Аscension

Spring! All is full of sunshine and energy! And I do too. I madly want to create something, to write, to implement ideas. I feel purity and renewal. Now is a good time for all sorts of magic and rituals. And every spring I'm irresistibly drawn to the ground. I feel so much forces in myself  that I want to give them to someone else. And then I planting :) I love all kinds of plants: house plants, pot plants, garden plants.  I don't have much space at home for all the plants that I'd like to grow, unfortunately. But I have an old-old Spathiphyllum, poinsettia brought by one Christmas, cactus, and of course orchids. This is my permanent residents. But in times like these I like to plant flowers. I loooove the bulbous! Daffodils, hyacinths, lilies, amaryllis... This year I decided to grow aundersized irises. This is one of my favorite flowers. So gentle, refined and concise. Now my babies are 10 centimeters growth :) Moreover, the window sill is a great place for medicinal herbs. With due attention you can grow mint and lemon balm, thyme and rosemary, magic tulsi for health and tasty basil, lemongrass, and even parsley. Plant and prepare the ground better in accordance with the lunar calendar: in ancient times astrologers noticed the connection between the cycle of the moon and the development and growth of plants. Today is favorable date for planting, pretty witches! So let's decorate our homes with thousands of beautiful flowers!

Phoenix Of My Heart

Dear friends, I have accumulated a number of new cosmetic products, which I would like to share with you. Firstly, it's my discovery of perfume brand "Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab". I was given a lot of "imp's ears" for Halloween, and I hardly could find the time to try them all. My collection of fragrances called "A Picnic in Arkham". Oh, I love the dark world of HP Lovecraft! And of course I just had to taste something as weird as a perfume associated with his books! So, here is my top of creepy fragrances:

****  Al Azif

"A sinister, sinuous incense of summoning, a herald and paean to the Primordial Gods of Darkness, Chaos, Madness and Decay."

I put 4 out of possible 5 because this scent is more for men. The smell of coffee with a touch of oriental.

***** Arkham

"A shadowy, unapproachable forest of maple, birch, dogwood, cypress and pine softened by a garland of New England wildflowers: bergamot, columbine, rue anemone, blue violet, creeping phlox, bloodroot, toadflax, and pixie moss."

If this city really smells like this oil, it should be not so scary. Very light flavor with a hint of mango.

*** Cthulhu

"A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters."

This is the worst smell of the whole line. Very sharp and not natural. It looks like Cthulhu enjoys air freshener.

**** Herbert West

"Aftershave, embalming fluid, and splatterings from a panoply of reanimation reagents."

I smell the tea and very light shade of flowers. As if he is  not possessed  reanimator but harmless old florist. 

***** Miskatonic University

"The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls."

Warm and soft scent that I associate with cookies. It seems that the University is a stronghold of the goodness.

**** Nyarlathotep

"Brooding, yet electric: the scent of buried secrets, roiling nightmares, the essence of the Crawling Chaos, the Father of Knives and Locusts, the Hunter in the Dark. This is the blackest of ritual incenses charged with flashes of ozone."

The smell of the earth, weighed down by sadness. On the skin reveals notes of citrus. 

**** R’Lyeh

"A hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves."

The smell of freshly sliced apples, mixed with something unnatural. Maybe a trace of air freshener from Cthulhu? 

***** Shub-Niggurat

"The lust incense of a corrupted Astarte. A blend of ritual herbs and dark resins, shot through with three gingers and aphrodisiacal spices."

My favorite scent! Apple, cinnamon, honey... Warm, enveloping scent. Looks like Shub-Niggurath is just ducky and often bakes at home an apple pie.

Please don't forget that these estimates are highly subjective, and everyone feels in flavors something specifically own. 

What else is new?I have already written about the fact that the care of the hair very important to me. So I discover new amazing brands with great joy. "Kensuko" is the last such opening for me. Shampoo of this mark perfectly moisturizes and nourishes the hair and has the consistency of cream. In addition, this eco-friendly brand! So I'm going to try a few more funds from "Kensuko". 

In addition, I switched to natural oils for my skin. Now I'm testing macadamia oil. It's too early to talk about the results, but I hope that this is much more useful than chemical creams. 
Ladies, I ask you to share with me your experiences in the use of oils: cosmetic and aromatic. What is your favorite flavor at BPAL? And what kind of oil do you use for face 

care

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Paradise place

Our trip to India ended on the Andaman Islands. It's tiny pieces of land, lost in the middle of the Indian Ocean. They are not even one of the states of India, they are Union Territory. Few manage to get here. Planes fly hither only from Indian metropolises and the ferry goes only from Calcutta. Travellers need to receive a special permit in the capital of Andamans - Port Blair. But it's all worth it! Now I'm sure that if somewhere on Earth there is Heaven - it's located in here. But the beauty of these islands is beyond words. The best I can do - to show you some pictures.

I spent my twenty-fifth birthday  diving to the depth of 10 meters. Amazing underwater world, which I've seen, became the pearl of this year. Myriads of shimmering and iridescent fishes, corals, shells and turquoise water captivated my heart. The new plan for the future is to receive diver certificate. 

It was a little painful to leave this paradise beauty and return to the gray days. I decided to make a mehendi to have at least a couple of weeks with India next to me. The patterns on my hands - the best symbol of this country. Sophisticated, ornate, delicate and staggering. They surprise and attract attention. Not everyone is willing to share it's beauty. But we need to learn to see finest in outlandish and bizarre things in our little world full of cultural diversity.

Southern trees bear strange fruit - blood on the leaves and blood at the root

Friends, I would like to tell you a lot about my travels throughout India, about wonderful and wild places I had visited. One of such places - Sundarbans jungle. This is the largest mangrove forest in the world. It's located in the state of West Bengal, in the delta of Ganges. An incredible amount of rumors and legends surrounds this rotten and boggy place. Besides here lives endangered Bengal Tiger - Tiger cannibal. Therefore, every now and then appear the stories of mysterious disappearances of people, who got lost in the mangroves or were killed by a tiger. Nevertheless, the land is very fertile, and people continue to live here no matter what. We longed to visit this place after the book of Salman Rushdie "Midnight's Children." He, in his usual manner, was able to describe this place as mystical and alluring. So, being in Calcutta we could not resist the temptation to visit Sundarbans.

Our adventure began early in the morning. We took a minimum of things and got into an old  minibus, carrying us away from the Сity of joy. We drove for hours and changed several modes of transport from rickshaws and carts to motor boat, before reaching the village at the edge of the jungle. This is an incredibly picturesque place with rice fields, wicker huts and herds of cows. People in this village live only by manual labor and handicrafts.

We wandered around the neighborhood until sunset, had time to take a boat ride and listen to the singing of thousands of birds. Perhaps it was one of the most beautiful evening of my life.

The next day we dedicated to mangrove jungle, having studied them far and wide. This is a strange place, but still not as enigmatic as we expected. Of course, we have not seen a Bengal tiger, but were rewarded with deers, crocodiles, baboons and other wild forest animals. This trip wasn't very easy for us, but still it of that costed. These age-old forests are actually very fragile and in need of our protection, as well as their inhabitants. 

After this trip, we were insanely tired and went back to Calcutta half asleep. Mile after mile on the bumpy road in the night we were carried away from strange trees of Sundarban. Perhaps we got not what we've expected. Perhaps we imagined Sundarbans too stereotyped. But like each time India was able to surprise us, open itself with the unknown side and teach something new. We fall asleep with the realization that we still want to go back there.

And all her mystery dwelled within her black hair

It seems a very long time since I have made a ​​beauty-post. Maybe it's for the best :) But during that time I have accumulated in my head a few ideas that I want to share with you. This is due to hair care. You may have noticed that my hair is long enough and caring for them is a top priority for me. Nothing gives me so much bothers, and nothing takes away so much money, even the face :) I very carefully select products for hair. Shampoo number one for me is still Diego Dalla Palma. But I have already talked about this love here. Now, attention! I will write about the brand that you should never buy! This is British company Lee Stafford.  Yes, their packaging looks very stylish and attractive, and the price seems to guarantee excellent care. But if you don't want your hair to be dry like after the meeting with the fire-breathing dragon - do not trust this company! I had to treat the hair after these products. And now I'll tell you about a magic wand on this case. This is Kera Repair by Angel S.O.S! Seductive aroma of natural oils makes me smile every time I use it. Should I say that this product is not tested on animals? I recommend this sorcery to everybody :) 

(Miracle of Brazil)

Tell me about the forest you once called home

Yesterday while  sitting with my sister around the campfire, I suddenly thought that you have to go in the forest only the two together.  Only this way creates the very feeling of escape from civilization, which we so crave in the city. When you surrounded by huge pines, and on the horizon there is no a single human soul - only this time you really are in the woods as in your true home. Then comes the peace and silence, and you feel like a little stranger in this big world full of wonders, mysteries and blueberries :) And you are not afraid of anything anymore, because no matter what happens you will have this little world with a secret place for fire, about which know only two people. And sitting by the window in the last train, carrying you back to the city, and catching glimpses of the sunset over the lake, you realize that this is the joy of life, the simple forest joy. 

Polyester white trash made in nowhere

Hi darlings! Much time has passed since the last post. This summer is just driving me crazy! First, in St. Petersburg we faced unprecedented heat - about 30 degrees. Secondly, I have a huge amount of work involved with my projects. I will try to cover everything.

 I've already told you about our little pin up clothing store. We sent several dozen of orders with clothes and made incredibly cute business cards. Just look! 

"Cherry Shop" also participated  for the first time in the fair on the big annual exhibition "City - landscape". It was a great experience for us!

The exhibition was held in an old printing house in the city center. Works of young photographers shocked me with its irony, depth, a new look at the world. It was a real manifesto of postmodernism. The exhibition also held a competition for the best work. One could select five images. Here is one of those that impressed me the most:

Pictures were hung not merely on the walls, but on the old printing presses. This created an incredible combination of tradition and novelty. Again postmodernism!

Other than I do another development project, which is wholly owned my heart. This is "Forest shop", which sells clothes for the elves and fairies. Futuristic design, natural colors, style mix of tribal and psy trance - it is all "Forest Shop." Yes, I wrote about few models of clothes from this store here. Now I select a new collection, and I feel that it will be just stunning! By the way, I can boast of some commercials for "Forest Shop" too. Here is our logo and business card: 

With this shop we visited two large open air festivals - "Warmth of the North" and "Yogart". The last one was special for us. This event is associated with yoga, tribal, vegetarianism, healthy lifestyle. It was very cool to be there and see so many beautiful and free people. Frankly, that trip was not the work, but  a real pleasure! I am very sorry that I didn't have a camera to capture sunrises and sunsets over the lake, next to which a festival held, and our wonderful customers. 

Now I need to take stock of the work done. I must say that I love what I do, even though it takes a lot of strength. I never thought it would be so difficult. Generally, I do not like to sell anything, it's not in my blood. But on the other hand, I love to see the happy faces of the people who found the clothes they were dreaming. It's worth it! This is business for my soul and I hope it will flourish.

P.S. The title of this post is a joke :Р 

The House of Usher

Last weekend I visited the place where I spent my summer vacation in childhood. This is cozy cottage on the edge of the village, on the border with forest. You know, it's a very strange feeling to come back to where you have not been for many years. In my memories remained a quite idyllic picture: a large wooden house, apple trees around, the path to the lake, surrounded by fragrant  rosehips. It was so painful to see that the house stands empty and abandoned, and the land around it is overgrown with tall grass. Lots of beautiful trees are cut down and tracks asphalted. Place loses its magic and forest spirits leave it... We walked a lot draped in plaid along the magnificent lake with blue water and a little rain felt sad just like me, creating a special lyrical atmosphere. I would love to go back to the time when I was so small and the world was so large and unknown.