a perfect end to the weekend

Catching the last of the afternoon rays with a nice chilled glass of rose and a copy of The Sunday Times STYLE at our local The Albany

Scentsational Royal Apothic

Once upon a time. . .

a discovery was made, tucked high upon a shelf in a forgotten Notting Hill antique store a dusty old book was found.

This hidden treasure turned out to be an apothecary manual from the eighteenth century containing many formulas which had been created for European monarchs.

The discovery was made by the perfect person, Sean OMara who, as fate would have it, was himself from the beauty industry, previously having worked for Procter and Gamble, Estee Lauder and Murad.

Royal Apothic was born!

Sean headed back to LA and began to recreate the fragrances listed within the manual bringing them to life through candles (luminaires) , interior sprays and most recently perfumes.

The beautiful packaging made with venetian linen paper printed with area maps of London and finished with hand tied ribbon compliments the story of the birthplace of the idea behind the brand

I bought myself the 'Courts of Venice' eu de parfum which has notes of orange blossom, currant and rose and smells divine! (£26/60ml)

Another lovely touch is the old fashioned atomiser which is included, adding a hint of nostalgia.

A super lovely brand with an enchanting story behind it, Royal Apothic makes an ideal gift for friends (or for yourself!)

Available online and at anthropologie

A little clue in riddle and ryhme, all will be revealed in time!

Find

the act of discovering something

verb: discover or perceive by chance or unexpectedly

Noun: a discovery of something valuable

a new project

coming soon!

This London Lady Loves . . .a sweet trip down memory lane

One of my favourite things about living in this part of the world is the villagey feel it has, the country side greenery, the river, the adorable little cottages and Church street with its quaint restaurants and boutiques.

Following a fathers day lunch with my adoptive 'London dad' and inlaws, we popped in to Sweet Memories, an old fashioned sweet shop selling retro candies, chocolate bars and ice cream.

Shelves stacked to the ceiling with every kind of sugary treat imagineable, a dentists' nightmare, a childs dream!

Sweet Memories can be found at 47, Church Street, Twickenham TW1 3NR

perculiar potions at PURL

Its a grey and gloomy Saturday evening in London town, the air is muggy and the rain keeps rearing its ugly head, the boy made a reservation for drinks so off we trot to Marylebone to pay our first ever visit to Purl.

Its hardly the newest kid on the block, Purl recently celebrated its first birthday, however we had yet to grace its doors until yesterday.

On arrival we made our way down the steps into the cosy candlelit basement drinking den which lies hidden beneath a Georgian house on Blandford Street.

Purl is designed with a nostalgic nod towards Victorian gin palaces and prohibition speak easys providing a revolutionary new take on mixology, doing for cocktails what Heston Blumenthal has done for food.

Our seats turned out to be at the bar which in honesty was probably no bad thing, for although the old chesterfields tucked away in intimate shadowy corners looked more inviting, sitting at the bar was like sitting front row at a cocktail making spectacular, up close and personal, and of course you were able to catch the bartenders attention with ease when you were ready for more (I have heard from friends that the table service here can be a little slow)

My first cocktail definitely had the WOW factor, Mr Hydes No.2 combining Ron Zacapa 23 rum with home made cola and chocolate bitters.

The cocktail was first infused with smoke and then served in a wax sealed flask which was placed in a wine cooler full of dry ice, 'fog' billowed out all over the bar, it looked like it had come straight out of Hogwarts, very dramatic!

I was given a glass with a hand chipped chunk of ice from a huge block at the bar and then left to self serve the drink which only added to the fun!

Next up I sampled a peach white lady, served slush style in a martini glass with a spoon, yummy!

Mr Randall swigged cans of beer wrapped in brown paper bags and asked for a cocktail to be made specially based on his favourite flavours to which the bartender willingly obliged.

The mixologists here really do know their stuff and happily comentate as they create.

Give it a try, Purl can be found at 54 Blandford Street W1U 7HX 020 7935 0835 reserve to avoid disappointment.

ooh how's this for a little bit of lux this Summer?!

Moet et Chandon have launched a world first- a champagne specifically designed to be enjoyed over ice! cool.

Ice Imperial will be served exclusivley at the Madison Restaurant roof terrace at One New Change which opened earlier this month. £60 per bottle EC4 (020 8858 2437) bottoms up!

Vidal Sassoon The Movie

I went to see this today at Curzon Mayfair, it was fascinating.

Sassoon, now 81 (and looking very good for it!) appears to be a man who has very much enjoyed his life and has worked hard with a passion to achieve universal recognition for his hairdressing talents.

From humble beginnings in East London, this film documents the rags to riches tale of a young man who 'fell' into a hairdressing job after his mother had a premonition that he would become a master of the trade.

Initially he seemed rather disinterested in the craft however he learnt to adapt his appreciation of shape and geometry in architecture to hair and chose to challenge fashion and society and soon his attitude changed to one of such focus and ambition that he went on to change the face of the entire hairdressing industry.

Sassoon comes across very well on camera, a charming and charismatic man who exudes warmth and positivity as he recalls his life story.

You cannot fail to feel inspired by this movie, no matter which profession you are in, its a must see!

SCAREDY CAT, SCAREDY CAT!

Last night my other half took me for drinks at a new spot out East.

The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town is a secret little drinking den found in the basement beneath the newest Breakfast Club on the block in Shoreditch.

From the diner style cafe upstairs we were lead through the door of a smeg fridge (yes really, amazing!) and down the stairs to an intimate candlelit bar.

This is the 4th Breakfast Club to open in London town following in the footsteps of its brothers and sisters in Hoxton, Soho and Angel.

The bar however is what gives this particular BC the edge and the good news is that it is not just pop up but set to stay.

There has been very little advertising surrounding this new joint, instead their peeps have opted to create awareness through Twitter and Facebook and just wait for the good word to spread so it kind of feels like you belong to some kind of secret society and you feel torn between wanting to tell everyone about this place and keeping it a secret so it doesn't become too popular and loose its appeal.

Its possible that even the diners upstairs do not realise that this whole other little world exists beneath their feet, when you leave the bar you exit via a different door to that of the fridge where you enter and are kindly asked to pretend that you have just used the bathroom (gentlemen are kindly asked to leave their flies undone and ladies to sport the skirt tucked into knickers look to add to the realism) so as not to arouse suspicion!

I started with a Rosie & Gin (genius name!) a refreshing fruity pineapple gin cocktail with a subtle hint of rosemary, then a classic Mai Tai followed by 1, or 2, or 3? Pear Cardoman sidecars, they were my fave and went down very well!

The boy gave the Caipirinhas the thumbs up and we nibbled on cheesy fries and deep fried jalepenos.

The decor is kitsch - check out the bathroom walls adorned with pages of 80's music magazines, and the great neon instalation upstairs in the diner, Emin would be proud!

Give it a try guys, you wont be disappointed! 12-16 Artillery Lane, London, E1