Painless Puddings, Dead Sea Salts, Autumnal MOT, Unstung Hero, Viva Andalucia, Marvellous Marble, Ruby-Red Redolence & The Sherpa Of Scent Believes That 'Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness'!

 

Painless Puddings, Dead Sea Salts, Autumnal MOT, Unstung Hero, Viva Andalucia, Marvellous Marble, Ruby-Red Redolence & The Sherpa Of Scent Believes That 'Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness'! A Very Good Morning To You All ! And a warm welcome to any newbies who have just joined us! This missive is part news, part diary and part confessional(!) and I hope that you enjoy it - do let me know? Have you all had a lovely week? Let me take you back to last w/e - the weather was beautiful in London for the Good Doctor's birthday and so we travelled up to Primrose Hill to take a look at the wonderful views across London in the sunshine. From Canary Wharf to the City, Westminster and beyond, it really is one of the most spectacular panoramas in the capital. We meandered along Regent's Canal watching the boats go by and ended up in St John's Wood, so took a chance and turned up at our favourite restaurant (The Gate) and feasted on Omelettes and Dragon Salad (pictured) with a glass of Grenache Blanc! Sated, we walked to Camden Town (as colourful as ever!) and then journeyed back to East Dulwich for a cup of tea, a slice of vegan chocolate birthday cake and to open gifts. My offering was a pair of Hunter Wellies (good enough for Betty Windsor, so good enough for us) to ensure that the GD will fit into the sartorial aesthetic of village life(!), and a copy of the new recipe book 'The Sweet Roasting Tin' by our favourite culinary goddess Rukmini Iyer, which is full of the most delicious puddings ever and involves minimal effort as you just pop everything onto a baking tray and retire with a glass of wine (that's a 'win, win' ! This is something comforting to look forward to when we are holed up next to the log burner this winter and I cannot wait to sample 'Stem Ginger, Cherry and Almond Brownies' or 'Pear, Blackberry and Cardamom Crumble'! Finally, at sunset, it was off to our regular table at 'Maria's Tortillas' where the eponymous hostess spoiled us with birthday Cava and her exquisite tapas. All quite low-key and relaxing and the Good Doctor was beaming (most probably because of the chocolate cake!). Shop Now - Recipe Book - The Sweet Roasting Tin - £18.99 On Sunday, we visited the 'Sydenham Art Trail' to admire the work of local artists and meet with my friend and sometime collaborator, Mercedes, to discuss art-glass pieces for Christmas - sorry, yes, the C-Word already, but we retailers must think ahead! Actually, I was watching a Sky channel last week and they mentioned that from September the 23rd they would be showing Christmas movies every day!! Why? It's September - we haven't had Halloween yet! While I adore the festive season, I believe that one can have too much of a good thing! I did get that rather panicky feeling that it will December before we know it and I am not organised, which is ridiculous really given that we have three months!  Whilst we are on the topic, I found a copy of a Village Magazine from Amberley (our future home) online which contained an open invitation from the previous owners of our cottage to the entire village for 'Christmas fizz around the fire' ! I almost lost consciousness! Is this expected and where do we put an entire village? It's a small room and a small fire - the bar (sorry!) appears to have been set rather too high, I do hope that we measure up! On Sunday evening the GD prepared Tofu Satay With Cauliflower Rice from 'One Pot Vegan' (see picture top right), which tasted as good as it looks!   Shop Now - Dead Sea Salt Bath Soak - Muscular - Rosemary - £8.00 Shop Now - Dead Sea Salt Bath Soak - Stress Relief - Lavender - £8.00 Dans la boutique we have been busy sliding in slightly more autumnal pieces - it is Sod's Law (or Murphy's if you are reading in the US!) that the weather will remain very warm if we do this, but I really don't mind. Given that fuel prices are rising, that would be very much appreciated! As my thoughts turn to cooler weather, I have indulged in some Dead Sea Salts mixed with essential oils - one recipe for 'Stress' relief and the other for 'Muscular' aches and pains. Medical studies have shown that salts from the Dead Sea can ease symptoms of all sorts of ailments, from rheumatoid arthritis, knee osteoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis to ankylosing spondylitis. The salts make one buoyant and nereid-like! They smell lovely too and there's nothing more warming and relaxing as a hot bath - unless one is also drinking cocoa in it!  Shop Now - Konjac Sponge - Charcoal - £6.99 Shop Now - Mrs White's - Luxury Hand & Body Lotion - £17.50 The end of summer is also a good time for a general MOT so we have a good Konjac Sponge to gently exfoliate heels, knees, elbows and even the face  - and don't forget to moisturise afterwards. I use Mrs White's Hand and Body Lotion from top to toe. Shop Now - Mrs White's Unstung Hero (EdC) 250ml - £20.00 Now that the travel restrictions are changing, we have decided that it is time to go and sort out the French Garden before a mob of torch-wielding villagers demand our repatriation! We may drive and visit my Aunt in Cognac on the way down - it has yet to be decided. If you are going to travel in October, do not forget your Unstung Hero as it is still very warm in Europe and the Mozzies are biting, so make sure that you well deserved trip is not marred by unsightly lumps and itching! I have two bottles packed and ready to go as I will need them when gardening - those cunning critters hide in the bushes during the day and bite if disturbed. I shall leave some behind this year as our new batch is good until summer 2023! I really can't wait, two years is far too long and we should get there just in time for the grape harvest which is always a joyous period in the locale. We might even be lucky enough to get a truffle - you have to know who to ask at Revel market on Saturdays as the truffle mafiosi are shadowy figures, but it is well worth a bit of charm and detective work to enjoy a simple omelette dusted with the first shavings - I am dribbling at the thought! Shop Now - Andalusian Ceramics - From £20.00 I am delighted to announce the return of our glorious pottery from Andalucia. Our painter/potter, Juan, needed an operation on his hand earlier this summer so we have been anxiously awaiting an update on his recovery. Thank goodness the treatment has been a complete success and he is now back at the wheel (literally!). I absolutely adore these pieces - the large jugs and bowls in particular - because they and joyous and celebratory. The traditional, painted designs seem to somehow capture the sunshine and the whole collection is luminous. I think that I may gift Maria (of Tortilla fame!) as a bowl will look fantástica on her bar and remind her of home! Shop Now - Striped Marble - Serving Board - £49.50 Shop Now - Striped Marble - Citrus Press - £16.50 Shop Now - Striped Marble - Pestle & Mortar - £27.50 Our marble pieces are about to return (UK Customs willing so there might be a teensy hiatus) - the hugely popular black & white, striped serving boards, pestle and mortar and lemon/lime juicers are among my favourites. I love marble - the cool smoothness and weight of it, the fact that it looks so modern yet it is so ancient. These pieces are classic with a twist and work well in any interior. They are very beautiful and I display mine when not in use. This week my 'Sherpa Of Scent' proffering is 'Clean Smells'. I am not sure why this occurred to me, but every fragrance wardrobe should have a really lovely, uplifting, clean, fresh scent. These are for the day and work effortlessly all year round. FYI, a 'Fragrance Wardrobe' is a collection of approximately 7 or 8 perfumes that will see each of us through a whole year and every eventuality. The days of using just one signature fragrance have gradually faded, and fragrances  are now selected each day in exactly the same way as we get dressed in the morning, according to Season, Occasion and Mood. Fresh, 'clean' scents are dependable all-rounders, to be relied upon to work in almost any context and also to lift our spirits! Shop Now - Juliette Has A Gun - Not A Perfume (EdP)- £99.00 'Not A Perfume' by Juliette Has A Gun is one such fragrance. The title refers to the fact that this is a single note (soliflore) scent rather than the traditional blend of different ingredients. This note is ambroxan, a man-made molecule from the late 1950's which was originally created to replace 'Ambergris' (produced by Sperm Whales!). Ambroxan is a glorious, multi-facted note with a warm, green aroma and it moves on the skin, so actually smells like a blended perfume. I adore it, however  it is one of the few fragrances that does behave on my skin! In fact, the Nose of this fragrance, Romano Ricci (grandson of Nina) once told me that my skin ruined his creation - I was crushed! Actually, this is not quite true, the fragrance smell ambery on me and quite lovely in a different way but obviously not in the way that he intended! Shop Now - D.S. & Durga - Crystal Pistil (EdP) 50ml - £148.00 'Crystal Pistil', besides being a wonderful title, is an orange-blossom based scent that really revives. Full of aqueous notes yet strangely punchy, with phantasmagorical clouds of jasmine, ambrette and civetone, this scent can be worn alone, or layered over almost any other perfume to add a sparkling effervescence. A 'fragrance enhancer' is how its creator, David, describes it, and it works perfectly! Shop Now - Abel - Cyan Nori (EdP) 50ml - £118.00 'Cyan Nori' is a completely natural perfume that smells like a seaside breeze - slightly sweet and salty with a bit of sparkle provided by juicy tangerine and a soft white peach heart. This is a very interesting scent as it contains a moisturising amino-acid, so combines functionality with fragrance!  Shop Now - Bon Parfumeur - 802 (EdP) 30ml - £40.00 Bon Parfumeur's '802' opens with a fresh, green, reminiscent of dew, morning rain or the smell of a snapped tulip stem. The aquatic notes are joined by peonies, lotus and bamboo and it blossoms into something quite creamy. I love this as it will work at the office or for reading the Sunday papers - it is effortless. Shop Now - Nasomatto - Silver Musk (EdE) 30ml - £124.00 'Silver Musk' from Nasomatto is extraordinary. Firstly, did you know that 20% of us cannot detect the smell of musk? I know this because I attended a masterclass with legendary Swiss Perfumer Christine Nagel and when she deconstructed a fragrance and the musk phial went around the room, several members of the group could smell nothing at all! She informed us that this is not unusual and a fifth of us are physically unable to detect this particular aroma. For the rest, musk is an incredible note and here,  Perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri has made a diaphanous, clean, mercurial love sensation! He described this fragrance to me as " the scent of a superhero" and one cannot get any better than that! Shop Now - Escentric Molecules - Molecule 01 (EdT) 30ml - £46.00 Finally, we have 'Molecule One' from Escentric Molecules. This too is a soliflore, this time using the aroma-chemical Iso E Super, a truly magnificent note used in the mix of many thousands of fragrances. Here it is the star of the show and is said to mimic human pheromones so is the Pied Piper of notes and people are automatically drawn the wearer! I don't know about the science but I do have anecdotal evidence from many of our customers who would wear nothing else. Again this is fresh, green and shimmering, like a breath of fresh, summer air. I thought that I would mention that, should you be in the locale of the store this w/e, we are having a little sale of some fragrances today and tomorrow - a few end of lines etc that are taking up space. It's a fantastic opportunity if you are looking for a new perfume but do not know quite what to choose as we have bottles of costly scent from £1!  It's the best way to test drive something different and exciting without making a major investment! I am only mentioning to our online family to avoid any queues outside the store as we still need to be careful and socially distance, so do please keep it under your hat! Knock three times and ask for Lady Ange! (actually that will do no good at all as she is relaxing on the Isle Of Wight this w/e while the rest of us toil! Rude!). We have absolutely no plans this w/e as it looks like the GD will 'exchange' next week and we need to sell some furniture that is too large for the cottage (so ebay here we come!). It looks like it's warm and sunny so I might finish off the gardening just to get everything ship-shape now that the growing season has come to an end. Did anyone go to Chelsea? The dahlias were magnificent, and I think that I shall be indulging in my new garden ! When I was younger, they were considered vulgar and showy but I love them - the exotic shapes and colours plus the HUGE blooms make me smile - if that makes me 'showy and vulgar', then so be it! I wish you all a warm and relaxing w/e and don't forget that there are Christmas Movies on Sky if you are so inclined! My best as always and see you next time, Michaelx

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