NEWS FLASH - Beauty Schools

So your styling skills aren’t up to scratch – nor are ours! Book Headmasters Ultimate Ponytail Masterclass for £45 for 45 minutes, for a guide to a party-perfect pony. I always get my hair cut at Headmasters, they are always so fantastic and I’ve never left the salon feeling unhappy with my hair. They also offer a brilliant half price offer if you book a stand by appointment on the day.

Perfect your party look with Headmasters - 0208 296 6454

If a pony isn’t your style and a beehive is, head down to Charles Worthington’s textured Hive Catwalks Masterclass from £47 you can get all the latest tips and tricks on how to achieve big hair over the big festival!

Oh beehive with Charles Worthington - 0207 361 1370

Ax

Remembering an inspirational woman

Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign and senior corporate vice president and head of fragrance development worldwide at Estee Lauder Cos., passed away at her Manhattan home Saturday.  Here is a brief overview of some of the incredible things that Evelyn H Lauder achieved.

During her time working at Estee Lauder she co-created Aramis, a best-selling men's scent with Estee, while also developing Clinique's iconic fragrances Beautiful, Happy and Pleasures. She received the Fragrance Foundation Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

While Lauder certainly had a head for business, she was down-to-earth and creative, once admitting, 'You don’t sell fragrance on intellect. You sell fragrance on your nose. It’s an immediate response. You either like it or you don’t. It’s like food — you either like beets or you don’t. Leonard still can’t get me to drink beer.'

Aside from working for the Estee lauder company, she fundraised and built awareness for breast cancer. In 1992, Lauder and the then-editor-in-chief of Self magazine, Alexandra Penney, created the pink ribbon as a symbol of breast cancer awareness. October that year she also launched the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign which is still going strong almost 20 years later - to date, more than 65 million pink ribbons have been distributed.

In October 2009 the Evelyn H Lauder Breast Centre opened. 'The doctor who was in charge of the hospital said they were building a breast centre. And I said, ‘Oh, this is fabulous. What are you going to have in the breast centre?’ So he said, ‘We’re going to have oncology and we’re going to have mammography. I said, ‘Is that it?’ He says, ‘Well, what else do you want?’ And I said, ‘Well, I would want physical therapy, psychological counselling, an education centre so that we could pick up information in either leaflets or online, nutritional counselling, a pharmacy so you don’t have to go running around the city to get everything, a boutique that might sell all the needs of a woman while she’s waiting for reconstruction to get the right bra and do whatever is necessary — bathing suits, you know?’ The 150,000-square-foot facility is a great symbol of her vision.

While devoting her life to breast cancer awareness, she kept quiet the fact that she too was fighting cancer, surviving both early-stage breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The businesswoman died of complications of non-genetic ovarian cancer aged 75.

So let’s make sure that we keep Evelyn’s campaign to increase awareness of breast cancer going strong and support the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign.

K x

You're A Cracker

Christmas crackers are often a disappointment- a silly joke and a cheap party hat. Pimp your Christmas dinner table with this little beauty. Jo Malone’s brilliant, Christmas Cracker, features a selection of amazing mini products from the Jo Malone collection; this is one cracker you will be dying to pull.

Sadly, it does not actually snap cracker style, but would look stunning hung from a tree - or on a decadent Christmas table, where everyone gets a luxury cracker each! A lovely way to introduce someone to the brand and a great way to have a taster of what Jo Malone is most famous for.

Inside you will find a refreshing grapefruit cologne, lime basil & mandarin body wash and my favourite - spicy Pomegranate noir body crème. A truly delightful trio

This little number is on my Mum’s Christmas wishlist, so far is has sold out online – so the hunt begins to get this before the big day!

Ax

The Gatsby Nail

To me nails are the easiest way to jazz up any outfit and change your look and mood. Therefore, this is why, over the coming months you will hear (read) a lot from me about nails. Winter to me is miserable – I do not like crisp mornings unless I am in bed or do not have to go outside. For me winter is hell for hair, skin, and wardrobe! However, one thing I can almost guarantee is that my nails will be ok! During the winter, month’s people tend to eat more wholesome foods such as the classic ‘meat and two veg’ and more of it. This leads to healthier bodies (if you are not just eating biscuits and cakes), which in turn leads to stronger and healthier nails.

This season is all about showing off, whether you have long talons or short neat nail, you can be as create, as you like – there is not limit on colour or pattern. This season Illamasqua, whose roots stem from the dark and illicit 1920s club scene, have created a dark and sensual nail colour collection to make your mouth water. The Theatre Of The Nameless collection features four autumnal toned rich colours that will match any winter outfit in your wardrobe.

Taking from their 1920’s origins Glenis Baptise tells us how to achieve The Gatsby, a look adorned by Dita von Teese, quite possibly on of the most mesmerising women of our time.

The Gatsby – Get the look

 A classic look, the Gatsby Nail leaves the half-moon at the cuticle end of the nail bare for a very 1920s finish.

Start at the centre of the nail plate, about a third of the way up from the cuticle, then sweep the brush towards the nail tip in a single stroke. This creates your centre line.

Next, angle your brush so that the bristles form a curve from the edge of your centre line to the corner of your nail bed. To complete the half-moon shape, repeat on the other edge of your nail.

Don’t worry if you make a mistake, you can tidy up the half-moon using the pointed end of a cotton bud soaked in acetone-free nail varnish remover.

Leave to dry for a few minutes before applying a second coat, then apply Illamasqua Top Coat for a perfect finish.

Ax

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

Another one of my hero products is Elizabeth Arden 8 hour Cream: Skin Protectant.  I would be totally lost without it as it is an absolute God send!

It helps to protect skin from the elements, refresh it from jet lag, shape your eyebrows. Revitalise shine, soothe hands, nails. Ankles, knees and toes and where I use it most – on my lips.  It also;

·                          Helps protect, soothe and moisturise skin.

·                          Soothes dry skin and provides anti-inflammatory benefits.

·                          Soothes and comforts minor weather burns, scrapes and abrasions.

Here is a little history behind Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream;

Created in 1930 by Elizabeth Arden to soothe skin, Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant became an instant and overwhelming success. What made it so effective is a combination of petrolatum, a skin-soothing beta-hydroxy in one of its first cosmetic uses, and vitamin E.  The apricot coloured balm was so beneficial to her clients, Miss Arden used it to soothe her famous thoroughbred horses' legs. Even its name came about thanks to a remarkable performance - a loyal client used it to treat her child's skinned knee and eight hours later the skin was all better.

So with Winter very much on its way, I would recommend picking up Skin Protectant and keeping in your handbag at all times!

K x

Burlesque The Movie

When we heard Christina Augiliara and Cher were making a film about singing and dancing we literally could not wait for it to come out. When Burlesque hit the big screen, we unfortunately were unable to get the time to go and see the film. K being the amazing person she is, brought me the DVD for my birthday. We finally got round to watching the film a few weeks ago. The story lines were incredibly predictable but rather cheesy but we did not care! We had the costumes, make-up, fashion, songs and dancing to keep us occupied.

Cher and Christina were amazing to say the least! I do not care if Christina has put on a few pounds (you cannot see it in the film) and we are not very bothered about Cher’s pillow face (she still looks 21! Nevertheless, good on her!)

Christina was given an incredible range of different looks during the film, from small town American girl, to sexy songstress, to vampy torch song singer. Every look she wore suited her, meaning you can wear them too! To be honest – her ‘small town American girl’ look was a bit ‘wiggy’ in terms of her hair, but still her au natural make up was truly lovely!

Below is a selection of the key looks achieved by Christina in the film...

Dressing up is fun, and always-on trend. Take red lipstick for example – so many fabulous brands are bringing out shades of red to suite every skin tone, Kate Moss for Rimmel, Tom Ford, Kate Winslet, YSL, Dior and Chanel – there are so many, so go and get one!

False eyelashes to are a hug winner in my eyes (sorry could not resist the pun!) with Christmas just around the corner and New Year parties already being planned – when better to step on stage and shine!

 

BTW I couldn’t do a post on Burlesque without including the ‘love interest’ *SWOOOOON*

And the 'footwear love interest'...

Ax

Moroccan Oil

If you are after a hair product to condition your tresses and tame frizz, then look no further than Moroccan Oil Treatment.  I invested in it over the summer and it is now one of my favourite hair products that I cannot live without.  It makes my hair feel so soft and makes styling so much easier.

Moroccan Oil Treatment promises to;

• Revive your hair
• Strengthen and condition your hair
• Reduces drying time

To use Moroccan Oil, you apply a small amount to damp hair then style hair as usual. The key here is to not be heavy handed because just a little Moroccan Oil goes a very long way and if you use too much it can make your hair a little greasy.  I use just 2 tiny pumps.

In addition to using it on wet hair before styling, you can also add it to your conditioner and then leave it on your hair as a deep conditioning mask which is a really amazing treatment and leaves your hair feeling so soft.

So if you buy just one hair product this month, make it Moroccan Oil!

K x