Lip Service

Try Yves Saint Laurent's Rouge Pur Couture -18 Noir Laque ($32) or Mimco Blood Red Matte Lipstick ($25) to achieve a dark look that is both on trend and appropriate around this spooky time of year.

Images via Columbine Smille, DazedDigital and Polyvore.

Wingman (social)

1. England's Dreaming, by Ewan Spencer.
2. Girl on the street, Milan.
3. Cats.
4. Costa Concordia.
5. Breakfast, French style.
6. Chanel flats.
7. Future home with my friend the people eater. In our dreams the doors open into the same corridor and you just walk through whichever best suits your mood.

Images via Dazed Digital, Lee Oliveira, I Wanna Be Gwyneth and my good friend over at A Squared.

L'Aquila, where does the fault lie?

A regional court in Italy has found six geophysicists and an ex-government official guilty of multiple manslaughter following the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that rocked the medieval Italian town of L'Aquila in 2009.

An Italian media report states the men have been sentenced to six years prison for providing "inexact, incomplete and contradictory" information about the tremors felt in the lead up to the quake that killed 309 people.

Last night the BBC's Rome correspondent Alan Johnston said "the case has alarmed many in the scientific community, who feel that science itself has been put on trial. Some scientists have warned that the case may set a damaging precedent, deterring experts from sharing their knowledge with the public for fear of being targeted in lawsuits."

However the authorities who pursued the defendants said the case was never about the reliability of scientific prediction, it was about an inadequate characterisation of the dangers facing the city in 2009.

Is it right that these scientist be held accountable for inaccurately diagnosing risk in a situation where prediction plays a pivotal role? Or have these men been made into scapegoats by a damaged community that needs someone to blame?

Images via telegraph.co.uk

Pardon my French

Garance Doré and Anna Dello Russo take us on a behind the scenes tour of the Valentino ready-to-wear 2013 Spring Collection in Paris... *sigh*

Got the Blues

Step into spring with a palette of soft to sharp blues and don't look back.

Images via Street Peeper, The Fashion Directories, Rose & Born, Animal Corner, Devology and Melanie Turner Interiors.

10 Men

1. Luke, 12th Street, New York

2. Via Montenapoleone, Milano

3. Luca Rubinacci, Florence 

4. Waris, New York

5. Blue Suit, London

6. Rue de l'Ecole de Médecine, Paris

7. Mr. Marzotto, Milano

8. Hair, New York 

9. Ian, Manhattan

10. The man who photographed them all.

Images by Scott Schuman via The Sartorialist archives.

Street Style Update

Images via style.com, a piece of toast, net-a-porter and a squared.

Ultimate Indulgence

Next time you entertain, consider taking your cheese platter to the next level. I first tried something similar last year when I was served grilled brie topped with honey and toasted walnuts at a restaurant in Italy. I couldn't believe I had been missing out on something so utterly delicious all my life. So why not impress your guests (and yourself) using this simple recipe: 

Grilled soft cheese with thyme honey and fresh figs

1 small wheel of soft cheese such as brie or camembert 

1/4 cup of honey

A couple sprigs of thyme

fresh figs (as many as you like)

Preheat grill until very hot. Carefully place cheese on grill and sear until marks appear and the inside begins to melt, about one to two minutes on each side. Remove cheese with a spatula and gently place on serving platter.

In a small saucepan add the honey and thyme on a low heat. Heat just enough to warm the honey and infuse it with the flavour of thyme.

Half and quarter the figs, place them on the grilled cheese and drizzle with honey. Serve with lavosh crackers or toasted bread.

Images and recipe via not without salt.

American Psycho

 Images via the most awesome of the awesome: Daily Movement