A rose for a Rosie

Ooh, get me being photographed with the super that is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley! Yes, it's a been a week (well a night) of swanning about town. Straight after meeting the Pixiwoo women, I hit the launch for RHW's new Rosie for Autograph fragrance. I think Rosie was actually in one of her slips from her lingerie line, but she looked fabulous and only she could pull it off. Imagine meeting press in your nightie? Only the truly body confident could do it. And reading her exercise regime in a magazine this week, she deserves her body.
I spied her passing on delicious chocolates being served that evening too. See, if you cut out the rubbish you can look like Rosie!

Anyway, to the fragrance. Like her name, the heart of the fragrance is a centifolia rose. It's a rare, vintage style flower and actually smells very sexy rather than overly sweet. Other notes in the mix are pepper, lemon, magnolia, jasmine and musk. Capturing the feel of the countryside, the campaign was shot in Rosie's home county of Devon. It was a natural choice for Rosie as she felt it captured the beautiful sentiment she wanted for her fragrance. Although a global jet setting super, Rosie proves she's a homebody at heart.Smell and be seduced.

Rosie for Autograph Eau de Parfum starts from £14.
On counter now. www.marksandspencer.com

A brush with the PixiWoo women

I am sure sisters Sam and Nic Chapman need no introduction from me. If you're into make-up and the blogging community they will be in your DNA. I had the pleasure of meeting them this week at a swanky soiree at London's Mondrian to launch their Real Techniques Bold Metals Collections. Firstly, let me just kick off by saying, what lovely women! Professional and friendly, they're exactly what you see on their YouTube channel. They is no BBS (beauty bullsh**t) with these women. Two busy working mums who know the value of make-up, they believe everyone can look good - it's just a case of playing up your best features. The only smoke and mirrors is in your application technique.

So, onto the brushes. With contouring, like the biggest thing in make-up wizardy at the moment, these brushes put the expertise of chiseled cheekbones into your hands. Each brush is hand cut with luxury synthetic bristles that literally glide across the skin. Created for professional make-up artists as well as the consumers, they have smart little twists like the triangular shaped handle so they don't roll off the table whilst you're working. Handles are also weighted for optimal workability that tip towards the face when using them. There are seven brushes all of which to highlight and enhance each area of the face. My personal favourite is their Tapered Blush that sculpts across the cheeks. I may well not have model cheekbones, but I sure can try to create them! There's also the Triangle Foundation brush. Dual purpose it has flat edge covers for the larger areas of the face and smaller angled edges to contour around tricky areas like the eyes and nose. All-in-all these brushes help develop your make-up artistry whether you're a professional or not. Go on give them a swirl!

The Bold Metals Collections by Sam and Nic Chapman are available from Boots and prices from £10 to £25.

Hair to the Rehab

THE DOOR TO COOL COLOUR

This post is about me stepping in and becoming a fairy (beauty) godmother with my favourite hair salon FOUR London waving their magic colour wand. A friend of mine had suffered a hair malfunction after a well known, on-trend salon had coloured her hair with, it seems little technical skill. I thought this might be a useful blog post for all of those walking around with a hair shade they hate as they - or even (worryingly) their salon don't have the know-how to correct. Worse, in typical salon style, most of us don't say we're unhappy with it as we tip them and wave them goodbye! Colour correction is big business at FOUR and something they are adept at doing. Bad colour is like walking around wearing the wrong foundation - it robs your skin of natural radiance and upturns your look not in a good way. Here's the hair history from my friend Amy.

COLOUR BAND OF SHAME

For about a year and half, I've had a scalp bleach. The condition of my hair really deteriorated so I went back to my hairdresser and said I wanted to dull down the blonde to try and get the condition back, so perhaps give bleach a miss for a while. This is where it went wrong. At this point I'm not too sure what my hairdresser did as it was all done at the backwash so I couldn't see. But when I came out I was left with an extreme brassy/orange band around my root area and the rest of my hair went a grey/khaki/dark blonde colour. You can see the pics above of the band of shame!

Consultation

I went in to see Danielle, colour technician at FOUR and she could see exactly what was wrong with my hair. Although she said it wasn't the worse she had seen, it did need five hours work! We both looked over some images and it was nice that we were totally on the same page of hair shades that we liked. I felt a big relief that Danielle knew exactly how to correct my colour back to normal. Carly, the stylist came over to take a look at my cut and said she was quite surprised, that except for around the hair line where a 'chemical fringe' had been created, my hair was in pretty good condition and breakage was minimal. Bad colour normally results in bad hair. She said she would give me an 'invisible' trim as I wanted to keep the length, and to make the broken fringe better she would cut me in a parted fringe.

BAD COLOUR BE GONE.

Step 1

When doing my hair Danielle said the first step was to get rid of the brassy orange band that I had around the root area. She wanted to leave my actual roots and try to bring some of those back into my finalised colour. This would most certainly help with the condition of my hair. A permanent dark dye was applied over the brassy band and my very natural root was left out. This totally eliminated the orange band - phew! Danielle thinks when I told my previous hairdresser that I wanted to dull down my colour, rather than bleaching my hair she put a high lift tint onto it followed by a toner over the top. This caused the colour to go ginger. A toner was then put over the rest of my blonde colour to take the brassy edge out of that. 

GREAT COLOUR COOKING!

Step 2 

My hair was then washed and dried and the final colouring process began. She put a mix of two colours of highlights in. One which was closer to my natural hair colour and one blonde. More of the darker colour was applied to the underneath of my hair to make it look more natural and give my hair some depth. The blonder bits went around the parting. We washed it off and I was taken to Carly. 

Step 3 

I definitely wanted to keep the length of my hair, and unlike other stylists who take up to three inches off knowing you want to keep you hair long, Carly said she could take off just the very tips and it would still remove all of the split ends. I was happy for the first time whereby I wasn't about to walk out of the salon thinking where has all my hair gone? Carly cut my chemical fringe and kept the rest of the hair around the face long as I wanted to grow out the graduation. She blow-dried it off quite naturally with just a bit of movement and I couldn't have been happier with the final result. I had no orange at all left in my hair, just a lovely ashy blonde colour and the cut of my hair was amazing. I literally couldn't stop swishing it when I left the salon!

Yes, it's pricey - my colour was in excess of £300, but now I own the colour I actually want and I'm not spending on expensive mistakes - my colour disaster was over £200 and I've crucially found a colourist I can trust. I've learned that expensive colour can look cheap unless you go to a super skilled colourist!

NEW ROOTS

BRAND NEW HAIR!

For further details go to www.fourlondon.com
Telephone: 020 7297 9600 or email: salon@fourlondon.com

Beauty besties

I can hear you oooh-ing from here! Yes, these delicious eyes palettes are fresh from Bourjois. Coaxing out your inner make-up artist, all the hard work has been taken out with pre-coordinated shades and cream-to-powder textures to create a sizzlin' and smokin' hot look. To walk you through application, apply the lighter shade under the arch, the medium shade on eyelids and the dark shade at the roots of the lashes. The ultra light shade in the middle use as a light touch top coat for a glittery effect. Perfect for a big night out. Loving the 70's retro packaging, the Smoky Stories Palettes come in 8 quartets making them an absolute eye-light for everyone!

Another beauty bestie is their Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick. These have been a ginormous hit thanks to their matte and lightweight finish. They feel invisible on the lip whilst giving an on-trend punch of colour. Their Happy Nude Year shade 09 has just been introduced and the shade is sublime - it really does suits everybody. It's set to become one of my lip lusts for 2015 and I'm sure will be one of yours.

Bourjois Smoky Stories retail at £7.99
Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet, £8.99

desert storm skin sorted

Casually gliding my fingertips over the surface of my skin the other night I couldn't believe how dry it felt. Sahara dry. Sandpaper dry. Typical of seasonal switch skin, emergency measures had to be taken to restore the moisture robbed by central heating, overheated transport and snarly winds. Already addicted to serums, I needed to upgrade to something stronger. Something that would smooth and soothe. The word booster as in Dermalogica's skin hydrating booster caught my eye. If my skin needed anything it was a super saturated hydration boost. On the box blurb it highlighted is was for the driest skin conditions and with a concentrated blend of hyaluroinic acid and panthenol to help restore balance, I thought it was up to the job. And it was. Using 6 to 10 drops massage over the face, I could instantly feel my skin inwardly release a sigh of relief. Like magic, skin was plumped and boosted and fine lines exacerbated by lack of moisture seemed to disappear. It was like the desert conditions of my skin had finally found its oasis.

Dermalogica skin hydrating booster £52.50
www.dermalogica.co.uk

Boss and Bottled

Socks. Wallet. Underpants. When you're stuck gifting dad/uncle/brother these are the items you fall back on. I confess cologne isn't that much out of the ballpark, but Boss Bottled Collector's Edition does look rather special. Repackaged in celebration of more than 15 years of success, the blend of apple, cinnamon and woody notes are encased in a gunmetal grey flacon. As women step into a lifestyle fantasy when buying fragrance, bear in mind Gerard Butler is the ambassador for Boss - an actor that defines contemporary masculinity!

Boss Bottled Collector's Edition on counter from 1st October from £41.00

Double-Decker Dips

Wow! Talk about a palette that packs a punch. This Bobbi Brown bonanza has it all. A double decker of gorgeousness, many looks - from the subtle to the stunning can be conjured up with these personally picked creamy lip colours and eye shadows from the make-up maestro herself, Bobbi. Flattering to all skin tones, it makes for the perfect Christmas stocking thriller, or if you really want it to be all about you, it's the perfect self gifting treat. Bobbi's tag is #ReadySetGive which I feel could easily be switched to #ReadySetKeep!

Bobbi brown Deluxe Lip & Eye Palette on counter now for £59  

skin rescue

It's been quiet on the Dolly Mixture front of late, namely because I've been busy with the day job, and secondly I've been away. In the sun. Lucky me! This blog post addresses post holiday skin. A healthy dose of rays leaves your complexion looking sunkissed, but it can also leave it looking and feeling dry especially if a long haul flight is in the mix.

These two tubes over just a week have undoubtedly rebooted my skin after a 2 week road trip in Southern California - beautiful, but sizzling, constant air con and an 11 hour flight. Yes, my skin demands a staycation, but my mind and body demand something else! My skin was a little blemished touching down from my trip, so I looked to the deep cleansing qualities of Emma Hardie's new Amazing Face Instant Radiance Mask. It's a mask that doubles up as a great prep before going out, or a night treatment if you're staying in. Once removed skin looks tighter in pore size and hydrated and blemishes seem to clear up quickly. I've used it three times this week, as it's so rich and indulgent and feels like pay-back for neglecting my skin. Darphin's Vitalskin  Replumping Energic Emulsion is the perfect everyday moisturiser. Its light application belies its hydrating benefits. My skin's barrier looks strengthened and plumpness has been restored. Together they've rebooted my skin, and I need to thank them for that.

Emma Hardie Instant Radiance Mask, £36 www.emmahardie.com
Darphin Replumping Energic Emulsion, £39 www.darphin.co.uk

Pencil power

A short, sharp but sweet post. These cute pencils from Bourjois are called Contour Clubbing Pencils, but even if you don't bust moves on the dance floor, they're great for giving high voltage to a classic smoky eye. Apply to upper and lower lash lines to make your look rock and pop. They're waterproof so have poolside written all over them.

Bourjois Contour Clubbing Pencils, £4.99

Serum smart

As some flip over a new lipstick or mascara, I do the same when a new serum comes into my eye line. I adore serums. Their lightweight, drink it all in attitude suits skin something wonderful and I believe are the saviour of many a pooped out complexion. If I dropped one from my skin regime it would feel like going out without any underwear.

You may have heard about Clinique's Smart Custom-Repair Serum as it was launched back in June, but I've only just gotten around to trying it. It's an SOS kind of serum that uses repair technology to help patch up the damage you see and even the damage you don't on your skin. In R&D for 5 years it boasts the power of 37 patents to deliver custom repair. I could rattle through them, but all anyone wants to know is, does it make the skin look better? Well, I've only been trying it for a couple of days and as nice as it is to use, I can't say whether it does or doesn't yet, but what I can tell you is, that after a 12 week study, results showed visible improvement in treating uneven skin tone, dark spots, dullness, lines, wrinkles and firming. Now, that sounds seriously smart.

Clinique Smart Custom-Repair Serum, from £48.00.
www.clinique.co.uk
 

#SCENTWITHLOVE

One of the factors that keeps a brand fresh is newness. But the balance can be tricky. Too much newism can feel overwhelming and not enough makes the brand look stale. DKNY hits the right note with fragrances being introduced just when you fancy a spritz of a different kind of NYC spirit.

The newest edition from brand is DKNY MYNY - the tag message being, be part of New York. And really who wouldn't want to be? A non-stop city buzzing with life, personality and a can-do attitude, the juice sums this up with their newly chosen fragrance face Rita Ora. As for the scent - it's playful and sexy. Raspberries, Egyptian Jasmine, Freesia with a dry down of Vanilla Absolute and Musk makes it modern and urban. Although it has to be said, it's more chic than street! As for the bottle, I personally find it a tad clunky, but you can't ignore the homage to one of the most exciting skylines in the world. Spritz and enjoy.

DKNY MYNY retails from £37 and is available exclusively at Debenhams.co.uk from the 5th August and nationwide from 20th August. 

Insta-fabulous skin

Who doesn't want better looking skin in a instant? It's available on Instagram with the right filters - heck, does anyone leave their skin untouched when uploaded? But what about in real life. You know, when you meet people face-to-face? Alpha-H Instant Facial comes pretty close to giving your skin a clean sweep and a bright hello. Based on the benefits of a salon inspired peel - minus the redness, since I've been using this I've had quite a few compliments about how good my skin looks. It's a breeze to use too. Simply spritz on a cotton pad and wipe over your face. I only use in the evenings, as I don't want to over-do it and risk dry skin by using twice a day as recommended, then follow up with my usual serum or moisturiser. It's just the tonic for refining pore size, reducing dead cell build-up and mattifying the T-zone. In your face Instagram filter!

Alpha-H Instant Facial, £35.50.
www.alpha-h.com

Tinting talent

When it comes to summer hair, we all want to channel that cool beach-surf girl look. Free 'n' easy, salt-sprayed and don't-care wavy style - it's the only time you can officially ditch your dryer and straightening irons. And the colour should be just as free falling. But the combo of bleach and sun can leave dread(ed) locks - all fried and barmaid brassy. At my favourite salon, FOUR, their talented tinting team have worked on creating a new Duo Tint technique which adds up to masterminding an on-trend high lift platinum blonde. Minus the bleach. Genius. This technique doesn't hold the hair to ransom and there's absolutely no Bet Lynch tones to be seen. As for those who want to hair surf brunette style, their new Brown on Brown Lights give just the right amount of lift without a sunset red tone in sight, giving brunettes a hint of sun beach (not bleached) colour. And for those who want to off piste, check out their Bubblegum Pastels Collection. Shades are created using a mix of Crazy Colour in sundae shades of soft lemons, mint greens and soft peaches.Pretty girl hair is literally just a tinting brush away.

Although I wouldn't go all out for DIY colour, there is a trend to home dabble to keep root growth at bay and stretch out those salon sessions a little longer. The FOUR London Smudge Kit is an insider secret with beauty editors. The reason? A personal formula is made up to complement your hair shade and designed to maintain hair-line and parting once the roots start to creep back in. Perfect for those who travel a lot or just want to tap into their inner colourist.


FOUR London, 62 Conduit Street, London W1S 2GB
www.fourlondon.com  

Surf eyes are up

There are palettes and then there are Bobbi Brown palettes. The Limited Edition Surf & Sand Eye Palette is a summer wonder and has poolside chic written all over it. Perfect if you fancy experimenting with pastel tones that aren't too out there, these metallic, sea washed and beach bound pretty hues can be worn alone or layered on the lid. My personal favourites are the new Bikini Bronze, Surf Sparkle and Sea Foam Sparkle eye shadows. With 8 go-to colours, they're a breeze to apply and easy peasy to pack in the magnetic closing, sand linen wrapped fabric palette. No other eye shadows are required. It's as beach babe as make-up gets.

Bobbi Brown Surf & Sand Palette, £48. On counter July.

Cute and Chubby

LIPS

CHEEKS

Chubby. Not a word anyone likes to embrace willingly, accept when we're talking about Clinique's phenomenally successful Chubby sticks. 'Inspired' to the hilt by other brands, these easy-to-use make-up colouring crayons have fast become a gotta-have in every make-up bag since they launched.

New to the Chubby family this summer is their Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balm - a sheer, creamy cheek colour that I dab and blend in minutes to create a soft rosy cheek. The effect is glowy rather than cakey or dry, colour lasts and they beat the heat too. For pouty, soft lips there's Chubby Stick Baby Tint Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm. These babies are super sheer and act as your personal make-up artist. Each balm works with your lip's natural chemistry whereby the same shades will appear different on every pair of lips. Now, who doesn't want to be seen as a little Chubby?

Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balm comes in 4 shades and retail for £19.
Chubby Stick Baby Tint Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm comes in 4 shaes and retail for £17.
Both on counter from 1st August.

The all round luxury oil

I'm just back from Florida from a work assignment...I know, I know some girls get all the luck, and I made more room in my baggage for Stateside buys - have you seen the good exchange rate? by packing a beauty multi-tasker in the name of Carita's Fluide De Beaute 14.

This oil is the mother of all oils with an effective vitamin complex and platforms as the brand's hero product. I adore oils especially when in a hot climate. They rescue dehydrated anything in a heartbeat. But the good thing about this ultra-nourishing spray dry oil is that it takes care of face, body and hair. Zingy in fragrance, it helps tame the frizz on a humid head - it's ultra fine so there's no worry about lankiness, and I like to mix into a face mask or body lotion when applying to the skin. Alternatively, you just spritz solo. All this goodness in just one bottle adds up to more cool purchases in your case.

Carita Fluide De Beaute 14 costs £40.50 and available from www.feelunique.com

smells divine

This fragrance from Caudalie I just can't get enough of. Like its name, Parfum Divin, it just smells well, divine. I only wish this blog was scratch and sniff so you could share it with me. Right now. And we could all go mmmmm together! It invites to give yourself up to abandonment, and I have.

A heady mix of two types of rose - Bulgarian and Moroccan mingled with vanilla, musk, grapefruit and spicy pink peppercorn, the overall effect is incredibly sensual and very feminine. The bottle is just as beautiful, wrapped in gold along with an ash wood stopper - sustainable of course. Make it your summer scent.

Caudalie Divin costs £39.
www.uk.caudalie.com

How to get a job...or least an interview.

Not my usual type of post, but nevertheless I thought it may be useful as I know many graduates and those wanting to get into the beauty industry follow my blog. Recently I advertised for a PR Assistant and was flooded with CVs. The job market is tough and ever more competitive in creative industries, so your application needs to find itself being read. To the end. Many times I never got past the first line of an applicant's email before I took an irritated sigh and pressed delete. It's funny, you can have all the qualifications and degrees that a university can throw at you, but good basic skills such as spelling and having a dose of self awareness can go far. And your covering letter says far more about you as a wannabe employee than your CV. So, with this in mind and the next batch of hungry and ambitious students being released this summer, I thought I would highlight a few crucial do-not-ever bullet points I personally experienced on CVs for those of you navigating the bear pit of a job market. Read the book above in the picture too. It has helped me in my career and it will help you.

• Do not talk about yourself in the third person. I couldn’t quite believe it when the first paragraph started, ‘Rachel is a hard working, capable person….’ I thought it was a statement from a former employer. But no, Rachel (not her real name) was inflating herself up as her alter ego.
• There’s no need to kick-start your CV off with your National Insurance number.  You’re not being paid by the salaries department yet.
• If given a name to send your CV to, use it. Do not put on your covering letter To Whom It May Concern. If it’s a woman’s name – for example Jacqui, do not put Dear Mr Jacqui.
• Misspelling is not cool for skool. It looks sloppy and illiterate. You have spell-check. Use it.
• Remember to attach your CV to your email. I lost count how many didn’t. With inboxes flooded with CVs for just one position, you won’t be emailed back to ask for it.
• Make your covering letter a letter, not a dissertation. There is such a thing as too much information.
• Grammar and punctuation counts.
• Spell the brand correctly. In fact, spelling EVERYTHING correctly. I cannot emphasise this enough.
• Do not cut and paste from blogs talking about the brand’s product and not even bother to change the font to fit into your own application. Seriously!
• Do not start your covering letter with ‘hey’.
• If including interests on your CV there's no need to detail your whole gym workout. Yes, somebody did. 
• Detail what you can offer the company, not the other way around. I had one CV telling me this would be the perfect position for her until she discovered what she really wanted to do. Obviously her application was deleted!
• Put the right company name in your covering letter. Yes, you are applying for lots of positions and maybe using the same covering letter, but at least try and personalise it with the correct brand.
• There is no need to scan in a picture of yourself at your graduation day wearing your mortar board. Yes, you have a degree. I get it.

A dose of skin radiance

Whenever there’s a new skincare launch from Clarins, I’m all ears. Although a floating voter with skincare – too many products, too little time, if my skin finds itself confused in the myriad of lotions, I always find myself going back to this French brand that delivers high performing results. Something you want, but don't always get from all skincare.

Their newest star is their Hydraquench Tinted Moisturizer SPF15 and their manifesto promises to deliver a lightweight coverage that restores a plump, fresh look to give the radiance factor. For most skins, except the very oily, the more moisture it has the happier it becomes, and this one benefits from double the molecular weight of hyaluronic acid – the wonder ingredient for putting moisture in lock-down. There’s also katafray bark extract – nope, I hadn’t heard of it either, but it boosts the skin’s own hydrating mechanisms by stimulating the production of filaggrain. Before you ask, it’s a protein of cells in the epidermis which helps to reinforce the skin’s barrier function.  So there you have the science lesson. But all you really to know is,  it gives skin a gorgeous insta-finish. It gets my vote.

Clarins Hydraquench Tinted Moisturizer comes in 7 shades and will be available from June priced at £28.

www.clarins.com

SOS for split personality hair

If your hair has a split personality then SOS is on lather with Lee Stafford's new Oily Roots Dry Ends Shampoo and Conditioner at £8.99 each. Used together, this SOS duo work to detox and mop up excess sebum on the roots whilst soothing flayed out ends. Moringa Seed extract is the shampoo's secret weapon - an ingredient native to India known for its ability in haircare to mop up oils, whilst the conditioner relies on shea butter extracts to give dry ends plenty of TLC. The perfect coupling.