aureus) as women put it down everywhere instead of hanging it up. You’ve got to clean it regularly.
(Most of ours have certainly received an email on the frigtening stuffs conveyed by this accessory although so feminine… Since, I hang it up on the back of my chair and I clean it regularly).

High heel shoes

Those women who’s got back ache or « oignons » on their feet know it well : wearing high heel shoes, even they make our outfit so glam and sexy, is really not good for our health !
The pressure made on the arch gives some pain (feet, back, ankles, calf muscles and knees).
The Dr Khan is certainly not a « stiletto nazi », and recommands to change the height of heels everyday and to chose it square.
(I love high heel shoes but since I wear ballet shoes, I don’t often wear it – Actually I’ve only got it when I’m sure I’m not going to walk a lot with it !)

Costume jewels

(And I’ve just bought it some…)

We’re only talking here about potential nickel allergy. The solution if we are allergic is to make our costume jewels recovered by palladium nickel or we can simply buy jewel made of steel for instance.

French manucure

(I’m not a huge fan of « fake nails »)

The acrylic nails can provide bacteria and fungus which could infect you. So nails have to be moised and polished.

After reading this, will you change your habits ?

Shopaholic is back !

This summer, I was proud of me : I didn't go shopping ! And most of all I didn't buy any shoes (I love this season and I used to offer me 2 or 3 pairs of shoes !). Result : any shoes shopping (even when my Roxy thongs were broken) !

But after 2 months of budgetary restrictions, I wasn't able to resist to shopping call anymore !

It's been months that I was looking for a really awesome purse : middle size, chocolat brown or bloody red or why not in dark purple ? There were so few handbags which matched with my endpoints and those weren't cheap (budget max : 100 euros - which I think is quite a lot) !

In July, wandering in Edouard Herriot street in Lyon, we went in a Esprit store and what did I see ? A great purse (colors : black and brown), with a small cute silver bukle where was writting the brand name. But arf ! 79,90 euros wasn't offered and plus : it was not made of leather (100% polyesther - isn't it a daylight robbery ?) !

Anyway I decided to think about it... and in September, I couldn't resist anymore ! I didn't bought the one I saw first in July but another handbag (I liked pretty much more its shape than the other) ! But I regret they didn't make it in chocolate brown or in this gorgeous purple rain, much funnier than the black one, too classic !

That was too bad ! Still I love my new handbag : its great shape and style, its size and its light weight (as I suffer from a shoulder tendonitis, there's no way for me to hold heavy bags !)