Perfume: Narciso Rodriquez "Essence"

I have yet to make a post about all the shopping I did during my séjour in Marseille. Not to mention a post about wonderful Marseille itself! Until then, here's a little something I got at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome:


Please forgive me for my unpolished fingers, I'm keeping them away from nail polish for a couple of days.

I'm in love with this. Seriously.
I haven't loved a perfume like this since... well, I'd say Issey Miyake's L'Eau d'Issey, but that would not be true because I love it EVEN MORE!

Here's what the people at Narciso Rodriquez have to say about this:

Irresistible and addictive.

As the designer's olfactive signature, musk is at the heart of Essence with a renewed perception, a new vitality.

This modern heart of musk is complemented and enhanced by radiant notes of rose petals, powder notes of iris and hints of amber resulting in a floral, powdery musk fragrance.

A pure, sensual and luminous essence.

And here's what Narciso Rodriguez told ELLE about Essence:

"I wanted to capture sunlight."

It does. From the moment you get your hands on the beautiful flacon (maybe the most beautful perfume bottle over) which reflects your image in a distorted, playful way, to the moment you smell its clean, musky, radiating notes.

That's what this perfume really feels like. A ray of sun captured in a bottle.

Poetic much?

I'm seriously enamored with this. I simply adore it.

Shoe Shopping... again...

... but, in my defence, it was bargain shopping! How is that shopping? I practically stole them if you ask me!

So, let's take it from the beginning, shall we? I was out on one of my long walks again (in case you don't know me well enough already, I have this weird habit of going out walking for 2-3 hours, with no specific destination or purpose. Of course, if my footsteps take me to the shops, I will probably buy a thingie or two...It's my footsteps that decide, not me.). Anywhoo, when I was approaching my place after about 2 hours of wandering, I saw that the local shoe shop had a sale sign up.

Shoe Sale, you said?

Yes!

(enter Hallelujahs HERE)

So, here's what I got:

Their black is really dark and gorgeous.

Gorgeous, gorgeous trainer-type of shoes that can be worn for not just jogging or the gym (which I never ever visit, thank you very much!).

I'm gonna share a little secret with you now... I have owned these before.



I thought they were so gorgeous when I first set eyes on them a couple of years ago... Yes, the design is not last year, it's LAST-LAST year! But you know I don't really care about that stuff... They had them in a variety of colors, including pink, but back then I chose the metallic one, thinking it looked cool. It did. I had bought them at around the time I did my clerkship in Paris, so I wore them an awful lot! I still keep them in my closet, although they are kinda worn and broken inside, just because they have "walked" on the streets of Paris (pronounced with a french accent:)).



This time the only colors they had was pink and this one. Although I was going for the pink first, I decided I did not look good in them. I always want to dress in a more feminine/girly way, but it just doesn't seem to suit me, at least not as much as other styles. Anyway, I thought they were not really ME so I opted for the black ones-and don't they look fantastic? :)

Ok, the second pair is not to die for:


Just a practical, INCREDIBLY soft pair of shoes for winter. If you lived where I live right now, you wouldn't even consider wearing these in the summer. Trust me.
I think they would look particularly pretty with dresses and tights, right? They are good for jeans too, but you wouldn't see the strap around the ankle detail, so dresses and skirts are okay. Well, for days that are all about the work that is, I wouldn't consider going out on a hot date wearing these.


So cute!

And now, the price.

How much do you think I paid for these? Honestly.

I can't hear you!

Well, let me break the news to you:

10 euros each.

Each pair that is!!!!!

ISN'T THAT A BARGAIN?

Aren't you all as happy as I am now? I know you are!

The initial price was around 50-60 euros, if I remember correctly from the tags they had on. Definitely not less!

So, yes, I'm lucky! They may not be the hippest, or most fashion forward pairs of shoes, but they are practical, cute and A BARGAIN! (I'm saying it again and again, just in case you missed it before. BARGAIN!)

It was a wonderful day for my wallet AND my closet.

Oh and please don't forget to use your tote when you go shopping, in order to avoid the unacceptable, plastic, non degradable bags we get to carry our shopping in. I was given mine by a relative, it has an eco friendly motto on it, in german. :)

PS. BARGAIIIIIINNN!!!

Movie Review: "The Lovely Bones"

I can't help feeling slightly stupid doing this, but anyway... I hate the word review, but I can't think of another at the moment. This is definitely not the review of a critic. Far far from it, to be exact :)

When a movie starts with a snowglobe, I'm sold:

I love snowglobes... I only have one and it's very Christmasy. Still, it's somewhere around the house even today!

I read the book "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold as soon as I found out that it was going to be Peter Jackson's new movie. I am an avid "Lord Of The Rings" fan, so in my book Peter Jackson can do no wrong. The story is sort of bittersweet and sad and it is definitely NOT a children's book. Also, the trailer was breathtaking (strong expression for a trailer, I know).

 

Having read the book, the movie does meet my expectations. I can't say however that it is now among my favorites. I wanted to love it, but I ended up rather liking it. What's to blame? I don't think there was an other option actually. Sometimes the material does limit you. The book is definitely good. It is not a masterpiece. It doesn't aspire to be one. It is the realistic story of a family. The supernatural elements are not so prominent in the book, they mostly help us understand the characters on Earth, not picture life in Heaven. Peter Jackson takes it a step further. He creates that World for us, beyond the book-and we know that he can do it better than anybody.

Shattering glass ships, dancing on green planets, frozen lakes where giant red roses blossom underneath the ice... I loved these images. I am a sucker for them. What can I say?

But... it takes a very devoted Peter Jackson fan and someone who has already read the book to really like this movie. I wouldn't find it particularly touching or thought provoking if I were nothing of the above. 

Therefore, definitely not a failure, but also not an experience that stays with you for very long. Sometimes I wish I hadn't read the book, so I would be rather new to the experience of the movie. But then I remember that reading Atonement didn't stop me from adoring the movie. 

Is it the nature of the story? Is it the storytelling? Or the actors (all of them apart from Mark Wahlberg, the only one who managed to slightly move me-and no, Saoirse Ronan was not magnificent)? Something doesn't work. The script changes also don't help, but PJ should know how to do that. 

Mark Wahlberg being amazing as usual.

Anyway, do I recommend it? Sure. It is a good movie. But it's not "multiple viewings" material :)

There are a couple of very beautiful wallpapers that I really love though:

Movie Review: "Julie and Julia"

I watched this some time ago. I didn't really think I would enjoy it; the reviews were on the positive side, but the story did not appear to be particularly exciting ("Almost 30 year-old woman finds a new meaning in her life, cooking Julia Child's French Cuisine recipes and blogging about it"?? That's pretty much the synopsis, if you ask me.)

I did however forget about the monster that is Meryl Streep. No matter what you think of the movie (and trust me the movie is not bad. At all.) you can't ignore her. In all her scenes she dominates. She is funny and sensitive at the same time. Playing a real person -Julia Child in this case- must be hard, but this woman seems to pull it off so easily, you almost think you could do it as well. Anyway, you will definitely enjoy Meryl Streep's performance, and I have to admit that you will probably like Amy Adams' character, no matter what you think of Amy Adams. I grew to like her a lot more because of this movie, so that's a good thing, right?

 
Julia Child talking to a fish. Best way to make sure it's fresh.

Now, what the movie really is about: Food! French Cooking in all its glory! Recipes and cheese and fish and butter and cakes and... Well, to be honest, this is NOT what the movie is about, but as a person that loves good food and particularly French Cuisine I enjoyed all the parts of it that involved cooking. How can I say it, they were so light, colorful, delightful on the whole! I could almost smell the butter melting, the cake in the oven! And I was not hungry when I was watching it, mind you :)

 
(Ok, maybe I was a little bit hungry :))

The other reason I loved it so much -well, we can safely say now that I loved it. I just realised it myself :)- was Paris. Since Julia Child spends the biggest part of the movie in Paris, there were inevitably a lot of scenes with a Parisian background. Real or fake, I couldn't tell. I can tell you for sure that in reality it looks just as perfect as in the movie-I might be a little biased, but it's mostly true.

Images like this make me love this movie even more.  Julia Child buying groceries in Paris...

 
Mmm, and then visiting a patisserie...

So, if you want to enjoy approximately 2 hours of cooking French recipes, a light mood and a Parisian scenery, go ahead. Meryl Streep will make you watch it totally guilt free.

Not Thrilled With My New Calendar...

I'm obsessed with stationary. I am known to occasionally enjoy an hour or two in a bookstore, going through books or buying pens or notepads. Yes, I am boring.

I am also obsessed with calendars, filofaxes or anything that has to do with organising your life-I'm not particularly organised as a person though... I just like the idea of having every little move you want to make planned and written down. Or maybe I just like pretty, colorful stuff! I remember a beautiful "Lord Of The Rings" calendar a friend gave me many years ago-my favorite by far. I can't seem to find it anywhere for the life of me. Its illustrations were beautiful, it was the only calendar I used so much.

So, I bought this calendar before New Year's: 1000 Places To See Before You Die

I thought there would be enough space for me to write in it. But the pictures take most of each page:

Plys, the word "DIE" on the front page is a bit creepy. The title really looks like a threat!

Anyway... A little disappointed... The pics are beautiful though. And at least it's all recyclable-both the paper and the plastic plate.

It is unnerving seeing all those places and knowing you will definitely NOT visit all of them. A place called Doubtful Sound in New Zealand intrigued me though.

Me thinks very beautiful!

Yummy...

I allowed myself one of these... Because I'm worth it!

Maybe two... :)

QUEEN Poster

I only wish it was signed...
Funny thing is I put it right above my cosmetics stash.