I made a nice little bronzing video for The Telegraph this week; I was trying to channel 1990′s Kate Moss, so very dusty bronzed skin with nothing much on the eyes or lips. I put to use one of my favourite summertime products, Chanel’s Tan de Soleil, which is a cream bronzing base, and layered it up with some Guerlain Four Seasons bronzer in shade 2 (here). Go on over and check out the vid – if you need an incentive, then look at my “before” picture:

I know that I had a bit of a gormless expression before I started but still – what a difference! Definitely a good look to bust out if you have a bit of a hangover – it’s amazing what a bit of fake sun exposure can do for jaded, vampire-esque skin.

Telegraph Easy Beachy Makeup Video

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I’ve started sniffing around for good little things to put in my Christmas Stocking Fillers video – I know it’s only early November, but if I don’t get the festive vids filmed in the next couple of weeks then they end up going online ridiculously late. Which is helpful for those people – like me – who do all of their shopping after the 20th December, whirring around in a total frenzy and almost being sick in the Selfridges queue, but not for the sane, organised people who like to get it all out of the way early. (Everyone I know leaves their present-buying to the last minute, so I was incredibly surprised to find, in the first year that I did my Christmas vids, that many people actually do their shopping before December!)

Anyway: Rose & Co’s No.84 Hand Cream is prime stocking-filler-fodder. Cute glass jar, pretty pink box and a sumptuous hand moisturiser complete with (strong) powdery rose fragrance. It’s highly Instagrammable, which will please all of those people who like to document the contents of their beauty cabinets, and at £5, an affordable little treat. Personally, I’m not a fan of the fragrance, but I absolutely LOVE the violet version (here) which is basically Crème de Parma Violets. Lush. If someone wants to put that in my stocking I should be more than happy.

You can find Rose & Co online here, I can’t see what they charge for delivery but you can also find the hand cream on Amazon for £5.99

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I don’t usually indulge in “dupes” posts, but I’ve been beavering away trying to find a good alternative to the red shade in Chanel’s Candeur et Experience palette (shade on the far left above), a palette which sold out, unsurprisingly, almost the moment it landed on the shelves. If you want to witness the gorgeous eye-brightening effect of this autumnal red then do refer back to my original Chanel post – the Eros eyeliner was also a total winner, also sold out, but – thank me later – I’ve also managed to find a close-ish match for that. Hurrah!

I tried about a dozen or so different shadows in an attempt to find a good match to Chanel’s matte, brickish red, but it was Make Up Forever’s “M738” that came up trumps. (It’s the single shadow in the larger pan, photographed above.) A really close call, I think. If it was the red from the Le Rouge collection palette that took your fancy the most then MUFE’s version is a safe bet. Ever so slightly lighter and warmer, but brilliant pay-off and longevity and so soft and easily blendable. £13 online here, if you want to give it a go!

If you might prefer something a tiny bit brighter and lighter then MAC’s shadow in Coppering (the smaller single shadow on the far right above) has a brilliant sheen to it, it really lifts the eye area and is slightly more forgiving than the brickish matte red. It’s less edgy, less…editorial looking. You can find that here online – it’s also £13. Here’s the line up swatched on my hand – Chanel, MUFE, MAC:

And the eyeliner?

Chanel’s Eros was the most beautiful, sultry sort of plummy-red-brown. So unusual, and so incredibly flattering. It was harder to find a close match for this liner, but KIKO’s Spicy Burgundy was near enough and had the same soft application and good longevity. In some ways, KIKO’s liner is easier to wear – you can see a comparison of the shades below. KIKO’s is on the left, Chanel’s on the right:

Yes, Eros is more red, but it’s very difficult to tell once you have them on. And, as I said, KIKO’s is a bit more pedestrian, so perhaps you’d end up wearing it more often. It’s a total steal at just £7.90 online