Thursday 29 November 2012

Our upcoming Blog Advent Calendar

How quickly the the time flies...
It feels like summer ended only 2 weeks ago, yet the advent will begin in 2 days...
But instead of being sad about the fact that this year will end already in only one month, we will enjoy and celebrate the wonderful time that's left until Christmas with an Advent Calendar!
From the 1st of December on, we will submit one post for every day. These posts may be short but they will be nice, interesting (at least we hope so ;D) and probably very Christmassy!

So, look forward to our Advent Calendar and make sure to check our blog every day as a new little surprise-post will await you!

Thursday 22 November 2012

Kate Winslet named 'Commander of the British Empire'


Yesterday, Kate Winslet was awarded the "Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire" (CBE) honour for her contributions to the field of drama. This is a British order of chivalry, given to people who achieved great things for their country - the UK!
Kate was given the award by Queen Elizabeth II in person and even got the opportunity to have a short conversation with her: “She asked me if I liked the job that I do, and I told he that I love it, but not as much as I love being a mother,” Winslet, who has two children, told a reporter following the ceremony. “And she said, ‘Yes, well that is the only job. And I thought that was really, really touching.”
Of course Kate dressed up for her encounter with the Queen: She wore a gorgeous black blazer with a peblum together with a tight knee-long black skirt, both by Alexander McQueen. To this, she chose black pumps and a very British fascinator by milliner Natalie Ellner. Kate's red lips and nails brought on a nice contrast to the posh and elegant rest of her outfit.
Enjoy some enclosed photographs!
Here is a link to a good video about this topic: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV5pB9T1HwI

We congratulate Kate on that remarkably great achievement and think, she deserved it very well!









Sunday 18 November 2012

Movie Recommendation: The Holiday

Last night we decided to wach this year's first Christmas movie, although there are still more than 5 weeks left until Christmas. The movie we watched is called "The Holiday", starring gorgeous and talented Kate Winslet, who discovered her talent for comedy when filming this movie, charming Jude Law and actually all-time-happy Jack Black and Cameron Diaz, who both proved that they can also be serious or even sad.
This movie basically deals with two women swapping their houses over Christmas after they both have been utterly disappointed and hurt by men. During their holiday, they encounter new people, are having a good time, yet seem to have some trouble to tackle. In the sunny L.A., the British Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) makes friends with the old and doddery script writer Arthur Abbot (Eli Wallach) and helps him to step back into the spotlight. She also meets music composer Miles (Jack Black), who has relationship problems. In the meantime, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) incipiently struggles to get along in Iris's cute yet tiny cottage and the romantic and cold weather in England, but then gets to know Irisi's brother Graham (Jude Law).

I like this movie very much, as the plot is charming and witty with many unexpected turns and a maybe predictable yet very nice end. Although this heart-warming love story takes place at Christmas, it can be watched during the whole cold time of the year ;-)
The actors deliver a nice performance, nothing special but still good and charming acting.
Hans Zimmer, who has written the soundtrack to this film, demonstrates his incredible talent once again. He created a warm, light and very romantic score I immediately fell in love with!
"The Holiday" may be considered just a romantic comedy (some scenes are really hilarious!), but I think it is a beautiful love story which also contains very sad and emotional parts, has a deeper meaning and has the potencial to become a real favourite movie!

So, if you have nothing to do some time, why not rent or buy "The Holiday" and watch it together with some good friends on a cold winter's day?







THE LONDON SERIES N° 2: London's Sights: The Tower Bridge & the Tower of London

Today it's time for the second post of our "London Series", it is about the most significant and famous bridge in the world and the impressive old fortress next to it.

The Tower Bridge, built in the late 19th century in the gorgeous Victorian style, is a magnificent bascule and suspension bridge, that links London's boroughs City of London and Southwark.  Very significent are its two Towers and the pedestrian walkway between them in a height of 143 feet (44 m) above the Thames at high tide. The bridge got t's typical colour scheme in 1977, when it was painted blue, white and red for Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee.
The bascules are lifted up and down about one or two times a day, maybe one day you're lucky and will be able to see this! (Here is a link to a page where you can find out the bridge lift times: www.towerbridge.org.uk/BridgeLiftTimes)
The bridge being one of London's iconic sights is a must-see when planning a trip through the city!


The Tower of London, which is located right next to the Tower Bridge on the north bank of the Thames, is a historic castle. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two rings of defensive walls and a moat. The inner tower, called the White Tower, was built in the late 11th century by William the Conqueror. The castle was used as a prison for a long time, later it served variously as a Royal residence, an armory, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The last metioned can still be viewed and guided tours through the whole fortress can be booked.
But nalso from the opposite Thames bank you have a fabulous view of the Tower and especially the so called Traitor's gate, a water gate which the prisoners went trough centuries ago.
A great part of history, dark and bloody, yet beautiful and peaceful, always worth a visit.



The Tower Bridge, seen from the south bank of the Thames

The Tower Bridge, seen from the south bank as well

The Tower Bridge and the Tower of London at night, seen from the north bank
The Tower Bridge at night, seen from the south bank.


Secret Hint:
Maybe you want to visit the London City Hall as well. It is located right next to the Tower Bridge on the south bank. Photos of the Bridge and the City Hall together look great ;-)

The next post will follow soon and will be about The Gherkin & The Shard - London's skyscrapers.

Friday 16 November 2012

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012


Earlier this month the worldfamous Victoria's Secret Fashion Show of the new collection (also includes some christmas lingerie:D) took place.
The fashion label which was founded in 1955 by Roy Raymond sells lingerie, swimwear and cosmetics and presents it every year at a really special show.

This year the fashion show was staged with lots of glamour and glance.
The participation in this very show is like a dubbing for a model and probably the highlight of every model career.
Only the  most successful and prettiest models (the Victoria's Secret Angels) were allowed to present the lingerie on the runway for example Miranda Kerr, Leonardo Di Caprio's ex-girlfriend Erin Heatherton and Allessandra Ambrosio who was also allowed to present the "Fantasy- Bra" which costs about 2,5 million dollars.
Additionally the show was accompanied musically by Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars.

These are some of the best pictures of the show!! ;)












Tuesday 13 November 2012

THE LONDON SERIES N°1: London's Sights - St Paul's Cathedral


During our several trips to London in the last 3 years, we took quite a lot of nice photos of the wonderful city and it's surroundings. We want to share some of the, in our opinion, best pictures in a small series of posts about different topics concerning London.

Today we'll start with part N°1, London's Sights - St Paul's Cathedral

When you think of London, the first images that will pop up in your mind will be the Tower BridgeBig Ben, the London Eye, The Gherkin or Piccadilly Circus. These sights are very popular and mainly determine the cityscape. On the internet circulate many pictures of these well-known sights, which are mostly edited; so that the sky looks brighter, "bluer", better! But sadly this disfugures the motive and makes it look unrealistic and cheesy. But we took a few photos as well, which are of course not edited or defaced!

When I was in London for the first time, my first trip took me to the stunning, monumental and illustrious St Paul's Cathedral in the London Borough of City of London. It was built in the late 17th cantury after the Big Fire by Sir Christopher Wren and is commonly known for its big dome and the mighty portal at the west front. Many important services are and were held at it, like jubilee celebrations, royal weddings and funerals of great men. 
The white stone, the Cathedral was built of, shines beautifully in the bright sunlight, which can be seen much more often in London than it is commonly assumed. ;-) 
You can book guided tours and you can even go up into the dome. And if you just want to watch it from the outside, the St Paul's Cathedral is always worth a visit.

Here are a few photos we took.  Enjoy!







New posts about London's most famous sights will follow soon, the next part will be about The Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

Extravagant new Nail Varnish by Ciaté

I stumbled upon two extravagant nail varnishes by cianté while browsing the internet.
The first one is a "Caviar Manicure" nail varnish. This is a nail varnish on which you apply lots of filligree pearls so that they are sparkle like caviar. In the colour "Black Pearls" it looks the most similar to this exquisite delectability. It is also availible in other shades, for example in ice crystle white "Mother of Pearls". This does more look like your whole nail is covered by snow, but is also extremly gorgeous.
 In my opinion, this a quite glamourous and elegant look, although it is not really easy to handle it. But I think the effort is totally worth it because it looks absolutly stunning afterwards.

The other one is a "Velvet Manicure" nail varnish and is not quite easy to apply either. You need to apply two layers of the nail varnish base and to pollinise it with a special velvet powder. After 15 or 20 minutes you can remove all the excess powder with a little brush.
I think you need much patience for both but like I said it looks absolutly stunning when it's finally applied.





Monday 12 November 2012

H&M - Beautiful winter jacket

I just bought myself a new winter jacket at H&M. It's a dark red short jacket with a large fake fur collar.
It's only about 29.99 £, which is really cheap. In Germany it costs about 59.99 €!!
It keeps you warm and looks gorgeous at the same time.
Take a look at it (here) and other nice clothes: http://www.hm.com/gb/




A very talented singer on YouTube


It was about half a year ago when I discovered a really talented singer (and I think actress as well) on YouTube. Her name is heatertraska and I think she makes probably the best and the most creative videos on YouTube.
Her videos look very spectacular because she puts lots of little videos of herself while she is singing the same song on the screen so that you could think that there is a whole band with a orchestra playing but it is just her. That's so amazing because her voice is one of the best I have ever heart.
She already made lots of great videos, for example the One Woman A Capella Adele '21' Medley. It sounds very beautiful as her voice is quite similar to Adele's!
Also she made a video in which she sings all the beautiful Disney songs in one medley. She sings it in such a lovely and likeable way, that one could think that she's one of the princess of these movies herself.
Additionally, she always wears such a beautiful make up, which always totally fits to the song she's singing.
I beg you to take a look at her videos, they are absolutly AWESOME!!

Sunday 11 November 2012

Leo DiCaprio's Birthday

Guess, whose birthday is today....

... Leonardo DiCaprio's!
He turned 38 but is still one of the best looking men in the word!
We all know him from and love him for Titanic, Inception, Catch me if you can, Revolutionary Road, Aviator, Blood Diamond, What's eating Gilbert Gilbert and countless other excellent movies!
He moulted from an adorable and cute little boy to a respectable and superb actor, that starred in many successful movies. Leo was nominated for the Academy Award 3 times, yet he hasn't recieved the coveted trophy so far...
But we'll keep hoping for him and are wishing him the best for the new year in his life!

Keep strutting, Leo! ♥


Christmas is coming to Liberty

When I was in London last year, I visited a really magnificent old deparment store called Liberty. There you can buy gorgeous, classy but also expensive clothing, precious jewellery and accessories, luxury fabric and all kinds of cute gifts.
They have the most beautiful Christmas department I have ever seen in my whole life. They sell lots of glittering Christmas baubles in every colour you can imagine and other gorgeous decorations. Hundreds of chains of lights hanging from the ceiling alight the complete department on the 4th floor...
I just stood there with my mouth open and couldn't move for a while as it was so stunning because the whole room was glittering and sparkling.
So if you have the chance to visit Liberty, take a look at the Christmas department! ;)

Here is the link to Liberty's website: www.liberty.co.uk/
And here are some photos:







Seeking a playlist for the end of the world

A few days ago we discovered a funny website on which you can listen to some playlists of other people.
You can also listen to the "Playlist for the end of the world" of Keira Knightley and Steve Carell.

Saturday 10 November 2012

MAC - Christmas Collection

MAC Cosmetics just brought out the new Christmas Collection. It includes lots of really beautiful things. Sweet to sexy, lips to nails. Every angle, every detail obsessed over. An unforgettable look emerges in a cool cloud of pale pink edged with smoky grey.
One last glance and you're out the door.
Just check it out on the MAC HOMEPAGE 








James Bond Nailpolish Collection by OPI


Yesterday we went to the cinema and watched the new James Bond movie called "Skyfall".
We were absolutely impressed by it, especially the front credits are pretty amazing.

Now we discovered the James Bond Nail Polish Edition by OPI. The nail polishes are named after the titles of a few Bond-Movies.
Especially the colour called "Skyfall" is really gorgeous.
A probably quite expensive but very awesome varnish is the top coat "The man with the Golden Gun" with real gold leaf!


Sunday 4 November 2012

JOY - Gorgeous British clothes from London

When I was in London last autumn, I discovered a shop called JOY where they sell very beautiful clothes. They mostly have gorgeous dresses and blouses, but other tops, jumpers, coats, skirts, accessories and little gifts as well! The style of the clothes is cute, maidenly and very British.
I bought a knitted jumper with a swan on it and a nice dark blue dress with tiny white dots! Not to mention the cute accessories like a polka-dotted Alice band with a big bow on it and a necklace with a feather pendand.
This year I went there again and spent over two hours trying on all those gorgeous dresses the exceedingly friendly and obliging shop assistants handed me! In the end, I bought a dress I am planning to wear on New Year's Eve!
Click here to see it!
I could've bought almost every piece of clothing, especially as Keira Knightley (apparently) likes to shop at JOY as well ;-)

So, here is the link to their website: www.joythestore.com

It is highly recommendable, not too expensive and always very nice to shop there! And if you're in London, why don't you give it a try and visit JOY! (You can find stores all over Great Britain but in London are the most, about 14! Try the store finder on the website!)