January Recommendations

1. Tatcha Discovery Kit

2. Ankle Boots

3. Guerlain "La Petite Robe Noire"

4. Guerlain Terracotta in Blondes 02

5. Repeat Cashmere Scarf (sold out)

6. Hermès Agenda (similar)

7. Michael Kors Bangle

Jour de Hermès

Today I would like to talk about a lovely spring scent that I discovered back in 2013 but I love to use it also on gray rainy winter days. It reminds me about the lightness of the first sunshine and the smell of the first blooming flowers.

I am talking about “Jour d’Hermès” from Hermès. It has been heavily advertised during last year and I guess most of you have probably come across it one way or another.

It is very difficult to review a scent as it smells often times different on different skin types and everybody seems to smell something else. So here you find my personal thoughts and I remind you that you might feel different about this product.

“Jour d’Hermès” is an Eau de Perfume (do not confuse with "Jour d’Hermès Absolu"). It comes in 30ml, 50ml and 85ml. The 30ml cost 60 Euros. All the bottles are refillable. In that regard I purchased the smallest bottle and a refill. The refill contains 125ml and costs 115 Euros.

Here you can see both next to each other:

As you can observe the perfume is of a golden color and the product looks very valuable. The bottle is made from heavy glass (already the 30ml comes in a quite heavy bottle). On the glass foot it says “Jour d’Hermès”.

The scent of the perfume as already mentioned above reminds me of light flowers as they grow in spring. I can not detect any specific flower. It feels rather like a bouquet. The overall feel is light, floral and a tiny little bit creamy. It is a great scent for the day as it is not heavy at all. I wear the scent and I feel like I am in a wonderful garden. “Jour d’Hermès” is a quiet perfume all ingredients are in perfect harmony.

The lasting power of “Jour d’Hermès” is great. I use it at around 7am before I leave for work and the scent stays till I get back home around 6pm. It gets lighter during the afternoon hours but it does not disappear.

The line includes also bath product and a deodorant.

I also own the Body Lotion and the deodorant. Both products smell exactly the almost the same as the perfume and are both lovely.

The body lotion contains 200ml and costs around 50 Euros. It comes in a white plastic bottle that tries to imitate the shape of the perfume bottle.

The lotion is very liquid and dries down very quickly. It moistures very well (I do not have any major skin concern, so it might be different for others).

The scent from the lotion holds on around 3 to 4 hours. For me this is fine. I do not own many other lotion products that get into that level. Most disappear on me after half an hour.

The deodorant contains 150ml and costs 43 Euros.

It comes in a white container with a golden cap. It is a spray and it is very easy to use. It has pretty much the same scent as the perfume. I would say it is slightly sweeter but not much.

The quality of the product is fine. I live in a hot country and I do not have any issues using this product. It never let me down. It might be different individually so please try it out for yourself and report back.

Summing up:

Pros:

·                     Very Good Lasting Power for all products

·                     Great light scent. I personally love the smell of flowers

·                     Perfume is refillable!

Cons:

·                     Not cheap

Happy New Year

My little pocket calender

Happy New Year to Everyone!

I can not believe that we are in 2015 already. The last year has passed so fast that I am not sure where I was. Seriously I still feel like I am 25 but I am not!

Today I wanted to take a moment to review 2014 and to share my plans for 2015.

I started this blog in February 2014 because I wanted to share what I love in beauty and fashion while giving you a glimpse of my other passions such as baking and travelling. I honestly enjoy every post I write and I am deeply sorry for not being able to blog all the time but what I post comes from all my heart. I do not want to junk this blog with things just in order to post something. The quality about what I write and and what I talk about matters to me. Though I am planning to be more available in 2015.

Front View

Side View

For me 2014 was a year of transition. From a point that I was not sure where I am exactly heading (I mean that not in a bad way) to a point that I know what I would like to achieve. It helped me to look at what I like and what I dream about to understand what I want. Not everything in life turns out exactly as planned but it helps me to have the main plan.
How did all that happen, you might wonder? During last year I had a serious back injury that forced me to go three times a week to a physiotherapist to get treatment for an hour each time. While I lay there with pain the doctor told me that I am not taking enough care of myself. I should do more sport and sit less in front of the computer and I should definitely reduce stress. I started thinking about that. Trying to figure out what I enjoy doing and what not in order to be more at ease. Once the thoughts started to turn inside my head I started to set different priorities. Allowing myself to do things that I love, taking myself enough time to rest and to reduce stress for example by disconnecting my work email from my smartphone (Yes, I did it and I do not regret!).
I have to say that I am definitely happier today and I am very thankful that my wonderful husband is always supporting me.

So now we are heading into 2015. What are my New Years resolutions?

• Be thankful for what I have
• Be there for family and friends
• Spend lots of time with my sweet dog
• Try to be more minimalist (I do not need tons of cloths and makeup, even though I often think I do, especially when entering a department store)
• Get rid of things that are not need and do not buy things that are not needed :-)
• Allocate time correctly to make most of everything
• Always give 100% of myself

Love,

Sandra

L'Occitane Ultra Rich Face Scrub - Gommage Ultra Riche Visage

I have already spoken about a few skin care products from L'Occitane back in August. Since then I have continued discovering their line one product at a time,
Today I would like to talk about their face scrub. It is from the Shea Butter line which is great for dry and sensible skin.

The face scrub comes in a plastic container in typical L'Occitane style not over-designed but practical. Also the information on the jar is at a minimum. You get 100ml for 21.50 Euros.

When opening the jar you are welcomed by a light creamy floral scent. You can observe right away the white cream base and the scrub inside. The exfoliating granules are made from finely ground nutshells and the granules are quite big and rough for my taste.

Here is how it looks on my hand. Texture is just creamy and not liquid at all. You can easily massage the product into the skin.

As the exfoliating granules are quite big I highly recommend applying the face scrub very gently on your face.
I massage this carefully into the dry skin and rinse the product off with water. For me this works really well and the skin is very clean and soft after the application. I had absolutely no problems with break outs using this face scrub. I am currently using it once a week and it works great.

Summing up:

Pros:

• Polishes sensitive skin gently
• Lovely Scent

Cons:

• Big exfoliating granules might lead people to over do it

Accessories

Today I would like to take some time and write about accessories.

Accessories are all these little things that can highlight an outfit without much effort. In a dictionary you might find a definition similar to: “An accessory is a thing that can be added to something else in order to make it more attractive.”

Some people hate accessories and other love them and own tons of different things. It really depends who you are and what your style is.

Over time I discovered the following accessory-lovers: People that wear jewelry and watches to highlight outfits, those using scarfs as addition to their styling, the shoe lovers who own a pair of shoes for every dress and of course last but not least the bag lovers!

I realized that most people have a preference towards one or two accessory types. It is rare that a person “collects” everything. Even though it surely exists. 

I personally ware a lot of scarfs and jewelry. I do not own many interesting shoes or bags. Mine are rather functional and not the highlight of my outfit. What I like about jewelry and scarfs is that you can even wear a black shirt and jeans or a simple dress and you will still look nicely dressed without doing much. It really makes a big difference with little effort.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Hermes scarf tied with scarf ring in the middle

Overall I prefer dressing in a more neutral color and then adding a nice silk scarf in order to add some color. For me this is the easiest way to wear most of my cloths in multiple occasion without feeling repetitive.

As for jewelry I prefer delicate fine jewelry over big pieces which often times look a little too heavy on me. The Pandora bracelet is the biggest and also heaviest (literally) piece that I own. The reason I prefer fine jewelry over fashion jewelry is because it is more durable. This is very subjective as the quality of cheaper fashion jewelry can be good as well but I personally did not make good experiences with it. Too often rocks fell out or the color suddenly turned from gold to black that I try to stay away. I prefer investing in timeless pieces that fit the majority of my cloths and accessories so I have many years to enjoy them.

Discovering Tatcha Skin Care

Tatcha is a Japanese brand developing skin care products based on ancient Asian traditions and ingredients known for decades to be good for the skin.

I have heard about Tatcha skin care products over the internet as the company is very popular for their blotting papers (which I do not need for my dry skin). Even though I have no need for blotting papers I was curious about the other products they might sell.

Spontaneously I decided to purchase their “One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil” and their “Rice Enzyme Powder”. In order to get to know also their cream and serum I also bought their “Discovery Kit” containing sample sizes of all their products. The order got processed quickly and three days later I was holding the package in my hand.

The Ritual Discovery Kit from Tatcha    -Cream & Serum will be reviewed later

Today I will speak about the two cleansing products only as I need a little bit of more time to test the cream and serum to provide a better picture of how they perform in the long-run.

First of all it needs to be mentioned that everything was beautifully packaged when it arrived.

The One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil costs $48 for 150ml. It comes in a plastic pump dispenser. The cleansing oil is clear and has no scent which I can detect.

The product is used on dry hands and dry face. I pump once and apply the oil over my face and eyes. The makeup literally melts away with the soft oil. As a next step I am washing the oil off with water. All makeup and waterproof mascara is being removed. It is really easy and no hassle.

Afterwards I am using the Rice Enzyme Powder for sensitive skin. It costs $68 for 40gr. It is coming in a plastic jar and is light pink. Also the powder does not have any scent.

The powder is applied with wet hands on wet face. I am using about half a teaspoon of product and I rub the powder in my hands which then transforms into a foam. The foam is being applied and massaged on the face. Then I wash it off with water and dry may face carefully.

After having removed the makeup with the oil and deep cleansed my face with the Enzyme Powder my skin is ready for the day or night cream.

Overall I really enjoy using the Tatcha cleansing products I feel they leave my skin clean and soft. My skin does not feel dry after the application which I really like.

Summing up:

Pros:

• Cleanses sensitive skin gently
• Removes makeup without traces
• Jar and pump dispenser well designed

Cons:

• Price maybe

Travelling to Jerusalem

Lately I have been travelling quite a bit around Israel as we are in the middle of the holiday season.
Today I would like to share with you a few snap shots I took in Jerusalem this week visiting the Western Wall.
During the Jewish New Year and Jom Kippur many believers come to Jerusalem to pray for forgiveness. This is the reason why you see so many people standing close to the wall. On a normal weekday you might see only a third of the amount. The place is holy as the wall is the last part of the ancient Jewish Temple which was not destroyed (the temple itself was destroyed twice in the history). The wall is the western outer wall of the temple. So behind the wall the temple itself was situated.

What you see here in the above picture is what is known to be the Western Wall. But underneath the ground and especially towards the left (where the wall seems to end) the wall actually continues under the ground.

I have visited the tunnels underneath the Western Wall this week and I will share with you how it looks like.

So once you get down into the tunnels it gets pretty dark which is why the photos are not great. we were walking along the wall with a guide and she really explained very well which part of the wall we are passing and where it relates to in the temple, Can you believe that there are about 800-900 meters of wall left which you can not see when you are standing outside in front of it? The largest stones are more then ten meters long! (In the picture above the Western Wall is the wall on the right hand side,)

As you can see the wall underneath the ground is massive and it is unbelievable that it is man-made. If you know a bit about Jerusalem you might wonder how this is possible as the Western Wall neighbors with the Muslim quaters of the city. Well, for that the answer is surprisingly simple; the wall passes actually underneath the Muslim quarter.

The holiest part of the Western Wall is the place where you are actually standing closest to the altar which is about half-way into the tunnels along the wall. You will find there many people praying which is why I did not photograph it.

I found this trip quite impressive which is why I decided to share it with you. There was a very unique spirit. 

Next week I will be writing about a new skin care line which I am currently testing.