Snapshot: 31 March 2020
Quarantine Version 2: London Edition: Day 2.
I got back from my holiday home two days ago and am still fighting off the brutal jet lag, and getting used to the lockdown here in London versus the lockdown in Orange County, California - so I'm expecting to be putting up a lot more blog posts, both reading-related and also probably lots of makeup-related posts (I get very obsessed with makeup when I'm bored. For example, I re-organised all my makeup today by color classification).
Currently reading: The Mirror and the Light, by Hilary Mantel
Expect a review of this when I've finished it.
Currently eating: pasta carbonara from my Pasta Evangelists subscription. I'm really a big fan of this service, even though it's only my first box - it's very affordable and delicious, and there's something so wonderfully decadent about getting hand-delivered artisan, fresh-made pasta. Definitely worth it, for the person who specifically told me to start this blog and now has decided he won't read it anymore (and also asked me about my pasta when I told him about it).
Currently obsessed with: Love is Blind, on Netflix. It's so amazingly trashy, the people are all terrible and inane and dumb, and I LOVE IT. Also, everyone should check out the French online clothing brand Sézane. They're a bit pricey (but their shipping is free!), but they've got some absolutely lovely pieces; their quality is great, the pieces are timeless, ethically made and shipped, and I'm all for spending a bit more on fewer articles of clothing that I'll keep for a decade or so. I'm obsessed with everything on that website and have recently splurged on some of my favorites from their Spring collection - waiting on a new dress, blouse and sandals that I am hoping I can wear along with all my new makeup when quarantine is finally lifted...
Currently waiting on: deliveries from Chantecaille (new makeup - everyone check out their unbelievably beautiful Philanthropy Cheek Shade blushes); Dip and Doze (if we're all going to be stuck inside for the foreseeable, then I want some nice linen bedsheets); IKEA (I've decided to take quarantine as a perfect opportunity to finally do all the furniture projects I've been putting off for months, so I've bought myself a makeup table and some shelves that I'm quite looking forward to putting up like the grown-ass adult that I am); PatchPlants (I've become someone who wants houseplants. I've also signed up for a flower delivery service, because I want my bedroom to be a lush green wonderland forest); and, of course, Foyles Bookshop. I've ordered the last three books in the Lymond Chronicles and pre-ordered Grady Hendrix's Southern vampire noir novel, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, which has some great early reviews and I'm super excited about. Y'all didn't really think I'd be stuck inside for at minimum another month and not be ordering books, did you?
Currently in my online shopping carts:
Foyles: Keeper, by Jessica Moor; Rules for Perfect Murders, by Peter Swanson; Hamnet, by Maggie O'Farrell; Silver Sparrow, by Tayeri Jones; The Bass Rock, by Evie Wyld; Fair Play: Share the Mental Load, Rebalance Your Relationship and Transform Your Life, by Eve Rodsky; House of Trelawney, by Hannah Rothschild; and pre-order of The Glass Hotel, by Emily St John Mandel (incidentally, one of my very favorite contemporary authors).
Cult Beauty: Milk Makeup KUSH Lash Primer and KUSH Lip Scrub.
Currently drafting:
a post-list-thing of my favorite makeup, for each bit of my usual makeup routine. Maybe I'll do that face for the first time I'm allowed to see other people again.
a how-to guide if you want to start a skincare routine.
an ode to my slow-cooker, accompanied by some of my favorite slow-cooker recipes.
the pros and cons of setting yourself a reading challenge.
a separate houseplant + flower section of the blog, where I will mostly post pictures of my houseplants.
Anyway - hope you're all keeping safe, and let me know what you are all doing to stay sane during this crazy times.
Happy reading (and STAY THE FUCK HOME),
Amélie xx
