Basically everything about the state of the world makes me anxious and/or depressed. Talking about current affairs in any way risks my ending up an overwhelmed mess. I had a conversation with a friend this weekend and we concluded that it is absolutely exhausting to have opinions these days.

Therefore I’ve taken to resorting to books, fashion magazines and skincare – not as if I ever really needed an excuse, but for some reason it now feels all the more justified. I am reading a lot at the moment and a few posts about literature are in the making. In the meanwhile I wanted to update you on a couple of uplifting things I’ve recently come across:

​Frida Kahlo Making Her Self Up – exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum in London

First tip: Book your tickets already now online. They are hard to get.

Second tip: If you go and queue in the morning (a small amount of tickets is made available sur place every day) remember that they can give you any random slot to see the exhibition on that day. I stood in queue all morning and got a slot only for the afternoon.

All of the above is worth it, though. A supremely well curated exhibition. You will not spend ages in there, it is only three halls, but if you are interested in Kahlo and her life and art, Making Her Self Up is a must see. 

Kjaer Weis Bronzer and Highlighter

All-natural Scandi-brand Kjaer Weis does the nicest, most luxurious make-up cases. Also the products are not bad. I am deeply in love with their bronzer “Dazzling” and highlighter “Radiance”. It has been insanely hot wherever I’ve been to for the last two weeks, hence me schwitzing like a maniac, but to my utter delight the aforementioned products stay put despite the heat and do not make me look like a sweaty tin-man. Highly recommended. Both shades suit pale people.

Frank Body Coconut Coffee Scrub

Another thing one does strictly speaking not need. But, it’s coffee seeds mixed with coconut, which together make for a delightfully efficient body scrub for the summer. Depending on the level of insanity of the world, I like to finish with a layer of Kiehl’s Creme de Corps mixed with Vita Liberata’s Body Blur (standard everyday bulls**t on twitter) or Carnal Flower after sun balm (rabid-crazy bulls**t on twitter).

Odacité Aventurine Kiss Lip Serum

Again, not really a necessity as such, but you might well want to have one in your pocket in any case (a bit like Victoria Beckham’s new line of trousers, which have bits of crystals sewn inside the waistband for good vibes). I like to pretend the world does not exist when I meditatively roll the cooling aventurine applicator on my lips and the contours of my mouth. The product has a tingling sensation and might or might not have some magical properties that transform my smacker into something spectacular.

Kneipp Foot Bath Tablet in calendula and rosemary

This one you might actually come to need, especially if you are anywhere near the heatwave at the moment (I am not a big fan of summer, in case you hadn’t picked it up). Sells in individual wrappers (which obviously increases one’s Weltschmerz because of over-packaging in plastic, but we have to compromise somewhere now) and is very agreeable and efficient. Not a luxury-product, but as I mentioned in one of the earlier posts, sometimes only German no-frills efficiency will do. Plus Kneipp have excellent products overall, for bath and such.

So here. Also Smythson’s 2019 agendas are in store, in case none of the above was frivolous enough for you. I have my eyes set on the golden Soho-diary.