Cleansing

I'm a bit obsessed with cleansing, everything starts with clean skin sweeties. Last week I bought two essential cleansing products. First up, Shu Uemura cleansing oil.


Yes, I got the Karl Lagerfeld one because why not? I adore this stuff, it's very expensive but a large bottle lasts me a year. And this bottle makes any bathroom (even my horrid, needs replacing bathroom) look stylish. It's perfect for a quick morning cleanse requiring minimum effort and leaving skin soft and smooth.

I also bought the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish.


This smells heavenly. I think I am addicted to Eucalyptus because I am a sucker for anything made with it. I use this with a regular flannel in the evenings to lift all make-up off effortlessly. My usual rinse off cleansers just weren't doing the job for me anymore. It must be this damn ageing thing.

So, £100 on cleansers. I had better look radiant.

Party eyes

Nothing pleases me more than breaking out the sparkle knowing that it's totally allowed because it is Christmas. I am not interested in wearing gold jumpers or decorating my home in tinsel but given half a chance, I'll throw some sparkle on my face.

Last weekend we had our annual Christmas shindig at our house and I was feeling very tired. I needed some party mojo so off I went to my local Bobbi Brown counter and said to the lady, give me party eyes please!

I am delighted to say that she did a super job and Bobbi Brown remains my favourite counter for down to earth make-up advice.

The long wear eye gel now comes in sparkles! Unfettered joy! She went to work with Thunderstorm (having primed my lids with various neutral shades) and then used black gel eyeliner too. Then she patted on a sparkley eyeshadow in Pebble. Her tip was never to use brushes for sparkley eyeshadow but to pat on with your fingers. I have recreated this and can tell you it's easy peasy. Finished off with Smokey eyes mascara. I felt a million dollars. I bought Thunderstorm and Pebble (just the names please me) and have been using the Thunderstorm as a day look (without the extra glitter of Pebble) and it works very well.

All hail Bobbi Brown make-up.

Christmas beauty gifts

Yes it is December already. Yes, it's too early to put up your tree. No, it's not too early to start shopping for gifts. I'd be happy with any of these on Christmas morning.

Aromatherapy Associates are truly beautiful bath oils. I've only ever had one bottle of their oil and I still dream about it. Unfortunately CoverBoy took a shine to it as well so it didn't last long. This Lavender and Peppermint one sounds divine.


Clarins facial oils are a staple for me, especially in the winter. Pop this on before you go to sleep and wake up with plumped up, soft skin.

Their Tonic bath and shower concentrate is also a firm favourite. It smells like the essence of Clarins and I always take it travelling to pep me up.


2015 is going to be the year of Aesop for me. I am dying to try this serum.



I love all things Origins. Gloomaway is perfect for dark January mornings.


Jo Malone is always a treat and I can never resist a scented candle. Pine and Eucalyptus is the scent of Christmas. This one is ridiculously priced but I covet. Hard. You can buy a smaller one for £40.

My Christmas candle this year is from Diptyque and it is heavenly, filling my living room with the scent of pine needles.

My love of Chanel Exclusifs is bottomless. I adore Bois des Iles but I am currently having a moment with No18. They are a luxury but you will never tire of seeing this on your dressing table. So chic!


Charlotte Tilbury is the launch of the year. I've not tried any of it but I hear rave reviews. I have issues with the look of this range, it's too blingy for my tastes however I can never resist an eyeshadow palette and The Sophisticate looks like the perfect office colours.


I also think this make-up bag is cute.

I bought this YSL nail varnish in France not realising it has a grained effect. It's a gorgeous colour and the grainy thing is weird, I must admit it's not quite my thing but I think those more into nail art would love it. Perfect gift for a teenager.


Molecule 01 is the perfume that is unique to everyone. I adore it and always get compliments when I wear it (I've just finished my bottle - hint hint).

Finally, I am currently rediscovering the absolute joy of the heated roller. Pop a few in for 5 minutes and you have instant glamour. I've been using heated rollers for over 30 years and upgraded my ancient ones a few years ago. Look at these ones though! Who could resist?! And they are a bargain.


Happy shopping!

Nail colour of the week

Not done one of these posts for ages. This week I am sporting Essie's Shearling Darling which is nothing like the picture, it's basically almost purple and dark. It's very nice and I like the name.

Living Proof. Again


I didn't think it was possible for me to love this brand any more but this no frizz shampoo and conditioner is magical. It's quite simply amazing. I was in New York for two weeks where there was much rain. People were asking me if I'd had my hair blow dried. No, indeed. Just my poor attempts with the hotel hairdryer. If your hair frizzes at the first sign of damp then you need this and the 5 in 1 styling cream. Together they are transformational.

I am having a very happy hair moment. I am using this, the 5 in 1 and have rediscovered the joys of a heated roller and I feel like I am in a hair advert.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturiser

This is a very popular moisturiser. I tried it years ago, was unimpressed and that was that. However, recently they revamped the formula and it got some rave reviews so, being me, I bought some. I am now about two months into using it and I am very impressed. It's a great base for make up, it sinks in perfectly and my skin feels nicely plump. It's £30 for 125ml so it's good value.

It's a no nonsense moisturiser, no SPF but you can use a separate one or frankly, with winter coming, I don't bother. I typically spend about 20 minutes outside a day in the winter and I live in London, I am sure no sun damage is happening to my skin.


Lush shower gels

It's been a very long time since I've been in Lush. Once I loved and adored it and then well, let's just say I fell out of love. However, they have always known how to put a scent together and on my way to work this week I felt compelled to go in and check out their shower gels. I bought two.


Rose Jam had my name on it. I am sucker for anything with a rose scent. Lush isn't cheap, this is £9.50 for 250ml, but it is very concentrated. You don't need much at all. It is truly lovely and reminded me why I used to shop there.

I also bought So White.


I haven't tried this one yet, it's appley. Hmmmm. It smells nice in the bottle! Nothing else caught my eye, I can't cope with the bath bombs anymore as they ruin your bath. I recommend Rose Jam.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day shampoo and conditioner

I'm sorry about this, I really am. But I have found the perfect shampoo and conditioner and it's by my new favourite brand in town, Living Proof. The Perfect Hair Day has already changed my hair life but now the set is complete. I picked this up in New York last week and I am in love.


It is sulphate free which is becoming increasingly important to me as I get older. It lathers up a dream (you hardly need any) and it smells great. But importantly it just makes your hair feel great, shiny and easy to style. You need the Perfect Hair Day styling treatment as well and yes, none of it is cheap but you don't need much. And this is your hair. On your head. Being important.

You can buy Living Proof at SpaceNK but I can't see this range. They have the Full shampoo and conditioner. I have no idea what that is like but this stuff, this is magic. Read all about Living Proof here. Sephora ships to the UK now. Just saying.



A walk through my perfume hall of fame

Regular readers will know that I am partial to perfume. I'd give up many beauty products before perfume. It defines you, it cheers you up, it makes a grey day a great day and it's just so much fun. Why have one bottle when you can have 10? That's my motto. It got me to thinking of my journey through perfume. I've always loved it right from wafts of it coming from my mother as she kissed me goodnight.

My first perfume was everyone's first perfume. Anais Anais.

I've not smelt it for years but it's not offensive at all. A rather pretty scent and perfect for teenage girls.

Of course I also had The Body Shop's White Musk. Again, a rite of passage. Smelling this now always transports me back to secondary school.


My first grown up perfume was YSL's Rive Gauche. My mum must have bought me this. 


The packaging is marvellous. I thought I was the height of sophistication wearing this and let's face it, I was! It's still a lovely scent although I can never go back to perfumes, too many memories and makes me feel like I've regressed.

Being an 80s kid, obviously I had some Poison. This is much maligned, it's a lovely perfume as long as you don't drown yourself in it and wear it at night.

Then I discovered Calvin Klein. I was obsessed with Eternity.


I don't know why I loved this so much since I think it's pretty vile now. This reminds me of first and second year at uni. Along with this horror.


Escape, a truly awful perfume. My mother refused to let me in the car if I was wearing it! Then I found my first true love of a scent, the one that felt like me.


Dune is heavenly. I think this is when I really felt the power of a great perfume. People would tell me how wonderful I smelt when I wore this. Random men would stop me in bars and compliment me on my perfume. I can honestly say it was like an Impulse advert without the flowers. I wish I had never stopped wearing it because I can't go back. I feel all wrong wearing it now. But this defined my early 20s and I adored it.

The 90s were very much the Dolce and Gabbana decade and for my first proper job (in advertising), I wore this.

Nobody said to me, "honey, a little much for the office, no?" I must have asphyxiated everyone around me. I loved it though and the my colleagues were largely horrible so who cares? My mother must have hated this on me because I remember her buying me this.


Which is a nice perfume but a little dull for Chanel. I wore it but it never felt like me.

My husband (except he wasn't at the time) got me this and I knew he was a keeper.


It's simply lovely.

I think it was around this time I bought the perfume book that changed my perfume life. And I discovered Guerlain. Mitsouko is my go to perfume for when I mean business.


Mitsouko is suitable for any mood, any day, any season. It's perfection.

The day I realised Chanel's Les Exclusif range was a special one. So many to choose from, all so wonderful. Bois Des Iles was my wedding day perfume and I probably would pick it as my desert island scent.


So chic.

Sometimes you need a nice fresh scent and my go to for this is Jo Malone's Grapefruit. It doesn't last but it's oh so refreshing and zesty.


Dries Van Noten is a real grown up perfume. It's not for every day but it is totally divine and perfect for striding around in heels, owning the world.


Tom Ford perfumes are such a luxury. I find most of them a bit much, too cloying. But this little baby is heavenly. Wear it and feel like you are on the Amalfi coast even if you're commuting on the 7.02 from Hemel Hempstead.



And finally (because I could do this all day and I have to get on with my Sunday), I leave you with the most famous of them all. I think you have to feel like you've really grown up to wear this. I only came to it last year but it's beautiful. Coco, I salute you.


M&S Tuscan Escape


I had heard good things about the M&S beauty range so I popped in a few weeks ago. I remember M&S beauty consisting of that awful Lily of the Valley range they did and Royal Jelly bubble bath. They have certainly moved on and have some amazing products and at such a bargain price. I bought this bubble bath with a lemon verbena scent, it's delightful and only £4.

I also bought the shower gel which is even better and only £3. I don't really like shower gels in tubes as I think they should come with a pump for ease of use but I am not going to argue when it's only £3.

M&S also now stock Bliss although sadly not in the branch I was in. They have interesting looking make-up, great scented candles and all sorts of lovely things at a very reasonable price. I noticed Lily of the Valley range was still available so grandmas everywhere can rest easy.


Dior Glow Maximiser

I have an update, I did indeed purchase the Dior Glow Maximiser last week at the airport. Given that I am prone to being a bit dozy, I thought I was on a later flight so I only had about five minutes to shop. I was very efficient speeding around picking up what I had identified as must-haves.

The Lancome mascara is fine but not life-changing. The Dior primer is brilliant, I love it. It just lights you up from within. It's a bit scary looking and I worried I'd look too sparkly but instead it just glows. I had a very busy week in New York and was jet lagged and waking up every day at 4am. Despite this, I managed to look more than presentable thanks to Dior.

I am sorry to tell you that you need this. Now.

Hitting duty-free

I found out last week that I need to fly to New York tonight. Which is fine because I am always happy to go to New York especially when I don't have to pay for the flight. I am planning my duty-free shopping because there are some items I really want to try thanks to Sali Hughes. Gee, thanks Sali.

First up and urgently, this.


Dior Glow Maximiser Primer. Read Sali's review here and tell me you don't want it immediately. I must have it.

I have also been reading good things about this.


Lancome Grandoise mascara. I read about it here. I think I need to stop following so much temptation on Twitter.

Then I must pick up my beloved Kiehls 24/7 moisturiser that you can only buy at duty-free. The shops don't stock it. I am nearly at the end of my supplies. Nothing is better for tired skin.

I shall then skip onto the plane to settle down to seven hours of movie heaven. I'll report back on the primer and mascara.

Caudalie

When I was in New York I discovered this brand which is, of course, French. It's actually cheaper over here which is novel. It's made from grapes and vine and suchlike. Oh la la, only the French can put wine in skincare.

I have tried two products that I love.

The make-up cleansing water is fabulous, it's very gentle and gets rid of eye make-up perfectly. It's taken me ages to find an eye make-up remover that isn't greasy or stings. This works. I am on my third bottle.


The hand cream smells like heaven and sinks in perfectly. No greasiness.

Bolstered by such success, I've just ordered the foot cream, more handcream, a buffing cream and the perfume. I found some money kicking around my Paypal account. All that came to £56. It's new thrifty Cover Girl! I shall report back.

Beauty round-up

I'm back and just sneaking in a June post before we officially enter Cover Girl's Birthday Month. I've been kind of busy jet-setting to Monte Carlo and Madrid (for work), moving back to London and settling into my new house. My new favourite pastime is picking Farrow & Ball paint colours and considering what plants I should put in my garden.

Yes, I am officially middle-aged but no less fanatical about beauty. The busier you are, the more you need those products that make you look fabulous in minutes. These are my June hero products.

Origins Smarty Plants. This product is miraculous, I reviewed it back in March. No matter how you look, this will make you look better. I simply adore it.

I also love my Nars Multiple matte blusher. The difference the matte makes is extraordinary. This makes you look healthy and glowing and is the easiest blusher in the world to put on.

I bought this Smashbox eyeliner in New York and I am absolutely heartbroken to tell you they have discontinued this line of eyeliners completely. I have no idea why.

If you find this on eBay in Black Gold, buy it. It's the most flattering colour I've ever worn, it's easy to apply and it lasts all day long. I wear it most days.

This Sephora own brand jumbo eyeliner is also good. It's not as good as Smashbox but it's cheaper and it still pleases me. I have Dark Taupe Shimmer and it's a good day colour.


Sephora now ships to the UK so if you are buying one of the jumbo crayons, bung this in your basket too. It sharpens it beautifully and lots of people complain that normal pencil sharpeners don't work.
The 5 in 1 Living Proof cream still amazes me. Put this in your basket with your Sephora order too.

Finally, a beauty salon just opened up opposite our new house. It's like they knew I was arriving in the 'hood! I now Shellac pretty much all the time, the no chipping together with stronger nails works for me. If you have had a bad experience with removal (lord knows I have) then I must say it's worth looking around and finding someone you trust. My nails have never looked better!



Exciting new hair product: Living Proof, Perfect Hair Day

My friend bought this on a visit to NYC and sent me an email saying I needed it. Obviously I wasted no time in picking up a bottle. You smooth it through wet hair and then style. It's FABULOUS. It smells gorgeous and it makes your hair super shiny, manageable and all swingy without any grease whatsoever. You can read more about it here and then I suggest you run and buy some immediately and a present for me for telling you about it.

Eyelash serums and other excitement

It's been a while hasn't it? I'd like to say it's because I have found all my desert island products and have nothing new to...