A Beautiful Mess I love using cloth napkins to dress up our dinner table, and through the years I've grown even more fond of their sustainability and cost effectiveness. Though, I'm not sure how cost effective it is if you keep buying more and more cloth napkins each year! This holiday season I thought it would be fun to look at how I could dress up the napkins I already own to give them an extra festive vibe. Check out three simple ways you can give new life to your table linens. Ribbon Trimmed Napkin This look is so (no sew) simple! Supplies:-ribbon-heat bond in width of ribbon-cloth napkin (buy mine here)-iron-fabric scissors (not shown above) Step One: Trim pieces of your ribbon to be about 1.5 inches longer than the width of your napkins. Step Two: Fold down the edges of each ribbon segment about 1/4" and iron flat. Step Three: Iron the heat bond to the ribbon (pressing with hot iron for two seconds), then peel off the paper backing. Pom-Pom Trimmed Napkin This is my favorite napkin style by far!
Persolaise - A Perfume Blog Scented Oil Recommendations from French Marie Claire : From Sexy to Couture The summer took over Brussels overnight. I went to bed on a cold, rainy day and woke up to dazzling sunshine. As the mercury levels starting rising, my colorful summer dresses came out of their hiding spots in the closet as did my strappy sandals and kitten heels. I also resumed my passionate love affair with big white floral perfumes that bloom particularly well in hot, balmy weather. I felt a pang of sadness as I always do when I realize that the summer vacation is drawing to its end. I’m a big fan of dry oils, and Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse has been a part of my beauty arsenal for the past ten years. Moreover, dry body oils make summer grooming effortless–they can be used in the morning after the shower for moisturizing the skin or mixed into the evening bath. Voluptuous Caudalie Divine Oil (Huile Divine), 21 €/100 ml Marie Claire calls this oil from Caudalie voluptuous, but I would also add elegant. A special thank you to my reader Andrea for bringing this great product to my attention!
Perfume Shrine Eat Noodles Love Noodles Olibanum: cuaderno de perfumes 5 Things That Impact Fragrance Longevity | scent bound Creed Millesime Imperial is like a workaholic girlfriend: you’ve barely spent 20 minutes together and she has to run. Millesime Imperial and I had a great time together but it never lasted more than half an hour at a time. The blog community warned me that’s how Millesime Imperial is – it smells great but it doesn’t last very long. I thought, well, that’s them, maybe with me it will be different. I fell hard for it – the fresh melon note, the salty calone, the mild iris, it was just perfect…for 20 minutes. First, I got on this guilt trip. So, after thinking long and hard about it, I had to do what I had to do: I cut Millesime Imperial loose. 1. Generally speaking, perfumes don’t like staying around on dry skin. One way to improve longevity in the case of dry skin is to make it oilier. 2. We often determine the longevity of a perfume by how long we can smell it. The key word here is “detect”. 3. In very simplified terms, the smell molecules fall into two categories: simple and complex.
Perfumed Maze: Aroma M ~ Interview with founder/perfumer Maria McElroy At last! I have time to post the email interview with Maria McElroy, director and perfumer of Aroma M perfumes. It's taken a wee while as I've been busy painting for an exhibition about to launch next month. It's so nice to finally sit down, with a glass of wine (wearing a dab of Aroma M Geisha Noire) to indulge in some perfume exploration and musings. This year, Aroma M celebrate 20 years in the business. Without further ado, let's meet Maria McElroy.. Rose: Maria, firstly thanks so much for taking time to answer some questions. When I first encountered Aroma M online, I loved the visual aesthetic and the influence of Japanese culture, as I’ve always liked traditional and contemporary Japanese prints and drawings. I know you lived there for some years, so can you tell me a little about why you moved there, and how you found living in Japan? Maria: Rose, thank you for the opportunity and I have really enjoyed our collaboration and learning more about your art. M: Thank you so much!