September Favorite: The Saddle, Dior

Being a fashion blogger, I can literally not avoid trends. Especially at the moment, while fashion week is happening. I always love to follow the shows, to catch the new trends, to spot the best outfits and accessories. But even if the catwalk is where fashion is happening, it is simply impossible to avoid the crowds of admirers and supporters of the brand. The Dior show was - as usual - amazing, but the spectators were also part of the décor, and on every fashion blogger or buyers, we could spot one bag: the Saddle. This purse is quite something. It has not been invented by Chiuri actually, but is part of the Dior collection since the 90s, and has been seen on it girls such as Carrie Bradshaw, to name the most iconic one. Yet as of the start of the century was not ready for it, nobody really payed attention to the Saddle, until Chiuri reedited it. It is now a it-bag, one we can spot on every fashion blogger, from Song of Style to Paris in Four Months, or Negin Mirsalehi.

However, whenever Maria Grazia Chiuri brings out something, it is a hit. She knows what the public and the buyers want, and is here to bring it to them. The Saddle, in her hands, became hippie chic, ornamented with beautiful and colorful patchworks, covered in pearls, or more classical, with the Dior monogram or plain leather. This bag has one of the most original yet fashionable and practical shape. It does adapt itself really easily to the body shape, whether carried on the shoulder, or with the cross body strap. In this case, originality is not contradictory to utility. However, the most important aspect of it is for sure its designer facet, meaning by that, that this bag is one of the most recognizable one. Its name and design perfectly matched the topic of her last show, revolving around horse riding and this activity's feminine history. I cannot say if this bag will become a classic, because it is still a pretty peculiar shape, but at the moment, this bag is living glory days. And the more I see it on street style shots and Dior's outfit, the more I want one in every design, print, color, material, that exist. 

xo

Amy

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Autumn New In Beauty Bits

Change of season calls for an outside change. A wardrobe turn around, some new fashion items coming in, and a fretting up of beauty products. I don't really know why, but Autumn always inspires me when it comes to beauty. I guess it is because I have left my make up on the side for too long during Summer time, not standing a thing on my face, and hating the "sweaty-makeup" look. Now that the temperatures are getting more reasonable - I am in Amsterdam at the minute though, and let me tell you that here the weather is a bit too serious, why so cold already?! - I can finally stand my eyeliner which won't spread all over my eyelids, I can stand a creamy lipstick that won't melt as soon as I'll get out of the house, and, obviously, burgundy is out again! Well, I guess you get it now, I love Autumn's style, cozy sweaters and dark lips, black polished nails and grey knits. But every now and then, the makeup collections has to be updated, and this time has finally come! Yet, I am not going crazy. Once again, as with clothes, I am trying to curate my beauty drawer, to only buy what I will for sure use, and keep for more than a season. Here is my curated selection for Fall 2018.

A pop of color!

Now that the Summery colored face has gone for another year - natural blush is not a thing anymore, and I have mourned my tan already a week ago... - blush is needed again. I wanted something noticeable, but not too crazy, still discreet for a pale and blond girl like me. To find the perfect blush, I went to & Other Stories. It is not by definition a makeup brand, but their range is just beautiful, and I have to stop myself from buying everything. The quality is great, and the products are not agressive to the skin - my sensitive so pale, god face has never suffered from any issue with their products. So this Fall, I went for their Applebloom Pink Blusher. This shade is the prefect transitional one, not too pink, not too bold, just enough to give life to your cheeks, in a discreet and elegant way. The formula is also great, a powdery blush easy to apply and that will feel like nothing's on your face!
Apple bloom Pink Blusher, & Other Stories

An iconic shade

On my lips, during the colder seasons, I tend to be pretty bold. I love a dark burgundy, a deep red, or even a crazy purple, but not this year - or at least not for now. I have decided this fall to finally get my hand on an iconic lipstick, Charlotte's Tilbury Pillow Talk. I know, it has nothing to do with what I usually go for, bu this color is just to pretty to not be tried on. First of all, let me say that I really like the formula of those lipsticks, which are creamy but not sticky, and most of all, long lasting. As for the shade, it is discreet yet noticeable. Looks like this is my moto for this Autumn... But actually, what else could we ask for? This pretty pink is just what we need to bring a pop of color to an autumnal look, to give some life to the face in an elegant yet cheeky way.
Luscious Lip Slick in Pillow Talk, Charlotte Tilbury

The power of the eyes

If I had to stick to only one makeup product, it would definitely be my mascara. For me, it is the basis to all of my makeup looks, a much needed ally. Last Spring, I gave a try to the Lancôme Monsieur Big Mascara, and since then it has become my partner in crime. I love the formula and most of all the look it gives, how big and defined, yet fluffy, my lashes look. I have used it all Summer in the sweat proof waterproof version, and am now ready to go back to the original, much more easier to remove. An autumn new in but most of all, a soon to become all time favorite.
Monsieur Big, Lancôme

The dark side

Even if I tend to go towards more neutral colors at the moment, there is one aspect of my beauty routine that I like dark and bold during Autumn and Winter, it is my nails. I love a bright and vibrant color in Spring and Summer, but even though I enjoy a neutral all year round, Autumn is my happy season nail wise because it is the time when I can finally bring back the black and burgundy shades. I already have a rather impressive collection - I had my nail polishes moment few years ago - but to add an item to the collection once in a while is always a guilty pleasure. When it comes to nail polishes, I like to turn towards Chanel and Dior, but this year the former one convinced me with one amazing shade, "Profondeur". Chanel's nail polish team definitely nailed it - see what I did there? This shade is the perfect Fall burgundy, a color that will for sure seat on my nails for quite some weeks.
"Profondeur" Nail Polish, Chanel Beauty

The smell of Autumn

To buy a new perfume is something I like to do approximately twice a year, generally at the start of Spring and Autumn. So this September, I went on the hunt for a new scent. As everybody, I have my favorite brands when it comes to perfume, and Chloé is by far my first choice. I own every perfume they ever created. I love all of the scents, and people around me associates those perfumes to me whenever they smell it. So I finally got my hand on their latest release, "Nomade". The scent is composed of cherry plum, freesia and oak moss. This mix results into a feminine smell, balancing perfectly between sugary notes and mossy ones. An Autumn smell, reminding us of cherry plums picking at the end of the Summer, and autumnal walks in the woods.
Nomade, Chloé

Beauty ready for Autumn..

xo

Amy

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Travel Diary: Barcelona Part I

At the end of August, my boyfriend and I got away to Spain for a week. We decided to go Barcelona and the Costa Brava, since his godmother had two apartments, one in each location. We were then lucky enough to have two flats for ourselves, perfectly located - in Barcelona we were in the old town, right in the city center, while on the Costa Brava we stayed in a flat located 5 minutes away from the beach. Our only concern was then to make the most of it. 

This short get away was a real dream, before this more complicated year to come. I will stay here in Geneva, trying to figure out my future through internships and collaboration for the blog, while he will go back to Amsterdam to pursue his studies at the conservatory. So this holiday was a necessity for us, a time to be together, just him and I. And, well, it was just a marvelous holiday. Now that he is back in Amsterdam, all I want is to rewind and go back there with him only, just the two of us. 

Day 1

We arrived late on a Wednesday afternoon, and on that first night what we did got limited to one thing: finding food. But even this errand - or even wander - was a nice little adventure. Since the flat was perfectly located, we got the the Plaça Catalunya in a 20 minutes walk, and ate our dinner at this emblematic spot. 

The next day, which was our first real day there, we decided to go back to the heart of the city, around the Plaça Catalunya. We wandered all the way there through the old town, which is not the most touristic place, rather a residential area. However, how beautiful! We stumbled upon really cute streets, and enjoyed the calm before the storm. Because we have to face the facts, Barcelona is a massive touristic destination in Europe, and finding locals would have been a hard task. However, the old town has kept its charm, and while walking around this area of town, we really felt like we were lost in a foreign place. 

At some point, we reached one of the main tourists attraction of Barcelona, the Ramblas. It is basically a massive avenue, reserved to pedestrians, where you can find all sorts of touristy shops, selling souvenirs, guide books, or food. It is crowed and totally untypical, but the avenue is still worth a little walk. 

After that, we decided to reach the Gothic Quarter. We did not have much plans, so once again we simply wandered around, and stumbled upon amazing monuments and architectures. We had the chance to see the Barcelona Cathedral, a real gothic master piece. This area of town was for sure my favorite, and as you'll see we went back there a few times. On that day, we walked a lot, and obviously ate some tapas for lunch, on the Plaça Real, a must see. I love this square, it is just so typical and cute! But be careful to avoid the extremely touristy restaurants. I would however recommend the one we went on that day, Ocaña, which served really good tapas and vegan burgers. 

Barcelona is renowned for its architecture, and especially one architect, Gaudi. So one of the must see is for sure the Casa Batllo. You have to visit this house. The architecture is unreal, you will feel like you are lost on the set of a Wes Anderson movie. We enjoyed this experience a lot, and I would recommend it 10 on 10. 

After this touristy day, my boyfriend, who is definitely not a fan of tourists traps, took us out of the center to go back to the old town. We found a local bar, with not a tourist on the terrace, and enjoyed our first glass of sangria. A wonderful first day. 

Day 2

On that second day we decided to head off to another touristy place: Montjuic. To join this hill, we walked from the flat to the Plaça Espanya. At that point, we realized that in this city everything was gigantic. The bigger, the better, if I may say. Even the roundabouts tend to be magnificent, ornamented with fountains and sculptures the size of a small house. Plaça Espanya is definitely worth the visit. But the best is definitely to see it from above. To do so, we entered into the old arenas of Barcelone - now changed into a massive mall - and climb all the way up to the last level to reach the top of the arenas. - Use the mechanic stairs, the elevator outside costs 1€!. From there, we had a beautiful view of Barcelona. We spotted Montjuic, the sea, and even the Sagrada Familia.

We spend the rest of the day wandering around Montjuic. I would recommend the National Art Museum simply to see the building, imposing and amazingly decorated in a gothic manner. 

After a day spent walking in the sun, visiting and exploring more of Montjuic and of the old town on our way home, we decided to head to the beach to end the day. Instead of going to the over crowded Barceloneta, we went a little bit further to the Platja de la Mar Bella. The water was warm and refreshing and the same time, a real pleasure after a day of walking and sweating under the Spanish sun. We finished the day with  lovely dinner in a rather local and un-touristy restaurant, in the Gothic Quarter, named Petra. We ate delicious food, with salt in our hair and tireness in our eyes, but infinitely happy about our start of holidays. An amazing second day there in Barcelona. 

Day 3

This Saturday was supposed to be the last day before we would leave for the Costa Brava. So we decided to fit in as much as we could, knowing that we won't have much time left in town when we would come back. So we booked tickets to visit the so well-known Park Guell. The architecture of this park, the tiles spread everywhere around you, surrounding the place with a beautiful mix and match of colors, is surreal. Once again, it does not look like real life, but much more like a movie set. 

To follow up on that day, we visited the magnificent Parc de la Ciutadella, beautifully ornamented by the most impressive fountain ever, before doing some shopping and strolling around MACBA, the Contemporary Art Museum, also well-known as a skate spot. We visited many skate shops - he is an adept of the brands they sell - and ended up going into every independent stores we met in the neighborhood.

For our last evening before going away to the Costa Brava, we once again went to the restaurant - I cannot even start to tell you how much food I had while on holidays - a vegan one, fitting my boyfriend's regime. It can be quite hard to find a vegan place in Barcelona, especially for tapas, but luckily I had apparently bought the perfect guide book - Lonely Planet ones are definitely the best - and they recommended this vegan tapas place called Sesamo. It is located in the old town, and serves amazing food. If you are vegan, you should definitely give it  go! Because well, there, we had another wonderful evening.

In the coming weeks, I will post the second part of our travel diary. I want to keep the holiday spirit as long as I can, to live again my memories and remember every single moment our of wonderful time away. More than a travel diary, this series of two posts will be more than "lifestyle" ones, they will be a place to remember this precious week. 

xo

Amy

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Book Review: 'Anna Karenina', Tolstoi

To summarize this book is an impossible task. It took a massive part of my Summer to get through it, but I managed, and I am now proud and happy to declare that I have finally read Anna Karenina. What an achievement for a bookworm! But today I have no idea what to tell you about this novel. As I started with, this book is impossible to summarize. The characters are too numerous, the twists too crazy and, once again, numerous, and the feelings which emanate from it too hard to even start to explain. 

Well, from this perspective, I have nothing to tell you about my reading. That's a lie, I have actually loads to say, even if I can't summarize or tell anything about the plot. Tolstoi's book is all about the Russian high society, how they interact, how they live, what is at steak in their lives, and what do those people feel. Many other characters from various spheres of the society are also depicted by the novelist, who perfectly explains the social gaps and relationships between them. Yet the focus is still the nobility, obviously Anna Karenina herself, and the other characters whom are gravitating around her and interacting in her story. What a character. Anna is a woman you fall in love with, a woman you hate few chapters later, and most of all, a woman you understand and identify to. I understood her feelings, her anger and her love, her sadness and her craziness. Tolstoi achieved to build a real human character. Not only a character coming out of a novel, but a real woman, whom could be your friend, your sister, yourself. She is real because she feels and has sometimes the impossibility to explain what she feels, like any human does. But Anna is not the only master piece of the novel. Each character embodies to the perfection the human conditions, the questions we are asking ourselves, the feelings we are trying to reach, or to avoid. 

Life and its meaning are questioned all along this book, and more that telling the story of characters, this novel becomes a philosophical one, one which makes you stop reading and think. Think about life, think about your condition, about who you are, what you are doing, what you want. That is why Anna Karenina is such a masterpiece, such a reference in the literature sphere. It is because it is more than words, more than a story printed on paper. It is a life lesson, a book that changes the way you see life, the way you live it. Every character is an example and teaches you something, every character is a little bit of you. 

xo

Amy

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Transitional Look: Summer meets Autumn

I loved this Summer 2018, and I also loved the pieces and items that I bought during this season. I have tried to make smart choices, and conscious purchases that would fit my curated Summer wardrobe. So when Autumn arrived few days ago, I did not want to let go those amazing pieces. I left a sunny and hot Barcelona to come back to a gloomy and chilly Geneva. My sweaters had to come back to the front of my wardrobe, while my swimsuits will stay for another year at the back of it. However, still today, I am not ready to leave Summertime behind. So today I am sharing with you one of my favorite transitional look. 

I always dress with the weather. I hate being too hot or too cold, so when it is chilly, I wear a light sweater, even if I want to cry because it is only September the 1st... But I do. Same for the bottom. No more shorts, now jeans are back, and since my mood is darker in those back to school days, like the sky, I went for a black one, slightly washed and cut at ankle length. However, when it comes to accessories, I am not letting go of my beloved Summer accessories. At my feet, my emblematic Summer sneakers, the Superega, which I praised in this post. In my hands, my - new - basket bag. Yes, new, I know, how could have I bought another basket bag at the end of the Summer? Well, I got good arguments for you. First of all, it is a round basket bag, which I did not own before, and one of a rather great size, meaning not too big, meaning not only made for the beach, meaning okay to wear in the city. My other argument is that I was on holidays, and well, I did not count what I spent. Last but not least, it is a handmade basket bag, made in a cute little store of Barcelona - more to come soon in my Travel Diary! - , so I was sold. I just love the combination of this emblematic Summer bag with  sweater and a pair of jeans. It is the perfect contrast to illustrate the transition between Summer and Autumn. Lastly, I still got my sunglasses on my nose, because I am not ready to let go of that. Make up wise, I turned a little bit towards Autumn with the come back of my wing high liner, yet I kept my light pink lipstick. 

My look says "balance", between Summer and Autumn, it screams "transition" and "back to school", but Summer is still on my mind...

xo

Amy

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French Kiss: Caudalie Lipbalms

It has already been several weeks, not to say months, since I last purchased a makeup product. I don't go anymore to Sephora or any other beauty store to get myself a lipstick or a new blush. I want to use what I have got in my beauty case, to finish my products and fully use them before they go out of date. For me, it has been a good way to spend less money, but also to live in a more sustainable manner. Buy less, cost less to our planet. However, I needed - even though that is maybe too big of a word - a new tinted lip balm since I ran out of my Dior one, in the lightest shade. It is for me the best ally for Summer, but I wanted to test out a different product. So, once again, I turned myself towards a French pharmacy brand, that I never really tried before: Caudalie.

The ethic of this brand is everything that I love: it is all about using natural products, and respecting people's skin by avoiding any chemical component. Vine is one of their first ingredient, the one the whole brand is revolving around. But more than being an ethical and natural brand, it is also a qualitative one. For now, I have only tried out their lip balm, and this product in itself is pretty brilliant. The formulae is moisturizing, but the tint is also made in such a way that it does color the lips and add a little shimmer, but is however discreet and clear. This first try makes me want to test out the whole brand, and I will soon give a go to several other products from their ranges!

xo

Amy

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August Favorite: Dior bracelets

 Fashion is far from being limited by clothes, as we all know, accessories are a must, a necessity to make a look complete. Personally, I aim all about bags, as we might have noticed by now. And when it comes to details such as jewelry, I can be pretty boring. I wear almost every day the same jewels, the same earrings, bracelets and rings. Boring as hell, I know. However, as every person really into fashion, I have obsessions. And this month I am all about Dior's casual jewelry. I fell in love, already last Winter, with their woven bracelets. To me, they are the perfect match between luxury's favorite design: monogram; and casual fashion trends, avoiding metal to prefer fabric. This bracelets, thanks to their variety of colors, can fit any look, and be at the same time a discreet and a noticeable touch. The Dior letters are easy to catch, however they are not too flashy, nothing too luxurious. The perfect accessory, to collect every season and wear with every outfit.

xo

Amy

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