Girls will be girls

Girls
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I started watching HBO’s Girls more than a year ago and for some reason I just didn't like it at first, I watched the pilot and decided that it wasn't my kind of show. Recently, I’m not sure why, I decided to give it another try, and I realized that I really misjudged Lena Dunham’s show.

I watched the first two seasons in a week (I have a permanent job and I study, ok guys? So this is a lot for me!) and I am currently watching the third season and still loving it. I think the reason why I enjoy watching Girls so much is because, for the first time since Sex and the City, I see something interesting about women on TV and I’m not talking about sex. 

Although I can’t relate with Hannah at all, who is the main character, I appreciate that Lena Dunham has the guts to play a different and unique character that annoys me deeply and more than I can explain, but that’s her. I like to see that Marnie is fucked up and lost and doesn't know what to do with herself but still tries. It amuses me that Shosh is such a neurotic and self-absorbed person and that nobody really cares and they love her anyway. And Jessa… who doesn't love Jessa? She’s so beautiful and glamorous and free, all women want to be her at some point. 

I also like the fact that their friendship isn't perfect, that sometimes they want to kill each other and act like complete psychos, but isn't that even a little truth in all female relationships? Yup, it is. 

Anyway, it’s my TV suggestion of the week. If you haven’t tried, go ahead! If you have, you probably know what I am talking about. 

Your TopCrusher,
Daniela

40 Life Lessons by Leonardo Dicaprio

Go ahead call me a basic bitch but I had two great loves throughout my adolescence, one it was the backstreet boy Nick Carter and the other was the unsinkable star of Titanic...Mr Leonardo Dicaprio.

Time move us on like it always does but the love we once had remains ageless.
The week that Dicaprio turns into a lovable bachelor of 40 years old I gather for you the 40 most incredible Leo's gifs of all time.

See also: 27 movies, 27 years


They all contain wisdom that you'll need to keep in mind.
Always a trooper this Dicaprio, he can act, be goofy and deliver life lesson in gifs *sighs*
Enjoy.

'Cause you know, I'm Fabulous.

 Don't ever sugarcoat it, Leo.

Always.

*squeals*

 Actually, you can't but damn it you're gonna do it!

 Don't, Just don't.

Dicaprio showing an expression that about resumes 90 % of your life. *applause*

 To the haters.

You. Every goddamn time you set foot out the door.

 You got to dance to the rythym of life.

 Use this line WHENEVER YOU CAN.

Can you ass handle mine? Sorry got a bit off topic there. *sighs*

 *insert deep moment here*

 'Cause sometimes in life you just gotta know.

Case in point: Mondays.

Googly eyes at a goddamn french girl. *hmpf*

*syncope*

This line.

Say it like it is D.

Uh! Burn!

Always know exactly what you want.

Please, tell us more.

Prepare for panties dropping in T minus : 3, 2...

Quoting level: over 9000.

Who never?

How high?

No drama.

Because there is always a party round the corner.

Never skip leg day or ab day or the gym...or prison. 

Just own it girl.

Diva.

Always say what you are thinking.

Ain't nobody got time for that.

Pray that you never get scorn by Leo.

Forever ever Leo.

So ready for my close up.

Cheers Dicaprio. 

To another one heel of 40 years together.

your topcruher, 

Alex

What if?

Sweet
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What if is a story about a medical school dropout named Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) and Chantry (Zoe Kazan), an animator who has been in an apparently healthy relationship with her boyfriend of 5 years (Rafe Spall). It's a funny, insightful, romantic movie about love, friendship, instant connections and  undeniable chemistry between two people. 

What I love about this movie is that it's not the usual romantic thing we see everyday. It's perfect the way they describe how people are hopeful about love and, at the same time, how they are so cynical, mostly because of the bad things that have happened to them in the past.  

What if? It is the question that, somewhere, somehow, everyone has done in their heads, while picturing a romantic possibility with someone. It's a movie everyone can relate to.

On another note, reasons to love Daniel Radcliffe:

Daniel
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Do you really need me to explain the reasons? I mean, he is freaking Harry Potter! #gryffindor #I'msuchanerd 

Seriously, I love him since I was a child and I believe that he is a great actor! He looks so cute in this movie, even when he's being punched in the face! Now I'm planning to watch "Horns" as soon as I have the time.

He's just adorable.

Your TopCrusher,
Daniela

Soundtrack of the week: FKA twigs

twigs
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Tahliah Debrett Barnett, aka FKA twigs, released her debut album, LP1, in August 2014. Shamefully, only this week I caught this song on the radio, and I instantly thought it was very catchy and relaxing. When I searched for "Two Weeks" on Youtube, I was pleasantly surprised with this cool video.. Check it out:

Oh, and also... She is currently dating Robert Pattinson... You lucky girl!

Your TopCrusher,
Daniela

Christmas wish nº1: the Cartier Panthère Collection

Hey kitty
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I'm absolutely in love with this Panthère Ring by Cartier!

According to Cartier's website "the Maison's emblematic panther, first leaped into the world of Cartier jewelry in 1914. Louis Cartier was a pioneer in taming the legendary creature and his associate Jeanne Toussaint went on to make magnificent use of the icon. The panther has since inspired a timeless and elegant collection of jewelry and timepieces that show the multiple facets of the animal that can be at times bold, regal or sensual."

I'm 110% sure, it would look so pretty on my hands, it's on my imaginary Christmas wish list already! Maybe my imaginary sheikh friend can buy me one.. or the whole collection!

You can watch this ring and other beautiful jewelry on the film below:

Your TopCrusher,
Daniela

10 things to do on a rainy Sunday

It seems that fall is finally starting in Portugal and we have to get used to rainy days and thunder lightening again. These days are usually my favorite to catch up with things that I don’t have time to do during the week… Here are some of my suggestions: 

Sunday
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1. First of all, just relax. Whatever you choose to do, do it because it gives you pleasure,
2. Watch an old movie that you love,
3. Update your soundtrack with new songs for the week,
4. Cook something sweet,
5. Spend some time with your family,
6. Take a nap… Yes, you can!
7. Conference call with your friends about gossip and how hangover you are from last night,
8. Treat yo’self! It’s the perfect opportunity to do all the beauty rituals you desire,
9. Organize your closet: you know you need to,
10. Write a post on your blog! :)

Just enjoy! 

Your TopCrusher, 

Daniela

He For She Freedom

Gender equality is not a women's issue, it's a human rights issue. 

The HeForShe initiative was launched by Emma Watson, Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women (and for people like me, eternal Harry Potter wonder), at the United Nations on September 20th. The truth is that there has been a lot of talk about feminism lately. What it is, what it stands for, what's acceptable or not for a feminist to say or do, etc.

I had some difficulty understanding what feminism is about at first, but then, things just got really simple. It means that I want to be equal, it means that I want to be free to express myself, it means that I won't allow to be treated like less because I am a woman. So yes, I am a feminist. 

The most important and innovative point of her speech, is asking men to join women in this cause, because feminist don't hate men, we just don't want to live trapped by destructive stereotypes, and men are victims of those stereotypes too. Here are my favorite parts of her amazing speech:

Freedom
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"My life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn’t love me less because I was born a daughter. My school did not limit me because I was a girl. My mentors didn't assume that I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day. These influences were the gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am today. They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists that are changing the world today. We need more of those. (...)

If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be controlled.

Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong. It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, instead of two sets of opposing ideals. If we stop defining each other by what we are not, and start defining ourselves by who we are, we can all be freer, and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom.

If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I spoke of earlier, and for this, I applaud you. We are struggling for a uniting word, but the good news is, we have a uniting movement. It is called HeForShe. I invite you to step forward, to be seen and to ask yourself, “If not me, who? If not now, when?”

If you are a woman, and you believe you deserve to be treated as equal, there is no way you don't love this speech, even if you don't want to be called a feminist.

Your TopCrusher,
Daniela

Before and After Beauty

Before and after
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I am a woman. I am twenty six years old. I try to eat well, sleep well, I do some exercise when I have the time. I can't complaint for now, everything seems to be in the right place, my hair is still all black and shiny, my skin is still soft.. but I know, and all women know, that a time will come when all these things will start failing. It's called aging and there's nothing we can do about it. 

This Renee Zellweger controversy made me think about how far we go to look young, even if we know that we aren't on our 20's anymore. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against plastic surgery, I believe that it is a great solution to many health and aesthetic problems and it should always be a personal choice. However, Renee is such a beautiful woman that it's hard to think she would need so many surgeries, she ended up looking like someone else. 

Zellweger apart, I believe that we should see beauty in all ages, in all shapes, in all colors. Only when we stop acting like it is possible to be 20 forever, we will accept the fact that we are beautiful no matter what. Living by unreachable standards will raise our frustration, anger, and disappointment with our bodies and with ourselves.

Maybe the solution here is to focus on feeling forever young, instead of looking like something we're not. 

Your TopCrusher,

Daniela 

Fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it

Hi Crushers,

Just in case you need an extra motivation, I decided to leave this Eat Pray Love quote about happiness and how to achieve it on our blog. It's not easy, but we have to believe it's worth our efforts.

Happiness
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“... people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.” Elizabeth Gilbert

And don't forget to love yourself first. 

Your TopCrusher,

Daniela 

Welcome to the Jungle

Bring the heat
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Jungle, the band. The founding members, Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland, identified as J and T, released their first album singles "Platoon" and "The Heat"at the start of 2013, and what a great start.

Between the modern soul, the electro funk style and some kind of urban details, they build the right atmosphere to relax and dance at the same time. Their debut album, Jungle, was released on July 14 with all the groove that we deserve.

Just feel the heat, move your body and lose your mind!

Your TopCrusher,

Dúnia

The Laughing Heart

My favourite poem, by Charles Bukowski:

Laughing
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your life is your life
don't let it be clubbed into dank submission
be on the watch
there are ways out
there is a light somewhere
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness
be on the watch
the gods will offer you chances
know them
take them
you can't beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes
and the more often you learn to do it
the more light there will be
your life is your life
know it while you have it
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you


Your TopCrusher,
Daniela

The dawn of Portuguese cinema

[For you that's reading this and saying "why is she writing about Portuguese cinema in english?"...don't even. ]

For many years I have been resisting Portuguese cinema.

I feel almost embarrassed to say it but every time I watched a Portuguese movie with Portuguese actors was either about a great novel about other times where we were a greater country (this was ages ago, kids, nobody gives a damn about us, now, but we used to rule every corner of this world) or it was about our country. Don't get me wrong my country is full of untold stories I'm sure ...still, they kinda felt all the same...boring.

This week though, I witness something great.

I went to the movies twice in one week and the films that I choose were all 100% made in Portugal. 

Day one : A movie about a novel (what else?). That was really what was in my head going in the theater "I just hope I don't fall asleep and snore, please, oh please don't let me snore!" 

Then I literally ate this words syllable by syllable. 

A doomed love in Os Maias, João Botelho
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Os Maias de João Botelho was much more than a movie, it combined, brilliantly, characteristics of a live play and it work. Every bit of it worked. João Botelho took a novel that was told, untold and then told again, a novel that has been giving high scholars nightmares and he transformed it into something "almost" cool. He got it, the actors got it and they made magic happen in a way that for me was truly new for the Portuguese cinema.

Day two:  Ok, by then I was like "Can I be amazed twice? No, of course not" So me and my high horse entered the movie theater haunted by a previous good-so-they-cant-duplicate-it feeling. Then...there was the opening scene from Os Gatos Não Têm Vertigens de João Pedro Vasconcelos: five minutes into the movie and I was already sobbing like a little girl. 

No! Something like this can't happen, not with a Portuguese movie! They are supposed to be boring.

Oh yes it can and with the same intensity it also made me laugh. Above all, there was something about this moments, they were comedic but they also were full of magic and love and that "sugar-spice-and-everything-nice" factor that I love about going to the cinema. 

"Arsenic!" in Os gatos não êm vertigens, João Pedro Vasconcelos
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I expected nothing, I was given everything, I laughed and cried, I was concerned and wanted to punch somebody, by the end I felt completely exhausted like I've been to war (jezz! exaggerate much?) but it also  lifts you up so when you leave the cinema there is a smile stuck to the corner of your mouth ( Oh god women! Control your cheesiness!). 

João Pedro Vasconcelo's movie washes away all the stupid and petty shit from your day, can you ask for more? Totally worth it.

Keep that quality coming, guys.

Make us proud.

Your TopCrusher,

Alex