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Author: Corinna von Bassewitz

My curriculum vitae is as colorful as the world. I was editor at ELLE, tested cars and participated at off-road tours. I lived on a small island in Florida for twelve years and from there I travelled the Caribbean and almost all states of the USA for various magazines, conducted interviews with interesting people, reported on beautiful homes and exotic travel destinations. After my return to Germany I worked for InStyle magazine for 14 years in various positions. And it was there that I first came into contact with the topic of beauty. To this day I still enjoy immersing myself in the fine cosmos of creams, perfumes and lipsticks. (photo: Thomas Dilge)

Villa d‘Este – 150 Years Excellende – A Visit

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It was seven years ago when I first visited the Grand Hotel Villa D’Este in Cernobbio on Lake Como. It became a place of yearning for me. At that time I had accepted an invitation from the BMW Group Classic, which has organised a unique show together with the hotel every May since 2005: the “Concorso d’Eleganza”, probably the most extravagant presentation of classic cars in the world. The setting was perfect. The lake glistened in sunshine, the magnificent house, a palace, in yellow and white with high columns and stone balconies provided the backdrop. I sat on the terrace, directly on the water, and let the Bugattis, Ferraris, Porsches, BMWs and Fords of past eras pass by me. They were driven by ladies and gentlemen who were dressed in the style of the 20s, 30s or 70s according to the vintage of their cars. I don’t remember the details. But I do remember the villa, which I did not enter that afternoon, but which nevertheless became a place of yearning. The builder was a cardinal n 1568, Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio had architect Pellegrino de’ Pellegrini build a villa on the shores of Lake Como, grandiose with perfect proportions, intended as a meeting place for literati, musicians and artists of his time. For about 200 years, the villa, then called Garrovo, was owned by the Gallio family. The subsequent owners were a motley crew: from a playboy from Milan, who bequeathed the property to his widow, a former ballerina at La Scala in Milan, to Caroline of Brunswick, England’s uncrowned queen, who gave the house the name “Villa D’Este”. Finally, in 1873, a couple of Milanese businessmen bought the property and rededicated it into the luxury hotel it still is today. The synonym of luxury is splendor And it is seen everywhere in this wonderful property: in the 10-hectare Renaissance gardens, where a 500-year-old plane tree reigns over the flowerbeds along with numerous statues; in the entrance hall with tall columns of white marble, by the mighty crystal chandeliers, the works of old masters on the wall, by the only swimming pool in the world that floats on a lake and the temple-like complex, which is decorated with mosaic stones and is one of the most photographed buildings beyond the Colosseum in Rome. My gaze falls on the mosaics as I stand on the balcony of my room, an exuberantly appointed space with a princess bed, a velvet couch and a honey-colored marble bathroom.… weiterlesen

Isla Holbox – A Paradise on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico

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An island is a cosmos in itself: it is surrounded by water, and the only way to escape it is to board a boat and sail back to the mainland. But why should you do that? Especially when the island is called Holbox, lies off the Maya Riviera on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula and has such a strangely unconventional appearance that at first, you’re not sure: Am I in the right place here, or not? After a 20-hour journey via Zurich (seven-hour layover), I landed at Cancún International Airport on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula at 10pm. I had booked a room for the night at the Hotel Oh!Cancun The Urban Oasis in the centre of town. 20 minutes by taxi, tiredness set in. As a welcome, my luggage and I were sprayed with disinfectant spray, the room was friendly and clean. The Urban Oasis is a mile from the Centro bus station, from which I had booked a shuttle bus to Chiquila for the next day. Ferries leave every half hour from the small port town and take you to the island of Holbox in 30 minutes. In my jet-lagged state, I had forgotten that there was a delicious breakfast at the hotel. The taxi to the bus stop cost five US dollars, the ticket to Chiquila 13. Thank God I had stocked up on dollars, the bank where I wanted to buy Mexican pesos in Munich didn’t have them in stock. ATMs, the bank clerk warned, are rare. The minibus jolted through dense vegetation for two and a half hours. Every now and then a village appeared, fruit stands at the roadside, huts and traditional cottages in turquoise and pink. Countless people offered guava lemonade. To discourage drivers from speeding, steep speed bumps rise every 20 metres in the local areas, which can be managed at a maximum speed of 5 km/h. The outside temperature climbed to 30 degrees Celsius. In the minibus, the air conditioning rattled and blew ice-cold air into the passenger compartment. Mexican highlight: Holbox, an island without cars The harbour town of Chiquila is essentially a handful of ugly concrete shacks, car parks and kiosks where you can buy ferry tickets. 13 dollars, one way. The Isla Holbox appears in the distance. 42 kilometres long, two kilometres wide, about 1500 inhabitants and guests from all over the world. A good three dozen occupied the ferry today. Spanish, French, English and Dutch snippets, anticipation of what was to come.… weiterlesen
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Tested for you: Facial treatment at the Anassa Thalasso Spa in Cyprus

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In the northwestern part of the island of Cyprus on Chrysochou Bay, there is a fantastic 5-star hotel: Anassa, which belongs to the exclusive Thanos Group. It’s appearance lies somewhere between a grand palace and a relaxed beach resort, perched high above the Mediterranean. And it is home to the award-winning Thalasso Spa. A short walk from Pelagos restaurant, one of the hotel’s four dining venues, where I was served an exuberant variety of mezes at lunch, leads me to the hotel’s beauty temple. Fuchsia-colored bougainvillea cascades over whitewashed walls. The paved path to the spa meanders past the small Byzantine chapel along snow-white single-storey villas with gardens, it’s 30 degrees Celsius and most of the turquoise shutters are closed. Once and again, I catch a glimpse of the azure Mediterranean between the high pines and olive trees. Facial: Augustinus Bader’s anti-aging treatment Normally I avoid treatments in hotel spas, I can book facials in my hometown, where I know the beautician and she is familiar with my skin needs. For the the Anassa Thalasso Spa I make an exception: since June of this year, the hotel has been the first in the world to offer treatments with products from Augustinus Bader. The German stem cell expert’s power skincare range was launched in 2018 and has since been showered with prestigious beauty awards from VOGUE to Glamour to Tatler. I am convinced. I signed up for the VIP treatment, 90 minutes of regenerative facial, foot and hand massage included. My way to the cabin leads past the indoor pool, which looks like a Roman temple with its tall columns and ornamental tiles. A delicate scent of lavender accompanies me. How do Augustinus Bader’s products benefit the skin? Augustinus Bader is one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of stem cell and biomedicine. As head of stem cell research at the University of Leipzig, Augustinus Bader developed a wound gel in 2008 that heals third-degree burns without surgery or skin transplant. The gel works because it sends a series of healing signals to the wound or burned site. This activates the skin cells and enables the healing process. Based on this insight, the stem cell specialist initially developed two facial care products, “The Cream” and “The Rich Cream”, which he launched in 2018. The aim of the duo: vitamins, nutrients and minerals that bring the healing information to the skin’s own stem cells with the help of transport molecules.… weiterlesen

Diving with Sharks in the Maldives

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“There is no strong current today,” said Divemaster Hussain Sharmeel, known as Sharky in his briefing aboard the dive boat. “Diving down quickly will not be necessary. We’ll glide slowly down the reef and watch the sharks.” This is my first time in the Maldives. And my first time diving with sharks. My base is the small Como Cocoa Island in the South Malé Atoll, 40 minutes by speedboat from Malé Airport. 350 meters long, 34 overwater villas, a restaurant and a bar. The night before the dive I hung out at the bar and drank martinis on the rocks. Faru Bar on Cocoa Island is a bar you couldn’t imagine more seductive: Bottle next to bottle on an open shelf and a view over the Tiffany-blue Indian Ocean, where the sun sets behind the horizon every evening with a psychedelic light show. The adrenaline rises As you can guess, I was nervous. The Martini was only good for my nerves. I had learned to dive years ago at Looe Key Reef off Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys. Maximum diving depth there: a little over nine meters. The most exciting underwater encounters I had were with stingrays that glided weightlessly through the water with their outstretched wings like angels. I swam in a school of transparent shimmering jellyfish, every now and then I saw a small nurse shark. Otherwise, I admired the colorful diversity of the inhabitants of tropical waters. Sharks in the variety, as they occur on the Maldives, I only knew from hearsay. Ideal conditions for the first dive with sharks The next morning at 9:00 a.m. Sharky and I had reached the dive site Vaagali Thila at the South Malé Atoll in the Maldives after 30 minutes boat drive. Behind us, the water sparkled in a soft turquoise. In front of us, the Indian Ocean shimmered dark blue. The unfathomable depth, the reef drops to 30 meters at this point, could only be guessed. The water temperature measured 29 degrees Celsius at the surface, the visibility was good at 25 meters, the current one knot. I had completed around 50 dives in my life. But this, despite ideal conditions, was another story. I was worried about the sharks, about the depth, about creatures unknown to me. As befits a pre-dive briefing, Sharky’s instructions got my adrenaline pumping. Did I have enough lead weights? Would the nitrox air supply, fortified with supplemental oxygen, be sufficient?… weiterlesen

Longing for serenity

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To be sure, the great time of travelling has not yet returned. A short trip to Cocoa Island and Maalifushi in the Maldives is a good start to what is still to come. The resort of Como Cocoa Island on the South Malé Atoll is a 40-minute speedboat ride from Velane International Airport on the main island of Malé. A first feeling of happiness sets in after the nine-hour journey from Germany: The air is soft, the yacht flies over thousands of shades of blue. It is a spectacle that only the Indian Ocean around the Maldives can produce. The capital Malé, its skyline rising into the sky like a Little Manhattan, recedes from view. The strange world as we were used to it for so long now fades in my memory. Soon we docked at the Jetty: palm trees, sun, the air measures a pleasant 30 degrees, I stepped onto a tiny island in the middle of an infinity pool called the Indian Ocean. General Manager Oscar Perez of Como Cocoa Island pushed an open coconut into my hand. I didn’t have to think long: this is paradise. What you experience when you walk barefoot on the sand is an overwhelming feeling of freedom and happiness. First stop: Como Cocoa Island With a length of only 350 metres, Como Cocoa Island offers an amazing variety: a sandbank, for example, which extends to 800 metres at low tide in the turquoise water and a house reef with an impressive tropical underwater world with colorful clown fish, eagle rays and black tip sharks. It’s located behind the overwater villas, a few steps down from the sun deck and you’re ready to snorkel. After all, more than 20 dive sites can be reached within 30 minutes by boat from the resort. Reef diving, wreck diving and night snorkeling are on the agenda at the Padi-certified dive center. Instructor Hussein Sharmeel, nicknamed “Sharky”, is the master of ceremonies for the underwater expeditions. The understated aesthetics of the reception and the only restaurant blend harmoniously with the vegetation of frangipani, breadfruit and banyan trees. A hammock is set between two palm trees; it doesn’t get more relaxing than this. The infinity pool is on the sunset side of the island. The Faru beach bar next to it offers drinks to match the psychedelic natural spectacle as the sun disappears in slow motion behind the horizon.… weiterlesen

Tested for You: “Revitalising body milk” from LediBelle

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As with many women, my skin is sensitive in winter due to dry air inside or cold temperatures outside. Especially on the shins it scales and itches. You can of course get an ointment prescribed by your dermatologist. Or you can get a special care product that is available for sale. In my search for a product that could solve my winter problem, I came across the LediBelle brand. The natural cosmetics with the main active ingredients goat’s whey and Jacob’s spring water are manufactured in the Swiss canton of Appenzell, where goat’s whey has been a remedy for skin health for centuries. In the past – I did some research – the by-product of cheese production was used in Appenzell in healing baths. The lactic acid it contains, as the old people knew, has a slightly acidic PH value, which helps to regenerate the skin and strengthen the protective acid barrier. In addition goat’s whey contains a number of important vitamins, which benefit the skin and natural coenzyme Q10, which is known to support cell growth and cell renewal. Will I smell like goat’s cheese? Well then, I’ll try that, I thought and went to the perfumery to get the LediBelle body milk. But what also went through my mind: Hopefully I won’t smell like goat’s cheese after using it. Lesson number one: The lotion smells pleasantly – watch out for the cliché! – like freshly washed laundry dried in crisp mountain air. Finding number two: After only three applications, the scaly areas disappeared and the skin became velvety soft and supple. Lesson number three: all LediBelle products contain goat’s whey from animals from sustainable pasture farming, the tubes and pump dispensers are made of recycled plastic and comply 100% with the PET standard, and FSC-certified paper is used for the outer packaging. Healthy skin without guilty conscience, what more is there to desire? “Revitalising body milk” from LediBelle, 200ml, approx. 19 Euro… weiterlesen

Tested for you: Scented candles from Lacera Berlin

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I confess: I love scented candles. But I also confess that I am very, very fussy. On the one hand, of course, it’s all about the look. Apart from the exuberant designs of Fornasetti, I love simplicity. On the other hand, and most importantly, I am naturally interested in the fragrance. And the emphasis is on natural: it must not smell chemical and there should be no chemicals in it. And here I end with the candles of the Berlin start-up Lacera (Italian for wax). What makes them desirable to me are the clean, thin-walled gas containers in Technicolor colours made of borosilicate, which can be used as stylish drinking glasses after the candles have burnt down. And the fact that the candles are handmade in Berlin. Incidentally, the wax mixture is made exclusively from soy and coconut, the scented oil content (the essences of the oils used all come from Europe) is 10% and is free from animal-testing. The wick, an organic cotton-paper mixture, which burns with pleasingly low soot emissions, is made in Germany, the outer packaging is made of recyclable cardboard. “Lacera” candles are available in four fragrances: fresh, floral, fruity and spicy. My favourite in the current dark hours is “Himalaya”. This candle belongs to the fresh variety, the glass is a brilliant turquoise, which reminds of the water of the Caribbean. The scent is said to conjure up the mountain world of Tibet. But it takes me away to the sea with its notes of bergamot and eucalyptus in the top note and vetiver in the heart note. The sea – one can only dream of at the moment. „Lacera Berlin“, 200g each, 60 hours burn time, approx. 40 €… weiterlesen