A lipstick worth talking about

Mwah! It’s beauty rumoured that women who wear lipstick kiss their partners more often than women who don’t. It's also said they're ready to kick off their heels and enjoy life more than those who prefer to leave their lips slick bare. Doesn’t that say something about the increased confidence women get from wearing lipstick?

Hot on the lip-licious factor is Clarins new Rouge Eclat Satin Finish Age-Defying Lipstick which is launching in January. With lips at their pout best around the age of 16 – after the first flush of youth, lips gradually lose their pillow fullness with age unless you resort to fillers; Clarins have created a long-lasting colour along with an injection of their Nutri-Youth Complex. Protecting lips against dehydration and helping to boosts collagen, the formulation feels super nourishing and cushioning thanks to the inclusion of vitamin E and plant waxes. Remember, a dry lip adds up to a thinner looking lip. Plus, they’re lip-smacking tasty too with a blackberry and liquorice flavour. Beautifully encased in gold, cherry pick from 15 gorgeous shades catalogued under subtle nudes, rich and warm and vibrant brights. An Angelina Jolie mouth is not guaranteed, but surely this has to be a lipstick lust for the start of the new year.

Clarins Rouge Eclat Lipstick, £18.50 available from January.

Pretty naughty, pretty nice!

HOLIDAY HAPPY COLOURS

I know we haven’t celebrated Christmas yet, but after being saturated with copious amounts of glitter, gold and sparkle leading up to the festive week, it was a breath of fresh beauty air when something caught my eye that looked light and sweet, reminding me of warmer and fun times ahead.

Estee Lauder’s Pure Color Pretty Naughty collection, is not hitting the stores until February, but I thought I’d shout about it now to build up a little bit of excitement for what really is a dullsville month. Usually a month of dull skies and no celebration - except if it's your birthday, so a little bit of pretty certainly wouldn't go a miss!

Tom Pecheux, creative make-up director for Lauder has really tapped into the sunny side of his nature for his uplifting trend collection for spring. Yes, these watercolour pastels could be classed as pretty naughty, or in my eyes just plain pretty – without being insipid. Shades take inspiration from an English garden, but far from twee, they're given an urban twist and described as youthful and rebellious. Find your inner rebel by playing up the fanciful soft hues in the eye palette, and then slightly taming with the dark pigments for emphasis. The double ended Kajal EyeLiner in black and sky blue can be used to give a youthful flicker or bold definition at the corner of the eye. Nail the look with Insatiable, the light weight lilac nail polish that’s a tad off-beat. The whole collection may have grown from the creative seeds of an English garden, but to me the colours just sum up the joy of travel – blue skies and happy minds.

Pure Color Five Color Eyeshadow Palette in Pretty Naughty, £35

Pure Color Intense Kajal Eyeliner Duo in black/blue, £18

Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Insatiable, £14.50

www.esteelauder.co.uk

Hollywood's skin secret

I recently read that you should hide away heavy duty wrinkle creams in your bathroom when inviting friends around – along with any other embarrassing lotions and potions. Now, I can understand hemorrhoid cream, but wrinkle cream?  To me this comes under the same category as a Botox user putting their line free complexion down to drinking water and having early nights. If you have good looking skin why not spread the word on what you’re using?

One cream I wouldn’t mind my friends seeing is Erno Laszlo’s new Transphuse Line Refining Cream. One because it costs £235 and therefore they must think I’m doing okay for myself! And two, it looks luxurious on the bathroom shelf. A skincare line with true Hollywood heritage, it was founded by a young and forward thinking dermatologist called Dr Erno Laszlo in the late 1920’s. Seen as a skincare revolutionary, his advice was sought after by Hollywood’s elite including Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.  

Today, Dr Laszlo’s philosophy still holds true with the creation of tailor made products specifically formulated to confront the signs of premature aging. Transphuse boasts ‘fusion technology’ that is said to stimulate new collagen growth and modulates micro-dermal contractions that cause fine lines. A key ingredient is the plant based Gatuline Expression that is said to relax facial muscles. I’ve been using the cream for a little over a week, and although I can’t say lines are melting away – a month is needed for visible results, I do like the feel of it. Light in texture and sinking readily into the skin, it leaves my skin feeling firmer. Only time will tell if it's a keeper in terms of anti-aging benefits, but  it’s a cream I’m going to continue with. I’m having friends around tonight, and I’m going to ignore the bathroom etiquette  rules and leave this tube of gorgeousness on my bathroom shelf!

Erno Laszlo Transphuse skincare line is available from January from The White Hall at Harrods priced from £95.

www.ErnoLaszlo.com

Eyeing up some Egyptian attitude

There’s nothing quite like working a sexy Cleopatra eye whether it be a cinematic Liz Taylor or an Amanda Barrie Carry On effect. The tool of the trade for this mysterious and captivating look is kohl. This form of eyeliner had its breakout moment in Ancient Egypt where it was worn not only to enhance the eyes, but said to protect skin from the searing desert sun. It has also been speculated that kohl was worn to protect the wearer from the evil eye. Today, the only kind of eye Bourjois is interested in creating is one with modern attitude and mystery which comes courtesy of their new and aptly named Queen Attitude Kohl Kajal.

Twisting up like a lipstick bullet - the black satin ribbon at the end of the tube makes for a nice touch, this cone shaped kohl is inky black and incredibly soft thanks to its natural waxes. Although coal intense, it gives a powdery and graphic finish thereby creating a sensual, rather than a hard looking eye.  But if applied with a heavy hand, it can be easily smudged out due to its baby softness. Really, it's goof-proof to master. There’s no need for a pencil sharpener either as the tip will naturally contour to your make-up application without the need to sharpen. Apart from bathing in asses milk, I think this clever kohl captures the spirit of Egyptian beauty beautifully!

Bourjois Queen Attitude Kohl Kajal, £6.99

Available from www.boots.com www.superdrug.com and www.asos.com

An instant rescue for party eyes?

It’s the start of the party season, and I don’t need to tell you that late nights, one too many martinis and just general party-ness can leave eyes literally peeping behind their sockets in the morning. Dark circles and fine lines caused by dehydration can all conspire to leave you with more baggage than the luxury handbag department at Selfridges.

I’m always careful with eye creams, as for me, too rich and intense can actually make my eyes puffier. But I was happy to lend my eyes to eysilix as the consistency is incredibly light. Made from the same Canadian laboratories that brought you nanoblur - the optical cream that caused a big beauty buzz about a year ago, eysilix professes to instantly lift, minimise the appearance of dark circles and puffiness as well as diminish the appearance of fine lines in one instant eye rescue. Derived from the latest peptides along with the finest botanicals, it does make a difference but probably not as much as you hoped for from its confident sell. Looking through the reviews on the Boots website it seemed many were disappointed. There were certainly instant sensory results as it leaves the area feeling smoother and slightly tighter, and I think there was a fraction of a difference in terms of erasing dark circles and lines, but it would take a very trained eye to see any change. It’s not surgery let’s put it that way, but as a pep up for over tired peepers it works.

Eysilix, £24.99 available from www.boots.com

Red Tea soaps up

We’ve had Earl Grey tea, builder tea, green tea and now the healthiest brew to hit your teapot is red tea. Oh yes, for the health junkies out there it should be just your cup of char. Cultivated in the mountains of South Africa, Rooibos or the Red Bush has been used for yonks as a therapeutic drink by South African tribes and Bushmen. Boasting 50 times the antioxidant properties of Green Tea, it’s also beneficial for natural skin therapy. Taking the goodness off the tea table, like green tea, it has been poured into beauty products.

I don’t normally use soap. I use a cleanser on my face usually wiped off with a muslin cloth and a shower or bath gel for my body, but I have really fallen for this Red Tea cleansing face & body bar. Derived from natural African red tea, it’s a natural vegetable soap with the protective antioxidant benefits as well as moisturising properties. Surprisingly it doesn’t leave my skin feeling high and dry – when I was soap user back in the day, my skin always used to feel tight after rinsing, and it smells gorgeous rather than highly fragranced. Pure essential oils of orange, lime, lavender and rose makes for a luxurious soap story.

Red Tea Cleansing Face & Body Bar, £9.

www.redteatotalbodycare.co.uk

The skin changer mask

Anyone who reads my blog regularly will know I’m a huge fan of Alpha-H. I interviewed the founder, Michelle Doherty at the beginning of the year who hailed glycolic acid as reinventing and saving her skin – she suffered from terrible acne from the ages of 14 to 28. She asked herself if she was ‘ballsy’ enough to put acid on her skin. The answer was yes and she’s never looked back.

However, what really struck me about our complexion chat was her belief that you have to take skin out of its comfort zone to reap the results. “For skin to start producing its own collagen, it needs to drop down to a warm and tingling level,” she explained. Before discovering Alpha-H I was a bit namby pamby when it came to hard core skincare. I would shy away from words like acid for fear of looking like that scene in Sex and the City when Samantha Jones had a peel. Red, blotchy and raw. The stuff of skinmares. But with complexion confidence growing, I’ve been using Alpha-H Liquid Gold for nearly a year now and it’s really made a difference in terms of clarity.
  
Their Alpha-H Liquid Gold Smoothing & Perfecting Mask is my newest skin arsenal. Almost masquerading as a peel, glycolic acid is the fifth ingredient on the list, so it kicks pores! 15% is the concentration and in this measure will help resurface, build collagen and improve the plumpness of the skin. It’s not a mask you use more than once a week, and be warned your skin will fizz throughout the 10 minutes it’s left on. Although not suitable for delicate skin, I would say mine can be sensitive and it doesn’t cause any adverse reactions. But if you do experience any stinging or burning stop using. The term pick-me-up can be overused for under-performing products, but it certainly doesn’t apply to this one. Skin feels incredible soft after and looks so much fresher with fine lines and wrinkles taking a back seat. I would even go as far to say skin looks positively loved up. And who wouldn’t like cupid struck skin?


Alpha-H Liquid Gold Smoothing & Perfecting Mask, £43 available from www.lookfantastic.com and www.qvcuk.com