Aveda has the cure with Purescription...

Whether your locks are full of frizz, lacking in body or snapping at the ends, Aveda has the cure for all your haircare problems. Take advantage of a complimentary haircare consultation and receive a week’s trial of your recommended Shampoo, Conditioner and Treatment Masque as advised by professional Aveda stylists. Visit any Aveda counter or Experience Centres until March 12th to receive your personal haircare Purescription and watch your hair dilemmas disappear!


This offer is only avaliable for a limited time, so hurry-up and get diognosed with your Aveda purescription!

xx

String Bikinis and Gold Pomade...

Probably one of the most unnecessary products I own, but one that I love to have. Oribe’s 24k Gold Pomade, is to be worn with oversized sunglasses and a string bikini (no joke, it actually states that on the packaging). Pomades are designed to style the hair and make the hair look slick and shiny. Unlike hair spray and gel I find that pomades don’t dry out and they often take several washes to be removed, but leave a really sleek finish. Taking in consideration pomades add shine to your hair, Oribe has thrown in 24k gold for some serious bling. (He is J-Lo’s personal hairdresser – so I wouldn’t expect anything less!)

The product itself is pretty basic. It has a gorgeous scent and the packaging is truly stunning. The annoying thing is that it goes everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE! The majority of the pomade ends up on your hands which then get covered in bits of gold and before you know it everything you touch is super dazzling. It is pretty annoying and I’ve only used it twice since I first tried it. If you do manage to get any of the product on your hair it gives off a very subtle sparkle. Not something to rave about and completely inappropriate, Oribe’s 24k Gold Pomade makes a good gift and looks pretty hot on your dressing table.

Oribe 24k Gold Pomade 50ml - £47

A Gradual Glow...

My life seems to flow fairly quietly, and then all of a sudden everything happens at once. Pretty much like the consistency of my blog posts. So here I am, early February, already slacking on my New Year resolution to be more active with the blog, so feeling pretty guilty with myself I wrote a load...all at once.

What with it being super grey outside, I thought I'd brighten things up with a post about golden skin. And with St.Tropez's crown slipping as the queen of fake tan I went on a hunt to find a brand that is rivalling them for their title. Having graced the bodies of Strictly Come Dancing, Sienna X seemed like the obvious choice.

A few months back I had a Sienna X spray tan for my graduation (and yes I know I'm half Indian and have been blessed with a bit of colour, but when I go pale, it’s more of a yellow complexion, something that doesn't sit right with my pink lipstick and orange nails) Anyway, I did the usual pre exfoliation and went to get sprayed down. I had fun posing in awkward positions so the tan covered my whole body, obviously avoiding the palms and soles of feet. The colour developed beautifully and extremely natural, I was slightly worried as it looked pretty dark in the bottle. I was able to wash it off after a few hours which meant I could head straight out afterwards. (You don’t have to sleep in it-so there’s no harm done to the bed sheets). It lasted a good few days, and served its purpose by making me look all golden in my graduation pics. It was even coming off on the leg wax strips two weeks later! And the smell was fairly refreshing too...well, as refreshing as spray tans go.

The Sienna X spray tan received thumbs up from me and made me want to try some more of their products. I'm a sucker for gradual tans as I really do think they give the most natural and subtle looking colour to your skin tone. I've used the St Tropez every day tan and was very impressed, although I didn't think it was worth the price. I also tried Dove's gradual tan and again it did its job but found it had a bit of a cheap shimmer to it that stained my clothes. Sienna X's gradual tan had by far the best smell with a mixture of aloe vera, sweet almond and cocoa butter. Its rich, creamy texture melts into your skin leaving it feeling incredibly hydrated. It also includes an anti cellulite additive to its ingredients, which is never a bad thing!

Remember, whenever using a gradual tan make sure to treat the application like a fake tan. Scrub the palms of your hands afterwards as otherwise the colour will develop. Best time to use it is in the morning after you've showered as that way it has the whole day to develop, and then you can top up if needs be in the evening before you go out. Be careful though, as fake tan can go two ways, less is more, no one (with taste) wants to look like a member from Jersey Shore!

Sienna X Gradual Tan - £14.95

More information on the full Sienna X range can be found on www.sienna-x.co.uk

Drawing Dior...

Okay so there are only two days left of the ‘Dior Illustrated’ exhibition at Somerset House, so if you are around that part of London (Strand/Covent Garden way) do pop down. It’s only £6 and you get to see the work of Rene Gruau, a key fashion illustrator for the Dior House.

Now, back in World War II, Dior made dresses for the Nazi officer's wives. This for me has always tainted my view on Dior products, and I know we are many years on from this event; it’s always hard to shift an association that immoral. Put this aside, the drawings of Rene Gruau are full of beauty and poise and you cannot but admire them. The exhibition mainly focuses on Dior’s famous perfume collection; there are even some vintage bottles on show too, which I wanted to take home for my dressing table!

My favourite picture was ‘Diorling’, 1963. Subtle, calm, euphoric and captures the era it was painted suitably. It was one of the first pieces in shifting Dior’s Haute Couture image to the more relaxed ready-to-wear idea. A few other stand out pieces were ‘Dior-Dior’, 1976 and a Gruau inspired painting, ‘Mademoiselle Shush’ by Erin Petson.

The only collection that didn’t match up to his other glamorous pieces were the illustrations of Eau Sauvage and Jules, the two men’s fragrances. I’ve included a pic I took from the exhibition programme, it says it caused controversy at the time it was realised, but it just looks like an A Level Art project to me?! This being said, I did leave the exhibition wanting to go home and draw. Doing an art based degree at uni, I have sorely missed the life drawing classes and the designing since graduating. So I decided to go home and illustrate my own ‘Christmas Thank You’ cards in honour of Mr Renu Gruau himself. (It’s of an eye with pink eyeshadow and false lashes!) Just need to get them printed and sent out now!

The exhibition is on till 9th Jan (this Sunday) so do pop along if you’re in the area.

Lip Liner Loving...

I am on a mission to save women from poorly applied lipstick. The simple solution is lip liner; it executes lips with a professional sleek finish, it stops lipstick from bleeding and you can create the illusion of larger lips without the pain of surgery. Listed below is my theory on the best way to apply lip liner...

1. Firstly make sure your lips are moist and smooth.
(Dr Feelgood Lipscription by Benefit is a lip exfoliator and balm duo, perfect for getting rid of dry skin and moisturising at the same time. Kiss Mix from Eve Lom is a more intense hydrating balm for those who need a little bit more care)

2. Dab a bit of concealer, only a little mind, onto your cupid’s bow. This will define the shape and make it stand out. To make it stand out even more so, try adding a highlighter over your concealer. (Highbeam/Moonbeam by Benefit is a gooden as it has a really nice iridescent finish)

3. Make sure your lip pencil is super sharp. I find it easier to quickly sketch the shape of your lips with small dashes, rather than to draw a constant thick line. It may look a bit messy with this technique but it allows you more room to amend the shape if needs be.

4. Using a brush or even small cotton bud soften the inner edge of your lip line. This creates a sharp edge to your lip shape, with the inside of the line being softer to blend in with your lipstick.

5. With a lip brush paint on your lipstick/gloss carefully making sure you keep within your lip liner. (Nothing is more frustrating when you’ve spent hours creating your shape with liner, and then spoil it by being too excitable with your lipstick! Although a good tip to know is that make-up removes make-up. Just dab and wipe bit of concealer over the trickled lip colour and it will lift immediately – this tip also works well if you ever dash mascara on your nose!) Take special care of applying the lip colour to the inside and corners of your lips as these are the more tricky areas.

The products I have used in my demonstration pictures are...
• Eve Lom Kiss Mix £12.50
• Mac Studio Finish SPF Concealer £12.50
• Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Titvate £12.50
• Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Petulant £12.50

By all means this is not the rule, it just works rather well for me – feel free to leave a comment on your own lip tips as I would love to hear them...

An Art Deco Moment...

Being trained as a make-up artist specifically for film and TV you tend to notice many things others would not. Small things really, like trying to find the edge of a prosthetic or wig lace. Making sure the whole face has been made up and no one has forgotten to leave out the bright red ears (Could not let go of Edward’s burning ears in the first Twilight!) Other than the mistakes, there are a few productions that really inspire and have to be acknowledged for their beauty, two of my favourite films are Pan’s Labyrinth and Changeling. Both are too beautiful to describe and are definite must sees.

A more recent BBC period drama that caught my attention was Upstairs Downstairs. Not to mention the well acted and appealing storyline, the pure aesthetics alone were extremely graceful and refined. I have always admired the elegance of this era and endorsed anything to do with it, minus the sexism and growing fascism of course. For those who didn’t get a chance to see, it is a follow on from the original BBC drama which views the lives of the Holland family and their servants in 1936. Keely Hawes plays the beautiful Lady of the house. Her make-up is very particular of the time; smooth lucid skin, a slight blush and perfect lips. Being set in the 1930’s the complex finger wave had now developed into the looser and much calmer Marcel wave. Keely’s hair and make-up has been the inspiration for this blog post, being a trained make-up artist and all, I thought it was about time to put my skills on show.

Dusting off the heated rollers, I set my hair very flat on top, with the bulk of volume at the back and sides. After this had set, I bushed out the curls and teased them into round loops. (Shorter hair is more preferred for this style, as with longer hair you will need to tuck in the curls to make them appear shorter and then pin them in place) Just a small dash of hair spray should do the trick to finish it all off. With the make-up it’s all very fresh and natural. You can put in some shadow to enhance the eye socket but on fairer skin tones it looks best left alone. As I am of a more olive complexion the darker rouge suits my colouring more so than a pinky one. The lip colours of the wealthier 1930’s woman were all quite intense; this matched their decadent furs and jewels. Try matching your lipstick to your nails for an especially refined finished.

I honestly wish I had the time to do this every morning! Let me know what you think...

(Don’t panic either, the fox fur in my pics is vintage, a family heirloom in fact!)

Costly Chapped Lips...

Being the creator of YSL's Touche Eclat there is no surprise self claimed celebrity Terry Gunzburg decided to create her own make-up range. Having had the opportunity to of met the woman, you can see why everything is immaculately thought out and packaged beautifully. (The lipsticks have her signature embedded on them and even the lid is magnetic)

I could spend hours writing about her whole product range, but this blog is about avoiding chapped lips! So I have dedicated it solely to By Terry's Baume de Rose Crystal SPF 15. Not one day has passed since winter started have I had chapped sore lips. The Baume de Rose comes in two forms, the pot/balm or the crystal lipgloss style. (My preference is the lipgloss) It leaves your lips nice and moist for a good few hours and it also has a pinky soft sheen that looks beautiful underneath lipstick. I’m not too fussed about the smell though; it kind of reminds me of my elderly grandmother.

The one issue I have with this product is the pricing. The Baume de Rose Crystal is valued at £30. Taking into account this woman created one of, if not the biggest, cosmetic product of our time does she have the right to price her products at such high prices? (One of her face creams is £233) Had I not been given this lip balm as I gift, I highly doubt I would have gone and bought it for myself. I’m not saying £30 for a lip balm is ridiculous, I just don’t think the brand is of a status enough to demand this sort of value. Yet she did create the Touche Eclat, oh I am so torn?! But regardless of my own personal pricing issues with the brand, The Baume de Rose is a very lovely product that does its job well. If you have £30 to spend on a lip balm I would recommend this one.

By Terry Baume De Rose SPF 15 - £32.00
By Terry Baume De Rose Crystal SPF 15 - £30.00