Art: David Bowie Exhibition

One of my favourite places in London is the Vitctoria & Albert Museum, in South Kensington. And how could you not, when a building that looks like this..... is crammed full with art, sculpture, fashion, ceramics, jewelry and photography. Oh and it's free!

So every time I head home, it's usually one of the first places on my list. And I just so happened to be around when the David Bowie Is exhibition was on. And my Dad just so happens to be a member of the Victoria & Albert Museum which means entry to special exhibits like this is free and no queuing! It's like being a VIP, for the art world at least.

"The V&A has been given unprecedented access to the David Bowie Archive to curate the first international retrospective of the extraordinary career of David Bowie. David Bowie is features more than 300 objects that include handwritten lyrics, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs and Bowie's own instruments."

I'm not a huge Bowie fan, but this exhibition is a.m.a.z.i.n.g! It is set across three huge rooms and really draws the audience in, with it's multi-media approach. Before going into the exhibition your given a headset. The exhibition rooms are littered with sensors that pick up your movements and play the right narration, music or interview clip depending on where you are in the room. I could have spent all day in there if it wasn't for a lunch date.

It has been extremely popular and online tickets are now sold out, but if your in London before the 11 August, head over to the Victoria & Albert Museum because tickets are on sale daily. More information can be found here. 

And if you can't get in, well you have a huge victorian building filled to the brim with things to see. Oh and the restaurant has been lovingly restored and still has original tiles and rooms that look like this. 

It's worth it just for that [and the fantastic cakes and teas of course].

beauty: Body Shop Cool BB cream & Vitamin C Moisturiser

So a few weeks back, the lovely ladies at Body Shop Cyprus invited me along to learn about some of their products, perfect for summer. 

The Vitamin E Cool BB Cream* was one that I was most excited to get my hands on mainly because my face has been doing the rounds of many other BB creams of late. And as Cyprus is starting to get pretty HOT, I wanted to see what this cool thing was all about. 

I think I was expecting more of a menthol hit like other "cooling" products and instead I got a soft and fresh feeling which is probably a much gentler way to incorporate such a thing into a make-up product.

Now let's talk about coverage, a big sticking point for me with any product. I found it's super light texture really stood up for itself and covered my uneven, oily skin and even did a decent job of covering the blemishes on my cheeks. 

And for only one shade, it has a great blending ability, something which is perfect as my face starts to change colour with the sunshine. It eliminates my need to buy 5 different shades of foundation for the summer!

One thing I learnt early on as an expat in Cyprus is that SPF is your new best friend. The Vitamin C Moisturiser with SPF 30* is one of those products that will become invaluable in my summer beauty routine as it's packed with protection including UVA/UVB.

So yeh, your face will pretty much thank you for it 40 years down the line when your [almost] wrinkle free. 

Sometimes sun-care products are a bit heavy and oily for my combination skin to handle. Not this one. The texture is rich but not greasy and it sinks into my skin like a dream. And then there's the smell. The scent of a product is really important to me, especially when it's on my face and so close to my nose. 

I have to say the first sniff of this stuff and I was a bit dubious but the vitamin c element of this moisturiser really brought a fresh, citrusy aroma that grew on my as the mornings went on. 

I started testing just over a week ago. It worked perfectly as a daily moisturiser and still stood up the harshness of the beach with no pink, sore skin in sight. There was one negative about this product. By the end of the day, my make-up had started sliding, but I don't know if this is down to the product or the heat in Cyprus! 

food: chickpeas

I think the temperature has jumped up 20 degrees in the last week. And as the temperature increases, strangely enough my appetite declines. 

Actually that's a lie. 

I just want to eat different things; something lighter and fresh that doesn't make me feel like a hot, sweaty polar bear in the desert. And that's where salads come into the equation. Whether they are leaf based, filled with pulses, packed with protein or veggie heavy, salads are a summer meal time staple, 

And in pursuit of inspiration, I headed over to pinterest, where I found this fantastic recipe, using chickpeas, on the Dashing Dish website. Note to all readers, this website is worth a visit because it has great healthy alternatives and seriously yummy food photography. 

In a nutshell, Mediterranean Chickpea Salad goes a little something like this. 

drain chickpeas and rinse in water. 

chop red onion, cucumber, tomato, peppers and parsley.

combine all ingredients with the chickpeas and mix together.

add the feta and pour over a dressing made with olive oil, lemon, vinegar, salt and pepper. 

Ok so I made some small changes to the recipe but basically its the same and it tasted a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

Go check out Katie's great healthy ideas for yummy food, here. 

sunday sound #22

It's only 1 minute, but it's amazing.
She has an amazing voice, even live.
And she shaved her head for charity.
(the attachment to your hair will be a topic discussed later on this week).

The 1st of June is for planning and tanning

Blog everyday in May was a total success as far as I am concerned; Jenni came up with some great prompts that kept everyone inspired and she read our minds, throwing in a few easy days, just when we needed them the most! 

And now I am staring into the black hole that is June and I feel anxious. I set the standard in May with a post, if not two, everyday. So there is only one way June is ever going to to be able to live to those expectations and thats by PLANNING. 

I always start planning posts for the week ahead, so I have a foundation to work on, but I seem to never stick to or develop said plan - which is quite odd since I am a very organised and methodical person by nature. But one thing I learnt from the May challenge is that prompts and planning are the key to success. And that the smallest thing can spark the biggest inspiration. 

So today I am getting well and truly organised and filling my notebook with ideas, prompts and words that could inspire me later on in June and I will even try to come up with some solid posts ahead of time. Fingers crossed on that one. 

Oh and I am heading to the beach for tanning. Well tanning is part of the planning process, all in the name of research. I am testing some great products as mentioned earlier, and since they are sun-care related, the beach is the best place for them. 

*I was about to paste the html for the blog everyday in May badge and then remembered it's not May*