I haven’t done a memo for a while – it has not been a conscious decision, it’s simply been a struggle to remain consistent recently and I also don’t want blogging to become a chore, so I don’t beat myself up too much about it. I’ve had more time over the holidays (although one could argue that should be spent on other things, like RESTING) and as a direct consequence, here comes the August edition.

1. Meghan’s Vogue. British Vogue’s September edition is out, notoriously guest-edited by Meghan Markle (I refuse to do the Duchess thing, sorry). People have of course entirely lost it over Megan’s decision, which I find extremely tiresome. One can obviously have views on this issue and they may very well be negative, but the vitriol displayed by some really makes one suspect this is about something completely different than a royal personage working with Vogue. I bought it electronically out of curiosity (I usually wait for the paper copy) and found it a decent, but rather unremarkable (pun!) effort.

2. Gucci lipsticks. Unsurprisingly, I have succumbed to the allure of Alessandro Michele’s vision (read: amazing packaging) and bought a Gucci lipstick. It’s the voile version in Diana and I love it. It’s pretty sheer, which makes it easy to wear and the colour is great, a slightly brickish red. The staying power is nothing to write home about – to be expected in this type of a lipstick and I’m fine with it.

3. New foundations. It is August and all forward-thinking women are therefore pondering foundation. No, of course not all of them are doing that, relax. There are two I personally am very exited about, however: the one by Pat McGrath is already out, although also sold out at the moment. I know it’s stupidly expensive. I also know I’m ready to pay this price for McGrath. The other one I am looking forward to is Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter Foundation – I adore the original product and hope the new one will provide a lighter, dewier alternative to the McGrath.

4. Skincare. I am not planning to buy any skincare in August (no makeup either, actually, the foundations can wait until September) – not a ban really, just trying to be reasonable. I don’t need anything and have a huge amount of half-used products to sort and get through. And that’s after I gave tens of jars and tubes to my sister. There area a couple of things I do find interesting: First, Tan-Luxe Super Glow Serum has been on my list for a while, but it was out of stock when I placed my last Cult Beauty order. Second, I keep wondering whether I should give Augustinus Bader a go, as their cult cream now comes in trial size (still outrageously expensive). I also wanted to mention the Huxley cleanser I bought in the end of July: if you like lathering cleansers, this could be for you – it foams up big time, but is still very gentle and non-stripping. I like the packaging as well.

5. Summer reading. The Booker longlist is out and it looks to be a good one. I’ve read two so far (loved “Lanny”, liked “My Sister, the Serial Killer”) and plan to read a few more. The other list I really like is this one by The Guardian: it is very much an Anglo-Saxon selection, but the 10 books I’ve read from it I’d recommend and I’ve already bought another 20 or so that also happen to be on the list. In other news, Hugos will be decided later in August and I still have three books from the novel shortlist to read. So I better get to it. My round-up of the novellas is here.

6. Toni Morrison is dead. Sad news and in my case, mixed with guilt, as I have not read any of her novels. This is easily explained: I have been too scared. I promise to read one this year and you are welcome to harass me on this in case you detect no progress.

7. Forografiska. If you are in Estonia and still haven’t visited the recently-opened Fotografiska museum, I highly recommend you do so. The exhibitions are great (the Jimmy Nelson one is fantastic for kids) and the restaurant and the view are amazing, too. I think I’m going to do separate posts of where to eat and drink in Tallinn, after extensive research undertaken over last week and a half…

8. September is coming. I love planning for September. As I’ve said before, September is my New Year – I enjoy the back-to-school energy, I like Autumn fashion and I just generally welcome the feeling of a fresh start. What I’m trying to do this year is to focus less on buying things and more on making sure my stuff is organised, easy to find, clean and ready to wear. The plan is not to buy skincare, makeup, perfume, books and clothes in August; if I seriously miss something, I’ll get it in the beginning of September. I’m not being too strict about it and I already know that there will be an Amazon book order of things I cannot get in Brussels. Still, I’m aiming at keeping it contained and focus more on the joy of planning.

How is your August going? Do you still have holidays to look forward to or are you already back in the office?

The picture (by Krõõt Tarkmeel) is from the lilac dress series, but I don’t think I ever posted it. It has no connection to the post, I just happen to like it. Hair by Natallia at Helen Heinroos Hair, makeup by Grete Madisson, dress by Ketlinn Bachmann.