Vladimir Pozner is one of Russia’s best interviewers- well-read, well-spoken, well-travelled professional who possesses calm, wisdom and charisma, which in turn allows him to be a challenging and interesting host, showing a different side to the people he interviews.
In his weekly show ‘Pozner’ ( a talk shown on Russia’s primary TV channel, ORT ) he interviews famous people from different professional fields and lately he has been putting Russian presidential candidates in the spotlight. This week it was the turn of the ‘youngest’ contender, Mikhail Prokhorov, who is a well-known Russian businessman ( he is equally known for his private endeavours ), to answer the questions. And it turned out to be a very frank and enlightening 50 minutes that kept me in deep thought for the following 24 hours.
Prokhorov comes across as a very driven and ambitious businessman, who knows what he is doing and where he is going, but some of the things that he said left me speechless and I don’t consider myself to be naive. To hear that a very well-off man has all kinds of bureaucratic difficulties while gathering the required signatures in order to be registered as an official Presidential candidate is bad enough. To learn that many people ( and I am sure he has lots of powerful colleagues and friends ) are simply afraid to ‘officially’ offer him support is even worse.
Presidential elections in Russia are around the corner, they take place on the 4th of March, but one senses that things are already predetermined and Russia’s PM will win in the first round. What I don’t understand is why the most used political message that is being repeated again and again by regular people is that if the Prime Minister doesn’t win, Russia will rapidly deteriorate? Many democratic countries around the world regularly have elections, be it Presidential or Parliamentary and when the power changes-let’s say from Bush to Obama- the world doesn’t end. The new team sweeps in, there is a time for adjustment and then changes start taking place-some good, some bad, but the world continues turning.
If I am honest, I am of two minds about Prokhorov. Yes, he is an experienced businessman but then let’s take his publishing venture Snob/Сноб, as an example ( realistically I would imagine he can’t be ‘hands on’ with every business that he has a stake in, of which there are many but still…..) This monthly magazine that is also an Internet platform for blogging and opinion exchange has been loved by me since 2008, reminding me of a magazine I used to read when I was at University in Moscow, called Domovoi/Домовой( it was one of Russia’s first intellectual glossies and I miss it to this day ). Snob/Сноб has profiles of interesting people, frank discussions on various subjects, previews new literaryreleases and organises interesting events for its subscribers. Then, towards the end of last year, a big bulk of the permanent journalistic team behind Snob left and the editor who came in is not the type of person who inspires me personally, yet seems to socialise with the right people ( including Russia’s top It-Girl Ksenia Sobchak, who is the goddaughter of our PM and without whom no ‘worthy’ presentation, restaurant opening or fashion show takes place ). We are at the end of February and I am still awaiting my digital version of the magazine for my iPad-they are having technical issues I was told yesterday by the Zinio team. Snob’s content in the last few months has also left me uninspired and I used to look forward to every issue….). My question is, if you publication is behind schedule, a big ‘no-no’ in the publishing community, can you run a country as big as Russia without a glitch ?
In the meantime, Mikhail Prokhorov also has a very strong ally in his elder sister, Irena Prokhorova ( in general it’s not common for wives or sisters to appear during the campaigning process in Russia and I think it’s a great shame, as people who are close to us shed light on who we really are ). While PM Putin refuses to take part in political presidential debates, he has nominated certain people to act as his proxies and a couple of weeks ago I saw the debate between PM’s representative, Russia’s celebrated actor and movie director Nikita Mikhalkov, while Mikhail Prokhorov was represented by his sister-that debate was a masterpiece of wonderful public speaking and should become a lesson of sorts to politicians-a gracious, smart woman who stood her ground, listened to her opponent and won hands down in that debate, winning respect of her opponent in the process-believe me, that’s an exception to the rule, as one generally struggles to out-speak our famed movie director on any subject. Nikita Mikhalkov even went as far as to say that if Irena Prokhorova was taking part in the Presidential race, he would vote for her. You almost wonder why we don’t have many women in Russian politics, but then you realise that decent people try to stay out of politics, if they want to survive and remain true to their inner beliefs.
I think Russia has its own, unique path, but I also think we need change, desperately. Not a revolution, not a mutiny-we have had those, they don’t work to our advantage, but we need to become honest about things that are not working, thus preventing the country and the nation from flourishing and to rectify that, we need new blood. Will Mikhail Prokhorov bring change with his promise to support hard-working individuals, investments in medicine, education and infrastructure ? Will he inspire change by his promise to donate the vast majority of his wealth to charity, if he becomes Russia’s President ? Who knows if he really means what he says, but it certainly makes interesting viewing to see him trying to bring changes to the existing status quo…….
I also think that the field for the Presidential race needs to be even for all of the participants, so everyone starts the race from square one. Candidates have to have the same level of press exposure and air time and each politician needs to work bloody hard in order to win this battle, including personally taking part in political debates and campaigning, as opposed to making the decision about who runs our country instead of us-can you imagine that happening in the US, France or Great Britain for example ? I certainly admire Prokhorov for having the guts to try to tip the balance and to try to change the statically frozen things. Will I vote for him? Remains to be seen….
For me, Bobbi Brown is the goddess of make-up, be it her products or make-up books and tutorials-her advice is always realistic, quick and delivers great results, that’s why I thought I would share with you a ten step ( very quick ones ) make-up application video from Bobbi herself:
The only thing that I do, in addition to what she suggests in her video, is spray my face with Caudalie’s beauty elixir after I complete my make-up application-it makes my face feel well moisturised, it smells beautiful, lifting my spirits and makes my make-up stay without straying .) through the day.
My car had to go into service today, so I thought I might as well take advantage of being at home and indulge my family ( and myself ) with pancakes, particularly as it’s the official Pancake day today. I decided to make one of my favourite pancake recipes, taken from the book called ‘Eating at home, one, two and it’s ready!’ by a very popular Russian cook ( and actress ) Julia Vysotskaya, who is like a Russian female version of Jamie Oliver. Below I am going to give you a translated recipy for Julia’s ‘Apple Pancakes’ but first, a few tips on cooking and tools:
1. I use a special Tefal pancake pan, which is thinner than a regular pan, allowing for an even heat distribution, making it ideal for perfectly executed ( and cooked through ) pancakes.
2. Joseph Joseph has a very clever utensil called Jumbo Turner that I recently got to try in action. It has two different textures on the turner itself, with the middle/main part of the turner being textured like your regular spatula and the front and side edge made out of smoother, almost shinier texture. It also has a serrated side, which is perfect when you have to ‘grab’ the pancake to turn it ( it also works perfectly if you are cooking meat-I sometimes cook veal or turkey escalopes that have been dipped into flour and into egg mixture, so they might ‘fuse’ together while cooking and Jumbo turner works perfectly for ’separating’ meat slices and will not damage your pan-how many of us try to grab the knife to do it, only to berate ourselves for scratching the pan? This utensil is also heat resistant to 240C ( handy if you are cooking something in the oven, like roasted vegetables that need to be turned ) and it’s also dishwasher safe. I have to say that when the JJ turner arrived, it looked bigger than I expected but my ’size’ worries were laid to rest while cooking Apple pancakes below-this tool is particularly handy if your are cooking large pancakes that need to be ‘bent’ into shape during or after cooking.
http://www.josephjoseph.com/kitchen-tools/jumbo-turner
3. Make sure you use good quality olive oil and don’t burn your pan. I peel a potato, cut it in half, put it on the fork and make sure that the potato stays in a small bowl with enough olive oil-you then re-apply the oil to the pan after each pancake is made with the help of that clever contraption-it has been used by my grandmothers and doesn’t let me down ever, plus allows me to use just enough oil-pancakes are not diet food, so don’t want to add unnecessary calories.
Julia Vysotskaya’s Apple pancakes:
You will need:
100g of flour
1 apple ( preferably a sweet variety )
1 table spoon of sugar
2 eggs
half a glass of water
1/3 of a glass of milk
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil for frying
smetana ( soured cream ) or whipped cream-whichever you prefer
pinch of salt
-Peel, core and cut the apple as thinly as possible. Drizzle lemon juice all over apple slices, sprinkle with sugar and leave them on the plate for half an hour;
-Mix flour with salt, add the eggs, water and milk and mix to form the pancake mixture. Cover with the towel and let it rest for half an hour;
-Heat up the oil in the frying pan. Pour in some of pancake mixture, to form one thin pancake. Put three or four slices of apple on top and pour over some more of pancake mixture to cover the apples. Fry the pancake on both sides, until they are golden brown.
When you have made the whole batch, serve them with soured or whipped cream and enjoy the moment’s bliss-kids love this recipe with warm chocolate milk, while adults prefer it with a strong cup of coffee.
One of the best concealers that I have ever tried comes from Ellis Faas-it’s just so perfect, it
never fails me, even when I have an odd sleepless night.
According to Ellis Faas make-up team ‘an important part of doing make-up is to bring out the facial features you are most proud of, and mask those that you don’t want people to see’ and Ellis Faas concealer allows you to achieve just that. The formulation itself ‘offers high coverage to reduce the appearance of blemishes, pigmentation spots and dark circles and its unique blend of ingredients such as Karité oil and rice wax’ allows the concealer to almost instantly blend into your skin, producing a flawless finish. ‘Vitamins E and C in the formula hydrate and have anti-aging and regenerating properties’ thus it can be used on all skin types. It never creases and makes your face look polished and does it so cleverly, one would struggle to suggest that you are actually wearing make-up.
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There are eight shades for you to choose from and with a temporary 10% discount on your whole order (type in SNOWS200 when placing the order online at www.ellisfaas.com ) this might be the perfect incentive to try this concealer to see for yourself.
p.s picture courtesy of Ellis Faas make-up editorial team
For those of us not blessed with huge eyes, there are always tricks to make our eyes bigger and brighter, with a white eye pencil at the bottom of the eye ( to enhance the white’s of our eyes and appear less tired, I like RMK’s waterproof pencil eyeliner in 04/white, which gives a really brightening effect and the rubbery tip at the other end allows you to blend it it ) and different colours of the eyeliner on our top eyelid, depending on the natural colour of your eyes.
Over the years I started using more eyeliner, probably looking at my mother, who has beautiful eyes and always accentuated them artfully yet like a pro-hand on my heart, I hardly have seen my mum’s eye make-up looking anything but perfect! Her selection of choice is eyeliners either from Giorgio Armani or Chanel-the art masters.
I have fiddled with my fair share of eyeliners and below are the ones that have been tried and
tested and in the end they produce impeccable results every time for me:
1) Becca’s automatic eye pencil ( mine in a shade called Goa, a milk-chocolate brown shade that I wear during the day ): it’s perfectly precise, doesn’t smudge and wears well, as the day or evening goes by. Becca also does another clever product, which is a ‘Line+Illuminate pencil’-it’s an eyeshadow on one side and eyeliner on the other end. If you don’t prep your eyelid ( generally I hardly bother to do it ) , the eyeshadow might crease slightly, but you just smudge it a little a few hours after the original application and it will continue to go a distance.
2) an organic choice, from an American brand called Vapour Organic Beauty: their eyeliner comes only in one shade for now, black ( it looks black-grey ) and has a blending tool at one end, if you want a more soft, slightly blended line. It has a good consistency and stays put for a good few hours.
3) Eyeliner by Ellis Faas: it comes in two shades-black and brown and when you use it the first time, it will seem like you are using a liquid eyeliner, which it sort of is. After you apply it-its brush is nicely thin, giving you ease of creating a perfectly accurate line, the eyeliner ‘dries up’ taking a sort of powdery look, while retaining its vivid colour-to say that I am addicted to this eyeliner would be an understatement. But a word of warning-read the instructions carefully and make sure that the thin, very precise brush is kept clean and not full of dried up colour before you re-apply-if you don’t use it correctly it might implode in your hand and while it looks very colourful, cleaning up might take a while.
When you apply your eyeliner, make sure that the line is even and precise and make sure that you blend it into your lash line, so that your eye looks perfectly enhanced. As the wise man said, our eyes are the windows to our soul, might as well make them beautifully theatrical !
When it comes to my actual kitchen, I am quite conservative-wooden furniture, marble counter tops and tiled floor, but when it comes to choosing utensils and accessories, I like the bright colours and the functionality of the items that help to speed things up during the cooking process.
Joseph Joseph is a brand that was started by two creative twin brothers, Anthony, who studied
design at Central St. Martins and Richard, who did his business studies at Cambridge University. Twins combined their acumen and creativity and in 2003 their business venture, Joseph Joseph was born. My first introduction to their designs came in 2005 when I ordered Index, their clever chopping board set ( one for vegetables/fruit, one for fish, one for meat and one for already cooked food) that was not only colourful and durable but functional too-I still have the original product and use it daily by the way.
This was followed by Nest 8, which comprises mixing bowls, a sieve, measuring spoons, strainer and juicer.
Recently I also bought Elevate, a set of six kitchen utensils ( a flexible turner, a slotted spoon, a slotted turner, a ladle, a spaghetti server and a solid spoon ). Not only are they sturdy and colourful, but their heads are raised off the surface, so there are no spills or mess when you are cooking, hence less cleaning to do after the meal is eaten. Each utensil is heat resistant to 240C and also works well on non-stick cookware and can be easily washed by your dishwasher.
Another clever design from Joseph Joseph, that is the latest addition to their range is called 
Segment ( it comes in black & white ) and it allows to put your kitchen tools into organised slots, so there is order and ease of access, as opposed to shambolic and mix ups-you try to get one utensil out and three come tumbling down. And I already have my eye on their drying rack, called Arena.
What started as a small business seems to be growing and expanding with the products now being sold not only at John Lewis/Peter Jones, Amazon, Lakeland but also abroad- I have spotted some of their designs in Spain last summer , in cool kitchen shops and at Barcelona’s department store El Corte Ingles. You can, of course, buy directly from the Joseph Joseph internet site, which offers free delivery on all UK orders.
http://www.josephjoseph.com/newproducts
Lately eyebrows have been in the spotlight, partially thanks to the Duchess of Cambridge, as when she does something ( be it her choice of outfit or the make-up that she is supposedly using ), many women rush to get their hands on those items.
I always had quite prominent eyebrows, mercifully not as bushy as USSR’s former Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev’s ( his put Brooke Shileds’s into shade ). Until my mid 20s I haven’t paid much attention to my eyebrows, apart from very light tweezing here and there and then Vaishaly has sorted them out, during one of my facials with her, explaining to me how the arch should look, where the brow line should start and end and telling me not to overpluck.
Eyebrow pencils have been having a renaissance for the last few years and they can be a god’s scent if you have thin or over-plucked eyebrows or if you want to define yours and make them visually stronger.
My American girlfriends have been raving about Anastasia Soare’s eyebrow products, called Anastasia Beverley Hills and while this US brand has been established about 20 years ago, surprisingly you couldn’t purchase her products in the UK, until very determined Cult Beauty girls got on the case and hey presto, landed the products on their site.
In the USA there are about 34 products in Anastasia’s eyebrows range but Cult Beauty girls did a tight edit and stock 10 best-sellers ( various clever brushes, gels, pencils, brow powders, brow tint, brow fix and a brow kit ).
My absolute favourite in that range is the Brow Wiz, which is the skinny brow pencil that allows me to define my eyebrows but the brush at the end of this double-ided pencil lets me create a subtle effect, without my eyebrows being the sole focal point of my face. You don’t need to sharpen it, but a word of warning, use gentle strokes if you don’t want to break the crayon-as they say, easy does it!
http://www.cultbeauty.co.uk/anastasia_beverly_hills/
Tory Burch is one of my favourite American designers-I like her aesthetics, her fashion sense, the way she puts her collection looks together and the way she uses colour. Check the link to the fashion show below and browse her site, I particularly love her blog! She comes across as a genuinely talented and inquisitive woman ( and also a a mother of three boys ) who surprises me with every collection she presents.
SCOOP is London’s boutique trade show that takes place on 12-14 of February at Saatchi
Gallery in Chelsea. It was started by Karen Radley three years ago and this year it showcases the unique talents of designers as well as some beauty and perfume brands hailing from as wide a field as US, Japan, Canada as well as many European labels. Some of them are already well-known ( Bella Freud, Marithe+Francois Girbaud, Day Birger et Mikkelsen and Orla Kiely ) and some are fresh-faced and exciting newcomers like Adriana Voloshchuk ( a very young Russian designer with an exquisite eye for detail ), Bombshell by Katya Wildman ( pretty dresses for confident yet laid-back women ) Hunkydory ( fresh and modern knitwear ), boots from Mexicana, Stills ( contemporary brand aimed at women over 35 ). Add to the mix bags from Coccinelle and Tissa Fontaneda, natural perfumes in Kosta Boda glass by Agonist or perfumes originating in Forte dei Marmi, perfect nail colour selection from Strangebeautiful, funky belts with an edge from Elliot Rhodes and you would be spoilt for choice with over 180 labels exibiting amongst some art works that are curated by the Saatchi gallery.
I am a big fan of acupuncture and have been lucky in the past to have body treatments with
John Tsagaris and Emma Cannon, both of whom I found quite inspirational but when I was offered to have a facial acupuncture treatment with lovely Laura Jones BSc MBAcC who specialises in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Facial Acupuncture and Reiki ( and with whom I recently had a wonderful Pai facial ), I was intrigued and jumped at the chance !
This time, when I entered the salon, a tiny bit out of breath as I was running late, Laura gave me a detailed health questionnaire to fill in, covering my general health and any issues/health conditions. I have had acupuncture before, but as the needle work is involved and the effect can be quite powerful, both of us preferred being confidently informed. After I filled in the questionnaire, Laura took me downstairs, to the already familiar treatment room. We sat down and Laura went through my answers, also asking me about any health concerns that I possibly had wanted to address. I told her that I had body acupuncture before, but never a full acupuncture facial and was surprised to see how tiny and almost cute the facial needles looked. Laura explained the whole process to me, examined my tongue and took my pulse on both of my hands, according to Chinese principles, which are quite different to the one your GP might take. After that Laura slipped out, allowing me to get undressed and make myself comfortable on the treatment bed.
When I was ready, she returned and almost instantly, with a few movements on some points on my head she put me into relaxed, almost slumber like state. She then inserted a few needles in my lower legs and as the treatment progressed my legs felt heavier somewhat, in a very comforting way.
Laura uses an organic brand of products, called Amala during this facial and on this occasion she chose to use
Amala rejuvenate products, which include Rejuvenating cleansing milk ( with cocoa bean, brazil nut & andiroba seed oil ) and Rejuvenating face cream ( which contains acai and cupuacu butter both of which provide your skin with anti-oxidant and moisturising benefits ) -the range not only feels very nourishing, but smells chocolatey-add to that Laura’s firm, but gentle strokes and I dare you not to be lulled to sleep, like a baby.
After calming my mind and cleansing my face, Laura proceeded to the next stage, which was pleasantly surprising. Normally, no matter how skilled the facialist is, extraction is uncomfortable at best-well, one has to suffer a little to be beautiful, yet Laura did something that blew me away-she used Manuka honey as a mask and then she applied a thicker layer of Manuka honey all over my face, apart from my eyes and mouth and then she started doing what seemed to be a rolling action-imagine that you have put a sticky tape on the palm of your hand and are trying to get the bubbles of your cashmere sweater? OK, that’s the closest association I could think of-it felt so great and it wasn’t uncomfortable-rather the opposite of it. Laura told me about the benefits of honey ( nourishing, drawing the impurities to the surface, anti-bacterial to name a few ), particularly Manuka, both for your face and for your body-for example in New Zealand there is a University that is dedicated to honey studies and all the goodness it can do to your face, body and mind.
After that Laura told me to breath and started inserting needles into my face-I imagined myself looking like a hedgehog and tried not to giggle. Even though Laura used a few needles all over my face, I hardly felt any pricks and on one or two occasions when I did, they were hardly noticeable. With needles in place, Laura proceeded to do some Reiki work on my body which I can only describe as blissful-first I felt like I was lying in the boat, that was gently rocking and then things settled, my mind stopped whirring with thoughts. As I settled into a perfectly blissful and content state, Laura quietly exited for a few minutes but for the first time ( generally I get bored or irritated if a therapist leaves and goes to do their own thing ) I felt like the time slowed down and I enjoyed just being in the moment. I had thoughts floating to the front of my mind, some of which I have been pondering for weeks, without finding an answer to-somehow they came into focus and everything became clearer.
By the time Laura reentered the room my mind has become completely and peacefully blank. Laura took each needle out, stroking the place where it was gently afterwards. She then sprayed an aromatherapy mist on my face and gently brought me back into the present moment.
Laura also uses lymphatic massage and never before my face felt so soft and so much plumper after the treatment-and not just after I left the treatment room, but for a good few days afterwards. As the facial was finished Laura told me to try to take it easy for the rest of the day, if I could, because she worked on some points on my head, neck and chest that would help with flushing of the toxins, warned me to drink lots of water for the rest of the day and to stay away from raw food and try to add warming foods instead. She also warned me that I might feel quite tired later in the day and with that she slipped out to allow me to fully come back into reality and get dressed. I briefly glanced in the mirror and was amazed to see that there was no redness or any sign of the needles having been used on my face-the skin just looked even and plump. I got dressed, drank the glass of water that Laura thoughtfully left for me and started gathering pace, as I was due to meet friends in China Town for lunch, celebrating the start of Chinese New Year.
As the day progressed I noticed that I felt very calm and quite reflective, almost willing myself to utter one word late in the afternoon- I felt at peace, as if I was on one of the islands in the Maldives, serene and unburdened, pattering about and thinking about various issues that were springing to my mind. I haven’t felt so peaceful for a very long time, the quite deep contentment enveloping me in a deep, comforting hug.
As a week went by, I noticed that some of the lines on my forehead-what can I say, I was born frowning- became softer and my face looked plump and well-hydrated, even though it was cold outside. Laura did tell me that generally it’s a good idea to have a course of this treatment in order to see a more pronounced effect-how intensive and how often to have this facial depends on the individual, the age, the skin etc. Having experienced Laura’s skill, I would highly recommend this treatment if you have an open mind and want to age gracefully. Laura is a quietly confident therapist, who might not chit chat, instead concentrating on making the treatment address the issues that you have at the time. She is also quite skilled in picking up certain health issue, like blockages or digestive upsets and she also e-mails you a very detailed dietary advice-mine was typed on eight pages, which made for quite interesting bed-time reading.
Facial Acupuncture facial including initial consultation, 90 mins, £110
Laura works on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, to book an appointment call 0203 0751006 or go to www.beingcontent.com for more information
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