Beauty Heals And Gives Us Wings
I would love to give you a bunch of captions, but this was an exhibit that had to be EXPERIENCED. Writing about it just doesn’t do it justice.
Yves St. Laurent “The Perfection of Style” was a perfectly balanced exhibition. Gorgeous outfits, lots of his personal notes, video clips, and great biographical information. I’ll post some of my favorite photos from the exhibit, but be warned: photos really can’t capture the genius that was YSL. Enjoy!
I scoured the Internet to find some indie perfumes to try. I love beautiful scents and I was eager for a fragrance that would be unusual but have some staying power.
Enter Kimberly New York perfumes. The scents have adorable names – Artsy, Bubble, Dimples, and Poetry – and my interest was piqued.
Fortuitously enough, the perfumer had a sale on the scent “Dimple”, so I purchased the full sized “Dimple” perfume, as well as the “Spring Street” 4-vial set, which had trial amounts of all four fragrances.
While I did purchase only one full sized perfume, I had a chance to wear them all, so I will review the entire line, but give my most in-depth opinions about “Dimple”.
Here is “Dimple” ‘s description, straight from the Kimberly New York website:
SEXY. EDIBLE. WARM.
Dark chocolate almond biscotti, and mint chips snuggle sweetly. “Dimple” is as alluring as a heartfelt smile.Â
Notes:Â
top – mintÂ
middle – sprinkled sugar cookieÂ
base – dark chocolate
I can comfortably state that I smelled all of these essences in the perfume. The chocolate base reminded me a bit of Thierry Mugler’s “Angel”, but the mint top note was a refreshing spin. Honestly, when I first sniffed Dimple, I immediately thought of my favorite ice cream, Mint Chocolate Chip.
I wore it and LOVED it. I asked a few men what they thought of the smell, and they gave it a thumbs up, too!
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Here are some of my takeaways from this line:
Pros: This line ships SUPER fast. I had my products within 3 business days. The products were affordable ($15 for the vial set, and $45 [regular price] for the full-sized fragrances). Also, the perfume bottle and promotional inserts/materials were attractive.
Cons: You can’t accurately gauge the sillage of some of the fragrances using the “Spring Street” vial set. These are eau de parfums, but when I wore “Artsy”, I noticed that I could barely smell it on my skin. I applied nearly half of the vial initially, and then I had to reapply every two hours (normal reapplication for eau de parfums is about 4 hours). Funny enough, I wore “Bubble” and the sillage seemed more accurate (only used about 1/3 of the bottle, and I could smell it with ease).
In addition, you MUST reapply during the day. I’ll admit: wearing more luxurious fragrances spoiled me a bit LOL! I don’t have to reapply my higher-end perfumes very often. But these needed to be reapplied every 4 hours, or the scent would be lost. That’s not a “con”, per se, but just something to note.
Overall opinion? I’d definitely order again, and I’m looking forward to trying all of the fragrances. And when I do, I’ll be sure to review them!
Vintage cinema fans, time to rejoice! Christie’s (the prestigious auction house) will be auctioning off clothing and personal items owned by Audrey Hepburn. The bids are estimated to start as low as $130 for some items, while other items are expected to fetch over $100,000.
(image courtesy of Movie Gazette Online)
The auction will occur both live and online. The live auction will occur on September 27, 2017, at 8 King Street, St. James’s, in London. The online auction will start on September 19 and end on October 3, 2017.
If you want to see the collection before the auction, you can visit the exhibition while it tours. The tours are as follows (information courtesy of the Christie’s website):
Tour dates
Hong Kong
Viewing Dates: 1 – 8 September
The LANDMARK Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Los Angeles
Viewing dates: 11 – 14 September
Christie’s LA, 336 North Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
The auction catalog can also be purchased for $25: Audrey Hepburn Collection Auction Catalog.
I enjoyed reading Christie’s touching biography of Audrey. You can check it out here.
I plan on checking out the online auction and seeing if I can find something that I simply must have. Do any of you plan to attend the touring exhibition, or the live auction? Or are you planning on purchasing an item via the online auction? Please let me know in the comments!
I had far too much fun ordering beauty items over the past few weeks LOL!
I have a thing for indie brands: I love supporting small businesses and trying products that haven’t achieved mainstream popularity. I also love that indie brands tend to be highly innovative: they often offer colors and textures that are harder to find in mainstream brands.
Since I recently purged my vanity of many outdated and/or inferior products, it was time to replace those items with quality products. What better way to replenish than to seek small businesses and try out their items?
If you have some indie beauty brands or small businesses you’d like to recommend, feel free to mention them in the comments. I’m always looking for new things to try!
I first came across Alice Francis during my neoswing phase several years ago. I was intrigued by her delicate voice and adorable vintage style. Her music videos were really cute, too!
Unfortunately, when I found Alice, I was at the tail end of my fascination with neoswing, so I didn’t spend a lot of time researching her musical catalog. However, I thought I’d share this video of Alice: it’s one of my favorites. “St. James Ballroom” has it all: vocals, instruments, costumes, dancing and exuberance. Listening to her again rekindled my passion for neoswing. I may have to find out where she’s performing so I can see her live!
I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth Taylor since watching her (very tiny) role in “Jane Eyre” when I was a child. I loved her even more as I grew up and learned about her glamorous, fascinating life. I know she had her share of heartache, but I’m inspired by the fact that she lived a FULL life. She took chances, she loved hard, and she had one heck of a ride on this planet. Rest in eternal peace, Ms. Taylor.
(photos courtesy of Marie Claire, Pinterest, PicQuery, and WeNeedFun)
At some time in 2015, I started working out consistently and getting serious about overhauling my life. When I decided to change my life, I started looking for guides to assist me on this journey.
As the saying goes, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. By chance, I came across the YouTube channel of Jennifer L. Scott, who had a blog named The Daily Connoisseur. Jennifer is also the author of the Madame Chic series. Her first book, Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living In Paris, discusses the different tips she gleaned while living in Paris during a semester abroad.
I adored Jennifer’s sweet demeanor and I was intrigued by her effortless, classic style. So I watched her videos and purchased the book.
Let me just say now, if you are ready to get really disciplined about your life, this book is a good place to start. The French approach to style, diet, exercise, and social behavior are drastically different from what we’re taught as Americans.
The most unique aspect of the book is the Ten Item Wardrobe concept. Jennifer discusses this concept in depth on her YT channel, but the gist of it is this: a wardrobe is built around ten core items, and a few “extras” to flesh it out. This sparse wardrobe allows you to concentrate on developing a signature style that suits your lifestyle and your taste. This approach is not only economical but liberating: fewer items mean more consistent style and easier morning routines.
My main takeaway from the book was the underlying motivation behind the French philosophy. The French aesthetic is rooted in discipline and focus, while Americans tend to be acquisitive and decadent. I believe the two approaches can be bridged, but that requires a thorough examination of both perspectives. I really enjoyed learning about the French approach to life, and I found this book was an excellent guide!
Have you read Lessons from Madame Chic? What did you think of it? Please let me know in the comments below!
Ever since I was a little girl, I loved classic cars. While I know precious little about cars, I do know an attractive vehicle when I see it.
I first saw the 1965 Sunbeam Tiger while watching reruns of the television show “Get Smart”. Between the slick 1960s fashions, easy-to-process humor (everyone in the family could enjoy the show), and the “high tech” gadgets (the Cone of Silence, the shoe phone, and many, many more), it’s no wonder it was one of my favorite TV shows of all time.
But what I really loved most of all were the gorgeous cars driven by Maxwell Smart (the lead character on “Get Smart”). Here’s a Sunbeam Tiger similar to what Maxwell drove in the opening credits of the show:
Do you have a favorite vintage car? Can you remember where you first saw the car, or what makes it so special to you?
(image courtesy of sportscarshop.com)
I eat a primarily vegan diet (I only deviate when I’m trying international dishes, like the sumptuous nyama choma [Kenyan beef stew] I tried last week). But I enjoy creating delicious vegan dishes whenever the inspiration strikes.
This is a recipe I created a few months ago, when the weather was still chilly and I wanted a creamy, cheesy soup sans dairy. I wish I had taken a photo, since I won’t be making this tasty dish again until late fall/winter.
I hope you enjoy!
Vegan Broccoli & Cheese Soup
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 medium Russet potato, peeled and chopped
2 cups of broccoli, washed and chopped
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons shredded vegan cheddar cheese (along with shreds for garnish)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
salt, pepper and onion powder (to taste)
Chopped green onions (for garnish)
Rinse onion and potatoes well, then add to a medium sized pot, with enough water to cover. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling. Boil together until the onion and potatoes are soft. Reserve 1 cup of boiled water. Let onion and potatoes cool.
Once cool, add onion, potatoes, nutritional yeast, almond milk, and shredded vegan cheddar cheese to a blender. Blend until smooth.
Return blended vegetables to pot, along with reserved water. Stir together well, and add broccoli. Heat on low until just before reaching the boiling point. Check that the broccoli is soft before removing from heat. Add salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste. Garnish with chopped green onions and a few vegan cheese shreds.
In honor of yesterday’s spectacular natural show, here are some astronomically-themed jewelry pieces:
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Robb Report actually published a slide show of other eclipse-themed jewelry. I enjoyed seeing all of the celestial designs. The David Yurman collection was especially gorgeous! You can check out the designs here.
Bronze Butterfly 