Category Archives: beauty news

Oooh, we all need a bit of zing and zest to get us through January, don’t we? Crap weather, dark, chilly mornings and a seemingly endless number of weeks until we get to anything exciting, calendar-wise. (What is the next good event after Christmas? The clocks going forward? When is that? Someone winch me up and out of my pit of despair!)

So yes, Space NK’s Zest for Life set. I was going to write about this when it was full price (£28) and forgot; it was then on my list of priorities when it was half price, but I forgot again. It is now less than half price at nine pounds and I very much suggest snapping one up if you need a little self-treat that won’t break the bank. Or if you’ve a few birthdays coming up it’s a nice one to stockpile. It’s actually a third of the original price, which is rather pleasing…

This set is a veritable tin of sunshine: open the lid and a load of bright orange tissue paper springs out to reveal four little goodies hiding inside. There’s a Mandarin & Grapefruit candle, and then a body lotion, body wash and body scrub, all smelling very juicy and fresh and invigorating. If you had a shower using this lot you couldn’t fail to have a slightly happier morning.

No sulphates in the shower stuff, no parabens in any of it, if you’re on the lookout for those, and the candle is so scented that you could probably just leave it unlit in a room to get a good whiff – light it and it’s like the room-fragrance version of a fizzy Berocca! Find the Zest for Life set at Space NK here.

(On a side note, the own-brand candles at Space NK are really very good indeed. I shall be looking out for them more, from now on – the Christmas one was lovely with a sophisticated fragrance and pretty jar.)

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I’m back from “South-of-France Round One”: and what a brilliant trip. Chanel hot air balloons, dashing men opening doors for me and a gorgeous new No5 fragrance to tell you about, once I get a moment to write things up. I now have just twenty-four hours at home before I need to jet off back to Cannes for the film festival, so I’m frantically trying to sort out a few administrative issues whilst simultaneously scheduling blog posts and searching online for tit tape. (I’m wearing the plungiest dress on the red carpet at Cannes; I have no idea how on earth I’m going to control my breasts. They’ll be having a party every time I move!)

I was slightly afraid of my bathroom at the Colombe d’Or. (A great – and very quirky – hotel I stayed in at Saint-Paul de Vence, which was near-ish to Chanel’s rose fields, where our press trip was taking place.) Firstly, the bathroom was yellow – all yellow – and it reminded me of the sort of bathroom that might appear in a horror movie. (You know; chosen by the location people especially for the yellow tiles and strange lighting, and because the blood of the -usually blonde – victim would look so vivid splattered up the walls.) Secondly, the shower head above the tub was stuck to the wall at a height of around three feet, which was too low for me to climb under, even on my knees. I realise that you’re meant to hold the shower head higher, but there was no little metal thing (hose holster? head clamp?) for me to slot it into. So hair-washing was out. Why didn’t you wash your hair over the bath-tub, using the shower head? I hear you ask. And to that, I say: see point one. The psycho fear. Leaning prone over a yellow bathtub in what is a very convenient position for an easy decapitation, with water pouring over your eyes rendering you temporarily blind, whilst your back is left completely exposed and the noise of the shower spray drowns out the creaking of your hotel door being stealthily opened: the conditions could not be more perfect for an errant serial killer with a penchant for cinematic, visually striking locations. Continue reading →

I decided to follow some instructions (for once!) because there were some application tips that came with the new Illamasqua Gel Sculpt Blusher. Tips from the top woman herself, founder of the Illamasqua brand and makeup artist extraordinaire, Alex Box. She said this:

“I press Gel Colour into cheeks by putting the product on the palm of my thumb, rubbing both palms together creating equal amounts of product on both hands. Then, I simply press it on the apple of the cheeks where you would naturally blush.”

And that, dear readers, is exactly what I did. Behold the ever-so-bright gel colour Charm being pressed onto my cheek from the heel of my hand:

and the resulting nearly-neon glow:

The application method works very well indeed, and the scarily bright “Tango” orange is surprisingly wearable. I haven’t really paired it with the best of makeup looks, because I was sat about trying out a load of different things at the time, but with simple, slightly-bronzed skin and a few coats of mascara the colour would really sing out.

A word of warning (or five): this blush does not budge. Scrub it from your hands straight away and make sure that you blend it immediately upon application. If you try to apply it straight from the stick then be ready with brush or fingertips to really buff it in, as it’s the quickest-drying formula I’ve ever used and once it’s on, it’s on for good! The texture is gorgeous – a cool, smooth gel – but it requires a little of your concentration to get things right. Let me know how you get on. There’s also a contour stick, same principle, but I haven’t tried that yet – I’ll keep you updated.

Illamasqua Gel Sculpt in Charm is £22 at Selfridges.com

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