Author Archives: marc

Those who have mastered the application of false eyelashes need not read on; they will find this post faintly ridiculous. Those who would rather rewire all of the electrics in their house wearing a blindfold and oven gloves than attempt to spread rubbery glue along the edge of a flimsy band with an approximate thickness of 0.00001mm and try to stick it on their eyelids without gluing their lids together, their lashes together or scratching their retina: I have a treat for you.

Ardell’s Press On Lash with self-adhesive. “Just Press & Go!” it says on the packet. And that, my fellow lash-hating friends, is exactly what you do. The edges of the lashes are pre-sticky and you just position them with the soft-flex applicator before pressing them to the lid. I actually found that they didn’t come away from the applicator very easily and did better without, but each to their own. This has revolutionised my makeup world: Barbie-esque eyes are now within my everyday reach. (You still have to position them, which is trickier than you’d imagine if you’ve never tried it before – like attempting to wrestle a small live centipede, but at least you’re not wrestling a small live centipede who’s leaking adhesive from the length of his torso.)

Let’s ignore the fact, for a minute, that I am in no way a lover of overdone lashes; they look absurd, especially when the wearer lowers their eyes and you see the full scale of the untruth. A block of black, wispy fibres perched unnaturally on the edge of the lid like a plastic eye-pelmet. But do I want the option to be able to wear overdone lashes? Yes! Yes I do! And not all lashes look overdone: I chose style 101, and they were quite – how can I put this? – enthusiastic, but I’ve spotted some called Wispies and shall have to now try those, too.

I do very much like the way that they transform the eyes with little in the way of effort. Here’s my before and after:

I mean, it’s definitely a “look” and not one I’d wear to nip down to Tesco, but for drawing attention to the eyes, opening them and making them look brighter and more awake? Marvellous.

The best thing about this discovery is that I feel slightly more confident about applying lashes with glue. I haven’t gone there just yet (my last attempt ended in disaster a few years ago and I am still haunted by all of the occupational-hazard-horrors that frequently used to happen to me in the makeup chair) but I’m working up to it. In the meantime, I’m sticking (geddit?) to Ardell.

You can find the Ardell lashes online here for £7.45 – in the course of looking for prices I have found other pre-glued lashes (I honestly had no idea they existed, I’m obviously late to the party!) so shall make it my mission to try them all and report back. The only downside I see is the fact that they can only feasibly be stuck on once – after that, surely the adhesive is used up and you have to apply them the traditional way? No getting around that, I suppose, but it’s something to think about on a cost-per-wear level…

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l’Occitane have launched their winter fragrance, Arlésienne, and I have to tell you that I know more backstory on this fragrance than on pretty much any other beauty product I’ve ever tried. (Apart from CoLab, of course.) Earlier in the year I visited Arles in the South of France to learn about the mysterious Woman of Arles, or Arlésienne, the inspiration behind the new perfume and body range, and it was a real eye-opener to discover just how much of an important figure she was – and still is – in the region. The Arlésienne has inspired artists (Picasso, Van Gough, Bizet) and is held as a kind of mythical feminine ideal – mysterious, beautiful, strong, fiery, independent and graceful all at the same time.

The Arlésienne fragrance was inspired by the many facets of this mysterious woman and, as a result, it’s actually quite a surprising and unusual scent. It’s certainly not what you’d expect from a winter perfume release – there’s no heaviness or spicy, woody undertone, it’s all quite light and floral. There’s a bit of an edge with the addition of saffron into the mix, but otherwise it’s a feminine blend of rose and violet. There’s a little warmth from the sandalwood and tonka bean, but mostly I get floral, with perhaps something a bit peachy to start with – maybe that’s the mandarin?

More fragrance reviews….

I do very much like the story behind this range – everything from the colourful prints on the box (swirling printed skirts of the Arles women) to the scent itself has been inspired by Arles and its myths and traditions. I’m not sure how much of this backstory the typical harassed Christmas shopper will pick up on, but if you’re looking for some relief from the usual spiced-cloves-and-cinnamon “festive” fragrances, stop by and give Arlésienne a sniff. I’m wearing it now and feeling very uplifted! My pick from the range would actually be the candle – the scent works very well diffused gently throughout a room and – again – something a little lighter and fresher than the traditional Christmas scents.

You can find the whole range online here – prices start at £4.50 for the little hand soap, the candle is £24.

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I’ve already written about my marvellous Lime Wood Hotel mini-break (see here) but I promised that I’d talk more about their spa (The Herb House) and – more specifically – the gorgeous Pai Skincare facial that I was treated to.

I haven’t had a lot of facials in the past year (not enough time) and the last one I had, earlier in the summer, was a very high-tech-high-performance-results-driven job from the amazing Caroline Hirons. (I need to write a post on that, because so many of you have asked me probing questions about it, but I have a load of my own questions for Caroline before I can get started! I’ll move it to the top of my to-do list.) So it has been a while since I’ve had one of those “float away and go into a little trance” facials – one with lots of relaxing massage, whale-song music, etc etc.

That’s not to say that Pai’s Detox & Decongest treatment isn’t results-driven – my skin felt smooth and clear afterwards – but there was no heavy machinery involved, no intense tingling sensations, no protective goggles required. You get my drift, don’t you? There are a number of different “types” of facials – some of them you can sleep through, some of them you most definitely can’t. Some you can sleep through because they’re just rubbish (someone whispering at you as they apply one cold mask after another and then “leave you to relax” for twenty minutes as the “mask gets to work”) but others you can sleep through because they send you to sleep. A good, capable pair of massagey hands and the right atmosphere – ooh, it’s a treat when you get the perfect combination!

And doze off I did. But, as I said before, I saw clearer, fresher skin at the end and so it wasn’t merely the world’s most expensive snooze. And although I’ve no doubt that the products used by the therapist helped in getting my skin smoother and livelier, I’m almost positive that it was her skilful face-kneading techniques that did the most of the magic. Which is good – anyone can slather a mask on their own face and then take it off again – if you’re paying for a service, then you need it to be something special. Something you can’t do yourself. My therapist used acupressure massage as well as some sort of amazingly relaxing head and scalp-rubbing technique, a cold stone treatment and (I think she said) lymphatic drainage moves, and not only did my face feel less tired and sunken, my entire neck and head and shoulder area was completely relieved of tension.

Bravo. I think that the Himanthalia & Sea Fennel Decongesting Mask was probably the key product in the facial, which is a professional-use mask and not for sale, but having the facial did remind me how much I love Pai’s Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser for a soothing-but-effective cleanse. I use the brand’s Rosehip Oil and Echium Eye Cream on a regular basis (great if you are at all sensitive in the skin department) but it was nice to rekindle our little cleanser relationship. I’ve been thinking about doing a post on soothing cleansing creams and balms and this one will most definitely be in it…

Anyway, a great facial to go for if you find yourself in that neck of the (Lime) woods –  and I’m sure that Pai will be in more locations soon. I hope so. The products really are so gentle and – combined with the skilled massaging – it’s the perfect treat for sensitive, congested, tense and all-round stressed-out skin.

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Today is my first ever mother’s day. I really hope that the baby has organised something special, what with all of the free time she has! Ha. Joking aside, I can’t actually believe that it’s mother’s day and I’m a mum. I used to sit and daydream about what it would feel like and whether it would ever happen to me (it took ages and ages, you can read a bit about it here) and now here I am with the most incredible little human by my side. Each day I think that it wouldn’t be possible to love her any more than I do and then the next day I feel overwhelmed all over again. I’m surprised that my heart hasn’t burst!

It makes me look at mums with a fresh perspective; especially my own mum. I mean, if this is how I feel now, eight months in, what must it be like thirty-odd years down the line? I worry about the baby ever leaving my side – I wake up in a cold sweat sometimes when I’ve been having a particularly vivid little what-if session before bed – so how can mums possibly cope when their kids go to school, or set off hiking in Peru for a year or (ahem) decide to become a model and fly around the world on their own and not really tell anyone their whereabouts? It must be absolutely hellish.

So happy mother’s day; I feel incredibly lucky and extremely privileged to both be a mum and have a mum of my own and I try to remember to be grateful for every moment. If I can be even a fraction as good at mumming as my own mum is then I’ll be pretty content. (I think that “mumming” might actually be some sort of rudimentary pantomime acting, but – if it is – I’d like to be good at that too. You never know when you might be called upon to perform a mime. It pays to be prepared.)

Read more Sunday Tittle Tattles…

Anyway, soppy stuff over: I have to go and look at Malm chests on the IKEA website. My storage situation has gone beyond ridiculous – I’m keeping my knickers in the baby’s room and my vests are hanging in the bathroom cupboard!

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