Happy Birthday BeautyMecca!

Well bugger me backwards, we are two years old!

We shall now be addressing ourselves as 'we' for the remainder of the week as we now have two birthdays like the Queen. We also look good in purple.

New Year, New You - Origins A Perfect World

Without going into a lot of detail, I am not having a good day today.
For reasons best kept to myself (mainly because they aren't very good reasons to be having a bad day compared to lots of other people I know right now) I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be in a perfect world.
I'm guessing it would be filled with kittens, Marc Jacobs handbags, hot and cold running Creme de la Mer and pretty, pretty boys. But that's just me.



Since that's not entirely possible right now, I'm just going to busy myself with lovely things. Starting with Origins A Perfect World collection. If you're detoxing (and quite frankly, after Friday night, I should be) this is a great anti-aging skincare option. Made with Silver Tip White Tea and crammed full of antioxidants, it's such a lovely range, perfect for fighting off all those nasty free radicals that are so determined to ruin all your good work. Start with the cleanser, the skin guardian, eye cream and moisturiser and see how pretty and fresh your skin looks by the end of the month.
And, you know, more importantly it smells pretty and has nice packaging.

New Year, New Hair - Ojon

People, I have some important news.
It's probably fair to say that BeautyMecca hasn't paid enough attention to the world of haircare as it could this is mainly because:

a) I love my stylist, haircut and colour more than anything else about me and because they are entirely stress free, I don't get as involved in hair stuff as I could.
b) I have been so very happy with my Paul Lebrecque/Fekkai shampoos and conditioners that there really was no point in looking elsewhere.
c) Lee Stafford styling products are awesome, inexpensive and pretty, so why get involved in anything else?

This was all well and good until I was sent a new range to try.
And it was awesome.
Ladies and (gay) gentlemen, prepare yourself for Ojon...



Some of you might have heard of this miracle stuff before, it's been knocking around on QVC for ages and you can pick it up in Sephora in the US, but now it's available on the high street here and MAN ALIVE you need to get involved with it.


For the last month or so, I've been using the Ultra Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner, along with weekly applications of the Restorative Hair Treatment combined with the Styling Cream and Daily Intensive Shine Treatment. And I swear down, my hair has never looked shinier, felt softer or been thicker, more manageable or quite frankly, so damn pretty. My colour looks better, it doesn't need washing so often and the style just stays, entirely frizz free, even in this ridiculous weather. Doesn't that sound good?


All the products contain Ojon palm nut oil, which is farmed by the people of the Tawira Indian Tribe (better known to me and that man that flogs it on QVC as 'the people of beautiful hair') and then turned into these amazing products using, I don't know, science probably. And some magic. Possibly someone sold their soul to the devil, I DON'T CARE.

Honestly, if you only get involved in one thing from BeautyMecca this month, no, this YEAR* please, please, please invest in Ojon. Hand on heart, you will not regret it.
It's available at John Lewis and Liberty online, go, go now!

*it is only January, I totally reserve the right to amend and update this BUT bugger me, this Ojon stuff is bloody amazing.

New Year, New Skin

Okay, so hopefully now you've at least thought about getting rid of all the crap that sullies the good name of beauty and are ready to start afresh.
No?
Well, are you ready to buy some more stuff anyway?
Good.

Before we can start on anything crazy like make up or styling products, we have to get the foundations right. No, I don't even mean foundation, I mean your actual skin. Very few people have such flawless complexions that they don't need any help, honest. Everyone's either a wee bit dry, a bit oily or you know, dog rough. So, starting with the biggest pain in the jacksy first, let's tackle adult acne. Yeah, sorry, there's no way to make it funny.


From a straw poll of everyone I know, hands down, the best range to tackle this is in fact not Clearasil or Clean&Clear but Dermalogica Medi-Bac. Seriously kids, if you're still suffering when you're in full time employment (and you didn't skip out on school to take up a trainee managerial position at McDonalds) then you need to take care of this with some good quality, effective skin care. The Overnight Clearing Gel can be found at the back of many bathroom cabinets, mainly because it's seven different kinds of awesome. Honestly, if you EVER suffer from breakouts, you need this stuff. I'm going to quote our friends at Dermalogica directly because I don't have a hope in hell of explaining it to you myself...

Overnight Clearing Gel (£34.00) – for congested and breakout-prone skin – an overnight treatment gel which helps clear skin, calm inflammation and prevent future breakouts by reducing excess sebum, removing impaction plugs and eliminating bacteria. Salicylic acid sloughs off pore-clogging skin cells to inhibit development of further breakouts whilst niacinamide and biotin combine with zinc gluconate, yeast extract, caffeine and nordihydroguaiaretic acid to inhibit overactive sebaceous gland activity, purify to promote skin clarity and help calm irritation brought on by breakouts. Also includes green tea to soothe and hyaluronic acid to hydrate.

Doesn't that sound really really effective?
I like the use of the word 'slough'.
So, if you've got bad acne, get the whole range here. If it's a just a few spots because you're hormonal/been burning the candle from every possible angle, get the Overnight Clearing Gel. Or even better, go get a Dermalogica facial and have the therapist tell you what you need. They're good people.

New Year, New You

Not an original sentiment but hey if it ain't broke?
Unfortunately, I am and just before I'm due to head off to Paris. Sigh.

Sorry, I got distracted there (me = kitten + tennis ball, I know) back to matters at hand. Aside from the fact that it's bitterly cold and I'm typing to you in mittens, I think January is a great month. No, really. Not every month can be full of wild partying and reckless spending which if you're anything like me, your December credit card bill will attest. But January can be a great month to kick start some exciting new stuff and more importantly, clear out loads of old crap. Life crap as well as beauty crap but I'm certainly in no position to advise people on life crap so let's just go with beauty products for now, shall we?

It's not often I use this blog to advocate getting rid of product but after a thorough audit on The Penthouse's beauty prods this weekend, honestly, I recommend it in every way. Do you have any idea how many cleansers I had on the go? Seven. And do you know how many I'm using? One. For shame.
For.
Shame.

So, my basic rules are:

1. Check if it has gone out of date/off - almost all products have a shelf life guideline on them now but really, if you've had something in your bathroom longer than six months and you haven't finished it GET RID OF IT. This includes sunscreen! After a certain amount of time, the SPF protection goes off just like any other product so it won't be as effective if you try and trot it out this summer.

2. Same applies with your make up except I'm adding the 'if you haven't used it in three months, bin it' rule. I really, really wasn't ever going to use any of the millions of lip glosses that met a sticky (literally in some cases, ew) end on Sunday. It's time to let them go with love.

3. Take a look at everything you're throwing away - are there lessons to be learned? Are you buying a lot of hot pink just because you love it but then never use it? Maybe 2009 is the year you stop buying things because they look pretty in the tube...

4. Now look at everything you're left with. If it's a brown eyeshadow, a mascara, bronzer and neutral lipstick, get thee to a make up counter. You're in a rut and could be having so much more fun. Head to B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful if you can get to one and are feeling brave. If not, try Prescriptives, Mac or Bobbi Brown. You don't have to buy everything they suggest but it might not kill you to put down the clear lip gloss for a change...

5. Ignore everything I've said, keep all your limited edition Mac products that you will never ever wear but are beautiful, buy another fifteen lip glosses in varying shades of neon orange and stock up on cleanser. You're down to one bottle!

Happy New Year part 2

Okay, after today, 2008 is dead to me and we shall only look onwards and upwards - deal?
Awesome.
So here are the other products that quite frankly rocked my world in 2008.

For the face:
I'd have been buggered without my Dr Bragi serum, seriously, it's amazing and even when my skin is acting up in the WORST way, it calms it down and leaves it super soft. Invest, invest invest.
Estee Lauder's miracle brown bottle, Advanced Night Repair. This has genuinely, actually, honestly got rid of the fine dryness lines on my forehead. Fact. I am now slavishly devoted to this every evening (Dr Bragi I wear in the day) and am already more than a little hooked on the eye cream and concentrate.
Creme de la Mer. I don't want to be addicted to it, really I don't but I just can't seem to kick the habit... My skin gets awfully upset and refuses to play nicely when I don't use it. Curse you magical marine extracts!! (shakes fist at sky).
Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and Exfoliator. The first cleansing regime I've been faithful to for more than three repeat purchases. Read into that what you will...

For the body:
As mad as it sounds, given the ridiculous amounts of cashola I've splashed on the above, my absolute favourite body product of the year has been Spa Paradisa's Renew body butter which I have picked up in bulk from Superdrug.com. It basically smells absolutely edible and everyone from my mother, my colleagues, my friends, many potential kissing partners (well, two) and my cat have been keen.
Other than that, the Dr Bragi face and body salvation mist is amazing at intensive skin softening when you don't have heaps of time or don't want to smell like a walking coconut shy (weirdo).
I can't begin to choose a favourite shower product, so obsessed am I with scrubs, gels and the like although special props to Elemis for the Monoi Oil shower gel and Origins for their Jump Start scrub. Yummy.

For the hair:
It's been a big hair year since I went brunette (clearly the most important thing that ever happened in 2008 to anyone) and I've been delicately protecting my new colour with the amazing Paul Lebrecque Repair shampoo and conditioners. I LOVE these. For styling products, I'm staying true to my beloved Lee Stafford but have been mixing it up a bit, moving on from spray wax and shine spray to the dehumidifier and wonder web. All for making hair shiny and well behaved or messy and sexy. Love it.

Perfume:
Sigh. It's all about the new Harajuku lovers scents for me. They aren't available here until February but they're incredible. I don't know if I'll be gutted or delighted when I sniff one flounce by me in the street. Probably sad, I'm very vain.

Phew. I could honestly go on for another six years about all the amazing products I trialled last year (Zoya nail polishes, Elemis masques, Trilogy Everything Balm, Origins Out of Trouble masque) but these are the ones that have made it into my daily routine and have, in many cases, made me reach into my dusty, empty pocket to turn out every last penny.

I am so excited about 2009, it's such a big, exciting year for BeautyMecca and for me. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I've got a book out in July (cough, more info to come, cough) and the publishers are really pimping BeautyMecca so the odds are it'll turn out well for you as I'll have to pull my finger out and really put in some decent posts.
Why oh why do I do these things to myself?

Happy New Year!

Hey party people,

Hope you all had a suitably sparkly Hogmanay? I celebrated my first NYE in Glasgow and while it was all sorts of awesomeness, the last five hours on the train haven't been my finest...

Anyway, I thought it would be a good time to reminisce about some of my fave products of 2008, mainly because I'm bored to tears but also because I would hate for you to miss out on any of them.

Starting with slap, it's been a great year. One of the reasons BeautyMecca exists is due to my previously fruitless quest for a good mascara and this year has been full of them.Clinique's Lash Power is still my top pick for long-lasting, natural lashes but Maybelline and Rimmel both came out with big hitters at the end of the year. I ended up going for the Maybelline Colossal Volum Express for my Christmas parties and it did me proud.

As for entire ranges, it's going to be a big fight between Charlotte Tilbury's high street extravaganza MyFace and my department store saviour, Prescriptives. I branched out from my Custom Colour foundation to try Prescriptives' colour products this year and fell in love with all of their mascaras, powders and lipshines but it's been pretty hard to tear me away from the MyFace eyeshadows. And it's entirely down to my life changing MyFace makeover that I'm now a brunette. Sexy, everything about you's so sexy... It's hot. I'm so over blonde.

Honorable mentions to Mac and Bobbi Brown who also made me very happy this year - especially in the blush, dazzleglass, Prunella pencil and longwear gel eyeliner palette sense.

Okay, I can't type anymore on the BlackBerry. Sorry kids, I'm getting RSI.
Back for non-make up beauty wonder later...