What's in the bag Mel Wade?

Today's beauty addict is the lovely Melanie Wade...
I've had a wee poke around in her bag while she wasn't looking and confirm she's a beauty lover after my own heart!

What's your signature make-up product and how does using it affect your mood?
Clinique lash doubling black mascara! I have really small eyes, so without mascara they look teeny tiny! Mascara opens them up and makes me feel glam again.

A beautiful boy is on the approach and you only have time to apply one product - what is it?
Lip gloss, lip gloss, lip gloss! I feel naked it I don’t have anything on my lips. If I was trying to impress someone I would use Nars in Scandal as it’s a gorgeous red / berry colour and is very sexy!

Of every product you've ever had, current or sob, discontinued, what would be your favourite beauty product ever?
Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser, I have been using it for years and I don’t go anywhere without it (not even to pop to Tesco’s!). It feels lovely when it goes on as it’s really soft and it gives just the right amount of coverage – leaving my skin clear and glowing.

My make-up bag is always bursting at the seems as I carry so much around with me, I always think you never know where you might end up and its better to be prepared!

I have a real mix in my make-up bag of designer and high street brands. I always use Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser for a base followed by Nars bronzer, and Dr Harnik Dark Circle Corrector to camouflage any dark circles!

My favourite lip glosses are from Mac, Laura Mercier and Nars. As I use lip gloss a lot I keep my lips in good condition with Trilogy Intensive Lip Treatment, which stops lips going dry and flaky.

I use Laura Mercier and Mac eye shadows but I also always have my Colorsport 24 hour eye liner in black with me, so I can do ‘smoky eyes’ that will last all night, at a moments notice!

Hand cream is really important to me, as I’m always worried I am going to get ‘old lady hands’ so I use delicious beauty honey and almond hand lotion throughout the day.

For my hair the only product I carry with me is Lee Stafford RUTP from oily roots, this is the most amazing product in the world and has changed my hair from flat and lifeless to thick and luscious on numerous occasions!

My last secret product is . . . tan towel, I always carry one with me because there wipes so they take up no room but are essential if you find yourself going out last minute as they will leave you gorgeously glowing in just a couple of hours!

Thanks Mel!
How right you are with the hand cream. I have a total terror of waking up one day with Madonna claws...
I have to admit, I'm rocking the Oily Roots spray right now.
I do love me some dry shampoo!

These Boots were made for shopping...

I love popping into Boots and seeing what's on the shelves. It's a rare occasion that I manage to sashay out without something in my sweaty paws.

Yesterday was no exception. I was just nipping in for a prescription (don't worry - I'm okay, you can relax) when this little bundle of joy caught my eye.

It's so pretty! This is the Antoni&Alison-designed free gift when you spend £5.00 on Boots 17 make up. Not a hardship really.

And more exciting, you get all this inside the cuteness!

It's a lovely grey eyeshadow, glitter topcoat and sparkly nail file, perfect for your handbag. Inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream and designed to celebrate Antoni&Alison's 17th year as designers, this is Boots' fourth designer collaboration and I have to say, I think it's their best.

To make up my £5,00, I bagged a lovely iridescent pink nail polish and the Antoni&Alison Ultimate Volume Lip Gloss in Dainty Indigo Pansy Kiss. How could I not? It's a beautiful deep but fairly sheer red and only £3,79. Practically free.

Should you come over all collector, you can still pick up the Eley Kishimoto gift set from last winter on ebay for next to nothing and the pocket mirror and mini mascara would fit perfectly in this kit. It's all so so beautiful.


Can't wait to see what Boots do next... Marc Jacobs? Please?

New York City (block) Girl...

This is the year I'm really making an effort with my sunscreen.
Every year I say it and every year I end up getting fried at least once.

The worst of these occasions was in my beloved New York two years ago. I was out there for work in Mid-June and there was no way I could avoid the sun completely but I guess I could have avoided sitting on an open top bus for four hours... I was punished. A seven hour flight sat next to a sleepy, snory drunk with the worst burnt arms you've EVER seen. Seriously, they're still two tone.
No, really.

This year, I'm going back to NYC (aka Home) for the same show in June. But this year I have a plan. This year I have Clinique factor 40 City Block.


This stuff is amazing. Seriously, it's a fantastic make-up primer, it doesn't clog up even my pre-menstrual skin and you can even use it around the eye area. I'm always moaning on about not being able to get good sunscreen for my face that doesn't clog my skin and the sunscreens in moisturisers are never high enough for me because, according to the clever peeps at Clinique, as little as 20 minutes of incidental sun exposure everyday adds up to more than 120 hours of UV radiation per year. That equals nearly 6 hours of serious sun bathing.

Mew.

And as you probably already know, up to 90& of skin aging comes from sun exposure rather than the actual age process.

Double Mew.

So for all you paleys and even the not so paleys, if you don't want to look like a handbag in later years (not even a Marc Jacobs Stam - beautiful) please please please wear sunscreen. You don't have to go for factor 40, this wonder primer comes in 15 and 25 but really, think about it - bronzer now, beautiful skin later or tan now and Jimmy Saville in ten years.

It makes all kinds of sense.

Oh, and sorry to ditch you yesterday, I had to go and see a man about a Bagpuss. No, really.
Me and my glamorous life...

I Have Issues with Kirsten Dunst

I don't get to brag very often so please indulge me...

Last night I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to the Spider-Man 3 premiere (praise be the day job) and thought you might like a look at Kirsten Dunst's make-up...

Obviously she's beautiful and always looks great (when you can't see her snaggletooth) and I won't have a word said against Bring it On but as great as this make up looks in a photo (thanks Getty) it looked rough in real life. The lipstick was really really harsh and dark, almost purple and looked really drying. It's hard to believe she's only 24. The lights on the red carpet were really bright and everyone was looking a bit shiny but Kirsten was really over powdered. I'm a powder fiend but by stippling it with a brush or using a mattefying balm like Dr Feelgood instead, you can avoid aging your skin with powder.

I guess this all goes to prove that what makes a great picture doesn't work in real life. Sort of reassuring for we mere mortals, actually. Could be I just have Dunst issues.
And she was a bit snooty with Lauren Laverne in an interview (great make-up Lauren, hair could have used a brush).

In the movie, her make up is perfect. The hair is a gorgeous red/blonde (not as harsh as the other movies) and she looks like a translucent skinned gorgeous girl next door throughout. I guess if there was an advert for not tanning, she's it. Pale as a pale thing and yet still rattling up the following list of hot celeb notches on the bedpost (allegedly)...
Jake Gyllenhall
Adam Brody
Fabrizio Moretti
Adrian Grenier
Johnny Borrell

Okay, so I'd rather poke my own eyes out with a Razorlight record that touch the Borrell but that aside, she's making moves on all my top men. She even looks at my beloved Shawn from stellstarr* and I will kick her ass from here to Camden.

Now, because I am dedicated to reporting on all kinds of beauty, here is a picture of the most beautiful thing I saw all night.


Man, he's pretty.
For those of you that don't know, this is James Franco, or Harry Osborn in the world of Spider-Man. Even with a dodgy scar (not to spoil too much) you know you still would.

Oh, and you'll be excited to know all ten remaining Josephs from Any Dream Will Do were in attendance and if I really wanted to do a fake tan edition of What's in the Bag, I could happily knock on any number of their doors...
Not to mention man make-up and Sun In.
Hmmm.

What's in the Bag Sarah Lawton?

Today's gorgeous Guinea Pig is Sarah Lawton, a beautista of the South Coast and lover of all things bee-yooo-tiful...


What's your signature make-up product and how does using it affect your mood?
My signature make-up product has to be YSL Mascara Volume Effect in black, love the stuff and makes lashes look super long and super thick!

A beautiful boy is on the approach and you only have time to apply one product - what is it?
I'd have to slap on L'Oreal Glam Shine in Nude Juice if I was approached by a gorgeous man (namely my boyfriend!!)

Out of every product you've ever had, current or sob, discontinued, what would be your favourite beauty product ever?
Ummm favourite beauty product would have to be Champneys micro-dermabrasion face polish.... Its amazing and makes your skin look younger, firmer and fresh as a daisy!

My make up bag consists of YSL Touche Eclat, YSL volume mascara, benefit eye bright, L'oreal Infallible foundation or Clinique gentle light make-up (usually for day wear), Dallas by Benefit and Powder blush Getting Finer Every Day, by Benefit.

Maybelline liquid liner in brown and my L'oreal glam shine... also Benefit Realness of Concealness for those spotty days and Urban Decay eyeshadow pack with skull on the front.

All kinds of applause for the beautiful things in the bag and all kinds of applause and wonderment for saying her boyfriend is the gorgeous guy on the approach. Mr BeautyLover is lucky if I put my contact lenses in.
Sometimes it's just better for everyone if I leave them out.

An ode to Vaseline

I was a little bit late yesterday, mew, but I hope you enjoyed HQHair. That place will see me bankrupt...

I really wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to write about Vaseline though.
Honestly, I was sat in bed a couple on nights ago, thinking about all the millions of things we put on our skins in the hopes of fending off the evil wrinkle fairy and I realised the only constant on there, the only thing I come back to again and again, is Vaseline.


I don't know about you but it turns out I've got a bit of a reliance on the old stalwart. There's the wee little tub for my lips and cuticles on my dressing table, I carry one of the mini tins (so cute!) in my handbag for on the go lip lovin' and emergency skin smoothing and I think we've all been guilty of the 'smear it on your lashes for a mascara style look without the mascara!
Doesn't work for me, I just get gloop in my contact lenses.

At uni, one of my (male) flatmates took some severe abuse when we busted him with a massive vat of Vaseline in his room but it turned out he smeared his shins and knees in it before he played football to stop his delicate skin from chapping (that was his story anyway and I was happy to believe it).

And when I'm out of Bliss Softening Socks or Sandal Scandal, I do tend to smother my heels in Vaseline, kick back, put on Slap Her, She's French and let the good old petroleum jelly do it's worst.

And for helping my heels not look like Mumm-Ra the Ever Living, Vaseline, I salute you.

Eeep

I have forty minutes to get somewhere that's going to take me fifty minutes to get there.

therefore, today's post is a pimp for HQhair.com and their wonderful outlet store.
Go and spend money, you know you want to!

And just so you know, I was going to do a whole post about Vaseline.
Bet you can't wait for that.

So sleepy, so easy...

It may surprise you to know my life is not an endless round of beauty launches and fabulous parties where people drink champagne and slap each other on the back and talk about how fabulous it is to drink champagne and attend fabulous parties and beauty launches.

More often than not I'm desk bound or flitting from tube to tube in impractical shoes so what I'm really really looking for is something that does a thousand jobs in one, the most important amongst them being 'make me look human'.


In times of trouble, I turn to Stila's Convertible Colour. It's wee, the compact has a mirror, it brightens my cheeks and adds a swipe of colour to my lips. For my money, I love the Spring limited edition that features Lilium, a rusty rose and Gerbera, my favourite peachy colour, both in one handy compact for £17. The colours often look terrifying in their packaging but once you get them on your skin their more subtle than you'd think.

And anything that can make me look alive in one swift dab is okay by me.

Houston, we have a problem...

I don't know how many of you have ever been to/live in Texas. It's not somewhere people often pop to on their jollies and not necessarily somewhere I would direct you to unless you are a big steak fan (in which case, head directly to Cattleman's in Fort Worth or Fogo de Chau, Dallas - good enough to give you a bowel obstruction and love it).

I have been 'lucky' enough to visit Texas twice - Dallas, Texas in fact - and as someone who has observed the shoulder pads, high hair and long, long lacquered nails first hand, I've got to tell you, I felt a touch out of place.

As has been well documented on this blog, I'm as pale a pasty English lady as you're ever likely to find, so the ladies of Dallas were quite a revelation to me and I to them. They couldn't understand why I wasn't prepared to sacrifice myself on the alter of sun worship 'to get a little colour in those pretty cheeks'. My usual argument of 'I don't want to look like a battered old handbag at the age of fifty' would have been lost on them - they were all under forty and looked like Donnatella Versace. And they were proud of it.

Usually, I veer well away from any tanning product and try and be 'proud to be pale' but I inevitably cave at some point during the summer. This year, I've already taken the plunge with the Olay Everyday Sunshine lotion (which I'm still loving by the way) and for my face, I've found two winners.

Clinique Uplighter Liquid Illuminator in 04 Bronze
This is a gorgeous product. Somewhere between a liquid bronzer and a highlighter. For fair skins like mine, just use the tiniest drop on your cheeks and across the bridge of your nose. If you can take stronger colour, mix it into your foundation or use wherever you fancy a lift. It's sheer, it's shimmery but not sparkly and it's super pretty. Not a trace of orange.

Benefit Dallas
If you like your bronzer as a powder, for me there is only one. And it's not just because of the comedy name association game. Dallas by Benefit is subtle enough to give you a real wash of 'I just walked in from a whole darn day of pony rustlin' and now I'm a-ready for a hoe down' or something. If you've got a darker skintone, try Hoola or 10. Hoola is too too dark for me and 10 only works for contouring but if you can take more colour they're perfect. Plus, super cute.

Just as a word of warning, all these recommendations have a touch of shimmer in them so I'll try and find some more matte versions for you ladies who are trying to pretend the colour that so artfully caught your cheeks is au naturel.

You know who you are... you sit across from me on the tube with your St Tropez tan minus shaving streaks, your perfectly pedicured toesies and lashes of mascara that never smudges.
And I hate you.

What's in the Bag Alison Young?

On the weekends that I am abandoned by Mr Beauty Lover for a variety of sporting activities (pah), I turn to my guilty pleasures. Lindsay Lohan movies, curlywurlies and Buffy the Vampire Slayer boxsets. But sometimes, all that vampire staking/teen angst is a bit too cerebral for a lazy Sunday (I'm talking really, really lazy) and on those days I turn to my guiltiest pleasure.

QVC.

So you can only imagine how DELIGHTED I was to discover that yesterday was Lessons in Beauty Day! So many hours that could have been spent doing something productive*, actually spent 'ooohing' and 'ahhing' over Sun Labs self tan and Elemis starter kits - I mean, did you SEE the Today's Special Value? Amazing... I really do love QVC, you can get some of the best brands around at really reasonable prices wherever you live (Bliss, Smashbox, Philosophy, Bare Essentials, Benefit, Liz Earle, Elemis are all regulars), you can learn some helpful hints and tips and once you've got past the 'Amy from Alfreton' phone in questions, it's actually really good fun.
So in honour of my lazy Sunday, today's What's in the Bag is the Queen of QVC, the Helen of Troy of Home Shopping, the woman who magically informed me through the medium of cable TV that the persistent redness in my skin was from an overly abrasive exfoliator - Alison Young!!!


What's your signature make-up product and how does using it affect your mood?
Smashbox Photo Finish with Dermaxyl and SPF (QVC item no. 221701) makes me happier for so many reasons. Smashbox Dermaxyl actually treats the skin and protects it with the SPF factor. It is so much easier to apply make-up, it just glides on leaving you looking less made up. Smashbox Dermaxyl also has long term improvement on wrinkles and lines. It is non-greasy so doesn't give you spots.

A beautiful boy is on the approach and you only have time to apply one product - what is it?
I would have to choose Cosmetics a la Carte Honey Cheek Tint (QVC item no. 221517) as it gives a fresh dewy youthful look to the skin without looking made up.

Of every product you've ever had, current or sob, discontinued, what would be your favourite beauty product ever?
I would have to say Clientele Elastology Age Blocker (QVC item no. 221315). This is great if you are concerned with aging skin and also contains SPF. Never underestimate the ageing, pigmented effect the sun can give your skin. This cream should be used everyday and not just in the summer. It sinks in easily, has a matt finish and is non-greasy. Suitable for all skin tones and make-up glides on with no problems.

Listen to the lady, she's all kinds of clever.
And watch QVC - you know you want to.

*Yes, I know yesterday was a beautiful day and I should have been out leaping through fields and meadows but I'm really pale and the sun hates me, okay? I did sit outside to eat a well barbecued sausage for a while before I went in to watch Slap Her, She's French, if that helps at all?
No?

Oh.

An Affair to Remember...

My affair with Lee Stafford started like all the great romances...
Hushed phone calls, a secret assignation on a steamy April afternoon, cocktails, small talk and before I knew what was happening, his hands were in my hair and I'd lost all my senses.

An hour and a half later, after we'd listened to a few CDs (White Stripes for me, Ray LaMontagne for him), planned our dream holiday to Dubai, talked about loading his many, many CDs onto an iPod post-haste and debated the merits of Miami over New York, I realised it was time to go. He could never be mine, not truly, not mine alone and I had commitments and responsibilities elsewhere.

Yes, I was leaving but I was leaving as a new woman.
A woman with a fringe.

Oh, the reality fairy is asking that I make a couple of points clear:

1. I am not having an affair with Lee Stafford but I was amazingly lucky enough to have him cut my hair this week. Looks like all that stalking paid off...

2. At no point during the orgy of snipping were we alone. His rather fabulous PR-come-Cocktail Mixologist was present at all times.

3. My hair looks amazing. Lee asked if I was looking for an 'Evolution' or a 'Revolution' and since Jonny had done an amazing job last time (I'm such a heartless cheater - don't worry honey, I'll be back) I opted for an 'Evolution' but would never ever have given myself a fringe. Not since my pageboy jobby at the age of seven have I endured a full fringe.

4. Therefore, Lee Stafford = genius because it actually looks really good. a Bit Debbie Harry crossed with Karen O and Chrissie Hynde. Oooh. I actually look like I have twice as much hair. So good, I'll even post a picture when I find one that does his loveliness justice.

But sadly, the moral to this sordid tale is:
Affairs can never last. They're all dizzy highs and crashing lows, like when Lee told me he was going to see Dirty Dancing the Musical (yes!) but that he was going with another woman (no!).

So I might never see Lee again. Sure, I'll see his twinkly eyes and winning smile on Richard Judy, I might even pass by his window and catch a glimpse of him eating one of his Dad's sausages, gazing out over London, but we'll never be able to recreate that perfect balmy afternoon in April.

And I'll be damned if I'll be able to keep this bloody fringe out of my eyes while I'm typing...
Love it though I do...

The First Feet of Summer

This week marked the most dreaded annual event in the calendar for me - nope, not September (Spider Month), not August (inability to go outside without frying) or even October (my birthday, in fact, every birthday beyond 25).

It is The Week I Stop Wearing Tights and (sob) Pop Socks.

So as you can imagine, the Easter weekend consisted of a lot of foot filing, moisturising, nail painting and general footise beautification because no one, and I mean NO ONE, wants to see rank, grey cracked feet mincing in front of them on the tube escalators, do they?
If your natural response to that was anything other than 'no Beauty Lover, that's freaking disgusting and I just vommed a bit in the back of my throat thinking about it' then you are sub-human.

My favourite, favourite foot product of all time is Benefit Sandal Scandal. And not just because it's got a cute name and you get little bootees avec wee pom poms (well, a bit because of that) but also because it helps me wake up with divoon toes and entirely uncracked heels.
Dream come true.


Alternatively, you could slather your feet in Vaseline and hope for the best but a) don't stand up with Vaselined feet, you will either break your neck or ruin your carpet and b) think of a fine excuse as to why you're buying Vaseline by the vat in Superdrug. I'm not helping you, you're totally on your own on that one...

I should mention, since I ditched the tights and the (sob) pop socks, my beautiful feet are now home to the annual flip flop blisters but we will not be bullied back into hosiery. Oh no.

Fake Tan Update:
No movement up the chart but still no orange. Maybe the Olay moisturiser is too subtle?
Or maybe my skin is just rejecting it...
The amount of light that bounced off my white legs almost created a black hole at the weekend so it's entirely possible.

Clean skincare = clear skin Nature vs Nuture part 3

So this is part Nature vs Nurture and part me raving about a fab new product that I'm in love with. Ladies with combination/dry/oily skin? Prepare to be happy bunnies...

You all know I'm a fickle mistress and although I have my faves, I'm often swayed by a new wonderous product of joy - step forward REN Mayblossom and Blue Cypress Facial Wash.


The REN website says - A sulfate-free balancing facial wash for skin that is prone to oiliness particularly in the T-Zone. It will gently dissolve excess sebum and remove impurities allowing skin to breathe freely. Bio actives from Mayblossom (flavonoids), Willow Bark (salicilin) and Australian Blue Cypress Oil (guaiazulene) decongest the skin, reduce pore size and help prevent spot formation due to their anti-bacterial properties.

I say - funky packaging, no icky sulphate induced foaming, squeaky clean skin with no dry or tight patches afterwards. And my skin is just glowing. I even risked the age old trick of not putting moisturiser immediately afterwards to see how quickly my skin would soften (it usually feels a bit tight if I don't moisturise right away) but nope, nothing but soft, glowy loveliness.

I should say that I did not love the scent of this right away - it's a wee bit like toilet cleaner but I mean that in the nicest possible way. Don't be put off though, it's wonderful. Fight through, fight through! Should also mention the Mayblossom and Konjac Balancing Moisturiser is also wonderful but I need something a wee bit richer. It would be amazing for oilier combination skins though.

REN is a fantastic brand and if you're concerned about covering your skin in crap and are looking for a whole range of skin care and body care products. They don't use synthetics, they don't use irritants and they donate a proportion of their profits to campaigns that promote a better environment.

Now go buy yourself some lovely products and give yourself a hug for saving the world...

http://www.renskincare.com/default.asp

Fake Tan update - we're at Chalk Blush stage...
I'm getting giddy! It's not orange or nuffink!

Diary of a fake tan - day one

Sigh.
It's that time of year again.

I may have mentioned the fact that I'm the palest girl in the world on this blog before but it's been winter and I've totally been rocking a Dita Von Teese, Rose McGowan alabaster thing which is fine. Until I have to get my legs out.

This weekend, the weather was totally messing with me. Easter is for eating eggs in bed, watching The Goonies or Ben Hur and flirting with the idea of flip flops. But noooo, 2007 has to go all crazy hot and sunny, leaving me utterly unprepared for leg revelation.

My skin isn't awful, it's just extraordinarily pale. This is fine until the sun comes out and the rays of light bounce of my pale pins and blind some small child or shorter than average fashionista who was innocently checking out my TopShop patent wedges. And so annually, I turn to fake tan and annually, I have to hide my legs away from the sun until the orange streaks have faded.
Weep.

This year was no exception, I have fallen foul of most products on the market from the full on tanners to the 'daily glow' products. All have left me streaky, and in rare and unfortunate AMBRE SOLAIRE Multi Directional Spray cases, stained for a fortnight. So this year, I'm trying out Olay Everyday Sunshine in Light - because I haven't tried it before and because it was £3.99... I'm not proud.


I tried to take a picture of my legs to prove how pale I am but the universe almost collapsed. Instead, we will monitor my tan daily by use of the Dulux Colour Chart.

Day one, Potter's Clay 4 looks about right...

Oh Dear God

You will of course recall the torture I subjected my thighs to last week, all in aid of a free lipbalm. Well, here are the pics...

No, of course that's not me.
Colour me disgusted.
I've never been a huge fan of a promotional t-shirt.



Here's the fabled chain... You can't see our faces because I believe the PR company has blurred out the obscene language that was being hurled at the photographer in response to his constant and vocal 'encouragement'.

And yes, since you mention it, we are outside ON THE ROAD.
The things a girl will do for a free lipbalm.

You don't even want to know how far I'd go for chocolate.

Nature vs. Nurture pt 2

For the last couple of weeks, I've been looking into 'natural' and 'organic' skincare and the thing that has become most apparent to me, is that it's just not that easy to find.

One of the (very few) brands that can genuinely claim to be organic and have certification from the Soil Association to prove it, is Spiezia Organics http://www.spieziaorganics.com/



I've been using the Restorative Body Balm for a while and at first, wasn't keen. It's got the weirdest consistency - almost like a wax, that you have to dig out with your fingernail and then melt onto your skin with massage. Plus, it's got a really random scent - almost medicinal mixed with lavender which means I only really use it at night.

But oh my, when I do use it? The results are amazing. My skin is soft, smooth and happy to be alive. Plus it comes in a sexy purple smoked glass jar. Mmmm. Heavy glass jar...

Only issue is, it's £38.00 for a jar and a jar is not big. How deep are my environmentally conscious pockets? I guess I'll find out when I get to the bottom of the pot.

A serum by any other name

My love of the Origins Perfect World range has been well documented, so I'm not going to start salivating over it (again) today. What I do have to talk about, is how I was duped into not restocking recently and instead, swayed by the siren's song of the high street prices of Garnier's new Nutritioniste Skin Renew range.


(Mum! It's French for Nustritionist - oh, I see why that ad wouldn't work here. Tough luck, Davina.)

They have a serum, like Origins, an eye cream, like Origins and a moisturiser that has SPF 15 - not like Origins - and that's how I was won over.

Now, I've got to say - and please bear in mind the slight chip I carry on one shoulder from the time spent working on Garnier's PR a million years ago - this isn't that bad. It took my skin a few days to settle in and clearly, the quality isn't that of the Origins product but I'm coping quite nicely now my skin has had a few days to settle in.

My main issue is with the serum. I'm not sure what makes it a serum. The consistency is more like a regular cream and unlike the other serums I've used in the past, I really can tell I'm putting another product on to my skin. It doesn't just vanish in a poof of wonder like, ahem, the Origins. The moisturiser is a bit runny so not great for dry skins but it does have a sunscreen so I'll give it a couple more weeks before I consign it to the 'false economy, really should have bought the good stuff' bin.

I think this range is a great ad for the fact that with premium ranges, you're paying a lot for packaging, perfume and texture but if you wait long enough, the same technologies will be in Boots as in Space NK. And for a fraction of the price.

NB - the real reason I'm not totally in love with this range is the SJP ads. I LOVE me some SJP but we ALL KNOW she does not look as good as she does in these ads. Sorry.

And did I mention I really like Origins Perfect World? Oh. Good.

Spring is Sprung...

Ahh, look it's sunny outside!

And to celebrate, I've got naught but good things to say about this lovely lipstain from Revlon.
Writing about the Blistex Lip Splash made me nostalgic for a Constance Carroll tropical lipgloss I had when I was wee and the rollerball applicator in general, so imagine how happy I was to come across this little beast.

Just Bitten is a across between BeneTint and lipgloss, a juicy, tasty stain that won't leak in your handbag but will leave you looking like you just feasted on a punnet of strawberries (or, if like me, you're a little heavy handed with the Cherry Tart version, the blood of fifty virgins).

I really love Just Bitten, it gives a fresh shot of colour and is handydandy to apply. As usual, it's super cheap in the US compared to here but if you love wearing BeneTint on your lips, give this a shot. It comes in more colours and smells delish.