As seen on Good Morning America….

Kristin appeared on Good Morning America to talk about THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING and how to bring the spirit of French romance home. Here are the tips she discussed on the show:

FIVE TIPS FOR A ROMANTIC FRENCH EVENING

  • Set the stage at home with fresh flowers, candles, a bottle of French champagne chilling before dinner and some soft French music playing.
  • Take your time getting ready; to a French woman, part of the foreplay, so to speak, of a great date is the time she spends by herself with her lotions, her perfumes, her lingerie, etc. Make sure you feel as pampered as possible.
  • If you’re staying in, take your time with each course, as the French do. Serve some appetizers with the champagne, have a nice main course paired with some fresh vegetables and a nice wine, finish with a salad to cleanse the palate, then a cheese plate and finally a dessert you can pick up from a local bakery.
  • If you’re going out, plan on lingering for a few hours, and make sure you select a restaurant that allows you to do that (most French restaurants will). Start with a kir or a glass of champagne. Select a prix fixe meal with a wine pairing, or select several courses. Finish with a cheese plate and dessert.
  • Finish the evening with a stroll, if the weather permits, or a drive, to enjoy the simple pleasures of the evening. The French are big on taking long walks together and just enjoying time together with no distractions. And make sure to be ready for your French kiss by popping in a couple pieces of gum after dinner. There’s a new gum called French Kiss that I think is just perfect for this!


HOW AMERICAN WOMEN CAN EXUDE THE ELEGANCE OF THE FRENCH:

I think the key to French elegance is to keep it simple:

* Invest in a few key pieces, including a perfect little black dress, a perfect crisp white shirt, a perfect pair of pants and a perfect coat.

* Keep makeup minimal and natural-looking. At night, it’s very chic to do a French smoky eye with subtly dark kohl eyeliner and gray shadow. There’s actually a little makeup palette from Tarte cosmetics called Pret-a-Porter that has all the stuff you need, plus a little instruction manual.

* Pamper yourself; French women are so confident on the outside because they feel so good about what’s underneath; many French women are almost ritualistic about moisturizing – not just their faces but their whole bodies. Cellulite cream is also enormously popular, and many French women go see a facialist every two months. "Je me fais une beauté," they say. “I'm doing myself some beauty.” And they always, always wear beautiful lingerie, so they feel good about how they look before they slip their clothes on.

* Pick up unique, quality accessories – rings, vintage scarves, necklaces, etc. – at vintage stores.

* Have one go-to outfit that makes you feel subtly sexy without being too obvious. French women are never too overdone; the new trend is more of an artfully mussed look; they look as if they’ve just stepped out a café rather than out of a salon.

* Discuss literature, art, politics. Have an opinion, and don’t be afraid to express it, but choose your words carefully.

* Above all, be comfortable being YOU. French women exude elegance because they exude confidence. They hold their heads high and carry themselves with shoulders back, ready to face the world. And they don’t try to cover up what we might see as “flaws.” If they have extra weight around the middle, well, they celebrate their curves. If they have crow’s feet around their eyes, it’s a sign of life well lived. They’re comfortable in their own skin. And that comes across as elegant and gorgeous.

* Also, French women are better at us at dating, I think. They tend to have more self-confidence. They might indulge in the occasional one-night stand, but they never rush into a relationship; they don’t try to force it or define it, whereas I think American women are often trying to pin someone into being a boyfriend. French women play a little hard to get, but it’s not about the game-playing; it’s about respecting herself and not getting involved with a man who doesn’t value her. I think that’s a great lesson we can take from the French. French women have a great sense of self in dating.



HOW TO PLAN PARISIAN GETAWAY ON A BUDGET

  • Choose the time of year wisely: Airfares are much cheaper in the late fall and early spring.
  • Consider flying into a gateway city, such as London or Dublin, and taking RyanAir or EasyJet over to Paris. It can save you hundreds.
  • Use the very well-planned metro and RER trains instead of cabs, which are very pricey. Buy a “carnet de dix,” a book of ten metro tickets, for about 11 euro.
  • Book your hotel ahead of time; there are lots of lovely two- and three-star hotels in the $100 range, which is great considering you’ll be within walking distance to a metro. Check out hotels.com. To save even further, you could consider a hostel or a shared bathroom arrangement.
  • Plan to spend a lot of time outside; Paris has so many beautiful parks and monuments that you can see for free. And the view from Sacre Coeur is just as amazing as the pricey and time-consuming view from the Eiffel Tower.
  • Look into museum and monument discounts; some of the major locations have one discount day each week or offer cheaper tickets in the evenings. Or plan to see all of the major museums in one day and splurge on a ‘Museums and Monuments’ card for 18 euro, the cheapest way to see several museums at once. And speaking of culture, you can get standing room tickets to the opera too for under $10.
  • Pack a picnic: There’s nothing more quintessentially Parisian than a picnic in one of their beautiful parks. There’s a street called Rue Cler near the Eiffel Tower that’s a pedestrian-only market street. I love visiting this street for an assortment of fresh fruits, veggies, wine, baguette, cheeses and meats and taking the little picnic over to the park beneath the Eiffel Tower. It’s breathtaking.
  • Stay away from expensive restaurants: Some of the best meals I’ve had in Paris were at tiny, unimpressive-looking restaurants on smaller side streets; simply wander and look at menus, or try to see the places that seem to be packed with locals. The Latin Quarter is a particularly good neighborhood for quality fare. If you really want to try a Michelin-starred restaurant, consider going for lunch instead of dinner; meals are usually half price. Brasseries are usually cheaper than bistros.
  • Order house wine; it’s always very inexpensive and very good; it usually pairs very well with food. And stay away from soda in restaurants, if you can; it’s usually expensive and doesn’t come with free refills.
  • When going out at night, stick to house wine and sangria instead of mixed drinks, which can get pricey. One of my favorite places in Paris is a little bar called Bar Dix that serves the most amazing pitchers of sangria I’ve ever had. Or better yet, take a bottle of wine or champagne that you’ve purchased at the store and have a moonlight night on the Pont des Artes, the pedestrian foot bridge that spans the Seine between the Louvre and the Musee D’Orsay.


Please pick up a copy of The Art of French Kissing!
Available on bn.com and amazon.com now or in bookstores everywhere on Feb. 25…

THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING
How do you say, 'So many men, so little time,' in French?
Well, Emma Sullivan can always figure that out later. The point is -- she's in Paris! Which would be great, except that she's stuck doing public relations for one of the hottest -- and craziest -- rock stars on the planet. Making things worse is Gabriel Francoeur, the sexy and stubborn reporter who refuses to believe her when she tells him that her client was just playing Go Fish in that hotel room with all those scantily-clad girls....

But Emma will always have Paris. The City of Light, of romance, of high fashion and of unfathomable varieties of cheese. If a girl can't reinvent herself here, there's no hope! It's time to leave the old Emma Sullivan behind and become someone courageous, exciting, successful. The type of girl who, when faced with a reporter who won't stop asking questions, knows just what to do. After all, they don't call it 'French kissing' for nothing!
"Kristin Harmel is a charming, gifted and hilarious storyteller. Paris never sparkled so bright as it does in the pages of THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING." -- Laura Caldwell, author of the novel The Good Liar.
"The Art of French Kissing is like a bottle of champagne: overflowing with bubbly fun, filled with delicious romance and madcap adventures, and, toujours, intoxicating with the magic of Paris. You'll drink it down in one glamorous gulp." -- Julia Holden, author of the novel One Dance in Paris.