Have you ever wondered like me, what a Spa in Alice in Wonderland would look like or feel like ?

Well I think i've got the answer. The Lush Spa on King's Road in London answers to that image really.

The Spa offers 2 treatments, the Synaesthesia and the Facial Validation.Yours truly had the pleasure of testing the first treatment and since you asked kindly, I will to tell you all about it.Lush invites you to a charming and cozy british cottage kitchen, with wood chairs,table, bowls of seasonal fruits, tea cups everywhere.

Synaesthesia is the process used by perfumers to blend all the fragrances (in our case the essential oils) and trigger a response from your mind, or how a smell can remind us of a past experience or feeling for instance. There are 11 variations of this massage. The first thing I was asked to do is to look at a black wall where 11 words have been written on, and choose one of the words that expressed what I wanted to achieve as a state of mind, or what I needed the most.

I chose « confidence », a secret blend of essential oils kept in a 100% natural massage bar that will be used on me during the treatment. The next step was to choose between lots of colored bottles with different name tags around them. Smelling what's inside is forbidden, you're choosing what comes first to mind,a color or a word, it's the gut instinct speaking so to speak. I chose a small green bottle « absolutely determined ».

The insides of my bottle are sprinkled on dry ice wich makes it bubble like some kind of cauldron brew. Then you strip up to your undies and they » hide you under fluffy towels », and the magic begins.

1h20 of pure bliss, I must say I'm a very anxious person who finds it extremely difficult to let go, but this worked beautifully. The music (a mix of violins, traditional songs, bird singing), the smells, the massage, the hot and cold stones they use as well, the color, all these combined really works and sends you to another world, to your own private world.

And then, when all this is over, you have 30 mns all to yourself, there's a shower provided if you need, and a tea is offered to be enjoyed in the kitchen or if weather permits in the hidden garden.

A perfect experience for a perfect day...

The price of this luxury treatment is 125£, wich in my opinion is worth every penny, even though I am rather difficult in these matters. The other treatment, the « Validation Facial » is 75£. Soon to be experienced hopefully.

Lush Spas in the UK:

123 Kings Road, London, SW3 4PL / 31 Commercial Street, Leeds, LS1 5AD / 29 High Street, Poole, BH15 1AB / 27 Market Place, Kingston, KT1 1JH

Oh Yay, I definitely feeling in a cooking mood at the moment. Not necessarily sweet as i used to like, or as I was jumping on everytime I felt bad until recently. Now I do not own an oven , or have a flat with an oven in it, only a microwave, so it cuts down straight away a huge world of cooking possibilities. However, it did not temper my love for food, eating it or making it.
So basically today is just a sharing mood and I wanted to share a breakfast cooked by nigella with you. Yes, the splendid, sensual english cook Nigella. I wouldn't eat everything she does, but she certainly fascinates me, she's always a delight to look at, and she appreciates food as much as I do. I am slightly less sensually provocative when I cook though, but hey everything's inthe style isn't it ?

Can't show the youtube video, I have no idea why, so here's the link (click on the title, not the picture)

Nigella scrambled eggs

et Bon Appetit!! You know you want to....

When i first arrived in London, among a few things, I discovered a more than charming street, in a charming area with lovely shops.

A lot of « charming » in the same phrase but it is indeed true. Kensington church Walk is situated between Holland Street and Kensington High Street. It's a really nice walk, following the walls of St Mary Abbott's church, hiding a cute park where children, mummys,local workers and lovers come to rest, have a bite and others.

There are also a few shops (very posh indeed but worth a visit for some), definitely very english, and it's one of us I am talking about now.

Garnet is a jewelry shop, and what a wonderful one. It is very small, but the « décor » is really amazing, and done with lots of taste. The owner , Shirley, is just a charming woman, very helpful, warm and chatty. The choice of jewelry is exquisite, you can find everything from glass to real gems, sterling silver, gold, a beautiful choice of Victorian jewelry, and some other wonders, I remember spotting a super glamorous pair of authentic Chanel earrings for instance.

Of course, all this has a price, but I must say the range of prices is really good, there's something for everyone. For my kind of budget, wich is more modest I must say, Shirley has often something called « the 10£ table » (well that's how I call it anyway). It's some kind of sale that take place quite often, and i found really nice objects there. A beautiful blue glass bead bracelet, and an adorable small victorian box (genuine victorian area, that satisfies my obsession with this period of time).

I strongly recommend this shop to anyone, and so easy to find so close to High Street Kensingon and all the other high street shops.

Garnet

Kensington Church Walk

London

Fish Pedicure has recently come to my attention via my very good friend Jen. She had it done once and asked me and other friends if we were interested in having one. Curious as we are, we said yes straight away, and last tuesday went off to Camden Town. One of the stalls was offering the pedicure.
I must say that i was a bit nervous at first, my feet being so sensitive and sore because of new shoes etc.. etc... and the idea of fish nibbling on my feet made me feel uncomfortable.

So what is it exactly ? well you put your feet into a tank of warmish water and lots of little fishes come on them and eat the dead skin, giving you a nice pedicure and a unique experience at the same time.

After 10 seconds in the tank, my fear left me and I really really enjoyed myself!!! The fishes are called "Gara Ruffa" or Fish doctor, and as no seaweed of any sort can live into that kind of small tank, they just eat all your dead skin. I never really had a pedicure before and I really really loved it, it feels like mini vibrations on your feet, it's absolutely painless, and you go out with soft, silky feet. The good thing is that they don't eat all the dead skin, so you can walk easily and freely afterwards.

It's really a fun experience to do with friends and also a very efficient treatment for your feet. the guy from the stall said a shop spa will open soon in camden, I'll let you know when it's the case.
There is a spa in Paris already doing it, and i'm not aware of any other area in london doing it. If you know other areas in London where it can be found, feel free to leave a comment here, and i'll include it in this post.

Fush Pedicure
Camden Lock Market
15 mns: 8£
30mns: 14£

Now check who has her feet in the tank, it's meeeeee

Really sorry for the delay to everyone that expected my return and I know you're more than I expected actually, Since back here, time flew and work kept me really really busy,

During my brief but very emotionally powerful trip to Dublin, I came across a little jewel of a shop that I wanted to describe here.

We discovered this adorable little area called  George's Street Arcade, where you can find various shops from turistic to eccentric I would say, One really caught my eye and appeared to stand out from all the others.

Om Diva is definitely the best asset of George's Street Arcade, it sells  mainly clothes but also extraordinary shoes and accessories. The shop certainly knows how to attract young « divas » (just like me and my friend here), every girl can find something interesting in there to show that diva that is in all of us, they even have clothes for kids.

The first floor reminded me a bit of an attic (and what a cool attic) packed with vintage dresses and shoes to die for. What I love here is that the clothes have a soul and it's definitely not something you'll find on high street stores. Same with accessories and jewelry, one finds indian style shoes, huge funky and stylish bows for hair, delicate scarves. I loved the indian thai side of it as well, being very spiritual at the moment, i appreciated a selection of incense for instance. The prices might seem a bit expensive, but I think the quality is there and they're really worth it. Prices go for 25€ to 75€ as I have seen, as far as the dresses are concerned. You can definitely buy a vintage dress at an affordable price. Staff is absolutely lovely as well, had a charming welcome and that's all part of the wonder of the shop I think. Add to that absolutely stunning hangers (I wanted to get some for myself :p) and vintage stylish furniture as well, you've got a fairly good idea of what I like in a shop.

A Must see if you visit Dublin!!!!! So move your bottoms Londoners!!!!

sorry aobut the pricing in £, I corrected it, it is now in Euros.

Om Diva

George's Street Arcade
21/22 Market Arcade
S. Great George's St.
Dublin 2

Hours:

Mon-Wed, Fri-Sat 9:00 - 18:30

++Thu 9:00 - 20:00

3 days ago, I witnessed a brand new way of spending your time in a bathroom, or rather in a bathtub , as I attended the premiere of « Soap », an acrobatic show, currently playing in Riverside Studios (wich are luckily enough 20 mns walk from my place)

The show lasts two good hours, is really very funny, and also very sexy, I'm thinking of course of the male members wich are a delight to watch i must say, The female members of the troup are wonderful also, very graceful and impressive, There are 6 bathtubs on the scene where dancers perform in and show their abilities.

The show is mixing acrobatics with comedy, cut in skits with a really good « soundtrack » if I may say so, from classical music to more modern like Radiohead or the Beatles for instance, All songs  adapted versions of the well known «Splish Splash » to match the theme of this soap event.

Every dancer has a solo moment where they show what their different skills are, I enjoyed one of the girls very much, juggling with her feet and making them come alive as is they were hands, There is also an opera singer that performs all the musical bits in the top bathtub, and the funny part is held by a very naive and very cute « geeky style » girl that lightens the show with her appearances.

The acrobats are impressive and often very dangerous, as some dancers perform in a bathtub full of water, splashing the audience on the way, with blue electric light, rock n' roll music, I was really overwhelmed by this performance in particular and a bit moved too,as the movements are very beautiful and carefully choregraphed.

Well, a very inspiring, funny, sexy, and uplifting performance where i really spent a wonderful evening, A must see as far as I'm concerned.

I found a little video on the web, this is the show that took place in Berlin. With different performers, but you get the general idea. Check it out!!

Here

But who is the 49 for starters ?(i hear you shout and cry). Well it's extremely simple, the 49 is in fact a bus and it's the one I take everyday to go to work. i took it ever since I arrived here, about 5 months or so, I moved flat and it's still number 49 that is on my line, "imagine that" (please read this Vince Noir style, my Pauline  would know who I'm talking about)

Anyways! I wanted to pay a tribute to this beautiful(ugly) motorized vehicle that takes me to hell and back everyday. At first our relationship was very loving, it was always there when I needed it and always trustful. Pretty fast as well, except for all the engineering work that take place ALL OVER LONDON (no worries I can handle this, I'm not near a nervous breakdown at all)

And then one night, I was waiting for it to take me back to heaven (home), and I waited for it about 20 mns, in the snow and in the cold cold wind. Needless to say I was a bit...disappointed, to say the least. Then the wait happened again, and again, and again...until i had a talk with an old lady (you know, the pepperpot type yay) who told me "I don't understand, it's been over 2 weeks now that the 49 is late like that, it wasn't like this before, and blablablablabla...." then at that point, thank god, the 49 arrived.

And that's how the hate part of the relationship started. It was late over and over again, i couldn't trust him anymore, it got me late for work and eventually made me cry (combination of very strong icy wind, hail and snow,being late and nowhere to hide). So yes sometimes I hate it. But at that moment....when you think that all is lost and you might eventually take another bus that will get you closer but not really there and takes twice as long time and ,sod it, you're gonna be late anyways...at that moment it arrives. I can see his beautiful number 49, approaching from the far in the snow. All of a sudden i can't think anything, no rain, no snow, no hail, no cold. My eyes are enamoured with that big red figure that is coming towards me, and i forget everything bad I was thinking.

Except when that b*****d pretends not to see me and doesn't stop. Or people push to get into it. That just gets me on edge really...but it is still my favorite bus, even if sometimes i go on other buses...for now he is the one.

Well I'm so sorry but I must go now. I know how difficult it is, but I'm afraid it is the sordid and true reality. But no worries precious reader, I'll be back!

PS: If you can find who are my influences in this post, you could win a...thing (possibly my eternal respect)

Ok, now I'm off to Hammersmith...on foot

Bonjour, ou plutôt devrai-je dire Hello !!!

ça fait bientôt 4mois que je n'ai pas écrit, la faute à un super déménagement et  à pas d'internet. 3 mois sans internet tous les jours c'est difficile je dois dire. C'est là aussi qu'on se rend compte que c'est possible de vivre sans et pas insurmontable non plus. On en arrive à checker ses emails dès qu'on peut (avec le retard dans les réponses que ça implique) et puis c'est tout. ça coute cher au cybercafé, pas le temps de passer des heures dessus. Cependant c'est agréable de retrouver d'autres choses. par exemple, mon seul lien avec le monde extérieur est le Lite et Evening Standard, les deux journaux gratuits distribués  dans Londres, et aussi la radio. J'ai découvert BBC radio 1 et notamment le Chris Moyles show (je crois que ça s'écrit comme ça) que j'écoute tous les matins. Pas de télé non plus bien sûr.. Une bonne petite detox qui fait du bien même si je suis contente d'avoir un peu internet (même si ça me coûte un bras aussi hein)

Pas mal de jolies découvertes à Londres dont je parlerai plus longuement plus tard. Il me faut d'abord des photos pour illustrer la chose. Par fainéantise et aussi parce que je n'ai pas vraiment de table et que c'est pas commode je ne traduirai pas ce post en anglais, thank you so much.

Bon allez see you soon guys :)

Petit post aujourd'hui pour vous parler d'un de mes magasins préférés, La Mandragore.
C'est une boutique où on trouve quantité de bijoux d'art celte, et aussi de produits sur la mythologie, les fées et farfadets, bref une caverne d'Ali Baba pour faire des cadeaux ou se faire des cadeaux (c'est vrai quoi, y'a pas de raison).

C'est un magasin ou je vais très souvent et que j'ai découvert quand j'avais 17 ans (j'en ai 30 maintenant , faites le compte). Leurs bijoux sont pour la plupart en argent 925 et sont très raffinés, assortis de pierres semi précieuses le plus souvent. Les 3/4 de mes bijoux viennent de là bas, toutes mes bagues et quelques boucles d'oreilles et pendentifs. En plus , les prix sont très abordables, la 1ère bague que j'ai acheté là bas était à 10€ et les prix n'ont pas changé depuis. Le fait que ce soit en argent est super car (et je sais que je ne suis pas seule dans ce cas) je suis allergique à tout ce qui est métal, nickel etc..., on peut donc y aller en fermant les yeux.

Ma bague fétiche.

L'accueil est aussi adorable et on peut discuter longtemps sans que ça pose de soucis, les vendeuses sont d'un patience extrême (je suis du genre à mettre un moment pour choisir alors c'est parfait^^)
J'ai voulu parler d'eux car je pense qu'ils méritent qu'on les connaissent, et c'est rare que je sois fidèle aussi longtemps à un magasin alors ça me fait plaisir.

Il y a deux boutiques dans Paris, je connais surtout la 1ère (à Ledru Rollin), qui est vraiment liliputienne, mais trèèèèès jolie. Il faut se lancer et ne pas avoir peur de rentrer, ça vaut le coup !!

La Mandragore
121 rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine
75011 Paris
Métro: Ledru Rollin
Tel: 01 43 46 81 81

45 rue Saint Placide
75006 Paris
Métro: Saint Placide
Tel: 01 45 49 90 60

Site là

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Quick post today to talk about one of my favorite stores of all time, "La Mandragore".
It's a shop where you can find many jewels of Celtic art, and also products about mythology, fairies and elves, in short, an  Ali Baba's cave for gifts or gifts to yourself :p

This is a store where I go very often and I discovered when I was 17 years old (I'm 30 now, make the count :D). Their jewelry is mostly sterling silver and is very refined, with semi precious stones to go with it. The 3 / 4 of my jewelry come from there, all my rings and some earrings and pendants. In addition, prices are very affordable, the 1st ring that I bought over there was 10 € and prices have not changed since. The fact that this is silver is great because (and I know I am not the only one with this problem) I'm allergic to everything that is metal, nickel etc. ... so you can go there with eyes closed, no problems.

The staff is lovely and you can have long chats  without problems, they are of extreme patience (I'm the kind of girl that takes ages to choose so it's perfect ^ ^)
I wanted to talk about them because I think they deserve it, and it's rare that I'm faithful for this long to a store so it makes me happy.

There are two shops in Paris, I know especially the 1st (Ledru Rollin), which is really small but verrrrry pretty. Don't be afraid to go inside 'cause it's completely worth it!!

La Mandragore
121 rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine
75011 Paris
Métro: Ledru Rollin
Tel: 01 43 46 81 81

45 rue Saint Placide
75006 Paris
Métro: Saint Placide
Tel: 01 45 49 90 60

Website

Dernière découverte et non des moindres, la boutique Käramell à Paris.
Käramell , c'est une magnifique boîte à bonbons géante, où très franchement j'aurai pu passer des heures, et très certainement tout acheter!!

L'enseigne est suédoise , pays où il y a une vraie culture du bonbon, beaucoup plus qu'ici. Les bonbons viennent tous de Suède où le procédé de fabrication est plus naturel.

L'endroit est une véritable caverne d'Ali Baba très colorée. Il y en a pour tous les goûts, chewing-gums, chocolats, guimauves, bonbons acidulés et également une spécialité scandinave, le réglisse salé.

J'en ai pris quelques uns et franchement je dois dire que la surprise est plaisante, la saveur du réglisse est plus prononcée et rehaussée par le goût du sel. C'est très différent mais on s'habitue rapidement (dixit ma famille qui a tout mangé) et c'est vraiment une très bonne surprise.
Les autres bonbons sont excellents, très gouteux, vraiment une belle découverte!
Ce qui est sympa également c'est que Käramell vend aussi autre chose que des bonbons, comme de charmants sabots suédois, des sacs rigolos (on a vu une boîte Emily the Strange, des porte clés peluche etc...) ainsi que des confitures.

J'ai craqué et j'ai acheté une  des confitures ! C'est celle de droite, très originale, la "Hallon Sylt extra" qui mélange des framboises de la vanille et une touche de piment... un délice !

En plus l'accueil est adorable et on est très bien servis. La vendeuse m'a dit qu'ils allaient peut-être ouvrir une boutique à Londres, si le projet prend forme vous en serez les premiers informés ! ;-) (en tout cas je ne manquerais pas d'y postuler...eh eh)

Où c'est ? 
Käramell
15 rue des martyrs
75009 Paris
Métro : Notre Dame de Lorette

Le site ici

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Latest discovery but not the least, the Karamell shop in Paris.
Karamell is a beautiful giant candy box, which quite frankly I could spend hours in, and most certainly buy everything!

The shop is Swedish, a country where there is a real culture of sweets, much more than here.  Candies are all from Sweden where the making is more natural.

The place is a veritable Aladdin's cave, very colorful. There's something for every taste, chewing gum, chocolate, marshmallows, sour candy and also a specialty : Scandinavian salty liquorice.

I took a few and frankly I must say that the surprise is pleasant, licorice flavor is more pronounced and enhanced by the taste of salt. It's very different but you get used to it quite quickly (my family ate it all) and it really is a very pleasant surprise.
The other sweets are excellent, very tasty, really a great discovery!

What is also nice is that Karamell sells other things than candies, as charming Swedish shoes, fun bags (we saw an Emily the Strange box, cute keychains etc ...) as well as jams .


I surrendered to temptation and bought a pot of jam! It is the right one on the picture, very original, "Hallon Sylt extra", a mixture of raspberry and vanilla and a touch of red hot chili pepper... a delight!


In addition the staff is lovely and customers are really well received. The sales assisant told me they would maybe open a shop in London, if the project takes shape you will be the first to know! ;-) (At least I would apply for a job there... eh eh)

Where is it?
Karamell
15 rue des Martyrs
75009 Paris
Metro: Notre Dame de Lorette

The site here