Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

Hope you had a lovely New Year's Eve! Mine was spent over a yummy family feast prepared by my mom, watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with my husband at home (great film but way too depressing a choice in reflection!) and then getting all excited at midnight watching the fireworks go off in the horizon over five towns from our attic.

It's been a pretty good year with plenty of treasured memories. I got to travel quite a bit, including re-visiting Japan with my husband, which is always a delight. This winter has been pretty hectic, with relatives visiting and then spending Christmas with my family in the UK. Travelling is fun but it always tires me out so it's good to be home again.

These pics are from early December when we got some hefty snowfall. All of it is gone now and we're enjoying some great sunshine and brilliantly blue skies in its place. It's a welcome change from the grey rain of London.

To everyone who stops by regularly, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you. Some of you have been reading this little blog of mine for several years now, and that still amazes me whenever I think about it. I know some readers who have gotten married and had kids during this time but still make time to read my ramblings despite their busy lives (*waves to AhCapp and Mei*). For that, I am truly deeply appreciative.


Below is my favourite photo of the year of my cousins and mum having fun in the snow by the lakeside in Annecy. The simple pleasures in life are always the most fulfilling. Great historical buildings and swanky malls don't impress my cousins at all but give them a good spot of snow and they can spend endless hours frolicking in it. May 2013 bring you and your loved ones more joy and laughter wherever you are!

Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park

One of the highlights of my recent London trip was visiting the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park with my family.


Wandering through the sprawling grounds of the carnival and soaking in the festive atmosphere was a great way to chase away the winter blues. It's very spacious so even though it was crowded, it never got to the crazily squashed-like-sardines type of situation common at shrines in Japan on New Year's Eve.

The variety of rides was pretty impressive. There were also plenty of stalls selling crafts, accessories and food.

Spinning tea cups - haven't seen those in a while!

A charming merry-go-round.


A mind-boggling array of wooden ties.


Marzipan treats, anyone?

A honey stall with an amazing variety of candles.

A traditional German pub under a lovely canopy of lights.


At a stall selling vintage-style posters, the one saying "PMS - Be Afraid! Be Very Afraid!" made me laugh.



This chap didn't quite manage to hold on to all his balloons with one floating merrily away.

This reminded me of the Ents from Lord of the Rings.

Winter Wonderland runs in Hyde Park until 6 January. It's well worth visiting if you are in the area.

A Favorite Fashion Moment of 2012 and its Perfume Pairing

One of my favorite fashion moments of 2012 was undoubtedly the emergence of Swedish style blogger and model Elin Kling (Style By Kling) into the mainstream fashion limelight. It seems that these days, bloggers can become famous pretty easily, and many of us are left wondering.. why? Elin Kling has proven to be an exception to that kind of exasperated plaintiveness. Her collaboration with Marciano for her collection of clothing and accessories is all aces. The ad campaign featuring Kling herself as the model is even more delicious, as she clearly gives us major vintage Raquel Welch in One Million Years BC.  Kling's collection is super-modern, super-wearable and when you see it all as a whole, you just want to be that girl. We all know that kind of cool can't be bought, so if you've got it, rock it.

Amazing bootie from the Elin Kling for Marciano accessories collection

My favorite shot. The way her body torques is just like Raquel's

Raquel Welch in One Million Years BC

Now, let's see. Elin's look that I love so much needs a great fragrance to pair with it. We're going to need something either genderless or something that leans masculine, and it can't have overpowering sillage. A few great picks would be:

CB I Hate Perfume 2nd (Alan) Cumming

A smoky, peaty, boozy masterpiece. Meant to represent Scotland in all the ways that count (except haggis).

Donna Karan Woman

Beautiful woody, musky concoction that's very light on florals and heavy on quiet sex appeal.

Commes des Garcon Wonderwood

A marvel of the synthetic woody overdose.

Tom Ford Oud Wood

Rich, nutty, warm and simple- more of a halo than a perfume.

Despite the above strong contenders, one fragrance stands out among all for this particular pairing, and that would be:
JUL ET MAD Amour de Palazzo. With patchouli, natural castoreum (!), a four-spice blend and leather, it has the aesthetic strength of modernism on its side with an impassioned, amber-toned soul beneath the surface. When I see Elin Kling wearing her collection for Marciano, I get exactly the same vibe.

Do you have any favorite fashion moments of 2012? Can you pair it with a particular fragrance?

NARS Spring 2013 and more from Voce

The February issue of Voce comes with a extensive catalogue of the Spring 2013 collections from 58 brands. Biteki and Maquia also produce similar catalogues but Voce usually has the most comprehesive version. It's a very useful guide for planning one's purchases and also keeping track of all the different releases.

Supermodel Stella Tennant is the face of NARS' spring collection, which will land in Japan on 15 February. NARS Japan uses numbers for shades, instead of the English names. The collection includes two Duo Eyeshadows (Mad Mad World and Bouthan), a Single Eyeshadow in Persia, a Dressed to Kill Lipstick, a Soft Touch Shadow Pencil in gold, a Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Cythère, a Blush in Seduction and a Nail Polish N in Disco Inferno.

The Laduree spring collection turns out to be more extensive than I earlier reported. Not only are there three Mini Face Color Trios and two Cream Cheek Bases, there will also be a new Lip Lacquer (3360yen, 5 shades), Creamy Eye Color (4200yen, 6 shades) and Pencil Eyeliner (2625yen; 4 shades of which 2 are LE).

The Face Color Rose Laduree Mini Case is limited edition and will retail for 1575yen.




For Suqqu (out on 1 Feb), I think I can safely skip the three new Blend Color Eyeshadow palettes although they are limited edition.

The Face Color Palette and Eyeliner Creamy EX02 in deep navy with blue pearl look very promising though. Everything in this collection is limited edition.


I'm looking forward to the minty blue tones of the YSL collection, set for release on 18 January. It also includes four new shades of Glossy Stains (Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres).


Love this swatch collage of the new Jill Stuart Nail Lacquer R (out on 11 Jan).

Addiction lands in stores on 11 Jan. There's no sign of the compact case with the dinosaur print listed, so I'm not sure if that will be released for sale.

Three (out on 16 Jan)

Lavshuca, due out on 1 Feb.


Brigitte's spring collection, which is already in shops, includes Nudy Contrast Powder (1470yen, 2 variations), Marble Creamy Cheeks (1050yen, 3 shades) and Creamy Shimmering Eyes (1260yen, 3 shades).

Kate (1 Feb) will release four Goldish Eyes palettes (1680yen), Jewelry Mode Eyes GN-2, Slim Gel Liner Pencil (1260yen, 2 shades) and Teary Drop Liner (1260yen, 2 shades).

Visee (18 Jan)