Circular Block Party or Why I Love a Pop-up
I stumbled across the Circular Block Party pop-up shop quite by chance. I do like it when the Fates take a break from all that weighty business of spinning, measuring out, and snipping of the thread of life, and amuse themselves by arranging an unexpected little treat, A couple of weeks ago, the Fates contrived […]
CHANEL Factory 5 at the Selfridges Corner Shop
As I went out walking one fine summer afternoon, the heavens opened in an instant. All courting couples fled for shelter, and my friend Margot D. and I ducked into Selfridges to explore the CHANEL Factory 5 installation. We’d already had a chance to examine the Factory 5 Collection: the range of limited edition No.5 […]
Natural and Organic Products Europe London 2018
I spent today at Natural and Organic Products Europe, which bills itself as ‘Europe’s biggest trade show for natural and organic products’. It runs over two days at London’s Excel Centre, and this year I decided well in advance that I was going to attend on both days, rather than exhaust myself trying to take in […]
J’aime Bien Le Shopping! French Beauty Haul
It might have been a short holiday; it might have been a family holiday; but we were in La Belle France, so obviously, there was going to be le shopping! Allow me to present: the French Beauty Haul … Never get a migraine in Disneyland Paris: you can’t find painkillers for love nor money! The upside […]
Professional Beauty Show at EXCEL London
There is something about February that makes my jaded old heart sing, and that’s the chance to troll around the Professional Beauty Show at Excel, London. Valentine’s Day? Pah – I SPIT on Valentine’s Day! Retail beauty products at wholesale prices: that’s what brings a spring to my step and a gleam to my eye, and […]
KUNG HEI FAT CHOI! Shopping in London’s Chinatown
Chinese New Year is one of my favourite celebrations: I love the emphasis on grub, decoration and MONEY! The Year of the Goat began yesterday, on the 19th of February, so hip, hip hooray for me, as I’m a Goat. The Belle and I met up in Chinatown to celebrate what we hope will be a happy, […]
Goodbye To The Garden Pharmacy Of Earthly Delights: HELLO! To The Garden Online
The Garden Pharmacy in Long Acre closed its doors for the last time on March 21st this year, which means that London has lost an incredible independent shop. The Garden Pharmacy had been operating from the same site in Covent Garden for 29 years: it’s a fixture of London life, and the news of its […]
Christmas Give and Take – Child-appropriate Beauty Gifts
I have two guiding principles when buying gifts: (1) never buy anything that you wouldn’t like to receive yourself and (2) If you live with your recipient, the gift should be something that can be shared, borrowed or stolen. I see no need to relax these principles when buying for children, so here is my […]
Bloom Perfumery Spitalfields
Have you left your Christmas shopping a little late this year? Be not afraid, I bring you good news: Bloom Perfumery in Spitalfields stocks an amazing range of astonishingly lovely scent that will delight any adult on your list. The Belle of Brockley discovered Bloom earlier this year, and it is now one of my very […]
Welcome to the Neighbourhood! BeautyMART at Boxpark & Other Local Glories
Regular readers will have guessed that I was counting down the days until the opening of the BeautyMART at Boxpark pop-up, on Bethnal Green Road. Much as I like trolling around London, to have BeautyMART on my doorstep is a treat and a half! I visited (twice) on July 1st, when they opened … As a […]
