Linda Evangelista in Vogue UK 1997

Something summery to enjoy a glimpse of real sunshine until it reaches Britain. The gorgeous fantasy is created by the one and only Linda Evangelista and Mario Testino for the May issue of British Vogue back in 1997.

Photo source: Vogue UK May 1997

Sweet Sunday: carrot cake

Carrot cake is my favourite British cake. I guess it’s got a lot to do with that yummy combination of cinnamon, all spice, orange and caramel flavours that blend and tease my taste buds. I also like the fact that it’s made with wholegrain flour because I don’t really eat anything made with the white one.

Carrot cake was my Everest for a very long time. I’ve tried numerous recipes, but nothing ever worked and totally killed my enthusiasm for a while.

However, a couple of months ago I decided to give it another go. I found this recipe that had all the original carrot cake ingredients including the wholegrain flour, brown sugar, orange peel and nuts and a better version of the icing (I don’t like butter-based icings). It worked! Not only that – it tasted lovely, too. The only problem I had was the sweetness level. I don’t do very sweet cakes (or desserts in general). To understand what sort of sweetness I find tolerable, just think of a 90% cocoa chocolate or, in fruit equivalent, mango. This is perfect sweetness for me. Anything else is too sweet.

As a result I have changed my recipe slightly to reduce the amount and quality of sugar without losing the deliciousness of the cake. I’ve also reduced the amount of oil a little – it didn’t affect the quality of the cake at all. Additionally, I played with the quantities of spices to suit my taste (I prefer more cinnamon than all spice unless it’s Christmas), didn’t include any coconut and used plain flour rather than self-raising (always do as I don’t believe in a need for raising flour). I made the icing with half-fat crème fraiche (the one I use doesn’t have any thickeners, it’s still 100% milk) because I find that the slightly lighter texture is more pleasant to taste (the original version was a bit too rich). Do remember to use organic ingredients whenever possible, especially when it comes to dairy and eggs.

Not only I chose to make it for my little birthday celebration, I also managed to photograph the actual cake before it disappeared. Smiles all around, I’d say.

CARROT CAKE

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE

2 large organic eggs

125ml EV olive oil

145g raw light brown muscovado sugar or, even better, light brown muscovado sugar and organic rapadura sugar (I use 50/50)

200g organic wholegrain flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp all spice

1 tsp organic bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp organic baking powder

50g organic sultanas

200g organic carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

1 organic orange, zest only, finely grated

50g organic walnuts, chopped

FOR THE ICING

250g organic mascarpone

250g organic crème fraiche

1 tbsp rapadura sugar (you can use raw light brown sugar but mix it in longer to dissolve the grains)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds only

50g organic walnuts, chopped

DIRECTIONS

• Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan. Grease 2 18-20cm cake tins and line them with grease-proof paper.
• In a large bowl mix together the flour, spices, baking soda and baking powder.
• In a separate bowl mix together the oil, sugar and eggs and whisk with an electric whisk for 2-3 minutes until combined.
• Add dry ingredients to the oil and egg mixture. Then mix in the carrots, orange peel, nuts and raisins.
• Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 30 minutes (for 20cm tins) or 35 (for 18cm tins) until risen, springy to touch and a tooth pick inserted in a center comes out clean.
• Leave to cool the cakes in tins.
• Once the cake is ready to assemble, make the icing by whisking together the mascarpone, crème fraiche, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon until combined.
• Ice the cake, decorate with chopped walnuts and leave to rest in the fridge overnight.

Bon Appetite!

Photo source: personal

Weekend sign off

I’ve just celebrated my birthday. I can, of course, write an elaborate post about it and bore you to death or keep it short and sweet, so you can close the page and go to enjoy the weekend.

As the years go by, I’ve come to understand that no matter what happens in life, there’s always a place for a little happiness in it. We need to create happy moments as we wake up, see them in a ray of sunshine, a good-morning kiss, a cuddle with a pet (since Oscar made it his job to wake me up, we do cuddle often), smell of morning coffee, a me-time with a good book or an impromptu trip…  Never wait for a happy moment to come on autopilot – create it yourself right here, right now because life is too short to spend it waiting.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Always yours,

Photo source: Glamour France September 1991

My favourite natural and organic make-up products

Ever since I have discovered the link between parabens and cancer I became very aware of what I put on my skin, so the last couple of years were spent researching and trying various products to find the ones I was absolutely happy with.

Today I would like to talk about make-up because this is one thing that I haven’t written much about, but would love to discuss a bit deeper.

Finding the right organic and natural make-up products was definitely more challenging than the skincare. It had to work, look as undetectable as possible and be free from unwanted substances. I mean, would you really want to use something on your face or lips that contains powdered bugs? Then check your lipstick or blusher for carmine. If it’s there, so are the bugs called “cochineal”. Once collected and dried, they are made into red colouring often used in make-up and food (strawberry yoghurt, anyone?). Using foundations that contain a common sunscreen ingredient benzophenone may, in fact, cause hormonal imbalances, increase risk of fibromyalgia and some forms of cancer.

Well, I love myself too much to get those ingredients anywhere close to my skin.

Luckily, there are wonderful companies out there that really do care about their consumers and create beautiful, skin-friendly and natural, often organic, products that work really well.

As you can see, the content of my make-up bag is pretty basic, but this is all I use right now. The only two things I would love to add is a highlighter and eye pencil or kohl.

Un-cover up concealer by RMS Beauty. Although I don’t use concealer or foundation on a daily basis, I needed one for special occasions and days when I do wear proper make-up. The Un-cover Up comes in a tiny beautiful pot and works as a concealer and light foundation. I must mention here that the pot is made of glass, which is very important because plastic leaks xenoestrogens into any oil-based product increasing risk of oestrogen imbalance in the body, so glass containers are always a better choice.

What I liked about this little beauty the most is how well it matched my skin tone (I use No.11) It was undetectable! I also noticed that it made my skin feel softer and more velvety, which was a lovely side-effect. It contains coconut oil, which has antibacterial properties, castor oil that works as anti-inflammatory and anti-aging agent (it’s been highly praised by women in my country because it’s a wonderful solution for beautiful eyes lashes as it keeps them strong and encourage growth) and jojoba oil that is very similar to human similar to human sebum, packed with vitamins and wax that can mimic skin collagen. Jojoba oil also works as a natural SPF.

I cannot believe I’ve lived without Un-Cover Up for so long.

Korres Wild Rose Brightening Compact Powder. This is something I bought a few months ago while looking for paraben free powder. It is free from mineral oils, propylene glycol and ethanolamine. It’s very fine milled, so feels and looks like a veil.

Korres Powder Blusher. Just as the compact powder, it’s free from paraben, mineral oils, propylene glycol and ethanolamine. I love the Natural shade (No. 15), which adds just a little bit of colour to the cheeks. It’s very subtle and yet you will notice the difference before and after you apply.

Korres Volumising Mascara in Black. I like it because it didn’t irritate my eyes and was easy to apply. It also contains abyssinia oil and vitamin B5 that strengthen the lashes. However, some shades do contain carmine. Since I’ve almost run out I will be switching to Terre d’Oc organic mascara soon.

Terre d’Oc organic lipsticks in in 202 and 204. Love them so much! The colours are gorgeous and buildable. The texture is velvety and doesn’t dry out the lips. The 202 is a lovely cherry’ish red, a sort of red that isn’t “in your face”, but certainly noticeable. On me the colour looks similar to strawberry jam with just a hint of cherry purple in it. The 204 is a colour of milk chocolate that looks very natural, although you can apply it in several layers to intensify. Will definitely buy them again and most likely try other shades, too. Oh, and they smell like berries!

OPI Suzy Says Da! in a rich chocolate shade free from dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde and toluene.

Ciate Speed Coat is free from formaldehyde, toluene, DBP (dibutyl phthalate), formaldehyde resin and camphor. I must admit, I fell for the packaging before anything else. Got to love the little black ribbon!

Ecotools Brushes. I liked the look and the concept behind the brand and these brushes work for me nicely.

Photo source: Glamour UK March 2012, personal

Chanel Cruise 2013

When Karl Lagerfeld mixes together a dose of Marie Antoinette playfulness and charm, a straight to the point rock-n-roll attitude, plenty of classic Chanel tweed covered in embroidery, a bit of denim and leather, a few elegant hats and bags, tops it all up with crystal and pearl jewellery, spices with the most unexpected creepers and optional Chanel watering can, it becomes a magic love potion. Modern, fresh and absolutely irresistible!

Watch the show on official Chanel website to experience it because photos don’t do it any justice.

Stylish quote

“Without a strong personality, you can have the most beautiful clothes in the world and you will never look right."

Frida Giannini

 

Photo source: Vogue UK May 2012

Blogging resumes tomorrow

Blogging resumes tomorrow. I blame the weather.

Photo source: Vogue China May 2012