Prize Palettes – Award-winning mineral makeup from Live in the Light

Add some award-winning colour to your beauty kit with PureAnada‘s all-natural mineral makeup Compact Palettes.
Each of the four palettes features a carefully curated collection of a Pressed Blush and four Eye Colours in Pure Anada‘s most popular shades.

Both the Pressed Blush and Eye Colour scooped awards in the prestigious Beauty Bible Awards 2020 – great recognition for this independent natural brand.

Re-fillable…
A cost-effective purchase, the Pressed Blush & Eye Colours included in the Compact Collection are available individually as refills so if you run out of one of the colours, you can restock by purchasing the refill in that colour and just pop it into your compact.  Alternatively, you can take your pick from the other Pure Anada mineral colours to change your look as and when you wish.
Pure Anada is handcrafted in the Canadian prairies from fresh, wholesome ingredients where they incorporate the goodness of nature into each of their products.  Using ingredients derived from nature, luxurious plant oils, nourishing butters and ethically mined minerals are combined to create a comprehensive range of nurturing bodycare, skincare, haircare and colour cosmetics with clean, natural formulations which are free from common allergens and not tested on animals.

Pure Anada is available in the UK exclusively from

Live in the Light – the online natural and organic lifestyle store www.liveinthelight.co.uk

Demure Compact Palette
£29.95

Pure Anada, mineral make up, palette, natural, demure. Pure Anada, mineral make up, palette, natural, demure. Pure Anada, mineral make up, palette, natural, demure.

I tried this gorgeous palette. All of the colours are fab and the quality is brilliant. The colours go well together and the make up stays all day. I will be refilling when I use this up. 

The Demure Palette is a warm blend of shades that creates a glowing makeup look. Dusty rose blush is complemented by four eye colours including matte creamy white, peachy rose gold, ash medium brown, and a satin, warm beige that shifts to iridescent peach.

The Demure Compact Collection Includes:
Tender Twig Pressed Blush
Ivory Tower Pressed Eye Shadow
Peachy Pie Pressed Eye Shadow
Autumn Rain Pressed Eye Shadow
Harvest Moon Pressed Eye Shadow

National Trust ‘opens’ the Danish, Portuguese and French London embassies to celebrate Heritage Open Days

Friday 9th– Saturday 10th September 2016

 

Yesterday Frost Magazine’s Margaret Graham and Dr Kathleen Thompson had a treat– a look behind the scenes of the Portuguese Embassy in London, as part of the National Trust’s Europe & Us programme. I must declare a particular interest: my uncle and aunt, and their numerous children lived in Lisbon for much of their lives, (something to do with the trams) and some are still there. They love it, even those over here.

The Portuguese Ambassador’s home is situated in Belgrave Square, an area that was bomb damaged in the war. No 12 was no exception, but walking around, as you can all do tomorrow and Saturday, you would never guess. Entering through imposing double doors we were faced with an airy hall into which led  graceful marble staircase and a ceiling imported from a church – just like that, as Tommy Cooper would have said. It was impressive, but not too large or ostentatious. What was particularly marked was the silence. Behind these doors the bustle of London was just a memory.

Margaret Graham in the Catherine Room
We were able to look around the Catherine of Braganza room. Catherine was married to Charles II; it is often said that their marriage would lead to Britain becoming the largest empire in history because, as part of Catherine’s dowry, Charles was given the seven islands in Bombay, which he would later rent to the East India Company.Even more importantly, dare I say, Catherine liked her cup of tea, and soon, so did the British. So when any of us next sit down to tea and buns, let’s give a heartfelt vote of thanks to Catherine .

There was to be no toddling up the wooden hill as they say in children’s books, but instead we swanned up the marble staircase, the walls of which were hung tapestries. How on earth were these physically worked? I mean, how did they get to the middle? Something to ask on your own tour.

 

In all the rooms interesting art hung, and my own love, ancient globes, were in evidence: I love to see how the world has changed.
The tour opened my eyes to the inner sanctums of diplomacy, just as the blurb said it would. The strictly limited openings, as part of Heritage Open days, will indeed allow you insights into how these important government buildings are used to allow envoys to entertain while promoting their countries’ interests to the ‘Court of St James’.  Visitors will get to explore these fascinating buildings on guided tours and view the furniture and decorative art that reflects each nation.

 

National Trust Creative Director Ivo Dawnay comments, In this year when our relationship with Europe has been front and centre of our thoughts, the National Trust is running a programme, dubbed ‘Europe & Us’, that seeks to gain insights into our long relationship with the continent.

Hurry. Make sure you visit one of these Embassies. It really is fascinating. To be honest, I could live in the Portuguese Embassy: it managed to be a home, as well as a showpiece. Sadly, this is unlikely but so glad I managed to get behind the double doors.
For security reasons applicants will be asked to apply with their full names, addresses and contact details and will be admitted only with photo ID.

Tickets are available by application at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/embassy-openings.

 

 

The Finale of The Odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie1

With sore heads we embark on the Rocky Mountaineer, heading for Vancouver. It proved to be a deliciously slow journey owing to an immense bush fire that had reached the track in places overnight. Though these areas were under control, the train causes such air disturbance that it must crawl along.

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie firefights2

Shino explained that loggers stored logs in the river, to save on storage costs. How intelligent. We saw this again in Howe Sound Fjord, along from Vancouver. We travelled alongside rivers, woods, and prairies until finally we arrived, after Shino had saved the day with an evening meal as we were still trundling along, 4 hours after we should have arrived. Small beer, when you think of the firemen still battling to save the forests and towns.

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie3

In the morning we were captivated by the modernity of Vancouver. For a while we thought the reflection of the building in this glass windowed skyscraper was actually imprinted on the glass.

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie4

We were taken by a friend, Barbara, to the Anthropological Museum containing First Nation culture. It was full of totem poles, and their crafts. Bill Reid a First Nation sculptor (died 1998), created this out of over 100 yellow maple planks bonded together.

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie4a

Horseshoe Bay for lunch, in glorious sunshine yet again (for once we had brought sun wherever we went).

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie5

Then Barbara drove us to a First Nations gondola.

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie6

The views were magnificent, as always and we tootled across the skywalk and explored the woods on the summit. Down in Howe sound were the stored logs.

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie7The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie7nationskywalk

The next day, before heading for the airport, we tore around Vancouver, seeing a small cruise ship waiting for its passengers to arrive. Some of our fellow passengers on the Rocky Mountaineer were embarking on a 2000 person cruise ship bound for Alaska. It sounded amazing, though somehow I think I’d rather see Alaska when covered in snow.

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie8

There were trolley buses, many shopping centres below ground, and just a few indications of the early buildings, with the ‘emblems’ of Canada, salmon and Canadian geese.

The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie9The finale of the odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speediesalmonandcanadiangoose

I have to say that I never knew there were so many different varieties of salmon, and we probably tried them all. They are so fresh that they taste quite different to ours.

Then, onto the airport.

Did we enjoy our Canadian adventure? You bet. It was the holiday of a lifetime. We’re looking up train journeys for next year, but this time ALL THE WAY. We are determined to set off from St. Pancras, heading for Florence, and this time, Dick will be on board too. Then the Ghan in Australia perhaps in the autumn, from Adelaide to Perth.  Better get on with the next novel then.

The Rocky Mountaineer has started something… A few more odysseys coming up.

www.rockymountaineer.com

www.greatrail.com

 

 

Two Old Ducks Hit The Canadian Rockies by Jan Speedie & Margaret Graham

pic 1. rockies in distance

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but was it? As all things do, it began with just one question: ‘Where shall we go to celebrate this sort of birthday?’

We met at primary school when we were nine, a million years ago, and both had one of those birthdays this year. We decided on the Rockies, by train. Would we go it alone, or with a company? We decided on Great Train Journeys. Dr Diffey was in charge of us, a former headmaster, which caused some palpitations as detentions were a feature of Margaret’s school days. He was far from the usual model, a real legend.

pic 2 calgary airport

We landed at Calgary at the beginning of June, imagining Calgary to be a small rodeo town, but it’s thriving and huge. We set off by coach across the prairies, heading for Banff, in the Rockies.

pic 3 prairie Calgary - RockiesWe saw the Rockies from a great distance, and why not, they’re huge. We were lucky and arrived in a heatwave. Normally there is a British amount of rain and the mountains can be hidden, but we had a full frontal view at all times.

Feeling a little travelled out we hit Banff, toddling into the Caribou Hotel with our luggage. Margaret was smug because she had stuffed her clothes into something little bigger than a weekend case. Jan was just a small step up.

pic 4 Cariboo hotel at Banff

Then a quick look round in the clean clear air of the mountains. Banff is a tourist town, but why not? A perfect centre, with restaurants, shops, and lots of activities on offer.  The next morning, Keith Diffey gathered us up, assuring us that it wasn’t like herding cats, but not sure we believed him. We clambered on board a converted school bus, and headed for Bow River where we were to – no, not white water raft, but just raft for an hour.

pic 5 rafting

Another glorious day it was, as we were ‘oared’ rather than rowed along this most shallow of rivers. It has very few fish, as there isn’t enough to sustain more than the odd trout. The same could be said for the land either side. We saw the occasional caribou, but no bears, which we had rather expected. We passed weather eroded rocks.

pic 6 rocks

And stopped to see the golden willow, which the First Nation Indians would use for headaches. Much as we use aspirin for ours, though willow is common to both medications.

pic 7 Golden willow heachace cure.

We reached a gently sloping bank, and there was the bus, waiting to return us to Banff. As Margaret reached terra firma, she began to feel dreadful. Travel sickness? Onto the bus we went, Margaret with her voluminous handbag as always – thank heavens. (much like Tinky Winky the teletubby)  As we travelled, she upchucked into the only receptacle, the handbag, of course, or rather the scarf lying on the top. A memorable  moment for in the vicinity .

Jan spent a delightful afternoon dawdling along the river bank at Banff – alone. Margaret did not see the light of day for a good 24 hours, wondering quite where the high temperature had come from. There is, you will be thrilled to hear, no illustration of these events, especially not a selfie.

She did not emerge for the trip to Lake Louise, but instead managed to get into Banff and gave a chemist the option of shooting or medicating her. He gave her antibiotics, and anti-this, and anti-that, which got her upright and so the odyssey continued. More later.

https://www.greatrail.com/

 

 

Kiev Remixes – New Album From Ummagma

Formed in Moscow in 2003, Canadian Shauna McLarnon and Ukrainian Alexx Kretov have been consistently writing and recording music whilst living between Ukraine and Canada. Shauna’s delicate airy gossamer-like vocals hold glimmers of Cocteau Twins, Stereolab, The Sundays, Curve, Lush, and Slowdive. Alexx’s guitar, vocals, synths, beats and programming create cinematic soundscapes with elements of Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Bill Nelson and Brian Eno, enabling the listener soar above the music.

music news

Ummagma debuted with 2 simultaneous LPs (‘Antigravity’ and ‘Ummagma’) in 2012. They’ve built on the success of those records by collaborating with Moscow’s Sounds of Sputnik on their ‘New Born’ LP, which will be released by UK label Ear to Ear Records on November 21st 2014.

In 2013, Ummagma won the Alternative Eurovision, hosted by Amazing Radio, from 21 countries and repeated the feat in 2014 on Pure FM. They received 2 awards at the 2013 Australian Independent Music Video Awards, often feature in The Scottish New Music Chart, and landed a full-spread feature in Rolling Stone Russia. Ummagma has also caught the attention of Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Malcolm Holmes (OMD), who have remixed tracks for forthcoming release.

Despite heavy turmoil in Ukraine, Ummagma are showing a solid footing, looking forward to a brighter future for Eastern Europe. In ‘Kiev’, this Canadian-Ukrainian team celebrates their freedoms, exploring the root of today’s problems to create beauty in the face of hostility.

‘Kiev’ is the capital of Ukraine and the epicenter of massive civil unrest this year, but with this release of the same name, Ummagma rise above the decay and mayhem encountered in that country to embrace diversity and beauty, while taking their music in new directions. ‘Kiev’ is a essentially message of hope.

This release is an impressive package featuring the original track ‘Kiev’ plus 9 remixes from 9 fantastic artists from nearly as many countries, celebrating the splendor of the original composition in their own unique styles.

Auxiliary tha Masterfader transforms the duo’s work into an Italoesque electro-disco-pop gem. A Copycat’s handclap-dream-pop version is tender as a peach skin with a retro summer groove factor. Statickman’s synths shoot like laser guns into the retro-synth future. A Copy For Collapse goes for a more experimental, industrial approach, while David Garcet’s trippy chillwave edit brings downtempo bliss. Mikael Fas dishes up a beautiful trance-imbued deep house version. Celebrated Japanese chillwave artist Haioka takes everything to the next level with sounds reminiscent of an angelic playground. Sounds of Sputnik presents a stripped-down 90s indie version laced with synth-guitar harmony. Brazilian electro-child Mind Movies delivers a fragmented, dubby and loud breakbeat adaptation that probably comes closest to the actual state of mankind if we could listen to its rhythm.

The outcome shows that what is the end for one person may be the start for another. Even more important, it shows that beauty can blossom even in the midst of ugliness.

Emerald & Doreen Recordings is a German boutique record label for futuristic indie, chill & dance music, curated by dedicated audiophile music makers and lovers who pride themselves on selecting the most exciting original material they can find, engaging the services of the most innovative remixers. Emerald & Doreen Recordings released Ummagma’s ‘Rotation/Live and Let Die’ single in December 2013, followed by the ‘Lama’ extended EP in late May 2014.

RIYL: Stereolab, Curve, Cocteau Twins, Broadcast, Everything But The Girl, Dubstar

Released 31 October 2014

 

 

The Provincial Archive Release Video For Daisy Garden

Striking a balance between detuned synthesizers and entangled melodies EP single and album cut “Daisy Garden” deals with the pains of aging from a personal point of view. “I wrote ‘Daisy Garden’ about my Grandmother’s struggle, outward and inward, with the decline in her mental state,” says Schram. Director Blake McWilliam illustrates touches on these challenges in the new video for “Daisy Garden”. Hide Like A Secret EP, which includes the track “Daisy Garden”, is available to purchase now on iTunes. A portion of the sales will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada via Boom Charity.

theprovincialarchive

TAKEN FROM LATEST EP, HIDE LIKE A SECRET, OUT NOW

May was quite a month for the Canadian band who’ve just put the wraps on a European tour through Germany and the UK – They enjoyed support from Clash, NME, Indie Shuffle, Q and Artrocker amongst many others and plan to return to UK shores in the autumn when they’ll announce details on their upcoming full-length album.

 

 

Do You Know Where Your Diamond Originated From?

arcticcircleYou can be rest assured when purchasing a piece of ethical diamond jewellery from Arctic Circle that it is produced in the most environmentally friendly mining area of the world.  A Canadian company adhering to world-leading environmental standards, protecting wildlife, water, air and earth while mining in Canada’s North, Arctic Circle’s policies are among the most rigorous in the industry, cherishing the landscape and the wildlife as much as the diamonds, which is as refreshing as the clarity of the fabulous jewellery collection.

The company can verify where each diamond is sourced and each stone is given a unique identity number which is laser-etched on the girdle with a maple leaf, this number stays with the diamond forever and the ‘birth certificate’ is available to view on their website.

The brand’s first UK stockist is TH Baker in Brighton and will also be rolled out to Dipples in Norwich, Allum & Sidaway, Wakefields of Horsham, Green + Benz, Judith Hart of Derby, Wright & Sons in St.Albans and Matthew Stephens in Limerick during October and November, aiming to be in 12 to 15 stores by the end of this year.  Prices start at around £1,500.

http://arcticcirclediamonds.com

 

NYC Fashion Week Round Up: Kaelen AW14

Kaelen AW14 Inspiration:

The inspiration began with the softness of nature. Natural elements that mix with innovative and technical is a theme that has been explored throughout past collections and it carries into the AW14 collection. The collection draws on ideas of romance and minimalism while continuing the tradition of androgynous tailoring. Shapes are softer but exaggerated. Graphic, sharp fabrics are mixed with soft, abstract prints. The collection features a new developed print that is meant to feel both digital and natural at the same time. Taking inspiration from mohair textiles and organic mossy textures to create something pixelated and abstract. The print is seen throughout the collection on sheer tulle in black and white as well as stretch cotton against a colour palette of deep purple, silver lavender, pink and orangey red.

kaelen

Kaelen Haworth is a Canadian living in and running her eponymous label in New York City. While attending Parsons, The New School for Design, Kaelen interned for Jenni Kayne, Stella McCartney and lingerie brand, The Lake & Stars.

One year after graduating,Kaelen launched with a collection shown during New York Fashion week in 2010.

Designing from a minimalist perspective with a focus on subtle details, Kaelen seeks to combine the traditional and the innovative, exploring the dichotomies of masculine and feminine, classic and modern. Kaelen strives to create pieces that are at once intelligent and treasured.

In 2014, Kaelen was selected as 1 of 10 designers in the CFDA’ s {FASHION INCUBATOR} Class 3.0.