Wake Up! Wake Up!

It's Monday. Enough said. And, clocks have just gone forward. In my book this is a double-whammy of misery.

Recap: When is my/any diet starting? Monday.

When are you going to start running/yoga/swimming (?) at like 5am, to be showered and ready for work? Monday! (By the way, I have had the odd early morning, eyes-hardly-open morning rush to the airport, at say 5am, and I SAW them! People jogging. Walking their dogs. They exist!)

Decluttering starts when? Monday!

Swap coffee for green juice containing kale, spinach etc? Monday!!!

So rather than "Fresh Start" I am thinking "No more excuses". So Monday is harsh, especially if one is not a morning person anyway and now has to get up earlier (no, I did not start this yesterday, obviously, and yes I did go to bed at my usual time which yesterday, technically, was an hour later than usual).

So during my web research (=Mondayprocrastinationbeforeactuallygettingstarted) I came across this lovely post by Lily Pebbles (click here for the link) and thought, what a fantastic idea.

Where Lily made a list of "Things to do" regarding her morning and evening skincare routine - and I so get it, of course you know what to do but when you don't feel like doing it, this list ("Do it, it feels nice") would probably make me - well who couldn't extend this list to other areas of one's life? I can think of many, many lists, many inappropriate ones too which probably should never ever be typed out but there are the practical ones.

For the wardrobe ("Bought something new? Before it goes in here, throw something out!"), kitchen ("Juice that kale/spinach combo"), obviously actual proper shopping lists ("Kale, spinach"), bathroom ("Before you shower, go for a run").

Got to go, make some lists . . .

Earth Hour

This evening at 8:30pm local time people all over the world are switching off their lights for one hour - in homes, offices and even famous landmarks take part, to mark WWF's annual Earth Hour.
Now in its eighth year, this mass participation event is held to show support for environmental issues, and among the world's landmarks that will turn down their lights are the Empire State building in New York, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow. Here in the UK, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham palace, Tower Bridge and the London Eye will all dim their lights.

So, what to do? Well, sun here in the UK officially sets around 6:40pm, so it will be dark, hence candles for lighting are a must. And since we're in the UK, this is not an option:

There are some interesting suggestions all over the web (click here for some ideas) however here's our Top 10:

10. Candle Light / Hot bath combo. Downside: baths are not as environmentally friendly as showers, so not sure whether the whole message would get lost here?

9. Go and see the switch off at a landmark near you. (Possibly wise to check beforehand via electricity gobbling internet if "your" landmark takes part, otherwise this will be a bit of a disappointment)

8. Get some friends round. Well, obviously. We can chat for an amazingly long time, no electricity required.

7. Take a nap. (Seems a bit cave woman-ish, or, actually, "in tune with nature")

6. Tell each other ghost/generally creepy stories. Try and outdo one another. If none of you faints or has a panic attack, you have failed.

5. Have a good old fashioned phone catch up with a friend or relative. No text or email, a proper call.

4. Paint your nails (toes and hands, please) by candlelight and have a good laugh once you can turn the lights back on.

3. If you're going out later, repeat no 4 with make up. Be brave!

2. Play games - card games, board games, hide-and-seek, whatever floats your boat.

1. Have dinner in the (almost) dark. This supposedly enhances the whole eating experience, and on the plus, you will probably eat less.

Neom Organics http://www.neomorganics.com/

And yes, I know what is missing from this list. But it is so obvious that, frankly, if you needed it to be on this list you probably shouldn't do it in the first place.

So, whatever you do, have a wonderful evening!

P.S.: And don't forget - here in the UK it's Mother's Day tomorrow. Oh yes, and clocks go forward tonight, too.

Spring Greens / St. Patrick's Day

Today I have surprised myself. It is Monday, in itself not a natural mood enhancer, and I am not Irish, not even a tiny bit, so really what's with my good mood? In the morning?
So I thought to myself: better ride the wave. Normally not functioning very well (this, my friends, is a euphemism) before 11am and a coffee or three, today I texted cheerful "Happy St. Patrick's Day" messages - four leaf emoji clover included (I know!) - to friends and family. Again, few of them Irish, as far as I know.

And then I remembered how I never used to wear green, until I saw Gwyneth Paltrow in Great Expectations. It was a revelation on one very shallow level: She is blonde and pale, like me, yet manages to wear shades of green that don't wash her out. Unlike me.

Classic Beauty Grace Kelly looked, well, beautiful, whatever she wore, and I experimented only very briefly with a similar minty shade to that of her suit in Rear Window. (Unlike Grace Kelly, I can't wear whatever I want)
Now, I wear black, grey and white, not much colour there, however I have surprisingly many green eye shadows in my make up kit. And nail varnishes, come to think of it. So before my good morning mood would take me to purchase ever greens of the inedible kind, I rummaged through my "storage" (I do love to "shop my stash") and came up with the following.

From top left: Avon Fresh Cut Greens; Chanel Illusion Ombre 84 Epatant; Bourjois Smoky Eyes 08 Vert Trendy. Below from left: Too Faced Fantasy Island; Bourjois 76 Vert Paillettes.

As I can't see myself tiring of the smoky eye / nude lips combo, I like discovering ever new updates on the classic. I positively sighed out loud when I saw Chanel's spring take here:

My Green Eyeshadows

Here I have swatched my Chanel's Epatant (left) next to Bourjois' Vert Paillettes, both glittery shades of green:

As you can see, Chanel is much more pigmented, giving a dense, metallic shimmer, whereas the Bourjois one was more difficult to build up.
 
Here's the Too Faced duo Fantasy Island:

Lovely pigment, fresh and easily wearable during the day.

Bourjois Smoky eyes trio is a lovely evening trio:

Whereas Avon's Fresh Cut Greens are much paler applied than they look in the compact:

 

My Green Spring #Stash

If nothing else, I am inspired to spring clean my make up and, fingers crossed, rediscover some old favourites.
Happy Monday!




 

Dolce&Gabbana Spring Look 2014

)

Finally spring weather has arrived, and while I can't for the life of me see myself floating around in sheer flowery chiffon outfits just yet - temperatures here in the UK still demand a bit more wrapping up - I CAN adjust my make up, and I have fallen in love with Pat McGrath's spring look for Dolce & Gabbana.

I love how she mixes the lip stick colours to get this pretty nude pink shade, and it has inspired to have a good rummage around in my lipstick bag (drawer sounds so much better and organised, but bag is the truth and nothing but the truth, - a nice one though, and big) and start mixing some shades.

The rest of the look is very natural, glowy and wearable, a the little cat-eye flick makes it sexy too. I Like!

SHOE DUPE - TORY BURCH v ZARA

SHOE DUPE

Right here, right now, the sun is shining. So I say - hey, bring me some spring shoes.
I love love love Tory Burch's Tana Sandal - perfect with any monochrome spring / summer outfit.


£240.00 from Tory Burch, available here: http://www.toryburch.co.uk/tana-sandal/11148340.html?dwvar_11148340_color=017&start=1&cgid=newarrivals-shoes

However. I love a good shoe dupe. And I'm not surprised that Zara, as usual, comes up trumps.


£39.99 from Zara, available here: http://www.zara.com/uk/en/woman/shoes/high-heel-sandal-with-zip-back-c358009p1728575.html

The block heel on the Tory Burch sandal may fare slightly better for day-to-night comfort, but overall both shoes would look great with spring/summer 2014's monochrome trend.

MISSONI  and   JIL SANDER SS 2014

MISSONI  and   JIL SANDER SS 2014