There’s no ‘right way’ of doing things. No one should read how one person lives their life and follow it strictly, and of course there’s no point in doing something purely for affectation. However, for me, I love Jeanette Winterson’s outlook in her introduction to ‘Oranges are not the only fruit’:
“Dinginess is death to a writer. When Keats was depressed he put on a clean shirt. When Radclyffe Hall was oppressed she ordered new sets of silk underwear from Jermyn Street.”
This has always worked for me and ever since I can remember I’ve been drawn to colourful things; clothes, decorations, and any bath products (baths are important to me) that are jolly or immature in any way make me ecstatic – Lush Cosmetics and Soap and Glory are the best for this. Soap and Glory’s packaging is fifties vintage which makes me feel like a burlesque queen, while Lush’s colours take me to a fantastical place.
How can you not love a ‘bath bar’ shaped like a mushroom? In order to remain able to think up bizarre and silly stories it is vital that I never grow up.
Madeleine Swann 