August Memo: Gucci, Meghan and a Foaming Cleanser
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 hol..
Me and Statement Sneakers: An Unlikely Love Story
I have done statement dresses, statement shoes, statement earrings, statement skirts, statement everything, but even relatively recently, I would have been incredulous at the thought of wearing statement sneakers. But fashions change, as do people – see my r..
Parfums de Nicolaï: The Most Underrated Fragrance Brand in the World?
Perfume business is a weird business. It seems so simple: obviously, people would just buy perfumes that smell the best to them, right? In reality, the whole thing is so heavily influenced by hard-core marketing, prestige, status, group-think and aesthetic c..
On Thinking Yourself out of the Box
I like to believe I’m a pretty clear-eyed person when it comes to myself: I tend to think I know myself well, don’t have many illusions and can assess my strengths and weaknesses with relative accuracy. While I do often ignore that knowledge – I’m frankly no..
Dr Sam: Skincare for Sensible People
When it comes to skincare, I’m definitely not a reasonable person. I like things to be effective, I honestly do, but I also like them to smell lovely and to come in nice packaging and maybe include some ingredients that sound good, but don’t really do much, ..
Ormonde Jayne Champaca: An Unusual, Addictive Floral
Ormonde Jayne, a niche London fragrance brand, was among my absolute favourites when I became seriously interested in perfume – more than 10 years ago now. Their original line-up was diverse but coherent and there were no duds in the bunch; from the gorgeous..
Call Me by Your Name: Peaches, Tan-lines and Desire
Last year, I missed the right moment to read André Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name: it is meant to be read in a heatwave and ideally while longing for someone exquisite. If the latter state of mind is not available, just a heatwave will do, but I waited too lo..
On Dressing During the Apocalypse
If you are a regular reader, you know that I occasionally talk about sustainability and environment and climate change, but not really in depth. It’s not because I don’t think these things are important, I think they are HUGELY important – I have worked with..
Thoughts on the 8 Novellas Nominated for Hugos and Nebulas
I have made a pact with myself this year to read all novels and novellas nominated for the Hugo awards. And Nebulas, if I can manage. With the novellas this wasn’t a huge challenge, as there is a big overlap between the two shortlists: reading the Hugos got ..
A Very Specific List of Summer 2019 Trends
Some fashion seasons are all about a certain mood, less about specific, trendy items. Others lack a coherent theme, but flood the stores with of-the-moment pieces that are impossible to avoid. They don’t always date well and may feel ridiculous in a year (no..