The Book of Tea
It is a well-established fact that I like books. It’s almost equally well-established that I like drinking tea. So it would seem logical that I like books about tea.
This isn’t generally the case, however. All those shiny coffee-table (hah!) books with ti..
A Brocade Skirt
I do realise that some people might be confused how a brocade skirt can be a solution to anything. A problem, yes, but a solution? Seriously, who wears brocade these days? Well, I do.
I in fact own three items in that venerable material, two of which are ..
SPRING IS COMING
After years of thorough research (also known as reading every women’s magazine available), I have concluded that in spring, women are expected to do three things: wear pink lipstick, use pastel nail polish and sport colourful accessories.
I have no proble..
5 Boring Fragrances
Wearability is not high on the list of my priorities, when it comes to fragrances – or anything else, really. I tend to gravitate towards tarry leathers, austere irises and big white florals that nice people describe as statement-making and other people call..
So Fresh and So Clean
“Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony,” said Morpheus and he was right, I can tell you. I used to be the girl who thought that taking make-up off in the evening is for wussies: cool people fall straight to bed, drunk, and smear their fuchsia lipst..
On the Importance of Overdressing
Overdressing is the cardinal sin of modern style. Whatever you do, you must not look like you tried too hard. You must not be too full-on, too deliberate, too enthusiastic.
This was never going to sit well with me. I’ve always loved statement dressing and..
Dark Lips
Sali Hughes, one of my favourite beauty writers, has said that pale girls need balls of steel to wear violet lipstik. I don’t know about the balls, but I’m certainly pale and love violet lipstick. And not only violet – dark chocolate, Bordeaux, berry, purple..
Imaginary Library Essentials
In the Northen hemisphere, November has a bad reputation. And let’s be honest here, it has a bad reputation for a reason. It’s a month of darkness, dampness and cold, without any obvious redeeming features. However, I think part of the problem is that we’ve ..
Nancy Mitford
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Mitford sisters are controversial. I get that. I guess it’s pretty difficult not to be, if you happen to be a noble family of six sisters, of whom one is a Nazi (Unity), one a Communist (Jessica), one a Gaullist (N..
Pewter, Silver, Pebble, Grey
For all my love of overstatement, I have my minimal moments. And when they arrive, I often turn to grey, the most sophisticated of colours. There is a thin line between sophisticated and boring and I’m not entirely sure I always manage to stay on the side I ..