Shu Uemura doesn't do pores!

Just like lines and blotches on our skin, we don’t really jump for joy when we can spy large pores blighting our complexion. There’s lots of pore-less picks for the taking that boast to banish them to the naked eye, but new to the line-up, and a product surely to be snapped up by professional MUAs is Shu Uemura’s POREraser UV under base mousse.

Now, please take note of the word mousse. I pumped it with a little too much enthusiasm thinking it was a lotion – note to self: put on glasses when looking at products, and ended up with a handful of foam. But because it’s a mousse the application, as you can imagine, is fairy-touch light and delivers flawless looking skin with their hard-hitting triple complex. The complex in question is the spherical and platelet powder which reflect light therefore making the skin look porcelain perfect, flowerbud powder which absorbs sebum for a shine-less effect and sodium salicylate for a smooth and refined textured. Insta-glam with instant results makes this an instant buy in my beauty book!

Shu Uemura POREraser costs £29 and is available in beige or pink.

Available April.

www.shuuemura.co.uk

South America here we come!

SUMMER BRONZING COMPACT

We are still wearing beanie hats. We are still wearing gloves. But it doesn’t mean our faces have to look frozen in time! Cheat the weather and add a spot of spring time loveliness to your make-up bag.

Clarins aren’t feeling the cold, not not one bit of it. Their The Splendours collection is a riot of hot gorgeous colour inspired by South America. Driven by a heady mix of bronzes, golds and gem like jewels, together they deliver a passionate warmth and glow to the face.

INSTANT SMOOTH CRYSTAL LIP BALM

The two standout products for me are the Limited Edition Summer Bronzing Compact embossed with a South American inspired motif. Soft browns and terracottas make up the palette, and once swirled across the face – pay attention to cheekbones, temples and the tip of the nose for a genuine sun kissed feel, looks au natural and pretty. The added fragrance gives a fleeting taste of summer too. My second picking is their Limited Edition Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balms. Very Andy Warhol, their pop art appearance is edgy, but they are one of the easiest lip balms to work with. Ultra smooth they practically glide on all by themselves. Lips are treated to an explosion of subtle colour whilst keeping them super hydrated and lip smacking comfortable. In fact, they’re so fool-proof to use, you don’t even need a mirror to apply.  Now, if that isn’t enough to melt your cold cosmetic heart, I don’t know what is!

Clarins Summer Bronzing Compact, £30

Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balm is available in four shades at £18 each.

The collection is available from April.

The new downtown smokey eye

KATIE HOLMES THE NEW FACE OF BB

THE DOWNTOWN SMOKEY EYE

Bobbi Brown always has the insight to come up with a product that, once experienced you can’t do without ever again! Her new Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick is one such product. Demonstrated with flair at its launch event by Georgina Pelosi, Bobbi Brown’s PRO artist, Georgina describes the look as the ‘downtown chic smokey eye’. A look that manages to pull off effortless and high impact in equal measure. 

A tug-free formula, it glides on a naked eye easy peasy and can be used to shade, define, smoke up and highlight eyes. No OTT blending required. Simply swipe and go. Lasting up to 8 hours without creasing or fading, it makes for the quickest and easiest eye outside of a New York minute!  

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick, £20 is available in 8 shades.

The chic cleanse

High performing skin starts with a high performing cleanser. All too often we skimp on this skin essential and spend our hard earned beauty dollars on a bling-bling cream hoping to slay wrinkles and fast forward to youth. But any facialist will tell you the cornerstone to great skincare is a killer cleanser. And skin sense tells us that a well cleansed skin will look brighter, softer and therefore more youthful.

Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm is one such killer cleanser. Two years in the making it doesn’t disappoint, and almost feels and smells like a treatment. Upon unscrewing the lid, the aromatic smell of their signature oils amongst them geranium, lavender and orange delightfully wafts under your nose. A feel good olfactory start and finish to the day most definitely. As for performance, I always go by the feel of a cleanser on the skin as to whether it gets my vote – some just don’t seem to cut the mustard in terms of formula, leaving pores feeling poorly cleansed and neglected. Well, no such half baked feeling with this one.  This incredibly soft balm literally melts onto the skin, and once wiped away with a damp muslin cloth, leaves skin supremely cleansed, comfortable and plumped. I would even go as far to say, skin feels chic, just like you've slipped into a very expensive dress! I’ve just experimented with the test pot (above) but can’t wait to super size!

Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm suits all skin types and costs £39.50.

www.timetospa.co.uk

    

Mad about Marni

MARNI'S VOODOO BALLERINA!

When it comes to labeling style, Marni definitely has the cool factor. More of a mindset than a look book look, it’s a fashion house than courts the eclectic and likes to shake it up into a quirky mix of unpredictable fun. The newly launched fragrance is no different. Arriving with a voodoo looking ballerina doll (open for interpretation!) it firmly set the scent scene for something a little bit out of the ordinary.  

SHOWER GEL AND BODY LOTION

Before the scent comes the bottle. Like a piece of beloved art, you newly appreciate it every time you take a fresh glance. Classic, yet kooky, its cherry red top mirrors the Bachelite used for the Marni jewels, and the opaque dots sprinkled on glass are a nod to Marni’s signature graphic motifs. Decidedly feisty, the fragrance is more a modern day ‘blended’ family than a traditional family of floral or chypre for example. That would be too simple, too easy, too vanilla for Marni! The scent kicks off almost masculine, but then steps sideways into something more playful. Like an errant boyfriend you can’t help going back to, it’s hard to describe the emotion of the juice unless you experience it.  Marni is a label that can never be labeled, and that’s the pure beauty of the brand.

MARNI eau de Perfume from £48 for 30ml

Marni Body Lotion £36

Marni Shower Gel £43

Available exclusively at Harrods and harrods.com

Tan for two

It seems like a touchy-feely idea, but what cosmetics do you really have a love-in with your other half? The reality is you may steal his razor for a quick leg shave, and he may nab your concealer now and again, but unless he’s into guy liner or man-scara not much! But when talking body products two can easily become one. He-Shi have just launched a limited edition luxury gift set which, as their name suggests is unisex. It contains their Express Liquid Tan and Exfoliating Bodywash all zippered and presented in a fabulous, on-season purple crocodile print toiletry bag. This is a big buy-me factor as far as I'm concerned.


He-Shi is fast becoming a glow seekers must-have for sun-kissed, healthy looking skin. The formulations are dummy proof. The Exfolating Body Wash is teeming with AHAs that thoroughly prepares the skin by removing any ‘leftovers’ of previous fake tan, along with buffing smooth any rough and dry spots for a non-patchy, fluid looking tan. As for the Express Liquid Tan, this formulation is super moisturising, so doesn’t cling to pores or hair follicles - avoiding a dot-to-dot affect, dries within minutes and lasts up to 10 days. Your feel good shade can be built up in layers for a deeper finish if needed. Forget dinner for two and make it tan-tastic for him and you!

He-She Limited Edition Luxury Gift Set retails at £25.50 (but worth £49!) is available from April to May. Grab it while stocks last.

He-Shi available from selected salons and spas, Harvey Nichols and www.he-shi.eu 

 

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Vichy's hot new cream

I received this new skincare cream from Vichy with a sweet little comp slip saying it would make a perfect post for Mother’s Day. It’s always a tricky decision whether to give something that shouts anti-ageing and menopausal!  But personally, anything that helped or improved the appearance of my skin I would be grateful for. So with this in mind I may well introduce Vichy’s Neovadiol Magistral to my mum next Sunday, and even have a little slather myself!

Although none of us like getting older in terms of skin biology and the word menopause is hushed over, the fact is 1 in 4 women is menopausal, 1 in 3 will be in years and 1 in 2 will be in 50 years. So, with our ever increasing ageing demographic, it’s smart to wise up on how skin behaves leading up to the peri (from 35 years) to post (after 50 )menopausal years. Peri-menopausal skin can act drier and more fragile, but a new observation from Vichy has discovered that after menopause, the skin changes again and loses up to over half of its lipids. These play a leading role in the skin’s structure, whereby the oils particularly omegas 3, 6 and 9 ensure skin remains nourished and provide it with energy to remain dense and supple – like a well sprung mattress. On hand to re-spring and upholster is Vichy’s new breakthrough densifying balm. it harbours a powerful trio of treatment oils  along with other active ingredients to help stimulate the production of proteins for growth factors. Although it looks extra creamy in the pot, it definitely has a balm like feel and sinks in quickly giving an instant softness to the skin. In tests 2 in 3 women preferred it to their usual cream. Ageing? We're ready to face it!

Vichy’s Neovadiol Magistral Densifying and Nourishing Balm, £26.

www.vichy.co.uk

Givenchy's mistress of lipstick

A SEDUCTIVE, LEATHER CLAD LIPSTICK!

This isn’t a lipstick to be taken lightly. It’s dressed in black leather! Naughty. Seductive. Powerful. If ever there was a statement lipstick, then this is it. Le Rouge Givenchy gives intense colour with just one swipe, where lips play up to its all lasting day long formula. The rich and creamy texture is thanks to the inclusion of beeswax and the re-densifying of lips is down to a skincream favourite – hyaluronic acid microspheres. A lipstick that makes your lips look thinner should never be an option. And like all good seductresses, fragrance is key. This bullet subtlety smells of powdery mimosa and blackcurrant notes. Just like luxurious lingerie, it’s a lipstick that makes the absolute most of an asset. A kiss of a buy.

COMPLEMENT WITH LE VERNIS. IT ADDS FASHION TO FINGERTIPS

Le Rouge Givenchy is available in 12 shades in three colour families: Les naturels, Les roses and Les creations. £24 each available from this month.   
 

Givenchy’s Le Vernis puts fashion on fingertips at £15. 

Stockists: 01932 233824