Blossoms and Brownies

Today I was awoken (or rather, was dragged kicking and screaming into a false sense of consciousness) by the insistent splatter of rain on the skylight above the bed. If it wasn't for the fact that I had my French oral exam today, I would have lolled around in bed until noon. I dreaded having to speak French today. I dreaded having to arrive there all soggy and damp, umbrella dripping all over my coat, mascara splogged down my face, hair looking like I'd stuck my finger in a socket. None of these things exactly contribute to clarity of thought.
But hey, it's over now and it wasn't as bad as I dreaded. There were indeed brutal crimes against tense, gender and conjugation but I managed to negotiate my way through the tasks without as much brain ache as I first anticipated. By the time I emerged from the exam room, the rain had cleared and I noticed the first tree in blossom I've seen this year. The little pink petals screamed Spring amidst the drab and tragic bare trees that surrounded it. My mood lifted. My heart sang. And I skipped down the street with a spring in my step and a sparkle in my eye!

Methinks I had slightly overdressed for my exam today,...

As if..... Mary Poppins I am not. But anyhow, simple creature that I am, I was delighted to see something pink in an otherwise sea of brown and grey. It's probably premature to say that spring is round the corner, but the spring collections certainly are. Even if spring doesn't come to me, I will certainly come to spring, ready and waiting with the new seasons make-up plastered all over my face and painted on my nails. I will make a stand in the depths of the march snow, decked out in pastel colours, shimmering in pale pink, lilac, and sheer shades of moss and aquamarine. I will freeze in light layers of silk and cotton, but I will BE spring.
Which brings me to the question of what colours can a girl wear in such a transitional season? It doesn't feel right to continue the wintery Christmas themes highlighted with gold and sparkle . It also doesn't feel right to launch straight into pastels and brights. Ok, so obviously there is no real right or wrong answer, but today two of my favourite things in the world collided to create one happy inspiration. On thursday there'll be a little end of term gathering of our French class and traditionally everyone brings something to eat. I had promised to bake brownies. It was while thinking about the brownies (because that's what I do, I think about brownies...) that I saw the blossoms, et voilà! Chocolate and make-up combined.... soft pinks and and warm, shimmery browns.... how can that not work? It brings the depth of colour we require in the winter with the lightness and softness that we crave come January/February time. Plus the two colours are very easy to play with both together and individually. Winter light is harsh and unforgiving, especially in northern Europe, so whatever we wear on our eyes during the day must be well defined or else the daylight will bleach out the colour completely, which means that in your efforts pack on the colour to make it visible outdoors, indoors you end up looking like a clown. The pink-brown combo is ideal because even just a wash of colour over the eyelids will look beautiful, provided you add a little softly sumdged liner to the roots of the upper lashes, and a generous sweep of mascara. You can also create a very ballerina-like look, retaining that softness of pink all over the socket, defining the lashline and crease line gently with a dark brown which you can flick slightly at the ends. Very Black Swan, and therefore very now. I can't imagine an eye-colour this wouldn't work on. 

The ridiculously beautiful Natalie Portman teams a luscious chocolate-shimmer smokey eye with fresh pink cheeks and lips.

So, think chocolate, coffee and cherry blossom, and you're halfway to bringing spring around just a little bit sooner. In the meantime, those brownies aren't going to bake themselves...

The perfect ballerina ... bet she doesn't eat a lot of brownies.