Eye of Horus...

As a fan of Only Connect I am familiar with a couple of anicent Egyptian hieroglyphs, so was excited to spot an "Eye of Horus" make-up effect during Saturday night's Strictly.  Oh yes, I'm raving on about the charleston- again - but it was my favourite dance in terms of music, costume and... well ..dance.  Denise's make-up was a variation on the striking look epitomised by Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra. 

Note: this is not a subtle day look I would suggest for the office; in fact only to be evoked with emergency protocol 101 (i.e. you wish to divert attention from a serious work misdemeanour, such as having deleted the sysinfo file on your PC). Saying that, I know if I tried to recreate this, I would achieve the "Eye of Horrors", the look of either Coco the Clown or Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. Ok that would divert attention but not in the same "oh my goodness you are an Egyptian goddess" type way!

The Eye of Horus is a symbol of protection, royal power and good health:

The eye is personified in the goddess Wadjet, a name derived from "wadj" meaning "green". This reminded me of a post I had seen on the Dr.Hauschk Facebook page concerning the Green Kajal Eyeliner 06 - Eucalyptus Dew

"Dr.Hauschka's Limited Edition collection captures a serene mood, offering natural radiance and composure for a beautifully accentuated subtle daytime make-up, or a more intensely sophisticated evening look"

Kajal is another name for Kohl, which literally means "to brigthen the eyes" (I am now about to burst into a renditon of the Art Garfunkel song from Watership Down, but that film makes me cry, which is bad news for any form of eye make-up.. I shall refrain).  Kohl was traditionally a paste of lead sulphide and antimony sulphide, used since circa 3100 BC by Egyptian queens and noble women.  They believed it would guard from disease and ward off evils spirits whilst protecting their eyes from the sun; hence it was used in conjunction with the eye of horus symbol (used in conjunctivitis if you ask me, you wouldn't catch me putting those chemicals anywhere near my eyes). Thankfully, the version produced by Dr.Hauschka doesn't contain any lead sulphide, or in fact any scary ingredients at all - http://www.drhauschka.co.uk/ingredients/product/kajal-eyeliner-06

• Enhance your eyes by using Kajal Eyeliner along the upper and lower lid lines. Use the applicator to smudge the eyeliner lightly for softer contours and a more natural appearance.
• Always keep the Kajal Eyeliner sharp enough to draw a fine line. This creates a natural look to open and accentuate the eye.

Encouraged by Rita's lovely description of a "beautiful golden look" I shall give it a whirl, hopefully not a Jack Sparrow in sight!



Wash Like An Egyptian..

My favourite dance from Saturday night's Strictly Come Dancing was definitely Denise Van Outen's Charleston, which she performed to the 1980s Bangles hit "Walk Like An Egyptian".

The inspiration for this song is apparently the sight of people walking awkwardly to keep their balance whilst on a ferry. This made the song writer recall figures in Ancient Epyptian reliefs:

 "All the old paintings on the tombs/They do the sand dance don't you know"






It is believed that the reference to a sand dance relates to a music hall routine performed by the comic trio Wilson, Keppel and Betty, who danced around in the postures portrayed on reliefs whilst wearing a fez.

Dr.Hauschka have their own trio to give away this week. Not Wilson, Keppel and Betty but rather Lemon, Blackthorn and Rose, in their beautiful Body Wash Gift Set


 "With their subtle, natural scents, this collection of Dr.Hauschka Body Washes care for skin as they gently cleanse. The nurturing formulas contain Apricot kernel and jojoba oils to soften and smooth, while each key ingredient works to refresh, tone or deeply nourish skin"

The Ancient Egyptians knew a thing or two about washing, using precious, beautifully scented essential oils in their beauty routines.  The folks at Dr.Hauschka know a thing or two about the art of cleansing, although these body washes won't get you all in a lather:

"When it comes to getting clean, it's not about the bubbles. Bigger bubbles and foamy suds may be fun, but they don't necessarily wash away dirt. In fact, bubbles may indicate that your cleanser is loaded with harsh, irritating foaming agents"

To win a set simply go to the Dr.Hauschka UK Facebook page and post a comment to state which body wash best describes how you would like to feel this week:

(WILSON)  - LEMON – energised, light and playful
(KEPPEL) - BLACKTHORN – invigorated, assertive and able
(BETTY)  - ROSE – nurtured, balanced and calm

Your opportunity to get washing like an Egyptian (no fez required, but a song and dance in the shower always make me smile) closes at 10 am on Wednesday, 21 November 2012

On Apricots

Rather ironically, yesterday I misunderstood the meaning of the word “Mondegreen”, believing it to be a description of the countryside in spring (a multicultural amalgamation of the French for "world" and the English "green").  I now stand corrected; or at least I am trusting that Wikipedia is not lying on this matter…it did once lead me astray with regards to TV gardener Alan Titchmarch when some pranksters edited his entry to state he had published a new version of the Kama Sutra!

“A mondegreen is the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase as a result of near-homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning. It most commonly is applied to a line in a poem or a lyric in a song.”

This made me recall the Carly Simon song “You’re So Vain”, subject of many misheard lyrics, such as

“Some underwear spy or a knife and a clothespin”
(Original: "Some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend") 

This song is another source of confusion for me, centering around the correct pronunciation of the word “apricot” (APP-ricot at opposed to APE-ricot), perhaps it all depends on whether it is partnered with a sailing item and a strategically placed hat…

You walked into the party
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I was writing a Strictly Meets Hauschka blog, so where am I heading with this?  Autumnabricot  - yes, a new word to describe the golden hues of the autumnal landscape (the English “autumn” and the French "apricot". I’m not sure if this will get an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary, but I pretty confident that I could edit it onto to Wikepedia!).  This is inspired by a stunning gown worn by Victoria Pendleton on Strictly last week:

It brought to mind a picture I had taken in the autumnal leaves at Kew Gardens:

Also a picture I took this morning. I have a strange fascination with tree bark, it is just so incredibly beautiful:

As I have previously stated it is reminiscent of my skin before I discovered Dr.Hauschka products. If this resonates with you, Quince Day Cream may be a good choice. It is made with a base of Apricot Kernel oil; smoothing and moisturising the skin to impart a soft, dewy glow.  I find this works better for my skin than Rose Day Cream, which alas is too rich (but excellent for tattoo care!).  RoseDay Cream Light however, is another of my skin saviours; that too has a base of Apricot Kernel Oil as does Melissa Day Cream…I feel another misheard lyric coming on…

Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your base oil was apricot..