Marie Antoinette costume talk

Today I went to the Wallace Collection to see the Marie Antoinette costume talk. Last month, I was very happy listening to Madame de Pompadour sharing her life and fashion tips, so this time I was eager to see what Marie-Antoinette has to offer. 

I am huge fan of the Queen of France. Of course she made some mistakes, but how could she not, being taken away from her family to a foreign country where she didn't know anybody and being barely 14. The talk was interesting, even though I already knew most of the things. Unfortunately it was very short - too short for my likening and that was the biggest disappointment. 

Afterwards, I wasn't keen on going shopping on Oxford Street on Friday afternoon  - it's literally madness out there. I decided to read a book in the sun. It's supposed to be the most controversial book of the year (to say the least) and tells a story of a girl being in love with the paedophile - Tiger, Tiger: A Memoir by Margaux Fragoso.

Dirt Exhibition at Wellcome Collection

Today we went to Wellcome Collection at Euston Square to see 'Dirt' exhibition. 'Dirt' reveals the fascinating world of filth that remains one of the very last taboos. Bringing together around 200 artefacts spanning visual art, documentary photography, cultural ephemera, scientific artefacts, film and literature, the exhibition uncovers a rich history of disgust and delight in the grimy truths and dirty secrets of our past, and points to the uncertain future of filth, which poses a significant risk to our health but is also vital to our existence.

Following anthropologist Mary Douglas's observation that dirt is 'matter out of place', the exhibition introduces six very different places as a starting point for exploring attitudes towards dirt and cleanliness: a home in 17th-century Delft in Holland, a street in Victorian London, a hospital in Glasgow in the 1860s, a museum in Dresden in the early 20th century, a community in present day New Delhi and a New York landfill site in 2030. Highlights include paintings by Pieter de Hooch, the earliest sketches of bacteria and John Snow's 'ghost map' of choler. I was expecting something more on the edge and shocking, but it was still very interesting and I'm glad we decided to go. Boyfriend was even more interested than me reading all the information next to the objects! I wonder why men are so attracted to ugliness? Ha ha.

Afterwards we took a long walk to Baker Street and had really healthy lunch (green vegetables salad with salmon) and then even longer walk to Leicester Square. Boyfriend went to see Meek's Cutoff - I talked about it for so long, I convinced him to go. Because I already saw it, I decided to stay in a nice little park next to Chinatown and read a book (Room by Emma Donoghue) and wait for him. I also went for a nice Costa Latte - I missed it in Poland! 

Mesopotamia exhibition at British Museum and Meek's Cutoff

I had to get away today, so when the plans with Dom-dom did not work out, I knew I will go somewhere anyway. I was a little bit sad about Dom-dom to be honest, because I thought we're gonna have a fun day together, but I also understand that she flew in in the middle of Friday night from the work conference. 

I woke up really early and was tired, because I didn't sleep well. I'm stressing out about going home and seeing Mother. Sometimes it terrifies me so much, I am sick. The only way is to focus on something else. So I decided to go to British Museum and explore Mesopotamia's history. I was really hooked after reading some chapters in A Little History of the World and wanted to learn more. There were lots of people in the museum toady - typical for Saturday - but these particular rooms were practically empty. I walked for almost two hours there, read almost every little information card on the displays. I also ate lunch in the museum - I love sitting behind these long tables.

Later, I went to Blackwells and - of course - ended up with few more books. I am pretty excited about Room by Emma Donoghue and Tiger, tiger by Margaux Fragoso. I also went to Superdrug and got an amazing kohl crayon, some mascara and gold eyeliner. 

Because I don't like going to the cinema alone to watch violent and stressful movies, after checking on the website I've chosen to see Meek's Cutoff. The movie is not something you would expect (especially when you see the trailer). It's not typical Western, to my relief, because I detest Westerns. It tells a story of a group of settlers, who travel through the Oregon desert in 1845 and find themselves stranded in harsh conditions. Lost and with no water, they capture the Indian on the way and since then their only chance of survival is to trust the person, who doesn't understand them, just as they don't understand him. Because the scenes are really long and not only on the people, but also on unforgiving nature, I've felt like I was inside the movie. It totally deserves all the star ratings it has.

 

A Little History of the World by Ernst Gombrich

Ugh. So Boyfriend left and he's boarding the plane right this second. To be honest, I still can't believe that he left and I'm all alone until Monday. I have this feeling that he's gonna come home any minute from work and enter the room with huge smile on his face. I keep myself busy with cleaning, mini-at-home SPA and watching Jersey Shore. I also have plans to read The Slap and maybe some leftover Sunday Times magazines. 

Last week I've finished reading A Little History of the World by Ernst Gombrich. The book is fantastic, and starts with the enternal 'Once upon a time...'. The introduction is brilliant and interesting. The book starts slowly explains the history of the world and provides a great outline for both adults and children. It does tell a 'story' in such a way that encourages you to find out more. The only drawback for me was that I realized at the very end of the book that it was written over 50 years ago (I had no idea who Gombrich was, as far as I know, Boyfriend got him mistaken with Polish writer Wiktor Gombrowicz). Therefore, I disagree with some of his views - especially concerning modern history - World War I and II as well as the communism era. He focuses on the industrialization and the connection between machines and people in whole chapter, regrettably omitting USSR and Marxism. I was also disappointed not to have any information on communist China (even though there are few China chapters along the way) or Korea and Vietnam wars. So that's why towards the end of the book I got a feeling that he was bored with writing and wanted to wrap it up as soon as possible. A real shame, because I would gladly give this book 10/10.

More Bourjois blushers

Boyfriend is leaving me alone tomorrow and going to Poland for the Easter. I'm going on Monday and still have a mixture of emotions when I think about seeing Mother. I have no idea how it's going to work out and I'm pretty scared about those 10 days I'm going to be there. Even though Boyfriend assures me that everything's going to be OK (he talks to her on the phone), I still have doubts. That's why I'm living in denial, and still don't want to realize that I'll leave on Monday morning at the brake of dawn.

Anyway, I have plans for tomorrow's afternoon (watching The Kennedys and reading The Slap), Friday (GTL and some shopping), Saturday (visiting Dom-dom) and Sunday (packing, mini-SPA, more packing and calling an early night). I'll keep myself busy - that's the best thing for me when I'm feeling sad or lonely.

Despite morning struggle - I was so sleepy! - I went to the gym, but I think I'll have a brake tomorrow, although I was supposed to go tanning. On Friday I have PT session, so I'll go on a sunbed for 10 minutes, instead of the usual 5. I know that sunbeds are bad for your skin (premature, wrinkles and dryness it up) and it's so easy to get a skin cancer, but I don't smoke or take drugs, so I should be allowed one bad habit. It's such a lame excuse I can't believe I actually wrote it, but it's true. I feel so much better after mere 5 minutes and my skin no longer looks like a ghostly pale with blue veins. And that's not a good look. I can't stand fake tans and even all these gradually-building-up-tan products - boring and smelly - although D. swears by it and applies them at least once a week. Over the last weekend I got a little sunburnt on my arms and décolleté and now, after few days, it looks really good. 

Oh, and I managed to buy today two more limited edition Bourjois blushers. A quick reminder: To celebrate its heritage, Bourjois teams up with a young Parisian artist, Juliette Buré, to create a new “collector’s” range of decorated pots, based on Parisian monuments!

My nearest Boots, situated next to the gym only has three versions, which I (obviously) already have, but when I went shopping today in Ealing, I discovered two more - with  the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Rose Coup De Foudre) and Arc de Triomphe (Lilas D'Or) on the cover. How can you resist this cute pots?! There's no way. Both blushers are more shimmery than the ones I already have, but it's perfect for achieving this summer glow (having a tan also helps!). The irresistible smell of perfume and little mirror is an added bonus.  Also, the baked formula lasts a very long time and I am sure I'll be using them for years! The pot is sturdy and can easily survive any hurdles along the way.

I've been using the blushers daily since I bought the first batch and the only negative comment I may have is the brush. I don't want to sound ungrateful, because in the first place I am happy that the brush actually is added to the pot, but it is quite scratchy. I read some reviews and people recommend using a different brush, but I'd rather have each brush for every pot, rather than use the same one for all of them - so I'd have to wash it every few days.

MAC lipsticks

When I saw Diana Vickers in 2008 edition of X Factor I've fallen in love with her nude lips. I was looking for a completely nude lipstick for a while and it was in vain. All of them were glittery or just lipglosses (like the one I have from Bourjois) and I wanted a matt finish, nothing glossy. I didn't want to follow the "advice" of some of my friends who were using simply concealer or foundation to get the effect. No thank you! 

Myth
So after searching the Internet and various forums I've finally found out that Diana was using MAC "Myth" lipstick. I went to Selfridges to get it and it was love from the first sight! I just totally loved it! The girls a the MAC counter are also so helpful and nice that it's like the added bonus. Over the time I also taught myself to apply it properly - I am simply patting the lipstick over my lips and sometimes finish with patting with my finger. Otherwise there's too much lipstick - at least for me.

Saint Germain
Shortly after I was obsessed with pink lips and - again - I had all the glossy stuff, but all the trends, catwalks and magazines were screaming MATT. Where to get it? MAC! I bought MAC "Saint Germain" and I am so pleased with it. I got so many compliments on the colour and I wore it to countless parties - it's also a great way to look cute and not too serious. 

The most recent purchases are Lady Gaga's MAC Viva Glam 1 and 2. Both of them are a product of collaboration of Lady Gaga and MAC (there are also lipglosses in the same colours). Every cent from the sale of MAC Viva Glam goes toward the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund. Both are a limited edition for a full 12 months and the packages come with Lady Gaga's signature on the red background. 

Viva Glam 1 
I wasn't particularly keen to buy MAC "Viva Glam 1", because I already had Saint Germain and the colours are extremely similar. But after looking at it at Selfridges I just couldn't resist. I was right to give in, because it is different and gives a nice lustre pink dimension. 

Viva Glam 2
MAC "Viva Glam 2" is still brand-new colour (launched in the middle of March in the UK) and I knew I wanted to get it as soon as I saw the poster of Lady Gaga wearing it! It is matt and nude, but darker than Myth. Perfect for day and night - especially with the smoky eye (on how to get smoky eye with Max Factor Smoky Eye Effect Eyeshadow check out my post here). 

Morange
As you can see from the above, I am not a huge risk taker and only play with pink-nude palette when it comes to my lips. These are the colours I feel safe with. I like to accentuate my lashes and put a nice glow to my cheeks, so my lips are usually in the background. But it all changed when I bought this season's hottest trend colour - orange. The orange is every magazine - the screaming block colours - full of energy. I read a nice article reviewing all the major orange lipsticks and when I saw that MAC has one, there was no other way - I had to have it. So there it is: MAC "Morange" with amplified finish. Dom-dom bought the same one and lost it few days after at AP's birthday party. I would be utterly devastated, because it's amazing. The colour just brings my whole face up and completely changes it. I feel powerful, better and just prettier. One small thing and it can change your whole attitude!

On the last note, I like to invest in a more expensive MAC lipstick rather than cheaper versions, because it:

• lasts forever and ever - in terms of time on the lips and being economical,
• smells divine,
• has nice compact package in a classic black,
• colour never fades and just simply lasts.

Oranges and Sunshine with some books

I went to the cinema all by myself today. One time when we went to the movies together, Boyfriend didn't particularly like one of the trailers. I could see that it wasn't his type of the movie. I, on the other hand, was very eager to go. Because there's a lower price for the tickets from Monday to Thursday before 5pm, I decided to go today. The movie is called Oranges and Sunshine, has very good reviews in The Times and Time Out. It tells the story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals in recent times: the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom. Almost singlehandedly, against overwhelming odds and with little regard for her own well-being, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice. She discovered a secret that the British government had kept hidden for years: more than 130,000 children in care had been sent abroad to commonwealth countries, mainly Australia. Children as young as four had been told that their parents were dead, and been sent to children's homes on the other side of the world. Many were subjected to appalling abuse. They were promised oranges and sunshine, they got hard labour and life in institutions. There were very people in the auditorium, but after the last scene everyone went silent and there were sniffs during the projection. The saddest thing is that it was completely hushed and only recently British and Australian governments had the decency to apologize.

I had a lovely lunch in at the Soho Square - just like last week. The weather is so perfect, the sun is shining and all the news are screaming that UK is hotter than the Mediterranean! I sat for more than hour with my Pret-a-Manger sandwich (with some mustard - I forgot how mustard tastes!), latte (again, mostly milk than coffee) and Time Out. I scouted few new interesting exhibitions and wrote them down in my little notepad. I was sitting back to the sun and my neck is now sunburnt. 

 

Because it's not in my style to be at Tottenham Court Road and not to go to the bookstores, I went to Blackwell's. They have "3 for 2" offer. Of course I bought three books: Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis, The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I'm looking forward to read them, they seem mucho interesting!

Sunday on the move

Because we were so tired after clubbing, we woke up really late. But we went out anyway. We had major problems with Boris bikes today and it was a huge disappointment for me. Plus, it kinda ruined our plans, we were supposed to go cycling around Hyde Park, but it has to wait. The weather in London was good today and we left late, so there were no bikes in the docking stations. 

In the end, we had a walk from St John's Wood, through Hyde Park to the Baker Street, where we had Sunday roast (vegetarian, naturally). 

 

 

Then we walked all the way to Marble Arch. Boyfriend had a dessert after lunch - his favourite chocolate fudge cake - and my treat today was Costa coffee. Because I don't like strong coffee, I ordered latte with less coffee and more milk, but what I got was 99% milk. And I sweetened it. Not good. 

We were in a hurry, because we wanted to go to the cinema and see Source Code. The movie is really good, but it left me a little bit paranoid about the terrorist attacks in the tube. When you see the train being blown-up so many times, it sticks with you. It was more than I was expecting and I was really happy about the ending. It's good to be positive and I don't think that it's cheesy. 

I am so tired that I'm going to take my make-up off, brush my teeth and read something in bed. This last three days have been non-stop moving and I am really, really tired. My back hurts (I think I strained it in the gym), my feet ache and all I want is sleep. Tomorrow in the morning is gym time and I'm already dreading the treadmill.

Wallace Collection and Hyde Park on Sunday

One of my favourite museums in London is The Wallace Collection. The Wallace Collection is a national museum in an historic London town house. In 25 galleries are unsurpassed displays of French 18th century painting, furniture and porcelain with superb Old Master paintings and a world class armoury. 

The Wallace Collection is a national museum which displays the wonderful works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. It was bequeathed to the British nation by Sir Richard's widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897.

Displayed at Hertford House, the main London townhouse of its former owners, the Wallace Collection presents its outstanding collections in a sumptuous but approachable manner which is an essential part of its charm. It is probably best known for its paintings by artists such as Titian, Rembrandt, Hals (The Laughing Cavalier) and Velázquez and for its superb collections of eighteenth-century French paintings, porcelain, furniture and gold boxes, probably the best to be found anywhere outside France. There are also splendid medieval and Renaissance objects, including Limoges enamels, maiolica, glass and bronzes, as well as the finest array of princely arms and armour in Britain, featuring both European and Oriental objects.

unfortunately I am on all the pictures, so I had to crop this one.

It is a real house filled with the antique and beautiful things. It's like moving back in time to late XVIII century Paris and France. The clocks are ticking and playing unique sounds every fifteen or thirty minutes - in every room there's different one! I became familiar with this place after Mother wanted to see one of the Delaroche portraits showing Virgin Mary. Apparently, the model was Izabella Potocka - Polish aristocrat living in Paris during the time when Poland was non-existent. Mother loves her and she read almost every book on her, so it was great to actually see the portrait she was reading about and saw it in the book!

Boyfriend and me cycled to there today from our usual spot - St John's Wood - that's the nearest docking station from us. This time we took a different route and cycled through Regent's Park - there is a footpath available for cyclists too! Then we entered Marylebone High Street and passed by the old AM's flat, where her sister currently lives. It was great to cycle on the Sunday morning - there streets were mostly empty, I think that the time change had something to do with it!

We went out early today, because on 11.30am was a free Public Tour around the place. A very lovely woman told us a little bit of history of the place and we covered few major pieces of exhibition. Now I want to buy a book about Madame de Pompadour - I had no idea she was such a vital person in promoting arts. 

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick lunch - vegetarian Sunday roast - and went to see Limitless. I liked the trailers, I read few reviews and I heard that the movie is on top of the list in the USA. To be honest, I was disappointed. I was expecting something ground-breaking, but it was an action movie. In my opinion, there was no need to focus so much on fights, blood and chopped hands. The idea behind the script was great, but I think the screenplay had been lost somewhere along the way. Unfortunately it's a typical guy movie. 

The weather was so nice and it was barely 3pm when we walked outside, so after quick chat we've chosen to take a stroll in Hyde Park. It was packed. On Speaker's Corner, people listening and just general madness, at The Serpentine (a huge artificial lake in the middle, created for the Queen Caroline in 1730) people were paddling in boats and the birds were just mad with happiness. We walked all the way to the South Kensington and Harrods, then turn left to Green Park. We walked for 3 hours and I could certainly feel it in my legs. But it's great to be so tired.

Fun day cycling with London protests in the background

Today was the perfect Saturday. It was just perfect, despite the fact that there were huge anti-government protests in London, we were in the middle of them and had few encounters with anarchists on the way. I was seriously scared a couple of times, but there was A LOT of police, so that made me feel safe a little bit more. 

1 1/2 house

But the day started with meeting Dom-dom at Finchley Road, walking to St John's Wood (longer walk than I expected!) and enjoying the warm and sunny day. Dom-dom has never cycled in London before, so she was major scared, because our plan was to cycle from St John's Wood to Tottenham Court Road. Of course buying Boris bike pass was not problematic and it took us around 20 minutes (!!!) to buy one for each of us (3 people in total). We didn't know the latest trick in the book aka when you pull the bike from the docking station, press both brakes simultaneously and then pull as hard as you can. Easy. Right.

trying to buy bike pass

In the end, with the little help of a guy who was returning his bike, we went on and cycled all around Regent's Park to the British Museum. We made a little stop there. In the original plan we were going to see The Eagle at Odeon on Tottenham Court Road, but we were so hungry, so the decision was to eat some lunch. 

We spent few ours eating, laughing and joking. Dom-dom had her first encounter with the Nintendo DS  - me and Boyfriend have one each (mine is pink of course), so we played against each other and it was so much fun! I forgot how great Nintendo is - usually I'm going through the gaming phases like playing The Sims, Caesar, etc. and then the circle overlaps. Anyway, Dom-dom now wants to buy Nintendo too, so we're be playing together aka even more fun.

I won

When were were talking, I said that I want to go to the Selfridges today and buy MAC lipsticks. I had my eye on both Lady Gaga ones and also the hottest spring trend - orange! I've found on the MAC website a great colour called Morange and I knew it had to be mine. Dom-dom claims that she also wanted to buy orange lipstick for quite some time, but of course we all know that it was my idea. 

not a good photo, but I will write another posts about the lipsticks and post better pictures.

We went all the way from the Tottenham Court Road to Bond Street. We didn't take the main road (Oxford Street) because of the protest and it was very good idea, because when we were passing Topshop on a parallel road, there was madness - shop closed, paint on the walls, windows smashed. Anarchists had a really good time out there. It was rather shocking to see all these people with banners, shouting and in black hoodies and then enter Selfridges and pass Louis Vuitton, Prada, Marc Jacobs and Chanel. Two completely different worlds.

We bought our lipsticks and parted our ways. Dom-dom went home to get ready for a friend's birthday drinks (I was also invited but didn't want to go) - in the end she was so tired (we can really make people suffer) and went to sleep! Score Dom-dom!

Me and Boyfriend wanted to go to the cinema badly, but when we saw that the earliest movie at the Odeon Marble Arch is in over an hour, we were stuck. Our bike pass was still valid (it lasts £1 for a whole day and then £1 when you use bike for over an hour), so we cycled back to Tottenham Court Road to the Odeon we were originally supposed to go to and see The Eagle. Because there was still a little bit of time and there's a HUGE Paperchase store (aka my heaven - I LOVE stationery!) on the other side of street, I have a new mug and notepads (pictures to come soon). 

The Eagle was better than I expected. I don't want to put spoilers, so I won't write about the essence of the movie, I will only say that it's much more than fighting and blood on the scree. Of course there are battle scenes and nasty usage of the knives etc., but as my usual reaction to this is hiding behind my jacket, I don't remember it after leaving the cinema. It was an interesting movie and I'm glad we went to see it. It gave me a chance to not only salivate over Channing Tatum, but also remind myself about honour and true friendship.