2011-10-09

お肌の曲がり角? "Turning Point of the Skin"?

日本では良く「25才がお肌の曲がり角」という表現を聞きますが、英語圏では全くというほどないです。もちろんほとんどの女性は皺・しみ・たるみ・等、気にしているのは確かですが、日本人、(アジア人?)ほど若くして肌に気を使っている人種はいないと思います。実は私は数年前までは英語圏の方のようにあまり気にしたことがありませんでした。高校生の頃は深刻に、にきびには悩みましたが大学生以降は特にあまりお手入れすることはなかったです。若かったというのもありますが、しみはそばかすみたい、皺は表情と思っていました・・・しかし最近はパリに住む他の日本人と比べて私は老化が早いかも!?と気づき、お手入れに励むようになりました(^^;

このことを言うのは3回目になると思いますが、フランスのお水はカルキたっぷりの硬水!まぁ、お肌の敵ですね。よってアトピーが再発してしまった私は乾燥皺に悩み、周りに相談したり、ネットで調査した結果、先日買ったのがLa Roche Posayの化粧水!La Roche Posayは2万5千人の皮膚科医がお勧めするドクターズコスメ。ウェブサイトで読んだらこの化粧水は「皮膚を和らげ、落ち着かせ、皮膚本来の機能をサポートします」と。昨夜試したら、いつもは目元が痒いはずが少し落ち着いた模様。他の基礎化粧品がなくなったら少し筒こちらのブランドに変えようと思います・・・

In Japan we often hear the saying that "25 years old is the turning point of the skin", however I have almost never heard any similar phrases like this in English speaking countries. I'm sure that many women do care about wrinkles, pigmented spots, sagging, etc but I feel that Japanese (Asians?) are a race that take care of skin at a really young age. Actually, until a few years ago I was like people from English speaking countries and didn't really care about my skin. I was troubled by acne in high school but after university I didn't do much. It was because I was young but I thought that pigmented spots were like freckles and wrinkles are your expressions... but recently I noticed that I am getting older faster compared to the other Japanese in Paris! so I started to put an effort in taking care of myself :( 

I think this is the 3rd time to say this but the water in France is hard water full of chlorine! Basically, it's your skin's enemy. And so my eczema came back again and I have been worried about my dry wrinkles. I consulted people around me and did research on the internet and came to buy La Roche Posay's toner! On their website it said "soothes sensitive skin irritated by outside factors (sun, dermatological treatments, etc.) and helps prevent skin ageing". Last night when I tried it, it seemed that my usually irritated eye area calmed down a bit. When all my other products are gone, I think I am going to switch to this brand...


2011-10-02

アフターヌーンティー Afternoon Tea

今度はロンドンに行ってきました!一泊しかできなかったのでかなり短い旅行になりましたが、帰り間際にアフターヌーンティーを堪能することができ、満足です(^^)さて、このアフターヌーンティーとは名前の通り、午後のお茶ですが、ロンドンでは高級ホテルや老舗のお店でのアフタヌーンティーが人気です。私はマンダリンホテルで予約し、ちょっとおめかしをして行こうと思ったら、ロンドンはパリと同様、残暑で着いた時には汗だくだく(^^;でも、スタッフは温かい笑顔で迎えてくれてほっと一安心。メニューは好きな紅茶を選び、食事はシェフが選んだフィンガーフードのセット。私はシトロン(レモン)とミントの紅茶を選び、これが美味!すっきりした味でポットから出るアロマがとっても良い香り!そして食事はスコーン2種類、フィナンシェ、ケーキ5種類、サンドイッチも5種類ほど。残念なことに最初に写真を撮っていたらスタッフより撮影を断られ、肝心な食事とティーの写真が撮れませんでした・・・だけど、それでも本当に優雅で素敵なマダムのような時間を過ごすことができ、また近いうちに行きたらと思います。

This time I went to London! I was only able to stay one night so it was a really short stay but I was able to enjoy afternoon tea before I left so I am satisfied with the trip :) Well, the name is self explanatory and afternoon tea is often enjoyed in London's high end hotels and traditional salons. I made reservations at the Mandarin hotel and thought I should dress up for the occasion but same as Paris, London was going through an Indian summer and I was drenched by the time I got there :( But was relieved when the staff greeted me with a warm small. The menu was a pot of your choice of tea and some finger food which the chef chose. I ordered a brew of citron and mint tea which was delicious! It had a fresh taste and the aroma coming from the pot was amazing! There were 2 types of scones, financier, 5 types of cakes, and 5 types of sandwich. Unfortunately I took some pictures when I just sat and was asked to stop as they had a no camera policy so I wasn't able to take pictures of the food and tea... But I was still able to experience a luxurious and elegant time. I hope I will be able to go again sometime soon...