Amanda | The Womens Room

Things We LoveSeptember 3, 2013

Astalift Light Analysing Moisture Foundation

By Amanda

Do you remember we wrote about the Astalift Jelly Aquarysta recently? It’s a very good hydrating gel that everyone I speak to who uses it seems to like a lot. It’s that clever Fujifilm Japanese technology, odd though it seems… Read More

Fashion & BeautySeptember 3, 2013

Win a handbag from Village England with Precious London

By Amanda

So here we are at the cusp of autumn, next bank holiday not until Christmas, it’s depressing coming back from holiday isn’t it? Well here at TWR we thought we might try and cheer up those post holidays blues, not… Read More

Novels & Biogs, We Are ReadingSeptember 2, 2013

Now You See Me by Lesley Glaister

By Amanda

Recommended by the lovely Sam Baker, this is a lean, beautifully written tale of bleakness that I couldn’t put down. Now, I have to dash as I’ve got the rest of Lesley Glaister’s books to read. Now You See Me… Read More

Things We LoveAugust 26, 2013

Perfume review: Iris Prima by Penhaligon’s

By Amanda

Now this I love, a fragrance house that has tried to recreate the smell of ballet rehearsal rooms, sweaty shoes and all, in a good way, obvs. Just like the smell of old books and libraries, the inside of my… Read More

Health & HappinessAugust 26, 2013

We’re on Holiday!

By Amanda

We are on our annual holiday, just for a week, back Monday 2nd September with some quite exciting news. So have a good break, we certainly will and see you soon. J & A … Read More

Things We LoveAugust 25, 2013

Perfume review: Boadicea The Victorious – a feminist’s fragrance?

By Amanda

Since we’ve been talking a lot recently about the rise of feminism #3, it’s made me think about what perfume a woman could wear to make her feel stronger, more empowered and ready to face the battle of being female… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 25, 2013

See this: Meet The Perfumers at Harrods

By Amanda

Just a quick note for all perfume fans, Harrods is running an excellent month of events around perfume from now until mid September, including interviews with renowned noses and fragrance house owners. I went to the opening talk with the… Read More

Home & GardenAugust 22, 2013

Alastair Hendy’s Homestore in Hastings, experential retail at its best

By Amanda

What is it with the Hastings/Rye area that encourages such wonderful stores? Last week it was Merchant & Mills from Rye, and while there Carolyn tipped me off about Alastair Hendy’s amazing Homestore in Hastings. It was another ‘bucket of… Read More

Art & CultureAugust 20, 2013

Middleagedad: A Modern-Day, Arty Stig of the Dump

By Amanda

Today I am interviewing Middleagedad, as he is currently artist in residence at our local Richmond recycling and re-use centre (The Dump as we have always known it). It is the first time Richmond has ever had an Artist in… Read More

Things We LoveAugust 19, 2013

Neom Limited Edition Enchantment

By Amanda

I’m still very fond of the Neom range of luxury organic home smells, with its reassuringly no-paraffin wax, no synthetic scents and no added chemicals, and the brand does a great range of reed diffusers. We recently got the Enchantment… Read More

Art & CultureAugust 18, 2013

We love: Hitomi Hosono’s ceramics

By Amanda

OK, fessing up here, by the time you read this Hitomi Hosono’s little exhibition at The St Pancras Renaissance Hotel Chamber’s Club will be over (it finished on 4th August). Sorry, it’s been a busy month and anyway, we went… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 16, 2013

Two late summer and two early autumn buys from Zara

By Amanda

Fessing up, Zara is size-ist, so really I should start this post with a rant… Dear Zara, women come bigger than size 16, so deal with it please. And no you don’t really do size 18…try finding a style that… Read More

Fashion & Beauty, Home & GardenAugust 14, 2013

A visit to Merchant & Mills in Rye

By Amanda

We’ve written about the wonderful haberdashery and sewing brand Merchant & Mills before, but last week while on a trip to Rye I got to visit the shop and readers, Middleagedad nearly had to throw a bucket of cold water… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingAugust 12, 2013

C.Z Guest, American Style icon by Susanna Salk

By Amanda

Another tip from Colin’s Column from last week, C.Z Guest, American Style Icon by Susanna Salk. C.Z Guest was American Style Royalty, a sort of old school American aristocrat who was thin enough and rich enough to inspire photographers and… Read More

Things We LoveAugust 12, 2013

Muji’s aroma diffuser

By Amanda

It’s possible I’m telling you all to suck eggs with this wonderful Muji aroma diffuser, do you all already have one? Quite possibly, as they are not new. However, just in case you don’t know about the amazing, steamy mist… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 12, 2013

Three late summer buys from: Gap

By Amanda

Yes Gap, again. But I couldn’t resist telling you about these lovely leopard print, pony-skin finish slip-on sneakers which are £39.95. Now the fashion forward of you will have already bought a pair of leopard print sneakers (Jane) but not… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingAugust 9, 2013

The Mechanical Smile by Caroline Evans

By Amanda

One for the fashion crew this. I saw this recommended by Colin McDowell in his regular feature (it’s called Colin’s Column….) on the Business of Fashion website. When we first started blogging Colin had his own blog where he would… Read More

Health & HappinessAugust 8, 2013

Sally Muir’s A Dog A Day at the Anthropologie Gallery

By Amanda

It’s turning into a dog week here on TWR, what with Jane’s post on The Dogs Trust Honour Awards on Monday and today we’re looking at artist Sally Muir’s dog painting exhibition. We are big fans of Sally’s previous knit… Read More

Novels & Biogs, We Are ReadingAugust 7, 2013

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

By Amanda

The wonderful India Knight recently tweeted that she loved this, which is enough for us really…but by coincidence I had a copy, so I started to read it and it is indeed fabulous. Pick it up for a great summer… Read More

Out & AboutAugust 6, 2013

Advice on how to be a funny woman, from Funny Women’s Lynne Parker

By Amanda

I met Lynne Parker, founder of Funny Women last week at the Arianna Huffington Third Metric evening (more on this in a later post) and we got on splendidly. I have at least one girlfriend who would have made a… Read More

Things We LoveAugust 6, 2013

Perfume review: Isis by Agonist

By Amanda

Yet more reason to love all things Swedish. I have fallen for the niche fragrance brand Agonist, founded in 2008 by Christine and Niclas Lydeen, which puts a distinctly Nordic inspired, arty bent on appreciating smell. Niclas is an art… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 2, 2013

Buckitt bags on Kickstarter, an update

By Amanda

A little while ago we wrote about our friend Rachel’s Buckitt Bag launch on Kickstarter. For those of you who don’t know how Kicktarter works, Rachel has to raise the money for her bags over a limited period of time,… Read More

Out & AboutAugust 2, 2013

We love: Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine

By Amanda

Did you all watch the Woody Allen two part documentary on last week? (part one, part two.. sorry, iPlayer only works in the UK) I grew up absolutely adoring Woody Allen and for years I wanted to be Diane Keaton… Read More

Art & CultureJuly 31, 2013

Talking feminism and retail with Fiona Atkins from Townhouse

By Amanda

We’ve mentioned the lovely Spitalfields store-cum-coffeeshop-cum-gallery Townhouse previously, it is the reason we don’t buy everything on the internet, an atmospheric and charming almost-unkown spot that’s always full of new finds, is staffed by experts and has great cake. Due… Read More

Things We LoveJuly 30, 2013

Damask Rose Petal Spray from The Herbal Dispensary

By Amanda

When the heat comes back (This Thursday apparently) you might like to consider investing in a small bottle of this lovely rose water spray to keep you cool, specially if you have to travel by tube or bus. You spray… Read More

Things We LoveJuly 29, 2013

Hydracotton Towels from The White Company

By Amanda

Having interviewed The White Company recently on its lovely bedlinen, I’m now seriously into revamping my domestic textile investments. It’s amazing how long you can go without changing your towels….so long in fact that you can completely miss new and… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJuly 29, 2013

A few things to buy from Levi’s Made & Crafted

By Amanda

We are fans of the understated Levi Made & Crafted range of contemporary casual clothes and it’s great to see that the collection has moved out of the poky confines of the Levi Vintage store near Carnaby Street into its… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJuly 25, 2013

We love: Tracey Neuls Shoes

By Amanda

How much do we love Tracey Neuls? We met her last week, having been admirers of her lovely shoes and beautifully crafted displays in her two London stores for a while and she turned out even better than we’d hoped… Read More

Things We LoveJuly 24, 2013

Forever Light Creator Serum by Yves Saint Laurent

By Amanda

YvesSaintLaurent is really working hard on its skin care ranges, you may remember we mentioned the Forever Youth Liberator serum and cream here, and now we have a magic lotion that will smooth the skin tone and help you glow… Read More

Home & GardenJuly 23, 2013

Smartening up your outside living at Gudrun Sjödén

By Amanda

The weather is making me look at areas of my house and home that I’ve been able to cheerfully neglect over the last few dismal summers. I’ve got garden chairs on the brink of collapse and plastic plates bought at… Read More