Like a Teenager: Lancome Juicy Shakers
After all this lecturing and posturing I’ve been up to recently about national identity and proper behaviour before events, I felt like doing a frivolous little post on something very unintellectual. And I believe I’ve succeeded spectacularly in this with my..
13 Tips for a Big Event
I love big events. I love the drama, the dressing-up, the excitement. If there aren’t any sufficiently big events happening, I will invent some, so that I can wear my gowns. Or order new ones. But chatting to people at the Estonian Independence Day reception..
Queen of My Castle
The Republic of Estonia turned 98 this week, with all the trappings of the anniversary of a modern state – a parade, lots of speeches, some protests and one big and many smaller parties. Countries and nations are complex and complicated constructs (and they ..
Party & Painkillers (Back on Friday)
Dear Readers, I apologise for the silence on the blog. I’m in Estonia for work and the Independence Day celebrations, but have been experiencing serious back pain for the first time in my life. This has completely messed up my schedule and blog plans. I will..
The Food and Books of Diana Henry
As with everything else, I’m an eclectic eater. I eat and can get excited about almost everything, with the exception of very hot dishes, as I simply cannot physically tolerate them (and anyway, I don’t see the point of eating anything I cannot properly tast..
Byredo Pulp: Fabulous Fruity Fun
If there was an award for the fragrance with the biggest discrepancy between the look of the bottle and the smell of the juice, I’d nominate Byredo Pulp. Byredo’s design is minimal, monochrome and achingly stylish, bordering on austere. Pulp is none of these..
6 Mini Skincare Reviews: Cult Beauty x Caroline Hirons
While I haven’t bought any skincare this year, I’m not entirely without new goodies, as I pre-ordered The Cult Beaty Box by Caroline Hirons in December and it arrived a week ago. The fans of Caroline Hirons (there are quite a few here) would know that this i..
Pretty Plates: Blue and White Dinnerware from Zara
I’ve been reading Peter Frankopan’s The Silk Road, an ambitious history book focussing on Middle East and Central Asia, and it got me craving pretty new plates. That might sound unlikely, but there is in fact a very logical reason for that: he often talks ab..
The Flavour of Winter: Smoke, Peat, Wood
For almost half a year, not much happens in Estonian nature. If we are lucky to have a proper winter, there will be snow and frost and everything will look quietly beautiful in the cold winter sun. If we are less lucky, there’ll be freezing rain and mud and ..
How I Survived the No-Buy January
It’s of course ridiculous to say that I ‘survived’ a month without buying any make-up, perfume or skincare products: lots of people need to make do without stuff that is immeasurably more important than this. But one needs catchy headlines, no? And in the wo..