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.

Weekend Trip to Beresheet

We spent the last weekend in the Beresheet Spa Resort which is located in the far south of Israel about one hour from Eilat. My husband and I have been celebrating our wedding anniversary taking a weekend off to relax.

Above you can see the view from our amazing room. We had a direct view on the crater which looks absolutely astonishing! We enjoyed the comfort of a private pool which gave us a maximum amount of privacy. The room itself was offered all comfortability we needed. Everything was in good condition and very clean. The room was being arranged for us twice a day (morning and afternoon).

Every room is eqipped with the body care products of the hotel. Their scent is lovely even though I can not describe what it is. It is smelling kind of "oriental".

Beresheet is constructed like a little village with every building hosting two rooms. At the ground floor is a room with a pool and while the room above enjoys a large patio. We were told that there are 100 rooms available in the resort.

As walking distances between the rooms and the main building differ depending where your room is located the hotel offers a driving service with 24/7 availability to take you around.

Here is how our building looked like:

All buildings including the main house are made from lovely stones which have the same color as the desert environment. It all fits very well into the nature.

Below is the main building and the main pool.

And yes we also spent time around the main pool even though we had a pool of our own. The pool bar offered lovely cocktails...

Here is a picture of the sunrise which we saw every morning. It was worth the early (6:20 am) wake.

We also booked spa treatments. The massage I took was 75 min and definitely worth it. The care giver was very professional and experienced. I suffered some pain after the treatment but it turns out that all my muscles are released.

During our stay we also wanted to see a little bit of the environment and experience the desert. In order to get around we booked a RZR drive with a guide. We had our personal RZR following the instructor through the desert. 

It was a great experience and totally different from what we expected. At the beginning it was a bit scary as we drove with the vehicle through the sand and over the rocks but in the end we really enjoyed it. It was absolutely doable if you follow the instructions of a professional guide as you might otherwise get injured overestimating your driving abilities.

The only thing bothering us during our stay was that other guests when walking around the resort passed by "our" garden and pool area which made us feel uncomfortable. In the end we learned that we could have called for the security as people are not supposed to hang around the private areas of other rooms enjoying their view but we simply did not know about it.

Allover it was a wonderful trip and we both enjoyed our stay. The service was great, all the staff cared about our well-being.
The food needs to be mentioned as well. The breakfast was a large buffet with everything one can think about. The dinners were a la carte and only the starters were a buffet. At any point in time the food was delicious.

J'adore L'absolu from Christian Dior

Describing Fragrances is one of the most difficult tasks I can image.

This fragrance review will be very individual based on how feel using J'adore L'Absolu.

The series "J'adore" from Christian Dior is divided into three different fragrances (in the eau de perfum segment) "J'adore", "J'adore L'Absolu" and "J'adore L'Or". I can not describe the differences of each scent but I can confirm that they are all different from one another. I personally like the Absolu interpretation very much but not the original version. 

As they all come in the exact same glass bottle and you need to look carefully in store to see which version you are trying.

Price:  75ml for 112 Euros.

The packaging is very luxurious consisting of a heavy glass bottle a long golden cap. The perfume is of a golden color.

J'adore L'Absolu smells very floral and it is light and intense at the same time. It makes me think about a bouquet of flowers or a garden. It has a very full scent which is noticeable in a positive way. Over the day the scent softens until only a light floral layer remains in the evening. 

It needs to be underlined that this fragrances holds VERY long. For me it holds an entire working day (8 hours for sure).

I am absolutely in in love with the scent! I would recommend to try all versions of J'adore to determine which version suits you most.

L'Occitane Ultra Gentle Cleansing Milk and Gentle Toner

Over the last 4 months I have been using the Ultra Gentle Cleansing Milk and Gentle Toner from L'Occitane instead of my regular cleanser from Decléor. I wanted to test both products on a daily basis to see how they would perform. This is the first time I bought face care products from L'Occitane and I can happily say that their face care line is as lovely as their body care lines.

I will first talk about the cleansing milk (17 Euros for 200ml) as this is the product the cleansing should start with. The product comes in a plastic bottle with a pump falcon. Yes, you heard right a cleanser for 17 Euros is being sold in a simple but useful plastic packaging. I do not particularity like such packaging at that price point but but it serves the purpose and has low weight when travelling.

This is how the product looks like:

The cleansing milk is a creamy white liquid with a very light floral scent which I personally like. I am applying the milk on a cotton pad and then cleanse my face including the eye area. On my skin it does not burn or anything else not even around the eyes. I remove all my makeup with the cleansing milk and the gentle toner without using any additional cleansing product afterwards. The cleansing milk really takes down all the foundation and eye makeup (non- waterproof). Once I see that the cleansing milk is not removing any more makeup I am moving over to the Gentle Toner.

The Gentle toner (17 Euros for 200ml) comes also in a plastic packaging with spray dispenser. As I sad above the packaging is not very appealing for products at that price.
I like that the toner comes as a spray because it is very refreshing to spray it softly over the cleansed skin. The toner has the same light scent as the cleansing milk. Once the product is sprayed on my face I use a cotton pad to remove all access cleansing milk and usually the toner also removes last make up traces even though you thought you had everything removed.

Overall both products performed great over the last months! I always had a very clean skin after the application. I never had any breakouts or other skin irritations while using the milk and toner. This is a huge thumbs up and definitely worth a try for everybody with sensible skin.

Summing up:

Pros:

• Cleanses sensitive skin gently
• Great cleansing abilities
• Lovely Scent
• Pump and spray bottle are easy to use 

Cons:

• Packaging
• Price

Repurchase - Yes, No, Maybe?

Hi All,
I know that I have not been in touch for quite a while. Summer is going on and I spent a few days off with family and friends. It is also quite hot around here so I have been in 'lazy-mood'.

Today I would like to show you a few products that I recently used up asking the question if I would repurchase or not.

Let's go!

Roses 4 Reines Shower Gel and Body Lotion - L'Occitane

Price: 14.50 Euros and 14.50 Euro (both 250ml)

My Thoughts: Wonderful scent great shower experience and great lotion which dries down quickly!

Repurchase: Yes! Maybe I would even try one of the other scents.

Idylle - Guerlain

Price: 90 Euros (50ml)

My Thoughts: Wonderful light floral scent but unfortunately it does not last on my skin.
Repurchase: No! I am always sad when a fragrance disappears quickly.

Seanik Shampoo Bar - Lush

Price: 8.50 Euros (55gr)
My Thoughts: I love the 100% organic shampoo bar because it is absolutely gentle and treats my hair great. It also smells nice and does not burn in the eyes.
Repurchase: Yes! I repurchase this all the time.

Divine Scrub - Caudalie

Price: 22.40 Euros (150gr)
My Thoughts: Lovely body body scrub which leaves the skin very nice and soft. It is having a light scent (same as the Divine body oil from Caudalie) which is very calming.
Repurchase: Yes!