this weekend’s look

I’ve sort of fallen in love with this look from the Clements Ribiero A/W 12 show. As far at catwalk beauty looks go, I’m not often sold. With cropped hair and a kit of well-used make-up staples, ironically I don’t ever stray too far from my signature look prefering instead to hoard huge stocks of wacky make-up in the spare room for those ‘just in case’ moments (aka fancy dress parties). This, however, is look I’m coveting hard. With some stealth kirby gripping I might even be able to pull of the headband too. As I just LOVE to repeat, the very talented and be-tattooed Mr James Pecis once told me that with my floppy fringe I might even be able to work that iconic milkmaid plait from the Narcisso Rodriguez perfume ad (that I am reserving for my wedding day when, miraculously, I will suddenly have long hair, obvs) with the right degree of expertise. So pulling on a jersey band and backcombing the crown for this should be a doddle. I’m not sure Sam McKnight, who created the look for Pantene Pro-V would put it quite that way…
The press release says he applied Pantene Classic Ultra Strong Mousse to wet hair, focusing on the top and sides of the head, before drying backwards with a round bristle brush. Followed by a little backcombing and teasing out of just the right amount of tendrils for a beautifully unhinged look (a concept anyone battling London’s current tirade of wind and rain is sure to appreciate).

Regarding lips, I already own a hot matte pink I think might work – the girls-love-it-boys-hate-it Nars Lipstick in Schiap, £17.50, but Illamasqua’s new shade Eurydice, £15.50, or Neon Pink from Bobbi Brown’s new Neon & Nude collection (on counter this month I think but can’t see online as yet) could both be contenders. As for skin, play it down, step away from the bronzer and if you’re going the whole hog run a little pressed powder through your brows to tone them down so your lips remain the main focus. Dare you.

Images courtesy of www.saschabreuer.com & vogel note

the new wrinkles

Amongst the plethora of beauty woes I like to regale regular readers with *sighs*, I have melasma. Sounds scary right? In fact that’s just the beauty industry term for good old fashioned sun spots. Brown patches caused by (in the main) UV light triggering overactive melanin-producing cells.  Clustered around my eyes, the worst one looks like a small bruise, measures about 1.5 cm across and has recently attracted comments like ‘I think you’ve splodged your eye make-up’ and ‘did you fall out of bed?’ (thanks dad). Of course the six months in the southern hemisphere obviously hasn’t helped even though I spent most of the time swathed in Invisible Zinc. The thing is, I’m not sure I even really cared that much until a slew of pigment-regulating products started hitting my desk inflating my sun spot paranoia. Melasma, it appears, are the new wrinkles and there’s not a brand out there who isn’t cashing in.

Influenced heavily by the Asian market where skin-brightening products are HUGE business, we Brits are now being inundated with pigment regulators and skin lightening products from the likes of Crème de la Mer, Origins, No7, Avene (D Pigment launches 18th June) and La Roche Posay to name but a few. For the cash-rich and time-poor, peels and lasers offer faster results but can incur downtime-related inflammation. Besides, they don’t even guarantee said spots won’t reappear after your next sunny soujourn.

With ALL of the above pigment regulators you might as well stuff twenty pound notes down the plug hole UNLESS you are doubling up with an SPF 50 during the daytime, come rain or shine. Yes. I said 50. It really is a two-pronged approach. For now I’m trialing a combo of Skinceuticals Pigment Regulator at night, their new Phloretin CF gel (the green-apple derived mother of all antioxidants) in the morning post-cleanse, all topped-off with a generous dose of the Ultra Facial Defense SPF 50 before I step out the door.  And if that doesn’t work, I’m going to have to go all-out Eddie Redmayne on you.

*Photo courtesy of Elle Australia via sketch42blog.com

yoga crush

In the interests of not boring to death the non-yogis among you, I’ve bullet pointed this post for maximum speed and digestion. New yoga studios are popping up like burger joints in the capital, oh the irony, so here’s why I think you should visit Yotopia in Covent Garden.

#1. Their myo-fit concept. New research shows the body moves in spirals, not linear directions, hence all myo-fit classes are adapted to honour this principle with plenty of lymph stimulating twists and core strengthening asanas. They also encourage gentle pulsing in and out of postures which keeps your muscles better hydrated and reduces the risk of injury. Get your science fix here.

#2. Tuesday 6.15pm Hot Yogasports class with Katie Courts. So far my favourite class. There’s lots of emphasis on breathing – that’s what it’s all about people, not just tying yourself in knots and looking smugly at the person next to you buckling in vain (& pain) for their shins – plus plenty of dynamic flows to work up a healthy, detoxifying sweat. Take a towel. You will need to shower afterwards.

#3. The changing rooms are nice.

#4. So are the staff. Especially Lisa who let me trial the studio free for two months. Her karmic glow is off the scale right now.

#5. The prices are pretty competitive and they currently offer a 10 day pass for £35. Plus seniors, students and unemployed people get 15% off. Must run that last one past my accountant.

That’s all.

Beautiful bow courtesy of jameswvinner.com

francophile…

This post is dedicated to my friend Clem. First off, because she’s French and really into her skincare. And secondly, because when I bumped into her a few days ago she told me, in the nicest possible way, that I don’t blog very often. Sometimes it takes a straight-talking Parisian to get a little action around here….

So I present to her, and you, a new brand from across the channel. Etat Pur. From the same skincare stable as Institut Esthederm (the BEST spfs along with La Roche Posay Anthelios, of course) and Bioderma, it launched online in the UK on monday.

The concept is simple but so, so clever. I can’t believe it’s never been done before. The expansive range of 80 products is split into two lines. The first, A+, is a ‘library’ of pure active ingredients ‘at their scientifically proven most effective doses’. That is, the ingredients that address specific skin concerns like pigmentation marks, spots, wrinkles, redness, dehydration… The list goes on. In fact the ‘concerns’ are so specific they’re split into families. For instance *consults press bumph* in the ageing family there are no less than 10 actives on offer from coenzyme Q10 for wrinkle prevention, to Acmella for expression lines and Soy Isoflavones for the effects of menopausal (ie hormonal) related ageing. The idea being that you can select the specific active, or actives, for your needs and get it at the exact dosage for the greatest benefits to your skin. No extra chemicals or filling agents required. Just pure, effective ingredients in a handy little dropper bottle. Simple eh?

So, that’s the actives. Now comes the B+ range of ‘biomimetic’ (in affinity with the skin’s own natural chemistry) products which are suitable for all skin types. The range allows you to select your preference of texture and formulation. In cleansing alone you can choose from a refreshing micellar water right through to a detoxifying (wash off) cleansing foam. Moisturisers are ranked in levels from 1 to 5 (from a light oil-free lotion to an ultra nourishing balm) so you can pick according to how dry your skin is and what kind of texture you like. All products are free of silicones and parabens. Oh and there’s body products too. Think of these like the bread and butter for skin, delivering essential daily nutrients and moisture to the upper layers, and the A+ actives as the more serious bunch who penetrate deep into the skin to tackle deeper-rooted problems.

But the absolute best part is the price. Nothing in this vast range costs more than £19 with prices starting from just £5. But it’s really not a bargain basement brand, the quality is as good, probably better if you consider the pedigree of the lab, than comparable brands . The makers insist they’re able to keep prices low due to the fact they have no stores (bar one concept one in Paris) – all distribution is via the website. If they were available in say, department stores, the prices would easily be double. There’s no celebrity endorsement to bank roll, no shop floor staff to pay. Even the packaging is ethical and economically sound (they eschew all secondary packaging ie pointless boxes for bottles to sit in). They are even planting a shed load of trees to operate with carbon neutral status! The only potential downfall I can see is that with so many products available, the average customer, lets say my mum for instance, might feel overwhelmed and confused by what she actually needs. Words like hyaluronic and salicylic don’t mean an awful lot to her. Luckily there’s a nifty skin analysis tool online which works out a unique, personalised prescription of both A+ and B+ products depending on your skincare woes. My my, is there anything these clever French folk haven’t thought of?

*French roof tops courtesy of film-grain.tumblr.com/

 

flash lashes

I’m a bit behind of this one I’ll admit, blame it on the 6 month sabbatical soujourn (yeah, erm, I know I’ve been back since July) but how did I ever miss these kick ass lashes from WE ARE FAUX? The new S/S12 collection dreamt up by music industry make-up supremo Ana Cruzalegui launched last week. They’re a little less showstopping than last year’s glitzy collaboration with electro act Ladytron, but seductive and directional (without being drag queeny) none the less. Don’t make the mistake I did and save them for fancy dress (Minnie Mouse if you must ask). Give your pair a Saturday night outing soon and ready yourself for some serious lash fluttering action. I love the vinyl-esque thickness of these Dulcet ones, £10 (fyi the ones in the pic above are called Starmaker). 

harder better faster stronger

Today’s post is on behalf of my hair. While all around fashion week madness is turning out fantastical sculptural donut chignons (McQueen), dip dye dos (Pringle) and yet another ponytail trend (yawn), we wanted to take a minute, my hair and I, to mark this day.  The day we officially ran out of Aveda’s new shampoo and conditioner. Invati. Say it loud, say it proud in a Vic & Bob ‘ovavoo’ stylee. The range named after the Sanskrit word meaning ‘invigorate’, consists of an exfoliating shampoo, £18.50, thickening conditioner, £20.50, and a zingy scalp revitalizer, £41, created for anyone worried about hair shedding, thinness or loss. I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily one of those people, but even with my short crop I notice little furballs on my pillow most mornings. Or did until I started using this stuff.  It’s Viagra for hair, I swear.

All the products contain a herbal blend called DensiplexTM which features turmeric (incidentally sourced from a fairtrade farm in India), a powerful anti-inflammatory used for centuries in ayurvedic medicine. The exfoliating shampoo also contains a natural salicylic acid extracted from the plant wintergreen which basically blitzes dead skin and sebum blocked follicles so your fledgling strands can reach their full potential – judging from the emergency fringe trim I’ve just booked, mine have gone into overdrive… In trials, testers reported that their hair actually seemed to be growing quicker, in fact, the Aveda bods say this is probably just the result of less breakage and shedding making your mane appear longer and fuller. But if the results are a thicker, fuller barnet in just a few months, who’s splitting hairs?

*image by Russian artist duo WhiteSnowStudio courtesy of Trendland.net

taking liberty

I had some time to kill yesterday between appointments so I thought I’d head to my spiritual shopping home, Liberty, to check out their new Bath Shop and, as the lucky recipient of a shiny new £50 gift coin, in search of something to splurge on. Needless to say I could have spent it 10 times over within the first 5 minutes. I sometimes wonder, in sliding doors fashion, how different my life would have been had I accepted the part time  job I was offered there in my post-university wilderness years before I got into journalism. The prospect of staff discount still makes me shudder… First on my ‘to covet’ list were these gorgeous print make-up and wash bags bags by Alexandra Mann. Fancy huh?

I’ve since done some investigating and found out via Susie Bubble, that Mann was selected as part of Liberty’s Best of British Design Open Call back in the summer. Read the original post here if like me, this is the first you’ve heard of it (HOW??). Now in it’s 3rd year, it’s a really exciting concept where designers pitch up to Liberty with their wares in a Dragons Den type scenario and the best, commercially viable labels are selected to secure a coveted spot on the shop floor. You gotta love Liberty for supporting British talent.

My second almost-purchase was one of these amazingly scented candles, £50, by Astier de Villatte, the French ceramic, paper and candle merchants exclusively at Liberty. Each is named after the destination that inspires the scent. Delhi (betel, benzoin, musk, myrhh & eucalyptus beedies aka ciggies) is sweet, spicy and exotic, if a little cloying, much like the city itself. But Honoulou (californian lemon, ylang ylang & vanilla) and Namche Bazar ( patchouli, maté and musk) are absolutely divine, want-to-line-the-inside-of-your-nostril type fragrances.

Last but not least, the new Andrea Garland collection of ‘Handmade in Hackney’ natural skincare and cosmetics housed in vintage charms and tins is so charmingly anti mass-market I have to applaud her for sticking to her guns and being one of the few beauty brands to be doing something genuinely different. The ‘Le Renarde‘ vixen ring lip balm, £34, being my absolute favourite but also check out the magical Sore Muscle Rub, £32, ointment in old puncture repair kit tins. Tres cute.

lipsticks at dawn

I don’t want to dwell on a post about blogging, it’s all a little too Black Mirror for my liking, but… in the wake of a passive-aggressive rant from a beauty journalist I’m following on twitter, I feel compelled to throw in my tuppence worth. Beauty ‘blaggaz’ (her term, not mine) are giving the original, free-thinking beauty blogger a bad name and upsetting the upper echelons of editorial (stamps feet in Sloaney strop) in the process. Blaggaz, you see, have no advertising clients to butter up, no editorial guidelines to adhere to and in some cases, granted, limited talent. So they can, essentially, do whatever the hell they want. And sometimes that means rubbishing brands, leaking exclusives pics or flogging their samples on eBay. Whatchagonnado?

But, however much you try, you can’t deny that decent beauty blogging is changing the game for the better and I suspect this is the true cause of more twitter tirades than you’d imagine. A certain, cliquey snobbery is intrinsic in publishing and you’d be surprised how still, in this day and age, if your face doesn’t fit, you don’t get the gig. So, it figures that an 18 year-old blogging about nail polishes from her bedroom in South Sheilds, who’s never breakfasted at Cecconis in her life, is kind of messing up the hierarchy. I’ll admit it. It is a little bit galling when you’ve worked hard for over a decade just to graduate off your knees in the cupboard to an actual real desk where people actually read your copy while DIY bloggers, some with very little experience, now command their very own press events, advertising deals and VIP treatment from brands tripping over themselves for a slice of the free digital advertising. It’s like Xfactor for journalists….Still. If you can’t beat them, join them, right? Even the most stubborn and technically-bereft of editors has been forced to pack away the Smythson (gifted & mongrammed, natch) and embrace new technology to stay in the game. If they hadn’t, we’d never be party to such entertaining twitter hissy fits again, would we? 

life after lip balm

Just a quickie today because a) I’m struggling to keep my eyes open and b) it’s Friday! So, I present to you a pair of patent strawberry lips courtesy of moustacheod snapper Terry Richardson and a little, some might say controversial, lip care advice from Notting Hill’s finest facialist (to the likes of Sienna Miller and more…) Una Brennan.

If, like me, you have seventeen lip balms and ointments secreted amongst various carrying vessels and drawers about your house because on a cold day, your lips resemble those of Gillian Anderson’s Miss Haversham in the recent BBC adaptation, this’ll make the hairs on the back of your neck bristle. However, if you’ve got the metal to give it a go you could save a fortune in balms and beeswax, not to mention the new found space in your handbag.

The lip commandments, according to Una…

“Use lip cream instead of lip balm for 3 weeks, morning and night, and NOTHING on your lips during the day.

Every 3 nights brush gently in circular motions with a soft bristle tooth brush.  Your lips will become drier even cracked throughout the 3 weeks, avoid licking them (!!!! How?).

By 3 weeks you will have weaned yourself off your lip balm addiction and your pout will return to its natural plumpness.  Dry lips will be a thing of the past so it is well worth persevering.”

 

aesop soho…

It’s January and my bank balance may be steadily sliding into the red, but I’m still tickled pink that Aesop, my favourite apothecary-come-aesthete brand who incidentally, celebrate their 25 year anniversary in 2012, has decided to open up shop in Soho. In keeping with their stringent design ethics, no two Aesop stores are ever the same, the new space on the corner of Lexington street is a beautiful homage to its former surroundings when Soho was a Royal Park in the reign of Henry VIII (who knew?) with much greenery and old fashioned pharmacy-ware in abundance. Designed by cult parisian architects, Cigue, who also designed Aesop le Marais, the store is all white, with specially comissioned enamel display shelving and no visible pricing – it interferes with their design vision. NB. If you want to avoid a potentially expensive and embarrassing card declined situation at the till there is a price list propped up on the wall by the sink…

With the store launch also came a sneak peak of two upcoming Aesop goodies. In March they launch Control, a non-drying anti-blemish gel packed with tea tree leaf oil, niacinamide and salicylic acid plus rosemary and lemon peel oil. Word on the street is you won’t know what you did without it. Die spots DIE! Sorry, where was I? Acne aside, a more seductive launch in April is the heavenly scented Pettigrain (extracted from the green twigs of the orange tree) Hydrating Body Gel, a light, cooling aloe-vera textured gel for the warmer months in Aesop’s signature paint tube packaging. A sheer, whimsical slip of a summer body lotion that makes me hanker, even more than usual, for warmer climes. Both are highly anticipated in my bathroom.