june beauty

Time again for a beauty-skin-care-scent update on my front. It's been almost six months since last and my bottles seem to have lasted longer than expected (wanted)... ~

:: shampoo - lemongrass shampoo, mop (modern organic products). There are a few scents I'm totally smitten by, lemongrass is one. This shampoo smells lovely and with organic lemongrass, chamomile and calendula it promises to "fatten up" fine, skinny hair. Well, I don't know about that, it's a rather basic shampoo as far as my hair is concerned. With about 1/3 of the bottle used I'm leaning towards verdict "won't buy again".

:: conditioner - mixed greens moisture conditioner, mop. The conditioner that goes with the above shampoo smells lovely and contains organic alfalfa, artichoke, cucumber, watercress, rosemary, olive oil and apple cider vinegar for intense moisture treatment. At least it claims to give the latter. Sad to say that my hair it actually leaves quite the opposite, dry and brittle. Will so not buy again.

:: deep conditioner - extreme moisture, mop contains organic banana apple juice and other good stuff (mmm). You're suppose to use it a few times a week after using the above shampoo and then finish off with the above conditioner. I can't be bother with such a timeconsuming procedure, so I use it as a deep conditioner a couple of times per month instead. It's quite nice as that. Can definitely see myself getting another bottle once this one is finished.

:: hair mask - intense repair cream mask, Nivea. I was in desperate need of something deep conditioning and grabbed this at the super market. I think that Nivea's products are usually rather good, the only two good things about this one are its scent and the price. Other than that it does absolutely nothing in the way of deep moisturising and conditioning for my hair. So not a repeat buy.

:: body scrub - scrubilicious honey and almond, Floraroma. With almond oil, milled corn and walnut shell this is a sweet scented, nice priced and pretty basic scrub. UK brand.

:: shower gel - Clean on Me, Soap & Glory. Lovely scent, creamy thought nothing spectacular in the realm of shower gels. I love the brands witty names and bottles though. UK brand, sadly not available in Sweden. Yet.

coriander bath and shower liquid cleanser, Kiehl's. A basic cleanser with a fresh, uplifting scent. Perfect as a small travel bottle. It doesn't stand out enough for a repeat buy though. There are other scents and shower gels from Kiehl's I much prefer before this one.

:: soap - the grass soap from Dutch Sabon was of the long lasting lovable kind. The scent of freshly mowed lawn in shower was delightful and spirit lifting, and it's quite sad that I don't have any Amsterdamian connections so I could get another piece of this soap in a foreseeable future...

Björk & Berries wild strawberry, lovely creamy, sweet scent, though the soap is huge and of a rather inconvenient to hold shape. The danger of drop and slip in shower is somewhat imminent. Who do I sue? Make it smaller. And cheaper.

:: deodorant - Björk & Berries lingonberry rose, it is as good as I thought after using it once. Lovely.

:: body oil - Nuxe Multi Purpose Dry Oil, favourite product, lovely as ever.

:: body butter - Quince, Korres. I bow my head in shame when I say that I had never heard of Greek homeopathic skincare brand Korres until I stumbled on it at Athens airport. At the time I had no sense of smell (tin can woman) so I had to rely on M to make a scent choice. I think he did well. This body butter has a divine sweet scent and contains quince extract, sweet almond, sunflower and avocado oils and shea butter. Uplifting and leaves skin soft and pampered. The whole Korres range isn't available in a shop of their own in Sweden unfortunately. Can be found on the other side of the Baltic sea though, in Helsinki. Now I have yet another reason to pop over the east pond.

Björk & Berries Wild Strawberry. This body butter is quite a disappointment after the divine encounter with the lingonberry rose one, both as far a scent goes - without being rancid it smells stale and weird just opened. The moisture effect isn't nearly as great as the lbr one's. And it suffers from the same annoying lack of spell check as its fragrance sibling, the (albeit lovely) wild strawberry sugar scrub. A repeat buy? Shouldn't think so.

:: body lotion - black raspberry vanilla, Bath & Body Works. Love the long lasting scent, the generous moisture effect and the price. This long time favourite body lotion seems to be unthreatened on my top three list of body lotions. Sadly (still!) not available in Sweden I so love it when I have the opportunity to get one one way or the other. Will treasure this bottle and once it's all gone, pine for another one.

:: hand soap - clean & moisturise, Radox. One of my favourite hand soaps, I always stock up on a few when in the UK. Lovely, creamy with a sweet scent of chamomile and jojoba oil.

chamomile soothing handwash, Cussons Carex - a, not surprisingly, very similar scent to the above Radox, nice basic soap.

oliv lemon liquid soap, Gunry. A cheap, basic soap to have at the kitchen sink.

:: hand cream - Nivea SOS. One of the nice - as opposed to the above hair mask - products from Nivea, both in price as well as moisture for dry hands effect. I like it, although I wish it would be absorbed quicker, not a hand cream to be used on the go, more the type used over night.

:: nail polish - multi action 03 white, Sephora. Very basic, nice shine, free bottle would most probably not buy myself or again.

:: body mist - Flirtigo, Soap & Glory. Another sweet thing from S&G, the scent matches the Clean on Me shower gel. Don't know about the supposedly moistuirising effect, but still, the scent and overall flirtatious feel after having spritzed oneself with in makes it worth every reasonably pound paid for it.

:: body splash - black raspberry vanilla, Bath & Body Works. Love, love, love this long time favourite! Bath & Body Works splashes are the only ones that really continues to impress. As with the body lotion above, sadly not available in Sweden.

:: eau de toilette - Juste un baiser, Fragonard. About time I began using this one I guess... Rather lovely scent in a light and unpretentious, not long lasting (of course) way. Would probably not go all crazy at the op to get another bottle once this one is empty, but well, nice, fresh and basic just the same.

:: lip butter - guava, Korres. Another love at first use product from above mentioned Greek Korres. It smells heavenly and sweet, leaves lips feeling soft and lovely. Unfortunately it comes in jar and not in stick. I really don't like having to use my fingers to put on lip goo, it feels more than a dash unhygienic and I would so prefer if it could come in a chapstick or squeeze tube instead.

:: lip gloss - the first Lancôme mini delight juicy tubes I used was (I think) the strawberry scent one. Nice, glossy and I do like the fact that it's a mini sized product. Much more convenient that a larger sized one.

Which pretty much is the only flaw with the lip glosses from Kiehl's. Other than that they're hydrating, sweet scented with an unpretentious glossiness. New York Nude nuance is my favourite for summer.

the dog menu

There is a tucked away restaurant building at Djurgården, Stockholm, that was once a rather unpretentious summerish café called Amadeus. That was probably well over 10 years ago. I kind of liked that place. It later changed name and management and wasn't as likable anymore. Thus despite passing by the place now and then - mostly on the way to Rosendal's garden - I haven't been there for many years. Both management and food orientation have probably changed several times since.

The other week I did notice that the once-was-Amadeus now is a restaurant serving meze dishes - they sound rather nice actually, reasonably priced and many vegetarian options - as well as offering a separate and unusual (in Sweden) menu for the accompanying dog. Kind of cute. My dog - who most probably will never visit the restaurant - would however appreciate if carrots could be added to the menu. Like mistress, like dog.

bric-a-brac

I think it was about 10 years or so ago that I began notice that there were a whole lot of clothes appearing in shops that looked like something one might have produced at school's needlework class. In other words the details and finish weren't very neat or professional looking.

It took quite a while before I got use to that certain style of sewing, that look and well, I still can't grasp the notion that just because a garment isn't mass produced it shouldn't be professionally well made. Good seamstresses or tailors have obviously produced wonderfully well-made garments for hundreds of years...

Of course within this range of "needlework class" type of clothes there are different degrees of appeal. And some of these type of clothes I've actually come to appreciate a whole lot, just because they lack that certain mass produced perfect neatness in details. One shop that offers these style of clothes is actually one of my favourite shops in Stockholm - Bric-a-Brac

They - the two women behind the brand that was founded in 1991 - sell both their own design as well as other carefully chosen designs, clothes, accessories, jewellery and shoes. For women, men and adorable children's clothes too. I do like their design label that states they offer "collectable items of artistic character".

The things you buy there always come in sweet tissue wrap and mostly in a very nice paper bag (when it's not raining). And this is what I came home with from the now ongoing summer sales - I love the style of this jersey jacket (organic cotton) - so much in fact that this is, hrm, my fourth one, but really, it's so versatile and goes well both as a comfy casualish wear as well as more dressed up but not boringly anonymous -

which is a reoccuring model in different colours each season. Some have shorter sleeves for summer while others have longer, with or without pockets, with or without collar, in patterns or one colour, with or without a matching skirt and sometimes there's also a dress and long sleeve shirt available in the same fabric. The 1920ies kind of sporty sweet comfy look is totally appealing to me - and I'm so not a sporty animal. But I think it goes well with a good walk and sensible shoes too.

M's first comment on the suit was that "it is very... brown, that's not very you? Pretty. But brown". Myself I believe that brown is such an underrated colour - and yes I do so have brown things in closet - and this is totally chocolatey loveliness with sprinkles!

My (not so) wild guess would be that the Bric-a-Brac design appeals to the intellectual professional of most any age who likes good quality, easy to combine, comfortable, trustworthy clothes but with a twist and personality.

When I last frequented the shop I noticed that Swedish diplomat Pierre Schori apparently also shops there. He being one of few politicians I rather approve of, hence I shop in the right place, with the right crowd. Well, if I cared about anything else than the design, quality and how the clothes fit me that is.

Bric-a-Brac main shop
Swedenborgsgatan 5A, Stockholm
open Mon-Sun

random photos athens, I

Parliament building (formerly the castle) at Syntagma square - the place where "everything begins" when arriving in Athens.

First food encounter - not impressed. Vegetarian spinach stew with way too much dill and salt. Dry bread. Soggy fries. And a sugaroverload cake thing.

Hadrian's arch, symbolic gate of the city

Acropolis seen from the temple of Zeus garden, the grass is filled with clover with a lovely fragrance

Temple of Zeus

One of too many stray dogs - which will have their very own blog post. Of course.

The scent of Athens - orange blossoms, these at the national garden

The pretty Zappeion conference centre opposite the national garden

First glimpse of the tomb of the unknown soldier guarded by the Evzones - more of that later, from dog's point of view

My fondest food memory from Athens - the divine fresh fruit juices

Too much of the cheap touristy trinkets in old township Plaka

Acropolis even has its own subway station

My random impressions of Athens in words can be found in this post

always with you

"Alltid hos dig" (Always with you) is the latest book from one of my favourite authors, Swedish Maria Ernestam. As I found her previous book (Kleopatras kam - Cleopatra's comb) to be a cliche filled low water mark, after its much promising first chapter, I was slightly apprehensive with this one.

But it was rather a nice, unpretentious book, about life and death, forgiveness, of being able to move on after a loved one's death, eventually becoming stronger and find new meanings in life. The book moves swiftly through different times, from present time to 1959 to world war I (the Battle of Jutland playing a significant role in the book).

Ernestam writes, as most usual, in a lovely melange of mundane, poetic, multi layered, different shades of meaning, thought provoking and moving. A seemingly simple read, yet ingeniously composed.

Still, if you haven't read any of her books before, I suggest you begin with
the amazing "Caipirinha med Döden" (Caipirinha with Death) followed by "Busters öron" (Buster's ears) and don't expect "Alltid hos dig" to play in the same league of amazing reads. A nice, interesting, wistful read, but not in the league of spectacular.

godis & the liquorice cousins

Growing up in Sweden during the 70ies there was no such thing as eating sweets and candy during the weekdays, only on Saturdays. I can recall the special feeling of choosing just the right stuff for your special Saturday small candy paper bag at the kiosk. And how little you had to pay to get a pretty decent amount of goodies in that bag.

Being all grown up and (reasonably) responsible I rarely eat candy during weeks these days either - and clearly cakes, buns, pies and pastries don't count as candy, right? - and come to think of it, not even treating myself during Saturdays in general. And if I do, there's probably chocolate with nuts involved.

I think my feelings regarding this is that if one eats enough carrots and beetroots a really good pastry/slice of cake can sort of substitute for a meal (milk, bread, butter, cream, fruit, and possibly a dash of sugar), whilst a bag of candy can never ever do that. Hence one can most always has a good excuse to have cake, and get away with it without too much fuss.

Having had almost nonstop raindrops of various size degrees falling here for a couple of weeks now, I think a Saturday treat of hot cocoa with whipped cream is a prudent thing to have. I know I will.

As for candy, the only candy in this household this weekend will be eye candy in shape of the two liquorice cousins - one of which kind of digs to be out in the rain whilst the other one makes such an incredible whiny noise if he gets a wee bit wet in fur. Liquorice whine.

Swedish word "godis" means "candy", "sweets"

cow encounters

this is pure love

As promised, more of the cow encounter of the Highland Cattle kind ~

the food walk (run)

the food stop

hey, wait for us

cuteness overload

such dignity, such beauty

is there anything cuter than this?

yes, there is...

... indeed

~ Have a lovely weekend ~

lilies of the valley & minuscule horses

Sometimes all you need is a tiny milk jug - I know it isn't suppose to be milk in this Edradour jug, but as I firmly believe whisky's only place is in Irish coffee on the odd occasion or possibly in some decadent dessert, it is a milk jug as far as I'm concerned. Period - filled with sweet scented lilies of the valley - love those tiny beauties and their scent right next o the scent of lilacs. And roses. And freesia. And lilies. And... - and two minuscule horses, posing to have a good day.

Sadly the season for these delicate beauties is now over on these latitudes, it was as usual lovely while it lasted. Now one has to rejoice about the green lushness of nature due to all the heavy raining as lately I guess. Nature thrives, plants alike.

for a portion of the refund

I do believe it's prudent to treat oneself to something special with at portion of the tax refund and not only use them to seal financial holes and pay bills. Having said that I can't very well do anything else than set a good example ~

Meet Recyclus Ella, mustard yellow El Naturalista eco (and cat) friendly shoes - more of them later in a post of their own - finally the green lizards can have a well deserved breather (no pun intended).

One can never have enough of good books. I nearly swooned when I discovered another book by Scarlett Thomas, author of the amazing "The End of Mr. Y". With nearly as pretty a cover as the Y one. Oh the joy of bedtime tonight!

Pastries - the one on the left is apparently called Sverigebakelsen = the Swedish pastry, fruit, custard, almond paste, never heard of it before. I'm glad that serious gap of knowledge is now filled - from Bästa Bageriet (the Best Bakery, not always a befitting name, but still...). The perfect round off to a rather pleasant day - despite the gloomy, drizzling weather - in front of the TV, because Wednesdays are "Grand Design" days. Hooray!

stripey sweetheart

I am so not advocating unnecessarily dressing pets and treating them as accessories. Such behaviour makes me plain mad and utterly sad.

That said, I bought this small sweater - and a wool one with snowflakes - for Malte when he was a wee pup (about five and a half years ago) because I thought he would be cold and miserable during autumn and winter. I think he wore them once each - it took quite a while before he grew his puppy self into them -, and it was not the weather and snow that made him cold and miserable, it was the sweaters with snow attachment.

I found the jersey sweater in a closet the other day and thought it would be interesting to see if it still fitted. It most certainly did. And with all the admiring and rewardwing ohs and ahs exclamations I do think he felt kind of snazzy dressed in red-white stripes. I also believe that this stripy furry vision with licquorice nose could melt even the coldest of all stone hearts ~