Some thoughts.

Dear everyone, I am happy to inform you that my exam season has nearly come to and. Yesterday I had the most difficult exam of my life (so far) and today I was shocked to hear I somehow, who on Earth knows exactly how, managed to get an A. I felt like Martin Scorsese when winning the Oscar, the only thing I wanted to tell the teacher was "would you double-check the 'envelope'?". Anyway, it's over.

And now I would like to share with you some works by a brilliant Hungarian photographer who happens to live and work in Dubai and take pictures for companies like Cartier and magazines like Glamour, not to mention his campaign for Gucci's ENVY (the latter was only available in Hungary and the Czech Republic): Peter Richweisz.

His works are very beautiful, artistic (of course), sometimes futuristic but basically always colourful and extremely interesting. I do not think I should say more. Here are some examples, for the rest, check his homepage.

Stella and her gorgeous dress. Sigh.

I am in love with dresses but I just can not find any that would be perfect for me. The problem might be that I am afraid of purchasing online (becuase of the sizing) and in my town there are not enough options to choose from.
But every now and then, I visit Net-a-porter.com and find dozens of dresses I adore. Today, it's Stella McCartney who broke my heart, especially since my two favourite dresses designed by her are on sale. But still, I am too afraid to purchase online...

Tie dye is really in and I think this is a trend anyone can wear, not only on dresses but also on accessories. Of yourse, there are tie dye dresses here in my town as well, but they don't follow shape this way and for someone with a bigger chest fluid-hang means "maternity wear". For example, here is a Promod dress that looks fabulous in the picture but not-so-fabulous in the store:

I guess that problem hardly ever takes place with Stella's pieces...

But if I was not afraid of buying a dress without trying it on, my first buy would definitely be this satin halter dress. It is pure perfection. So much so, that not even high street stores in my hometown tried to copy it... So sad.

Hercules.

It's time to express my love for sculptures - again. This time it's Hercules, standing in France's Vaux-le-Vicomte (by André Le Nôtre, with Le Brun and Le Vau).

I could compare 'him' to Michelangelo's David or maybe even to Belvedere Apollo, who knows.*

I find it interesting that Hercules looks different when 'he' is examined from different angles from the back. Above 'he' looks a bit 'tired', may I say, 'elder'...*

but here he looks like a Greek god (after all, he was almost one), very captivating.

And here he is, from afar.*


Image source: Various flickr profiles

Variations. Again.

I don't know why I like it when different artist get inspired by the same theme but I do. Many times, of course, named themes are Biblical since - let's face it - it is the most widely known text on Earth. And the stories are really interesting and thought-wakening as well, whether you're religious or not. This time, it's Jacob's fight with the angel (you can read it in the first book by Moses, chapter 32). If you are interested in this story's mystery, read Geoffrey Hartman's essay (Struggle for the Text, in: Midrash and Literature), it's great and absolutely entertaining (unlike some scientifical or semi-scientifical texts...)!

When it comes to Jacob and the angel, there are basically three ways to represent it. The forst one is depicting the scene as a fight, as seen above (sculpture by Ruth Beloe).
It is also possible to imagine it as a dance:

Delacroix's version (Jacob Wrestling the Angel) is probably the most famous example but Frans Frank's piece is also beautiful:

And this is Gustave Dore's painting, from 1855:

The third way to portray this controversial act is to express some kind of tenderness in the persons (obviously, it can be seen as a dance form as well...). My favourite Jacob and the angel painting (by Rembrandt) shows it perfectly...

... but Jacoib Epstein's scuplture is also beautiful:


PS. I am sorry for not posting more frequently but exams are killing me... Hopefully they'll be over soon.

Vicky. Cristina. Barcelona.

I know, I know: I have some passions I can't stop talking about. One of them is Woody Allen. I like and admire many directors but he is my favourite bacuase basically I've loved everything he has ever made (except for Celebrity) and his personality is just stunning (and now I'm not thinking about his movie characters but his own, real-life personality), and I do not know what part he has in chosing what songs to feature in his movies but I love them a lot too (just remember the scenes in The Curse of the Jade Scorpion when he is sleepwalking or Scoop or using opera in Match Point, and now I could go on and on).

Since Barcelona is one of my two most adored cities in the world, I was extremely happy to hear he was making a film there. And now that it comes to a theatre near me pretty soon (its first screening was in Cannes just a few hours ago), I got more excited.
I don't believe in telling the story of a film before watching it or recomennding someone to do so. Instead, here is a bit of what he had to say to the press in France:
(on whether he has plans to make a movie in Russia now that he makes movies in Europe as well):
"I was planning on being there [in St. Petersburg] for five days, and I was there for about two hours, and I went to the travel agent in town and I said, 'Get me the first reservation out of here. I don't care where it goes'."
What could I say? Typically brilliant. I can absolutely see him saying that.

From me - to me.

I have never tried Lancôme products (except for the tiny samples from magazines) but always wanted to. The only problem is that when I find something I really like, I stick to it and I become reluctant to try others. But now when the only beauty products I use are a moisturizer and a facial wash, I decided I should look for some supplies.
So when this morning I checked the latest Douglas magazine, I found and irresistible offer. They sell three different Lancôme kits in a nice packing and I picked the Aqua Fusion kit because: a. it is good for all skin types so it has a great chance it will work for me; b. the blue bag looked way better than the pink and orange ones...

The kit contains 15ml of Aqua fusion (a cream-gel),

30ml of Baume Éclat (massage cleanser)

and 50ml of Tonique Éclat (toner).

All this for €12 which is, in my opinion, an unbeatable price, even if the products are "small" (actually, the kit is called "your weekend kit" and they're right - it's perfect for travelling, for holiday, etc.
Also, these kits are nice gifts to anyone, let it be a birthday or to simply cheer yourself up when you're too stressed. ..

Separated at birth.

Since I am extra busy preparing for my exams, today's post is going to be about some things I have to learn, some things I find quite similar.
First, there is this rock painting from Tassili n'Ajjer (a mountain range in the Sahara), created thousands of years ago:

Then, some wandjina figures by Australian aboriginals. They are the guardians of water and remember the ancient flood. They are mouthless - if they had a mouth, water would spread out of it. Also, they are creators of Earth and Sky and clouds are usually painted over their heads. Maybe this is the reason why some "experts" say they are aliens...


And a painting many of you know: Munch's The Scream:

I know this figure has a mouth, but still... don't they look like they were separated at birth (by, let's say, a few thousands and hundreds of years)?

Excuses.

I am sorry for not blogging for such a long time, I am preparing for exams 24/7 so please forgive that I can't post that often. But until that golden time of nothing-I-have-to-do, here is Zac Posen at the MET Gala, he is so wonderful and basically he was almost the only one I saw who actually dressed like a superhero (or something very much like that). Kate Mara is a lucky lady...

Meant to be.

MANGO had a bag last season that I wanted very much but was unable to buy it because it was already sold out when I decided to buy it (yes, I know, I hesitate too much, even with small things). But it seems named bag was quite popular since the latest Mango collection has one absolutely similar to that, in 3 coloour combinations. The best thing is that I like these bags more than previous season's bigger version and the one available in my town's Mango is more elegant than the others but it looks really fresh at the same time. This time I don't think I'll let anyone take over me!

Of course, the straps can be removed, I have always loved this kind of versatility in evening bags.
The other combinations:


The latter looks very pretty, too (the orange is somehow too much for me, even its very "in" nowadays) but I don't wear pink at all so it is not really my style.