Sandra‘s Closet

Miu Miu Famous Cats is a collection of five t-shirts, each carrying a film-still printed with different feline characters. Multi-faceted and free-spirited, these gorgeous creatures may be courageous, cowardly, aloof, playful, loving and at times, even mean.

The cats playing starring roles and featured in the collection include;
Jake – the extra-terrestrial cat from the 1978 American sci-fi comedy, The Cat From Outer Space. When forced to land his spaceship on earth, he leads various humans on a series of riotous escapades.

Jonesy – the mouse-chasing ginger cat resident on the ill-fated USCSS Nostromo in the 1979 blockbuster, Alien. With Ellen Ripley, he is the mission’s only survivor.

Three talking cats sit on Chibi-Usa’s shoulders from Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, broadcasted Japanese animation series since 1992. Luna, Artemis and their daughter, Diana, are companions to the eponymous Sailor Guardians.

The nameless cat in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather was found wandering around the movie set, and was picked up and placed – impromptu – on Marlon Brando’s knee. His purring further obscured the actor’s famously muffled dialogue.

Finally, with her long lashes and crimson pout, Toodles Galore, from Hanna Barbera’s Tom & Jerry, reduces hapless Tom to a gibbering wreck every time he encounters her. And this despite the fact she never makes a sound.

Launching in March, t-shirts are available in plain white cotton and stills are printed alongside text contextualising their significance in big and small screen culture.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Miu Miu

Perfume gift sets are always a nice way of surprising your beloved one. Look for her or his favourite scent to enjoy the complimentary items in the box that mostly are packed in little sizes, which is perfect for travelling. Marionnaud offers 20% on those boxes at the moment and check out Harrods by clicking HERE for up to 60% off during the ongoing beauty sale.

Here are some of my favorites:

Already a classic:
Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Toilette 50ml & Purse Spray 10ml
– CHF 108.- 

Love the orange blossom in this very feminine fragrance:
Elie Saab Le Parfum Eau de Toilette 50ml, Scented Body Lotion 75ml & Shower Gel 30ml
– CHF 106.-

A new scent inspired by the magic of the Provençal woods, a flower boquet of roses, peonies and the sparkeling seduction of red berries:
L’ Occitane Fleur Merveilleuses (Limited Edition) Eau de Toilette 75ml, Shower Gel 75 ml & 250ml, Soap 50g & Hand Cream 30ml
– CHF 109.-

Surprise your newly wed or madly-in-love friends with a fragrance duo that will look beautiful on display in their bathroom:
Bogner Heritage Edition for Woman Eau de Toilette 50ml & for Man Eau de Toilette 50ml
– CHF 59.- each

Last but not least, an exclusive limited edition of her favourite scent will make a wonderful present this Christmas. Sisley has been launching since 2002 each year a new version for the festive season of the house’s iconic Eau du Soir.
Sisley Eau du Soir Limited Edition 2012 (Limited to 8000) Eau de Parfum 100ml
– CHF 265.-

Another French house that is known for their beautifully crafted limited edition bottles is Lalique, a brand that has the art of crystal making in their DNA. For this year’s edition, it showcases an extraordinary dragonfly, the label’s lucky charm, cloaked in black.
Inside a great timeless classic, a majestic pure floral:
Lalique de Lalique Libellule Limited Edition 2013 Parfum 100ml
– CHF 1500.-

Thierry Mugler’s new limited edition collection for winter Les Parfums de Cuir (“The Fragrances of Leather”) is celebrating the twentieth birthday of the house’s perfumes. For the occasion, four new interpretations of the famous fragrances enriched with natural extracts of leather have been created, presented in a beautiful leather pouch.
Thierry Mugler Les Parfums de Cuir Angel Eau de Parfum 30ml, Alien Eau de Parfum 30ml, Womanity Eau de Parfum 30ml and A * Men Eau de Toilette 100ml
– CHF 84.- each (non-refillable)

Looking for an even more exquisite collectable? Guerlain might fulfill this wish. Celebrating the 100th birthday of the house’s legendary scent L’Heure Bleue, famous artists and celebrated houses alike have come together to create something truly special.
Guerlain L’Heure Bleue 1912-2012 Limited Edition, 4 Bottles 30ml (The original extract case and three new interpretations, embroidered by Lesage)
– CHF  4000.-
Guerlain L’Heure Bleue 100th Birthday Edition by Baccarat and Gripoix, Extrait 490ml
– Price on request

Those very limited editions are only available in selected stores worldwide.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Bogner, Elie Saab, Guerlain, Lalique, L’ Occitane, Narciso Rodriguez, Sisley, Thierry Mugler Perfumes

ALIEN

Tonka bean ice cream, “Clafoutis” cookie, half-candied pink grapefruit

Salted butter caramel

Serves 4

Preparation time: 2 hours (including the ice cream and the vanilla infusion)

Cooking time: 30 min.

Ice cream

• 2dl (6/7 cup) of milk
• 40g (1/3 cup) of liquid cream
• ½ vanilla bean
• 2 egg yolks
• 20g (1/10 cup) of sugar

In a saucepan, boil the milk, cream and vanilla bean sliced in half lengthwise. Set aside and cover. Let infuse for one hour.

Combine egg yolks and sugar and beat until the mixture turns white.

Add the infused milk and cream then cook over gentle heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture coats the spatula.

Let cool, process in a blender and leave in the freezer.

Almond crumble

• 125g (3/5 cup) of sugar
• 125g (1.1/4 cup) of flour
• 125g (1/2 cup) of butter

Mix the sugar and flour then fold in the softened butter.

Let sit before crumbling the dough into small irregular pieces.

Set them out on a non-stick oven tray and cook for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 325°F (160°C).

“Clafoutis” cookie

• 70g (1/3 cup) of butter
• 100g (1 cup) of almond powder
• 100g (3/4 cup) of powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 15g (1/6 cup) of flour
• 80g (2/3 cup) of liquid cream

Blend the softened butter and almond powder.

Add the powdered sugar, then egg, then flour and finally the liquid cream (an egg beater can be used) and let sit for one hour.

Pour the mixture into small non-stick tartlet molds and cook for 6 minutes in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C).

Place a small amount of the crumble on each “Clafoutis” cookie and continue cooking in the oven for another 5 minutes.

The little extra: “salted butter” caramel with grapefruit

• 200g (1 cup) of sugar
• 10g (2/3 tbsp) of salted butter
• 80g (1/3 cup) grapefruit juice

Pour the sugar into a pan and melt until caramelized.

Deglaze with the butter.

Add the grapefruit juice.

Reduce until the mixture becomes syrupy.

Presentation

• 1 Tonka bean
• 2 pink grapefruits cut into supremes

Position the ‘Clafoutis’ cookie in the middle of the plate and place a dollop of ice cream on top of it.

Grate the Tonka bean (as if it was nutmeg).

Set two grapefruit supremes on the side.

Taste as is at first, then top with a thin line of caramel.
Bon appétit!

LoL, Sandra

Thierry Mugler continues to overstep the boundaries of traditional perfume-making with his exceptional and legendary perfumes to launch more of his extraordinary creations. By venturing into unexplored territory, he appears where he is least expected.

The idea: experimenting beyond the innovative production processes
to create breathtaking perfumes.

The challenge: alter the structure without distorting the nature
of the four iconic fragrances by Thierry Mugler.

With the 2009 introduction of ‘Liqueurs de Parfum’, he drew on the ancestral know-how of winemakers to age his fragrances in wooden casks.

This year, Thierry Mugler Parfums continues to experiment, focusing its research on one of the senses showcased with its very first creation: taste.

With the 1992 release of Angel, Thierry Mugler invented a new olfactory family of “Oriental – Gourmand” fragrances, based on a “delicious” facet featuring red berries and praline notes.

In 2010, he repeated the experience with Womanity, creating the very first “Sweet – Savory” fragrance, which utilizes an exclusive molecular extraction process to achieve the fig and caviar accords.

An unforgettable experience… Today, Thierry Mugler invites perfume lovers on a journey of fragrances and flavors with his new collection: the Taste of Fragrance.

With the ‘Taste of Fragrance’, the precursor of Haute Gourmand Perfumery is guilty of twisting fragrances, offering the rediscovery of Angel, Alien, Womanity and A*Men through their fantasized flavors.

Thierry Mugler allowed the perfumers full freedom, challenging them to broaden their palettes of ingredients and introducing into each composition a “taste enhancer”.

An explosive collection of four gourmand fragrances,
with superbly concocted notes that will nearly make your mouth water…

Angel More Gourmand Than Gourmand (CHF 99)
– spiked with cocoa powder for a sweet and angelic scent.

Alien Carnal Sensuality (CHF 85)
– floral notes added with wood, amber and salted butter caramel for a sensual-sophisticated scent.

Womanity Sweet Femininity With A Savory Kick (CHF 109)
– sweet notes added with fig chutney which creates a feminine scent.

A*Men Spicy Instinct (CHF 105)
– enhanced with red pepper to bring out contrasting scents making a powerful fragrance.

All four limited editions are available now.

Taking this exercise in style a step further and establishing a genuine parallel between Haute Cuisine and Haute Perfumery, Thierry Mugler Parfums called on Hélène Darroze, one of the leading Michelin-starred French Chefs, to invent four recipes inspired by the new interpretations of these four fragrances.

Four sensory dishes for a ‘Taste of Fragrance’  MUGLERIAN dinner to be published on Sandra’s Closet during the next days. Probably an inspiration for your holiday feast…

LoL, Sandra