Crush of the week...

MOLTEN BROWN PARADISIAC PINK PEPPERPOD BODY EXFOLIATOR

As a beauty product addict, I was under the impression that I knew it all. However, last year, a very special friend introduced me to a new brand... I fell in love with Molten Brown.

I wont go in to each product as I am sure I will write about them in the future, so I will tell you about the most amazing body exfoliator I have ever used, Paradisiac Pink Pepperpod.

The name says it all, Paradisic Pink Pepperpod contains fiery pink pepper with ginger and patchouli. It's seriously paradise in a jar, and I would honestly eat this with a spoon if I could!

With summer around the corner, you will need this product to make your skin beautiful. It will make your skin glow, and you will not only look and feel soft and smooth, you will smell irresistable, trust me...

Available from Molton Brown, and Selfridges, £29.00

Beats by Dre Drenched in Colour X Sophy Robson

BEATS BY DRE DRENCHED IN COLOUR X SOPHY ROBSON

I like my manicure to match my accessories... even my headphones!

Last week, Beats by Dre and international nail artist Sophy Robson invited people to enjoy a free colour-drenched manicure, inspired by the new Beats Solo colours, at a 3 day pop up shop in London. 

Sophy has adorned the talons of A list celebrities, and worked on campaigns from Tom Ford to Marc Jacobs.

I was lucky enough to have my nails done by Sophie's team, whilst listening to my favourite songs on the Beats headphones, alongside Eliza Dolittle, Zara Martin, and Jade Williams.

I think I want one in every colour!

Eliza Dolittle

Zara Martin & Jade Williams

Me!

I asked for a leopard print mani to match my dress! ;) 

Crush of the week...

CARVEN L’EAU DE TOILETTE

This week I'm totally crushing on the new fragrance, Carven, L'Eau de Toilette. 

I discovered it whilst walking through Selfridges the other day. I was actually trying to dodge a pushy (I mean helpful) sales assistant at the promotions stand, but was immediately drawn to the bottle, which is really cool. I know, its another new fragrance launch, and I rarely get excited over perfume myself, because I'm so picky, but this is seriously, amazing. 

Its floral, fresh, and delicate, making it perfect for spring - I really need it in my life right now!

Carven, L'Eau de Toilette has been masterfully orchestrated by the famous Guillaume Henry, and designed by Francis Kurkdjian, to encapsulate the energy of Carven fashion line. The fragrance combines fresh yet musky floral notes with a flash of femininity against a soft, creamy backdrop. The desire for freshness and freedom is similar to the original fragrance, but lighter and more luminous, captivating the charm and energy of the modern Carven woman.

L’Eau de Toilette has inherited its signature floral bouquet but sees its fresh transparent top notes fused with the grace and radiance of Freesia, which has been underscored by White Hyacinth and Wisteria for transparency and added luminosity. Its creamy elegant bottom notes of amber, white musks and sandalwood create depth and a lingering sensuality.. 

To conclude, I would say the sales person did their job - I am sold! I don't have a birthday coming up, so  I guess I will have to go out and buy it for myself on payday :) 

Available in: 30ml, 50ml, 100ml

Exclusively from Selfridges, £68.00 (100ml) and Nationwide from 10th May

TOM FORD SHADE & ILLUMINATE

If you've ever dreamed of killer cheekbones a la Kate Moss circa 2005, then look no further. Tom Ford's Shade and Illuminate will transform the roundest of faces; giving the appearance razor sharp bone structure, which can only be found gracing the covers of Vogue. 

From Tom Ford's point of view, the first step to beauty is understanding the architecture of your face and bringing balance and symmetry to your features. This duet of highlighting and shading creams is designed to make sculpting and contouring the face remarkably simple. The super–sheer, light shade can be used to draw light onto the skin to brighten and lift the face. The dark shade defines and contours bones while staying invisible to the naked eye.

I know this is expensive, like all Tom Ford makeup, however, you are buying two products in one, and the packaging is so beautiful, it will look really impressive in your makeup bag. The makeup itself is amazing, and both colours blend together perfectly. The highlighter at first looks like it might look greasy, but once applied, it comes on so sheer, only illuminating the cheekbones when they catch the light. Go gently on the shading. I have to admit, Its quite difficult to master the art of contouring at first, as you don't want to look like an extra from a bad 80's Adam Ant video! The best way I have found is to suck in your cheeks slightly, and using the darker shade, follow the shadow of your natural cheekbones, and then buff out the colour.  Using the illuminator, continue to buff out the darker shade but use this mainly on the raised areas of your cheek where it catches the light. Once blended, et voila, you have cheekbones any supermodel would be envious of. 

Practice makes perfect, so if you ever feel like you need lessons in this, go to the queen of contouring, Kim Kardashian's youtube video to fully understand the benefits.

Good Luck! 

Available from Selfridges, £55.00

Trend Alert - My Little Pony Hair

 HAIRchalk 

Make-up for hair by L'Oreal Professional 

                   

My Little Pony hair is back! As seen on Chloe Norgaard for Rodarte at this weeks New York Fashion Week.

Just when you thought rainbow hair was sooo 2013...its back! Featured on model of the moment, Chloe Norgaard, known for her kaleidoscopic tresses, has dyed her hair pink and purple exclusively for the Rodarte.

HOW TO GET THE LOOK

Chalk this way...

If you would like to achieve the Rodarte look, but want your My Little Pony hair colour to be less permanent, you must try L’Oréal Professionnel Hairchalk, originally created for the Ashish and Felder Felder S/S14 Catwalks.

I discovered these products in November 2013, at the Daniel Galvin Salon, where I met Artistic Director, James Galvin. I seriously cannot believe how amazing, and easy they are to use. L’Oréal Professionnel Hairchalk comes in five bold shades and three more subtle, sophisticated tones. The hair chalk range is inspired by the way we accessorise with make-up and nails, allowing us to change hair shades as often as we do our shoes! Bold on both blondes and brunettes, the eight shades consist of Sweet Sixteen pink, First Date Violet, Blue Ocean Cruise, Garden Party, Coral Sunset, Bronze Beach, Coffee Break & Black Tie. 

No need for bleach, and the colour washes out in 3 shampoos. It can colour the darkest of hair blue, copper, and green, in a few easy steps - 

• Brush hair according to desired look
• Shake bottle and pour colour onto applicator (looks like a folded piece of card)
• Select hair section
• Slide applicator down hair, and repeat according to desired intensity
• Blow dry with brush 

* Always use gloves and dark towel to cover clothing and skin
I even managed to dip dye four family members on Christmas day - we were experimenting after too many mulled wines.. but it worked! It's really amazing how creative you can be, even without having to bleach your ends. If you do have blonde, or bleached ends, the possibilities are endless, you can go for pink, lilac.. or even an aztec pattern, as seen on Ashish S/S14

Alternatively, if you're a colour virgin, and would like to try a more subtle approach, I would take inspiration from Ms Chung below...

Peacock Plait - Alexa Chung for L'Oreal Professional Hair Chalk by James Galvin

It seems that changing hair colour is getting about as easy as changing nail polish, and the trend is going into A/W14, so get colouring!

Available nationwide

Instaglam

NARS Radiant Cream Compact Foundation 

Available in 20 shades

I think I need to check myself into rehab. I am a self confessed makeup addict. I currently wear three types of foundation, NARS Tinted Moisturiser, Sheer Glow Foundation, and now, the new Radiant Cream Foundation. A little extreme, I know. 

The logic behind my most recent purchase of the NARS Radiant Cream Foundation is practicality. Having to touch up makeup, especially foundation on the go is so difficult - you have to carry your whole bottle, or keep having to refill miniature pots which is always messy. The compact foundation however, comes in a portable, and very nice case, with a fantastic mirror, providing you with everything you need in an instant. With party season in full swing, this little compact foundation can easily slip into the smallest of clutch bags, and pulled out for the moments your makeup starts melting, or at the end of the party, when the lights turn on!  You can guarantee, your skin will look flawless.

Available in 20 shades, this foundation evens the skin with a lightweight and luminous finish, which can be layered according to the coverage you require. If you have oily skin, you will need powder to set it. It really is perfect for a night out as it moisturises the skin for up to 12 hours, helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, making it look fresh and radiant. Definitely my party season essential!

The foundation includes a foundation Sponge, but please note you will need to buy the NARS Radiant Cream Foundation Empty Compact separately.

NARS Radiant Cream Compact Foundation, £28.  Avaialble from NARS concessions and Selfridges, Liberty and Spake NK

Life's a bleach and then you dye...

BLEACH LONDON 

DIY COLOURS

My favourite hair salon is now available to the masses. Great. I’m not going to deny that this is a little annoying. It's kind of like when you discover a band, and then a few years later, everyone loves them. So, if you haven't already heard, the uber cool Dalston hair salon Bleach has created a hair care range for Boots.

Amazing news if you don't live in London, or if you're a total hair dye whore, and cant afford to go to the salon every week. There's something for everyone from Super Cool Colours, to DIY Bleaching, Colour Care, and even styling products.

Walk down any high street and you will see a vast array of ombre dip dyes and rainbow hair colours. Some good, some terrible. So I guess it was only a matter of time before, Alex Brownsell, the pioneer of the kaleidoscopic hair colour trend, and founder of Bleach London would create her own range of DIY hair colours.

The product ranges features Super Cool Colours from Awkward Peach, Washed Up Mermaid, Bruised Violet, and Rose (which I will try out in a few weeks), Total Bleach, DIY Dye, and White Toner. There are also hair care products such as Silver Shampoo (love this) and conditioner, dry shampoo, and a serum, which I have been told, is amazing. The range also consists of probably the best product to ever be invented - a Washing Out Liquid colour reducing shampoo...now why couldn't I buy this as a teenager!

Bleach London are committed to educating the young dip-dying generation on how to dye your hair safely, without doing any damage and their formulas are specially created with hair care in mind. Go to their Bleach Bible for tips and advice.

Prices start from £5.00 for hair colours, which is unbelievably cheap.

Despite being a little annoyed my hair salon is now available to the entire world, I was super excited to try out the new products so I bought the Silver Shampoo and Rose Super Cool Colour (which I will try out in a few weeks). 

I had my hair coloured from my usual Bleach Topshop salon last week, and my stylist did an amazing job, however, I have to admit, even though I went blonder, the colour was a little warmer than I wanted. I didn't mind at the time, as it was rather Autumnal, but I would have liked it to be lighter. Beth suggested I use silver shampoo to wash out the toner rather than applying more bleach, which would obviously prevent further damage to my already bleached ends.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been using the Silver Shampoo on my new hair colour, which is normally used to take yellow and brassiness out of blonde hair. It is used to create an ashy blonde tone, and contains wheat proteins and vitamin B5 to moisturise your hair. It worked immediately. This shampoo is the best silver shampoo I have ever used, and believe me, I have used shampoos that are four times the price of this.  The texture is so gorgeous and silky, it slides straight onto the hair, which means you don't need to use a lot and it smells amazing. I have been using it on my roots as I'm trying to lighten them, but if you have a dip dye, only use it on the ends and leave in for about 5 minutes, once a week.  You will see a massive difference and it will freshen up any blonde hair colour. My hair is now exactly the colour I wanted, I love it!

I seriously cannot wait to try out the Rose, and maybe the Washed Up Mermaid… and for £5, I might try out the whole collection!

Available at Boots, Bleach, and Bleach Topshop, Oxford Circus.