The decision to say yes to life is essentially taking a huge leap of faith. It screams impracticality in all it's scary and unpredictable glory versus staying in a secure existence full of comforting routine. Saying yes can upset the status quo and immeasurably change our life, yet people take these leaps of faith every day. Whether it’s quitting a job as a lawyer to start a patisserie, baring a bleeding heart to a crush or moving to Timbuktu, the most important decision made is to simply say yes to following our inner compass.
My 2015 New Year’s resolution was to do more things on my Bucket List. Travel is and has always been on the top of that pile, so my girlfriend and I decided to take a Thelma and Louise kinda road trip from Los Angeles to Big Sur, San Francisco,Yosemite, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree and back to L.A. Since this road trip was a shared dream and I was flying to L.A anyway for a Farfetch conference, the puzzle fell into place easily, but then, at the last minute, my friend was hit with pressing circumstances and had to cancel our trip. Now my plans were unhinged. Should I just go back to Sydney and give up my allocated holiday time or shall I drive alone for over a week through America ? Suddently, neither of these options seemed appealing yet I felt like I wanted to give the universe a chance to surprise me by saying yes to experiences, places and feelings that held the infinite potential of giving me a new perspective on the world.
When offered this collaboration with Armani Perfume for their fragrance Si, I looked up the campaign video featuring the gorgeous Kate Blanchet uttering in italian : Si to life, Si to us, Si to sun, Si to lightness, Si to seduction, Si to love, Si to freedom, Si to myself ” and it instantly struck a cord. We as women are full of contrasts; sometimes strong and sometimes sensitive, but also profound and frivolous, in turns passionate and unpredictable we turn on a dime and become soft and understanding. It is exactly this mercurial way women embody extremes that so frightened the patriarchy for thousands of years ; it is exactly this skullduggery that makes women such exciting, impossible creatures to contain in any sort of way.
Learning how to say yes to life is owning our strengths and choices, it means becoming responsible creators of our own destiny no matter where our dreams take us. Women had scarce choices even a few decades ago but we have reached tipping point in which we must say yes to nourishing ourselves so that we can say to yes to nourishing others and the world.
This elegant perfume with it’s green notes of cassis and pachouli , florals of freesia and may rose and tones of vanilla and wood is the sort of mixture that itself contains contradictions yet they balance and compliment each other just like women's extremes balance each other to create uniqueness and beauty.
PS, as for my trip, I said Si to life and booked a solo trip to Mexica and Cuba. I leave tomorrow!
A life well lived requires time to absorb everything around us, beneath us and above us ( wearing Armani suit and shoes, )
The Armani intense bottle is an elegant representation of it's deep and seductive nature.
Don't be afraid to claim your inner power and be the boss lady of your life ( wearing an Armani top, pants and shoes, Mania Mania bracelet)
Every sunset is a gift to humanity for we can reflect and be grateful for the colours of the world
photographed by Alice Wesley- Smith
