The Five Top Hot Lip Balms

I am rarely without a lip balm.  If I find myself sans balm it's enough to induce a feeling of mild panic!  I have tried so many different balms; some are too sticky, others not moisturising enough.  The best will nourish and give a light gloss and some even have an in-built tint, killing two birds with one stone.  Anyway, we all have our favourites and here are my top five recommendations...

1. Eve Lom's Kiss Mix has long been a favourite of mine.  It goes on smoothly and doesn't leave a sticky residue.  It has a slightly pharmaceutical smell to it too, which makes you feel it must be doing some good!

2. Lanolips is one of my newer purchases.  It looks like a lip-gloss and comes either as a neutral balm or tinted with a variety of berry colours.  My favourite is rose, a slight tint that just stains the lips.

3. Now Burt's Bees isn't my favourite but it works well, leaving lips feeling moisturised and it's all natural too, which is always a consideration.

4. I guess Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Lip repair cream speaks for itself!  Part of the infamous Eight Hour range, I use this every night before I go to sleep.  It has a wonderful eucalyptus scent and leaves a very subtle sheen. 

5.What can I say!  Good old Vaseline - I know, I know, petroleum...BUT it works.  It goes on smoothly, not too sticky, gives a subtle sheen and comes in a variety of shades and flavours.  I have a different one in every bag I own and couldn't be without it.

So, those are the balms I'm loving right now.  What about you? Which balms do you use and recommend? I'd love to hear...

beauty lust-haves

At the start of a new year I'm always keen to begin new beauty regimes and try out some different products; unfortunately post-christmas penury usually puts pay to that little notion, but it doesn't stop me looking and lusting.  These are a few items currently on my 'to have' list.

I've used Laura Mercier products for a while now; mainly her tinted moisturisers which are a dream to wear and cover imperfections whilst imparting a healthy glow.  My latest obsession tho' is her bath collection in almond coconut.  For Christmas I was given the shower-gel, scrub and body souffle and it is like sinking into heaven.  The smell!  Divine.  Now I'm after the bath cream and handcream to round off my bathroom collection.

Okay.  Now I'm getting to the stage where when I pass a mirror I occasionally find myself 'practising' a face lift.  Do you ever do that?  You know, pull the skin back and see what you'd look like with a bit of work done by an extremely good surgeon!  Hmmn.  Maybe it's just me...anyway, this product has had rave reviews for delivering a younger looking skin without the surgery.  This product claims to deliver a complete skin makeover. What makes this next generation microdelivery peel so revolutionary is, that unlike peels of the past that only exfoliated, this peel delivers vitamin c into the skin as it's being rapidly exfoliated. It is resurfacing and replenishing the skin at the same time which is a new approach to skin rejuvenation. and best of all, it involves absolutely no downtime.

 I do love my Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser, but I'm nearly at the end of my tube and just fancy trying something different.  BB creams have been around a while now, but this particular one from Estee Lauder wasn't available in the UK until the end of last year. Currently only available in two shades, it delivers anti-oxidant properties with an SPF of 35, whilst also giving radiant coverage.

 this works skin deep dry leg oil. is an award winning product that deeply moisturises, transforming and rehydrating dry skin.  I need this.  Seriously, some days I wonder if actually my inner lizard is trying to escape.  There's nothing more aging than dry skin, so this is definitely on my hit list.

What products are you currently hankering after?  Any recommendations?

Coral is the new red

It hasn't been that long since I began to embrace the red lip, but finding the right shade  was a mission and a half!  I don't tend to wear bright lippy very often, so it attracted some attention (in a good way).So, just getting used to the red, when along comes an old favourite - coral.  I love it's subtle connection with pink, red and salmon, it also goes beautifully with my skin tone and can be worn with just about anything!

Red

Coral

1.  Cynthia leather bag
2. Kiss Me Coral, Superlustrous lipstick from Revlon
3. L'Absolu Rouge by Lancome: 150 Rouge Odyssee

What brights are you veering towards this autumn?

Fake it, don't bake it

It's that time of year when we take a peek at our milk-white limbs and start to panic about airing them for all to see. As I'm so fair I really shouldn't sit in the sun.  I know it's not good for me...BUT...I do get in some sneaky sun sessions from time to time despite that.  My dermatologist told me that fifteen minutes wearing a good SPF, as long as it wasn't when the sun was at it's hottest, was fine!  Even good for me - my mood, and of course my vitamin D!  A sunbathing session, however, is out of bounds, so what's a girl to do?  Well of course there's the 'spray tan' as shown here but these days the products that are available for a DIY tan are so brilliant, less streaky and some even have a pleasant smell! Here's how to get the body beautiful and  my top buys for a DIY tan...
Prepare

• Choose a light or medium-toned product, for a more natural looking result.
• Before using the product, wash and exfoliate your skin with a wash cloth or sponge to remove excess dead skin cells and avoid a streaky or patchy result.
• It is recommended that legs are shaved 12 hours prior to application for an even result.

Apply

• Apply the tanning product lightly and evenly. Use less product on dry or thickened skin, such as over your ankles, knees and elbows as these areas tend to absorb more product.
• Five to ten minutes after applying the self-tan, rub areas such as your elbows and knees with a little lotion to ensure there are no patchy areas.

Rub lotion around wrists and the backs of your hands blending evenly up to your arms. Rub lotion around your ankles and the tops of your feet, blending evenly up to your legs.

After

• After applying the product to your face and body, wash your hands with soap and water to avoid colouring your palms and use a wet wipe for the soles of your feet. Be sure to remove any product from under your fingernails. Then use a cotton ball to apply the product to the top of each hand.
• To prevent staining your clothes, wait until the product dries completely, about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Most tanning products don't contain a sunscreen and therefore don't protect your skin from the harmful effects of the sun's rays. If you spend time outdoors, be sure to apply a sun protection cream with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 before going outside.

Apply moisturiser to your "tan" every day.

Body scrub

1. Origins body scrub  - a skin-scouring Dead Sea salt and warming Ginger Zest buffered in emollient-rich Macadamia Oil, Soybean Oil, Kukui Nut Oil and Sweet Almond Oil helps to remove all traces of roughness to buff every bit of you before you start applying your cream. I love this because it smells amazing.
2. Xen Tan - If you like a darker tan, or you're naturally olive skinned, this is the lotion for you.  Used by stars all over the globe, it creates a deep olive colour and a flawless finish.

3. L'Oreal Sublime Bronze for fair skins.  This gives a natural looking tan without the self-tan smell.The ultra-wide micro-diffusion spray allows the product to dry instantly, for a radiant result with no need to rub in.

4. Lancaster Ultra natural bronzer for the face.  This gentle emulsion for face and décolleté glides on smoothly, evenly, keeps skin soft as it develops a gradual, natural-looking Lancaster golden glow. Moisturizes and contains an antioxidant RPF anti-ageing cover. Colour results are subtle, so reapply daily to increase colour intensity.

5. To help keep my tan in tip-top condition, I use Clarins After Sun Moisturiser which guards your skin against signs of premature wrinkles and aging.  This hydrating cream is uniquely formulated with moisture-replenishing Watermelon Extract and self tanning properties to keep skin soft and smooth while maintaining and deepening your tan.

What are your favourite sunning products?

Glimpses of the Weekend

Well, it didn't rain until last night so that was a bonus!  I hope you've all had a wonderful relaxing weekend and are ready for the week ahead?  My weekend was spent catching up with family and friends with a bit of shopping for my daughter's graduation dress... we went here and managed to spend 5 hours trying on dresses and just having a great time together..so nice!  We also managed to bag ourselves a freebie courtesy of St Tropez's Spraycation campaign.  I have to admit to being a spray tan virgin but it was a very simple process (albeit in a fake beachhut in the middle of Westfield) and I'm absolutely delighted with the result - a very natural looking golden tan. Thank you St Tropez.  Spraycation is currently doing a tour of the UK so check it out and fake it, don't bake it!

I did something else new this weekend too...a g&t made with Hendrick's gin!  I quite like a g&t and was persuaded by a friend to buy a bottle of Hendrick's but hadn't got round to trying it until this weekend.  I'm sold!  It's distilled in very small batches in a distillery in Scotland and infused with rose and cucumber.  I mixed mine with tonic spritzed with a lemon, lots of ice and a slice of cucumber.  Delicious and refreshing.  If you haven't tried it yet I recommend it.

G&T Hendrick's style

Whilst out shopping we popped into Boots as I'd read that they are now stocking essie nail polish.  Previously I'd had to trek around trying to find this brand and hurrah, hurrah, it's true.  Boots came up trumps with a large selection of polishes, all with wonderful sounding names like 'bikini so teeny', 'cascade cool' 'mojito madness' and 'all tied up'. I bought a popping coral called 'cute as a button' - what do think?

'cute as a button' essie polish

'off the shoulder'

'bikini so teeny'

Image source: essie.com

Zara Shoe Love

Who doesn't love new shoes - and bags for that matter?!  The thing that I love about Zara is that you can get relatively decent quality clothes for a relatively decent price and they're always on trend.  As London edges out of the drab grey rain into the sunshine I'm being drawn more and more to the bright colours that Zara has in store...especially in the shoe department.  Have a look at these

Gorgeous raffia heels

Orange and pink - such a great combination

Fuschia colours

Neon brights

Coral contrast

Then once you've bought your favourite shoe - accessorise your nails with these gorgeous bright colours from Nars...

and go strut your stuff!

All that glitters...

I've had my eye on a glittery OPI nail polish for some time but just never got around to buying it; so, when I was browsing in a department store recently and I saw it in a pack with three others I just couldn't resist!

OPI New York Ballet Colours

They are a didi size but I've now tried all the combo's and used this tutorial to get the glitter just right.  How are you adding sparkle to your life?

What's in the (Gucci) Bag?

I promised you all a series on 'What's in the Bag?' and apologies that I've taken so long to do another...the truth is I did this post a while ago and saved it and when Blogger took us all over to the new interface it lost it!  Anyway, here it is again!! Firstly I want to thank Debs for allowing me to be nosy and empty her bag to my scrutiny!  Debs has one of the best bag collections I've seen and is the envy of friends and friends' daughters!!! Please excuse the quality of the photos.  They were taken after a few glasses of wine and in bad light so don't do this gorgeous bag justice...but enough rambling..

..the bag...

Gucci Snakeskin - a special present from Debbie's husband

Gorgeous detailing - fringing with gold studs and gold plates

Debs' stuff

from left to right...

1.  Nurofen Plus from Boots because "it's the only thing that shifts a headache"
2. Sunglasses from Chanel "I bought these in Harvey Nichols, Jackie O' style, big and simple without being too glitzy but very versatile".
3. Dailies contact lens' by accuvue "it's kinda freaky cos I only wear them in one eye!"
4. "These are my little known secret.  Linen vest tops from Massimo Dutti.  Great pieces at good prices and they look great under a suit as they're long-line.  You have to be quick tho' as they sell out quickly and go a size bigger as they come up small."
5.  Umbrella - "you don't want your hair to frizz up."
6.  Wallet from Louis Vuitton "my husband bought me this to go with my work bag.  It's eight years old and still going - indestructible."

Chanel sunglasses, Armani lippy and Nokia cell

7.  Rouge d'Armani shade 103. "A secret weapon for us girls.  It's the ideal beige lipstick, a perfect base and when you don't want to wear a bolder colour, it's just there.  I buy three; one for work, one for home and one to carry around."
8. Keys and my lucky elephant - a gift from a friend from Kenya "I love it, cheap and inoffensive."

Cartier pen, penhaligon's case and Vuitton wallet

9. Phone Nokia Music Express "it's easy to use and has all my numbers on."

10.  Cartier pen.  "A present two years ago for Christmas.  When you write with a fountain pen it instantly makes your handwriting better.  If I lost it I'd be distraught."
11. Penhaligon's cosmetic case "I carry my pen around in this"

Thank you Debbie - I'm off now to hunt down that beige lipstick and search out another victim for my 'What's in the Bag?'series...any offers?

French Pharmacy

A friend has generously just booked us a holiday to the South of France (whoop, whoop!) and one of the things I'm really looking forward to is browsing in their pharmacies.  They have the appearance of a clinical surgery with shelves piled high with products that look official.  That is, they don't have pretty pictures on them, they don't market them with visuals, instead they just name the product and the product speaks for itself.  The thing is, the products work.  Admittedly, you can now buy some of these products here now in our specialist chemists, but there's something extra special about getting the French product in France.  It almost seems as if the alchemy works better!  Here are some of my favourites:

As those who know me know...I'm addicted to lip balms and can't resist buying new ones.  This one is a German product but you can get it practically anywhere in Europe.  It's quite thick so good for the winter as it stays put!

These are beautifully packaged liquid soaps (they do handcream and household products too).  In order to be have the title 'Marseille' this soap needs to be mainly organic oils - they take their savon very seriously!  You can find these products in the UK now much more easily.

This is a great spritzer for the face - refreshing and cooling.

This is a great creamy product for taking off makeup and daily grime, leaving you with silky soft skin.

Good basic exfoliator to use after the gym/shower/bath and then slather on this...

- a gorgeous treat for your body that makes your skin feel super supple and smooth and smells totally divine due to its aromatherapy oils.  Guaranteed to soothe and relax all your muscles after a hard day.

a fabulous body oil that you can use all over, face included

Top your home facial off with a spritz of this calming toner; Caudalie also have the pretty packaging to go with the hard-working ingredients.

What's your favourite French pharmacie product?

What's in the bag?

It's no secret that I love bags; leather, canvas, mock croc, quilted, appliqued, there really is a bag for every occasion.  I actually feel sorry for men because they'll never (or rarely) get that rush from buying a new bag and transferring their treasured everyday bits!  Not only do I like bags but I'm nosey about other people's bags too - what's in them?  why do they carry particular things?  What's in your bag says a lot about the person carrying it and so I thought for other nosey people out there, I'd empty my bag and show you what's in it;  I'm hoping I can persuade some of my friends to let me share the contents of their bags too, so watch this space for future posts.
Anyway, here goes

So, the contents of my bag  left to right (old receipts removed for quality of photo!!) are:
1. Bag by Guess
2. Insolite Wallet by Louis Vuitton
3. Aloe Vera Vaseline (I have about 4/5 of these in different 'flavours')
4. Pink pilot fountain pen (they're quite cheap but make a difference to my handwriting, again I have them in lots of colours - but pink is definitely my fave!) from Paperchase
5. Diary by Paperblanks for keeping track of appointments and writing notes
6. Jo Malone Cologne in Lime, Basil and Mandarin.  This was a present from my children for Mother's Day and it always lifts my mood.
7. Prada perfume in Amber
8. Refresh contacts solution for when my eyes get tired/sore
9. Leather Filofax that I've had for years and years.  Although I've got the technology (ipad/phone) I still like to write things down/make notes
10.Prada sunglasses
11.Apple iphone 3GS
12. Rouge Coco Shine by Chanel in 'Boy'
13. Camellia lippy by Chantecaille
14.  Crayon Khol in Noir , Hypnose mascara in Noir and lipstick in L'Absolu Rouge in Rouge Odysee (you have no idea how many red lipsticks I tried before I got the right shade!) all by Lancome, including the makeup bag which was a Lancome freebie!


What's in your bag that you can't go without?

A spring clean!

When the sun is shining and Spring is very definitely in the air I start thinking about turning out my makeup bag and finding lighter products for my skin.  Usually this involves pink of some description when it comes to nails and lips, and a tinted moisturiser rather than foundation.  Chanel has just brought out it's Spring collection which is full of must-haves, here are some of my favourites, old and new:

Highlighting powder

Rouge Coco Baume (hydrating lip care)

Mica Rose Nail polish

I'm currently using a Lancome foundation...

this!

and this!

and their primer makes my skin feel unbelievably soft and really does make a difference to the look of the 'finished face'; however, when it gets warmer I prefer something much lighter and will turn to Laura Mercier for her sheer and natural face products.  My favourite is..



Tinted illuminating moisturiser

and of course, those of you who know me, know that my life would not be complete without something citrusy and sharp - namely Jo Malone's Lime, Basil and Mandarin which really smells so unbelievably amazing and gives you a zing that gets you through the worst day!

Scented candle for summer evening drinks

the most luxurious body creme I've ever used!

So, there you have it, my lust-have's in all their glory.  What's in your Spring makeup bag?