Shine like a star

by Sarah-Jane

There is nothing better than discovering a truly amazing hair product, so can you imagine my delight when I found a whole range of products that are fantastic?!
The brand I am talking about is Alfaparf and the range that I have fallen in love with is called Semi di Lino Diamante, that’s Diamond Shine to those of you whose Italian isn’t quite up to scratch! You’ll be forgiven for not having heard of Alfaparf – I hadn’t either. It has come over from Italy where it is the best selling professional hair-line and has launched in the UK this year. Try the products for yourself as there are lots of ranges that are great for every hair type, but for me Semi di Lino is the way forward.

I have hair extensions so my hair needs a lot of moisture and conditioning to make it look silky and shiny, and Semi Di Lino delivers. I am particularly fond of the illuminating shampoo and conditioner, £8.95 and £10.95, which smell amazing and the liquid crystal hair serum, £9.95, which I apply on my soaking wet hair and then a little more once it is dried and styled. Look out for Alfaparf, you won’t be disappointed I promise. Alfaparf is available from www.salonfocus.com 01942-886000

Nailing the issue

by Sarah-Jane

Every season we’re told that there’s the new ‘it’ colour for our fingers and toes, and to be honest even I find it hard to keep up. We’ve had grey, white, peach, coral and plum, which is not to be confused with amethyst, berry or plain old purple.

This season we should all be coating our talons raspberry or metallic black. But if you’ve had enough of sticking with the on-trend nail crowd then why not just settle for some classic nail colours. Essie’s ballet slippers, £8.50 from www.nailsbymail.co.uk, is a great place to start and perfect for those of you that favour a French manicured look. It is just the right shade of pink – pink enough to make your nails look healthy but pale enough to still look subtle.

If colour is more your thing then classic red will always be in style. Chanel do amazing reds but the one that really stands out for me is Revlon’s Red, it manages to look classy and at £6.29 is a bargain.

Remember, whatever colour you choose then always start and finish with a good clear coat – my particular favourite is Seche Vite, £8.95 from www.nailsbymail.co.uk, wish is also great if you want to go au natural on your nails. As for me, I’m off to get a quick mani/ pedi, and what colour will I be choosing – raspberry of course, I’m a sucker for an on-trend colour!

Christmas Party Looks from Ruby & Millie

by Laia

With the party season approaching and the numerous diary engagements that entails, you’ll want to make sure you are looking your best. International make-up artist Ruby Hammer and beauty expert Millie Kendall have provided us with their top looks for the festive period, guaranteed to make you stand out at any bash.

SMOKY EYE
Dramatic, sultry eyes with a muted, toned-down lip is a sensual, glamorous look that works on most skin tones. This is Ruby’s signature look and she suggests:

“Using a kohl eye liner, line the inner rims of both the upper and lower lashes - the colour of this should correspond to the colour shadow you have chosen, so go for brown to suit a bronze or gold-based shadow. Apply a line with the same pencil as close to the lash line as possible and smudge to blend and soften. If you have small eyes, then only apply pencil on the outer two-thirds of the eye. If your eyes are large, you can trace the whole rim.

“Traditionally, grey and black are the colours associated with smoky eyes. If you want to soften this and make it more wearable, a chocolate brown with a metallic finish looks fantastic. (The Ruby & Millie Smoky Eye Color in Bronze is great for this). Finish by curling your lashes and carefully applying two or three coats of black mascara to upper lashes and one coat to lower. For added drama, apply a few false eyelashes on the upper, outer eye to widen the eye and add sexiness.”

STRONG & VIBRANT LIP
Classic, strong lips with a subtle eye are sure to make a statement.
Being Millie’s signature look, she suggests:

“The key to a vibrant lip is to start with smooth lips. Use a soft kids toothbrush and some lip balm (try Ruby & Millie lip base). Massage the balm onto the lips using the toothbrush in circular movements. This removes dead skin and plumps up the lips ready for the artful application. You can do this as part of your skin-care regime when your lips are dry.

Apply your lipstick with a square-headed lip brush in a uniformed veil. Use long strokes and you will get a more even cover. Once you have applied your first layer, take a tissue and separate the ‘plys’. Use one thin ply and blot the lip colour. This takes off the excess colour, leaving a solid, firmly placed base. You can dust loose powder over the tissue to further set the lip colour. Next, remove the tissue and re-apply. Finally, use your lipliner to frame the lip colour and stop it bleeding.”

Mascara Innovations

by Sarah-Jane

Hello ladies,
It’s not often that I get to write exciting things about mascaras. I mean how much can you write, apart from the fact that they come in various colours and the brushes look slightly different even though they pretty much all do the same thing? But that was then, and this is now.

Now, thanks to Lancôme and Givenchy I have new and exciting things to say about mascara, so here I go. Givenchy’s new mascara, Phenomen’Eyes may resemble a cactus but it does wonderful things to your lashes. Instead of applying it in the conventional way, with the wand coming across your face horizontally, hold the brush towards your eye – as if you’re going to poke your eye. It allows the brush to get to the very root of your lashes and automatically lifts them up. And as for Lancôme, they have created the first vibrating mascara, Oscillation. Why does your mascara need to vibrate I hear you ask? Well according to Lancôme, Oscillation coats every individual lash 360 degrees round, all I can tell you is that it works and your lashes will look amazing.

Serums

by Sarah-Jane

Hi girls,
I’ve had a very busy beauty week, I’ve been road-testing the best of the best serums that are out there. So as you can imagine, I’m exhausted. I know that lots of people find serums a little baffling. I often get asked what they do, how to put them on, when they should be used and whether they should be used alone or in conjunction with other products. So here are my answers to those questions plus a few serum suggestions of my own.
Serums contain active ingredients that will help with specific skin issues such as dehydration, wrinkles or dullness. The best way to think of serums is as an added bit of va va voom in your regular skincare regime. It’s best to apply serums directly on to clean dry skin so that the active ingredients can get to work immediately. Then apply your moisturiser on top, which acts almost like a sealant.
As for the application, I rub the serum between my palms to warm it up slightly and then I lightly press my palms all over my face so that the product is applied softly and evenly.
I use a serum in the morning and evening, my morning serum of choice at the moment is Caudalie’s Vino radiance serum, £38 from Space NK. It makes my skin look visibly brighter immediately and is a great base for make-up. In the evening I am loving Estee Lauder’s new Perfectionist wrinkle lifting serum, £42. It makes your skin feel like velvet when you apply it and reduces wrinkles by 36%. When my skin is looking a bit grey, spotty and generally a bit worse for wear I use Jurlique’s herbal recovery gel, £45 from Jurlique it smells fantastic and does wonders for my skin. That is all me serum knowledge imparted so see you next week. Stay beautiful.

Introducing Sarah-Jane

by Sarah-Jane
I am your new contributing Beauty Editor, Sarah-Jane, but my friends call me SJ. I have been working as a beauty journalist for over 7 years now so I feel fairly qualified to tell you all about the latest products that are going to be coming onto the site as well as talking about other products that I highly recommend.
So, as this is the beginning of my blog I thought I would talk about the beginning of any beauty regime – cleansing, toning and moisturising. My favourite cleanser of all time is Clarins one-step gentle exfoliating cleanser. It has tiny exfoliating beads in it, which I need as I have oily skin and it helps keep it under control. Now as for toning, I have a big confession to make – I don’t actually tone. Like so many other women, I have limited time in the morning and would rather lie-in for an extra 5 minutes then extend my time standing in front of the mirror and in the evening, quite frankly I just want to get to bed. So I normally skip this step and go straight on to the moisturising part – but if you guys have tried any good toners recently then let me know, you might be able to convert me. Finally for the moisturising, by day I use Good Skin oil-free lotion, £12 and by night I swear by Origins night-a-mins lotion, £26. My skin can’t take heavy creams so these lighter versions are perfect for me.
When necessary a spot treatment and the odd face mask is thrown in for good measure, but that’s a whole other blog. Until next time, stay beautiful.

Beauty Trends: Sneak Preview

by Laia
This autumn/winter it’s all about the eyes. Go for strong, smoky and versatile looks that can work for both day or evening, depending on the intensity you choose to create.
Here are three great trends we bring to you straight from the catwalk:

1. Abstract Black (as seen at Balenciaga, Lanvin and Gucci). This strong eye builds from the black winged-eye we saw in spring/summer 2008, and is thick and smoky with touches of colour and white inside the lower lid for reflective depth -think Amy Winehouse meets smoky eye.
2. Structured color (as seen at Christian Dior, Miu Miu (pic. otdff)and John Galliano). Block colours are used in a bold way, painting around the entire eye. Combining purples, greens, orange and turquoise shades it touches on a psychedelic look. Just ensure you tone it down for the office!
3. Metallic finish (as seen at Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Pringle). This look is modern, futuristic and a little sci-fi. It combines contrasting warm and cold tones to create texture and contrast. Gold is big this season and perfect for day or night.