Blooming Blushers

Apparently spring blooms have been delayed by a month due to the cold weather but don't let the grey skies get you down. Why not inject some colour of your own and brighten your day and your complexion with a new blusher. A little dab of rouge is like an instant pick me up, giving any skintone a healthy glow. Every make-up bag should have one!

If you're a 5 minute make-up kind of girl then cream blushers are perfect, you can apply straight onto a moisturised skin, no foundation required. They are also great for drier skins so brilliant for this time of year. To make them last the day set with a little loose powder, also try layering powder blush over the top for a punchier colour. I love Bobbi Brown's Rouge Pot, Calypso Coral is a staple in my kit and brings life to every cheek it touches! Cabo Coral is the most recent addition to the range and will give a slightly warmer flush.


For those of you who prefer powder blusher, remember to use setting powder first so that your colour goes on without streaks and blends well.

Whatever your chosen texture, apply high on your apples, blending up and along your cheekbones to lift the face, adding instant youth and vitality!

DIY Facial

There is nothing like a good facial to revitalize tired winter skin and lift the spirits. If your finances are a bit stretched though, it doesn't mean that your skin can't have a treat, try this DIY facial once a week. Ok, it's not the same as an hour in the spa but your skin will thank you for it.

• Saturate a cotton pad in eye make-up remover and hold to the eyes, letting the remover melt away any make-up.

• Massage a cream cleanser into your skin, making sure you get right into the creases of the nose and chin where oil and impurities can build up. Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser is great for a really deep cleanse. Run a muslin cloth under hand hot water and then hold to the face to open the pores and really let the cleanser get to work, gently remove the cleanser with the cloth. Repeat if necessary.

• A muslin cloth used daily is perfect for regular gentle exfoliation but for an extra boost to slough of those dull cells, try something a little stronger. Choose one with grains but make sure they are not scratchy or abrasive and use a light massage to apply.
  

• In preparation for your mask, add a few drops of rose water or Jurlique's Lavender Hydrating Essence, into a bowl of hand hot water. Saturate your muslin cloth in the mix, wring away excess water then lay it over your face. Breathe in the comforting smell while the warmth from the cloth relaxes your muscles and gets the blood flowing.

• Now comes your mask - I like to use two, a hydrating and soothing one for winter worn areas like cheeks and then a purifying one for the t-zone. Choose according to your skin type, whatever you choose make sure you sit back and relax while they do their job! Try laying your hot cloth over the top to intensify the treatment.

• Remove the mask gently with your cloth, using cotton pads soaked in toner to remove any last traces and to refresh your skin.

• Warm a few drops of facial oil or serum between your palms, take your time and massage it in. Massage is great for relaxing facial muscles, stimulating circulation and helping to eliminate toxins, which are all essential in the quest for radiant skin.

• Using firm upward strokes take your oil right down from your decollete, up your neck and onto your face. Use your fingers in small but firm circular motions to ease away any stress along the jawline, right up to the ears. Then from the corners of your mouth, along your cheek bones, up to your ears and onto your temples. After a long hard day this is great for alleviating any tension. Work your fingers over your forehead, from the middle back out to the temples, and then back again. Gently press your thumbs into the top of your inner eye sockets, under your brows and then work along your brows, squeezing them gently as you go. Now work underneath your eyes, press your fingers along the orbital bone working from the inner socket, up and out (this is great to do in the morning if you wake with puffy eyes, it really helps to get toxins moving). Use firm strokes to massage up the nose, between the eyes and back onto the forehead. Then circle around the nostrils, above the lip and the chin. Repeat as many times as you like!

• Now do the same with your favourite moisturiser.

• Give your eyes another helping with your eye cream, remember that you need just a small amount of product. Apply with your ring finger as this is your weakest finger so is gentle for delicate skin.

• Not forgetting those lips who are very often victims of the cold weather. Slather on your best lip balm, choose one without petroleum which although can feel good, will not actually nourish.

Now you should feel brighter and your skin should be glowing!

This Month I'm loving ......

This month I'm loving Liz Earle's Superbalm.



This gorgeous skin salve is a brilliant multi-tasker, you can use it pretty much anywhere! Packed full of plant oils and shea butter, it's great on lips, cuticles, knees, heels, elbows, even fly away hair. I put some on my cheeks before I run to protect them from the wintry air - although no running required to reap the benefits! Also great for adding a sheen to the skin and grooming eyebrows.
The list goes on ......

Check it out at Liz Earle

InStyle 100 Best Beauty Buys 2010

The prestigious InStyle Beauty Awards have announced their winners for 2010 alongside celebrating their 10 year birthday. The much anticipated awards have become renowned in the beauty world, with Instyle readers keeping the results magazine as their beauty bible for the coming year.

I was honoured to be part of the judging panel and even more chuffed to have two quotes in the magazine!

Help Save Our Bees!

Most people seem to be aware that there is a problem with our bee population but perhaps not aware of the disastrous effects it could have on us.

Last winter the UK lost a fifth of it's bee colonies which is an unusually high number. Colony collapse disorder, as it's become known, is when bees desert their colonies for no apparent reason, and it is not just the UK that has been affected - it is happening all over the world. The future of the honeybee is in grave danger, and considering that one third of what we eat is pollinated by them, so is ours.

The honeybee and man have a long history together dating back at least 10,000 years. Not only to they play a vital role in the growth of crops, their sweet honey has been used for centuries and not just for it's flavour. The Ancient Egyptians used it for embalming and the Romans used it as a currency, it has huge significance in many religions and has long been renowned for it's medicinal purposes. Propolis, a substance bees collect from plants to use in their hives is also becoming well known for it's beneficial effects on our health. Beeswax is a regular ingredient in many skincare products because of it's soothing and softening properies, and it's ability to help the skin retain moisture.

Lots of research is being done to understand the plight of the honeybee and hopefully find ways to help it. There are a few theories as to why they are disappearing, one of them is the use of pesticides, evidence of which has been found in nectar and beeswax. The Soil Association are campaigning to get neonicotinoid pesticides banned, click here to read more and sign their petition.

The Vanishing of the Bees is a new film to help raise awareness of this worrying situation. They also have a petition you can sign and more ideas on how to help.

What else can we do? Where possible choose organic food and skincare products that use organic beeswax. Non-organic beekeepers can use chemicals and antibiotics to treat their bees, some will even kill the colonies to remove the honey. Purity Organic Skincare use organic beeswax and right now they have a competition to win a gorgeous bee necklace to help with the campaign.

Bees are essential for the future of man, so we need to start doing our bit to protect them.

Brilliant new facial!

If you're feeling a little lacklustre from the wintery weather or suffering from too many late nights, why not give yourself an early Christmas treat and take some time out for ARK's new Skin Response Facial. ARK treat your skin according to age rather than type, they also take your lifestyle into account so they can really tailor the facial to you. I was lucky enough to experience the treatment and it is 75 mins of pure indulgence. It's a great way to pamper yourself, ease away any tension and give your skin a new lease of life to help keep you glowing through the festive season. To learn more about ARK and their fantastic facial click here to read a feature I wrote for Clique magazine.

Fantastic Lashes

With the festive season upon us, it's time to get glammed up and into the party spirit. False eyelashes are a great way to add instant glamour to any make-up. They can be as bold and dramatic as you like or if you prefer a more subtle look, just a few individual lashes on the outside corners of your eyes can make them shine.

Individual lashes are brilliant for adding depth and length while still keeping the look quite natural. Concentrate them on the outer half of your eyes for an instant lift or apply across the whole lash line for a fuller effect. Gently hold the lashes with your tweezers, dip them in the glue and then lay them on top of your own lashes. The key is to get the lashes as close to your lash line as possible without actually touching the skin.

Strip lashes can give you more of a dramatic look, when deciding which ones to use, think about what kind of effect you are trying to create. If you want more of a feline eye then choose lashes that have more length on the outside edges to wing them up and out. For more of a wide eyed doll look then go for lashes that have more length in the middle. Eylure and Shu Uemura have a great selection to choose from.

Here are some tips for easy application -

• Before you start squeeze a small amount of glue onto the back of your hand.
• Apply some eyeliner along the lashline - just in case you don't get the strip as close as you would like, you won't have any skin showing!
  
• Check the length of the strip against your lashline and trim if needed.
• Bend the the strip around a pencil to make it more pliable, then using tweezers, dip it into the glue making sure you have it all the way along the strip, especially at the ends, by now the glue should be tacky which makes it much easier to control.
• Place lash as close to your lash line as possible, check the position and gently hold in place until glue dries.

If you find strip lashes a bit too much or that the ends always come unstuck, try cutting one lash in half so you get two mini ones, you'll find these much easier to manage, stick to the outer edges for a sexy flick up. If you want to go for all out glamour, try customising your own by doubling sets up for a look that will get you noticed!

If you love the idea of lashes but are worried about applying them yourself, get someone else to do it! Shu Uemura have opened eight pop up lash bars across the UK to help get you party ready, so no excuses!!