Jewels, journeys, launches and initiatives in the Kingdom of Luxury
A friend in town, an anniversary, an “I deserve it” moment … welcome to the luxury micro holiday club On a shiny winter’s day, seagulls, surfers and whale-watchers are framed in the picture windows of Bondi Beach’s famous Icebergs Dining Room and Bar. The caviar tartlets and the thyme-infused Campari spritz have been dispatched. A…
Victoria’s awarded Lake House re-writes the hospitality playbook Larissa Wolf-Tasker has had a front row seat at the theatre of food from an early age. As a child, she caught yabbies, picked strawberries, foraged for mushrooms, shook dirt from carrots, cut butter, kneaded dough and made pancakes. As the daughter of legendary restaurateurs Alla Wolf-Tasker…
Small but perfectly formed, Regatta is back in Sydney and dressed to kill. Imagine you’ve arrived a little early at Jay Gatsby’s drawing room in West Egg, Long Island, ahead of a lively soiree. The marble floors are being mopped and polished to a shine; there’s the sound of carpets being vacuumed; the Christmas tree,…
At the Jaipur Literary Festival Soneva Fushi this week, words are just the beginning… Australians love a writers’ festival. In 2022, some 140 of them are scheduled or in planning, canvassing genres, themes and dedicated authors, including this month’s Sydney Writers Festival (May 16-22). One of the world’s biggest assemblages of writers occurs each year…
Why pepper, lily and Cognac are on the wishlist of perfume connoisseurs This summer, luxury perfumers are drawing inspiration from the Silk Road, warm sun on citrus, 1980s pop culture, ancient opulence, heady islands like Madagascar and Sicily, and warm, after-dinner ambience. Among the new season’s surprising A-list invitees are pepper, lily, Cognac, and that…
A new luxury pharmacy with scent to burn and treats for pets opens on Sydney’s fashion strip There is no end to the number of ways you can appreciate a good scent. Proof was the official opening this week of Santa Maria Novella at The Intersection in Paddington (Shop 10, 2-16 Glenmore Road), a heady…
Keen travellers making up for lost time are seeking holiday homes that promise seclusion, mindfood and a wellbeing upskill… A dazzling Greek villa with lines sharp enough to slice haloumi … a Pacific island retreat with Tjapaltjarri on the walls … a bold new Bondi abode frocked up in perforated aluminium … The luxury holiday…
Tapping into this year’s staycation imperative is a new way to explore Sydney Harbour Excess All Areas played hooky this week, exploring the bays, beaches and bushland of the playground that is Sydney Harbour on Spectre, a sleek 12-metre Scandinavian Axopar37 sports cruiser, aka MySydneyBoat. Company director Mark Dalgleish and his skipper daughter, Elodie Dalgleish,…
Two French powerhouses light a candle to creativity… Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing likes the scent of Cire Trudon’s “Ernesto” candle to be diffused through the maison’s flagship stores (Paris, Milan and, this month, New York). So no surprise the two powerhouses have teamed up to create an exclusive candle called the Cire Trudon x…
* This post may contain affiliate links. Excess All Areas may receive a small commission, at no cost to readers, if a purchase is made What makes a perfume a classic? Michael Edwards dissects the divas of scent in a tome that has this week been named Fragrance Book of the Year… Perfume is a…