The Ultimate Perfume Recommendations of the Year

With only a couple of days from 2017 left, it is about time of a new perfume recommendation! Valentine's Day is only two months away, therefore, you should get ready, and for sure there will be more additional interesting luxury recommendations in the next weeks. Until then, it is enough time to have a look at your perfume store next door and look for some of my top picks for this season:

Baiser Fou by Cartier

What happens when you combine the scents of raspberry, with orchid, chocolate and vanilla? Sounds crazy and smells even crazier. The good kind of crazy. Baiser Fou - Crazy Kiss - by Cartier was launched this year and promises to be a hit among the lovers of elegant fragrances, wearable all round the day. Regardless if you are about to embark on a plane or hurrying up for a date. It makes you feel special, flirty and full of positive, spring-like energy. 

White Tea, by Elizabeth Arden

On a more accessible note, White Tea by Elizabeth Arden, also a new entry in 2017, is the kind of perfume you get so much used to that you simply integrate it into your daily rituals. It happened to me with Green Tea, also by Elizabeth Arden, and for a very good reason: it achieved a perfect balance of fragrances, which easily goes with any kind of personality. White Tea opens up with a combination of mandarin orange, muscat, white tea and white iris, which smells so refreshing that it doesn't bother if you wear it from early in the morning until late in the evening. 

Chloe, Eau de Parfum

Both the bottle and the perfume send the right message: a return or a forever-stay in the world of spring scents. With an exquisite choice of basic fragrances of Virginia cedar and amber, it offer a bouquet of flowers in a small bottle. I cannot see it worn otherwise but with a satin dress in pastel colours or with various flowerly imprints. A cocktail dress, too? Less likely, as I will rather keep this one for the day, the sunny day - outdoors and in your soul.

Evergreen, by Jil Sander

Jil Sander is one of those German fashion and lifestyle creators I want to feature soon on my blog, for its special style and inspiration. As for now, her Evergreen perfume is perfectly matching her design creations: simple yet rich in possibilities and an impecable good taste. What else can be done when you combine the following aromas: pear, grapefruit, white pepper, jasmin, rose, patschuli, sandal wood and vanilla? Any guess?

Aura, by Thierry Mugler

One of my favorite for this season is Aura, the newest by Thierry Mugler. Maybe the bottle is a bit too kitschy for my tastes, but it smells delish. A minty note which is the result of a the happy meeting between rhubarb leaves, Bourbon vanilla, various wood notes and orange blossom. It might be a bit heavy for the usual day of work, but it goes very well for the occasions when you want to feel good and fully empowered. 

What about you? Any great fragrances recommendations for this season?

Photos from: www.fragrantica.de

The Top Destinations for Luxury Shopping in Berlin

Characterized by one of its former mayers as 'poor, but sexy', the city of Berlin is known worldwide for its affordable housing - not for too long though - cheap food and alternative style of living - especially in the Eastern part of the city. However, there are a couple of top luxury destinations too, where top brands are inviting you to stop and leave with the latest top notch items. For the luxury lovers, I went up and down to the Berlin shopping avenue, bringing you the top destinations.

Ku'damm

Paris has Champs Elysees, London has Oxford Street, Berlin has its traditional shopping avenue: Ku'damm - or Kürfurstendamm. Situated in the Western part of the city, close to the Zoo metro station, this street is not only the destination for the top luxury brands, but also has a special architecture and a special bourgeois and luxury flair.

You will find here all the best luxury brand known worldwide: from Chanel to Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci, Cartier and Rolex. After you are done with the shopping, you can sip a coffee at Kempinski or have some sweet treats at Grosz, all famous foodie establishments of the West Berlin.

KaDeWe

The luxury history of West Berlin cannot be told without mentioning the 110-year young KaDeWe, where you can find in one place almost all the famous brands in the world. You have them all just for you, from home products to interior design, fashion for men, women and children and a big food court too. 

Bikini Berlin

If you are more into alternative, yet luxury fashion designers, the newest kid on the top notch shopping block of the West - Bikini Berlin, is your answer. It might look like a reconditioned industrial factory, but it has regularly pop-up stores where the best of new designers are presenting their works. Don't worry, the prices are high and you have the advantage of wearing unique pieces of clothing, most of them limited editions created for a selective audience.

The Mall of Berlin

Talking about new kids...The Mall of Berlin whose opening created various controversies, is an unique presence in this shopping world.  270 shops covering a variety of products and brands are waiting for you in the newest and most dynamic part of the city - Potsdamer Platz. Berlin and Germany in general is not too keen on malls, prefering less glamorous investments and locations. However, keeping up with the world trends is hard therefore the city has - as for now - at least one such consummerist destination. 

The Corner Berlin

However, the shopping patterns are changing slowly, and most Berliners will prefer the comfort of a cozy location where they can browse at peace, and without too many people around, the best designer creations from all over the world. For such exquisite customers, The Corner Berlin, in Gendarmenmarkt, is the perfect destination. The shop is the location of high-fashion events too, such it was a couple of years ago for the launching of the book of the French stylish icon Garance Doré. If you cannot make it yet in person, you might know that online shopping is also possible.

Quartier 205 - Galeries Lafayette

All those locations are perfectly fine and many do have precious brands, many of them made in Berlin, but for me, nothing compares to the special feeling of walking the elegant location of Quartier 205. It breathes fashion and style, French style, for every step you take on the black and white squarred marble. After getting used with the overwhelming elegance, I always go on the other side of the building to have a look at the newest French products from the food section at Galeries Lafayette, the best gourmet food quarters in the city - sorry KaDeWe - especially for having a bit at some addictive pastry made according to the highest standards of the French cuisine. 

Fashion to die for: Meng

I was having an absent look around the KaDeWe store in Berlin, not too impress and without noticing anything new around when my eyes fixed a piece of pastel silk in a corner. I come closer and couldn't believe what I was seeing: a whole collection of beautiful silks and kimonos that seem to be just brought there on the white velvet wings of a egret. 

The fashion art is produced since 2012 by Meng Zhang and is based in London. The uniquely printed items are produced also in collaboration with printing mills in Italy.

The website provides an online shop and details about different collections of womenswear, as well as accessories, homeware or stationary. As for me, I focused all my attention on the beautiful hand crafter artistic womenswear, just because I can hardly resist names of collections such as: Pastel Shores, Cherry Blossom, Butterfly Lovers.

Meng is the right choice, if you want to surround yourself by beautiful things. I love everything about this company, from the stories behind each collection to the inspirational trigger behind every piece.

 When art meets fashion and dreams the result is a work of art. Somehow, there is no price for making such a beauty part of your life. The prices are from 300 Euro.

It might be true that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but sometimes, beauty is too obvious to need any filter or imagination. From now on, Meng is happily included on the brands on my fashion radar. Because it fully deserves it. 

Photos: Meng Website: https://meng.co.uk/

Rosenthal beauty

I grew up with Rosenthal porcelain ware that decorated our family table for various occasions, but somehow, as a teenager, I resented something I used to call outrageous luxury. However, as a fully grown up woman, I returned to the old memories and cherished there with more respect than I used to as a confused teen. 

Thus, I adopted many of my family household customs, especially of using special glassware for various occasions. The Berlin Rosenthal store, that I visit regularly to check for inspiration, succeedes every time to brought childhood memories back to life. And to give me some new ideas too. How may refuse a travel-themed table service? Not the traveler me, anyway?

The Ku'damm store presents various temporary exhibitions with works produced for the company by various ceramic and porcelain artists from Germany and abroad. 

Besides modernist bold designs, there is always something simple left in the collections. For instance, the nature-inspired patterns which I particularly love at a serious cuppa.

The Ku'damm store is designed with taste and reflects at a great extent the over 125 years of tradition of the company, the market leader in Germany in the segment of glass-ceramics.

Simplicity of lines of materials are often the result of hard work and long experiments in order to achieve the perfect shapes and finest compositions of materials.

 Rosenthal is part of the eating and living experience of many European families nowadays.

The colourful touch of some new items on the market reflects the need to catch up with the times, while keeping the highest standards. Just think how many middle-class women used to have Rosenthal part of their dowry and you will understand the relevance of this brand for the everyday life in Europe.

The headquarters are based in Selb, close to the Czech border, but have stores in big cities across the world and Germany, uch as Munich or New York.

From pieces of furniture to fine dishwares, some of them produced for high-end brands such as Versace, Rosenthal remains a European brand whose history is part of our histories as Europeans as well. 

Bags with personality from Sonia Rykiel

I love very much Sonia Rykiel, especially her elegant dresses. I have yet to check the children collection and some of the accessories, but there are not too many options in Berlin after the Ku'damm shop was closed couple of years back. As it is always something new to explore by this interesting fashion designer, this time, I had a look at the latest bags models. Most of them suit the busy yet chic modern woman, that needs a big but well organised space to carry her things. Business woman or reporter - there is a special reporter bag suited to carry a small notebook and recording machine - you have to respect yourself and send a clear statement to the men's world.

Most of the bags are made of fine leather, except some denim bags, that were not available at the store I visited. The straps and sequins one, not available either, suit the special evening after-work outings, but most bags are well suited for any moment of the day. I particularly loved the mustard yellow ones because of the strong statement of independence.

The small eyelets tote bag is probably the kind of bag I am usually carrying, with enough space for a book, notebook, pen, big ID holder and some  items for the kiddo too. Although available in red too, my favourite is black because it suits any outfit or season. 

The prices are high, starting from around 350 Euro. 

The bags are available at the bags section, ground level inside Galeries Lafayette, Berlin.