Beauty

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville
Beauty, Health, Travel

The Greatest Outdoors

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In honesty, “freshly back from the French Alps for a YogiSki festival”, is a phrase quite enjoyable to leave hanging in the air.  Set between Les Menuires and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, my recent foray to the mountains offered plentiful serene moments of reflection and emotional expansion, with ample time to enjoy the last of the white stuff as the ‘23-’24 ski season came to a close. The opportunity to enjoy a plethora of outdoor pursuits means rather scopious packing, and with that, I share my edited picks for a trip of multiple purposes. For the workout Offering elevated workout wear that is just as in place at a leisurely brunch as it…

Automotive, Beauty, Gifting

Bentley Beyond, The Collection. For the journey.

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An invitation to Bentley’s newest fragrance launch was a joy that ran deeper than expected. Driving a car you love is so much more than the ‘a’ to ‘b’. It’s the feel of the steering wheel moving from under your palm, the resistance of the accelerator beneath your sole or the slick movement of the gearbox. Sometimes it’s the thrill you get when the mechanic tells you that against all odds, your pernickety classic car flew through its MOT. It’s the bond you feel and the memories you create together over the miles. It’s the smell of crisp winter air streaming through the window as you drive through the open…

Beauty, Travel

Where the Hot Springs Flow: Diving into The Well, Oslo

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It is perhaps one of the great tragedies of my life that I don’t spend every weekend in a beautifully crafted replica of a Kyoto bathhouse, surrounded on all sides by thirty or more totally naked Norwegians, each glistening with perspiration and a curated array of essential oils. However, my trip to the spectacular Oslo wellness resort The Well ensured – within an hour of arrival, in fact – that my existence would no longer be completely lacking this experience.  If the beginning of this wellness resort review sounds like the stuff of teenage fantasy crossed with a Nordic fever dream, I could only apologise. Except, as you probably expect,…

Beauty, Food & Drink, Gifting, Style

A note to my Valentine

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My love language is quality time. The moments shared whilst getting ready for a leisurely meal, enjoyed by candlelight and accompanied by a bottle of something very special to share across the evening… Yet, of course, something that comes gift-wrapped is never unwelcome.  For Her Lalique, Soleil Vibrant Conjuring memories of a summer’s afternoon, the heady breeze of Indian jasmine sambac absolute and juicy pear fruit are reminiscent of lazing in the shade of a faraway place, whilst vanilla bourbon and cedarwood give post-beach salinity with a sublime warming heart of saffron. It embodies the lustre of the most enveloping sunshine in even the coldest season. This Is Silk, Headband…

Beauty, Health, Travel

Hit reset on your sleep with The Good Sleep Retreat

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Recently, I was bestowed a great gift, and each evening my partner grows more covetous as its use becomes routine. I speak with friends, and they too desire to know how they might enhance their morning with such an advantage. What is this gift, you ask? Something that should be so simple, yet for many remains just out of reach.  A good night’s sleep. It hasn’t always been this way. The only routine aspect of my day-to-day across my many years as a makeup artist has been the lack of it, with early starts after late evenings, regularly waking before dawn and spending my days in controlled artificially-lit environments. And…

Portable Xmas Tree by D.S. & Durga
Beauty, Gifting

The stocking of desire

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Somehow, once again, we’ve whipped through weeks and flown through the months, and that fateful day of festive excitement, adoration-showing and gift-sharing is once more upon us.

Goldfield & Banks, Ingenious Ginger
Beauty, Gifting

A gift for every moment

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The perfect gift doesn’t need to be seasonal. The occasion might be a birthday, a win at the office, or maybe a moment of self-care. Whichever way, we are here for your inspiration.

DISCOTHEQUE
Beauty, Design

Take us to the Discothéque

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A little dress, legs out, heels on. Should I take a jacket? It’s early summer so I might need it. I will probably only want to toss it aside when I get there… I’ll grab an Uber rather than the Tube… It’s not pre-planning for a night out, but it could be. I am actually off to breakfast with Hanover and Jessie, from Discothéque. The newest, and in my humble (if not industry-specific) opinion, most exciting home fragrance launch I have attended in a long while. Now, it’s not a unique notion to use scent to take us away to another place or time, but Discothéque wants to whisk us…

Beauty Travel Packing
Beauty

A month in the bag

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I’m thinking of the perfect summer-defining scent for wandering warm olive groves at a spa retreat in The Algarve or Greece, and my ideal capsule holiday makeup bag for a weekend in Paris or Milan. You?

Oway Colour Protection
Beauty, Interviews

A morning with Blue Tit

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I don’t know where to start with my hair journey. It’s been a wild ride. Colours? I’ve had them all – quite literally during a particularly fun rainbow of pastels during a ‘My Little Pony’ phase. Blue Weekend, by Bleach London, was the darkest I’ve ever gone. In sharing a lot of that navy blue hue with the lino and walls of the bathroom, I have no idea how I didn’t lose my flat deposit. Never drink and dye, my friends.

Photographer: Egle Vasi, Makeup: Naomi Lake
Beauty, Interviews

A light refreshment

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Cosmetic surgery, non-invasive procedure, treatment or tweakment: call it what you want, but throughout my decades-long career in beauty, no topic has ever been more divisive. The polarity between viewpoints is vast, and it seems nobody is without their opinion on the matter.

Beauty, Health

Get A Drip – your pit stop to wellness?

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We all know what it feels like when life starts to speed by. The days rapidly turn into weeks, meetings follow meetings, working late leads to rushed dinners out and a few too many drinks, then it’s hazy starts and your third coffee of the morning at nine am… and the cycle starts again. Before you know it, you’re going faster than you think and your stomach hasn’t caught up with the lurch of acceleration. To extend this metaphor further, it’s a miracle the car is still going straight, and you missed the sign to turn off at the next exit. Regardless of whether you manage to slow down enough…

Miller Harris, Rose Silence Eau De Parfum
Beauty, Food & Drink, Gifting, Health

The rules of The Stocking

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In the Lake household, the Christmas Stocking is a sacred artefact. Everyone sleeping on the night of Santa’s rooftop landing meets the morning with a stocking; children, adults and guests alike. They are a festive staple and personally, my favourite part of the morning.

Environ Skin EssentiA product range
Beauty, Health

A Morning With Environ

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Springtime. My favourite time of year in London. We creep out of the winter, bleary-eyed and muscles stiff, stretch and look around. As quick as they came before, bitter mornings have made way for hazy lemonade sunrises of hot pinks and warm yellows. Magnolia trees bloom on the street edges, tulips burst from the curbsides, and parks are freshening their greens. With this first seasonal turn of the year comes many things, be that the pep in your step after finally feeling a decent dose of natural vitamin D, the craving to make changes to your daily drill after the long winter, or an overall spring clean of the home,…

Beauty, Health

A morning with Decorté

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Sparkling lights, a plethora of exciting cafes, new restaurants, stylish bars, and the scopious stores we can only dream of out in the sticks. But most importantly for this beauty-obsessed creature, central holds the homes of a thousand beauty brands, each more exciting and alluring than the last.  

Beauty, Gifting

The Beautiful Gift

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Is there one remaining gap under the tree? Are you running out of ideas for that last little beauty present?
Take a look at our quick guide to last-minute stocking fillers and small gifts.