I did a little contouring kit comparison over on my Telegraph “hub”; Clinique Chubby Contour sticks vs the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate. Tom Ford’s “S&I” was one of the first contouring products that I remember seeing on a cosmetics counter; now the world is inundated with things to make your face look like some kind of chiselled sculpture. Except that it hardly ever does. Look like a chiselled sculpture, I mean. And all of this business about it being one of the oldest “backstage” tricks, with makeup artists contouring their models left right and centre: nah. As I say in my Telegraph video, I can honestly count the times I’ve been contoured on two hands and I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of shoots.

Any-hoo, people seem determined to draw in cheekbones (or perhaps the beauty industry is determined to make people feel as though they have to draw in cheekbones) and so we are being treated to a bazillion dubiously-coloured creams and gels and powders with which to achieve this razor-sharp look. My choice would probably be, after having tried much of the contour-paraphanelia out there, a sweep of matte bronzing powder just beneath the cheekbone – no glitzy highlighter to “contrast”, just a beautiful glowy foundation that catches the light. (Or something like Laura Mercier’s Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser, which is still one of my favourites over a decade on.) All of these creamy contour things are a potential recipe for disaster, as they do tend to slide about a bit as you blend them and it’s easy to dislodge your foundation and make everything look a bit grubby. Saying that, I think that the Clinique Chubby Contour stick will be a huge hit – it has a kind of “kindergarten” appeal: you just draw the crayon on where you want a shadow and then blend.

Go on over and take a look at the video, see what you think. It actually all turned out to be very subtle, which is, I suppose, what most of us want. Most of us. A tip with the Chubby Contour Stick: it helps to buff it in using a small, flat-topped foundation brush after you’ve blended it a bit with your warm fingers for a few seconds. It just seems to give a neater finish, but do experiment and add your tips and tricks below!

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Selfridges used to stock a nail polish brand called Kure Bazaar that I was obsessed with – I loved it but for reasons that I don’t know, it disappeared. Its USP was that its formula used up to 85% of natural origin based on wood pulp, wheat, cotton, potatoes and corn. So does Soigne – and these ‘botanical’ formulas from past experience really do seem to bring something extra to the party in terms of gloss and longevity. It goes without saying that if you reduce the harshness of the formula, then it’s going to be a better deal for your nails. Soigne Spring Nails looks milky and elegant; reminds me a bit of sugared almonds. Incidentally, the trio is supposed to be inspired by marshmallows – clearly the French brand hasn’t ever been exposed to the violently pink Tesco marshies. I’m googling French marshmallows now to see if they really are so Farrow & Ball. Colourwise, the soft peach/pink shade is Creme Bavaroise, white is Vanille and leans to a warm white and the ashes of roses shade is Canneberge. Soigne doesn’t get nearly much attention as it should – everything about this brand is elegant and stylish and I’m… Read More

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A nice little hair video to finish off the week. I did a roundup of my most-used hair products – shampoos, hair masques, conditioners and so on – because people are always asking and I don’t often delve into the world of hair on my Youtube channel. Perhaps because I don’t really do a lot to my hair and so the products I tend to use the most are the ones that just make it look sleeker, shinier and give it a bit of an undone vibe. I always think that it might be a bit boring for those who want to know about pink hair dyes and undercuts and semi-mohicans and all of that jazz. Not my cup of tea, I’m afraid.

So it’s all about the grooming and keeping things swishy, for me. Hair products for natural hair – things that you can just bung in and leave. No tools required. Had I included my favourite tools in this video then they would have been – without a doubt – Mark Hill’s Wicked Waver and the Big Hair from Babyliss. Both incredibly easy to use, both pretty affordable. You can find my full review of the Wicked Waver here and there’s a video demo of the Babyliss here. Both can be bought at Boots.com.

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