I spy the Beauty Trends for Spring/Summer 2010

Far from the pale, worn and weathered faces of Autumn/Winter 09, Spring is peeking out from around the corner bringing with it bright, cheery shades and girlie plaited and relaxed hair. Think of running around the fields, picnics in the park and watching Wimbledon tennis.

New York was full of colour from icy turquoise lashes to rainbow painted eye lids – fresh and cool.

Swinging London jazzed things up with acid orange statement lips – fruity and wild.

Paris was tres chic with sultry caramel eyes so cast aside the dark smokey look – sweet and sexy.

Milan showcased berry-pinks and bubblegum lips – rich, full and creamy.

Big kids in the building!

Hamleys of London houses the finest toys from around the world so Iain and I are hurtling ourselves down to Regent Street this Sunday – at the exact opening time providing Iain wakes up early to his clearly-audible alarm clock – to go back to our carefree salad days. I am so unbelievably SUPER-EXCITED!!!!! And so we’ve allocated ourselves 3 hours to discover and delve deep into the floors of stupendous inventions and enormous cuddly toys that brings back all those nostalgic memories. Some advice for you kids there on Sunday? Move out the way, I was here first!

Think about it…

“What happens when he’s your Prince Charming, but you’re not his Cinderella?”

Do you clean your make-up brushes?

Some of us wear makeup everyday or every so often and it is the question that we all shy away from answering. How often do we clean our makeup brushes?

The answer should be regularly or every week.

Brushes harbour so much bacteria and dirt – and this is used on your face and in your products where you dip your brushes in. Wash your tools with a good shampoo and conditioner, and let air dry flat. You’d be amazed how well your brushes work when clean.

Alternatively, brands such as MAC and Shu Uemura sell brush cleaning solutions that antibacterially cleanse without having to rinse in water and dry in a couple of minutes.

How long did you leave your brushes before you washed them? Did you notice how much product was washed out? Will you be cleaning them regularly? Don’t have time and won’t bother? Comment with your thoughts and answers.

What mascara do you swear by?

So my mascara is now reaching the end of its tether, going lumpy, bumpy and dry. Yes I could go for an affordable brand (Maybelline, L’Oreal, Rimmel) but they always tend to give me the panda-eye look and never keep my lashes curled – cue the desert island beauty must-have; Shu Uemura eyelash curlers.

We all want full, volumised, thick, longer lashes, but can this all be achieved in just one product? There are many that do just one or the other but are we really that fussy? Is there one that won’t give us the panda-eye?

A couple of years back I discovered Becca’s The Ultimate Mascara in black. Ladies who suffer from the under-eye smear, trust me, this is a wonder product. The special conical wand ensures all lashes are brushed through and the special formula does not smudge, nada. It is touch proof and great for sensitive eyes or contact-lense wearers. For over 8 hours I found no trace of mascara anywhere other than on my lashes, perfect.

So do you have a favourite mascara that you swear by? Have you been using the same mascara for years and want a change? What mascara’s have you been eager to try but are put off by the cost? Does your mascara give you volume, length and thickness or just one of 3? Comment with your thoughts and answers.

Tools of the trade

I shot a look book for an amazing clothes designer based in Belgravia at her small boutique, across the road from Christian Louboutin, over the weekend. For over 25 years she has been the pioneering cashmere designer whose pieces hang beautifully on women and celebrities. She has her own custom-blend millinery in Scotland.

With all the brushes and tools a makeup artist can acquire, one does think; do we need all these to to be successful?

I arrived at the shoot ready and rocking but little did I know that I had unforgivingly forgot to include my priceless brushes in with my makeup kit that I had very carefully packed. Clearly not carefully enough. I missed out the fundamental pick pf the bunch. And so I went back to the very basics and applied makeup with my fingers and literally a couple of brushes that I was carrying in my own personal makeup bag.

The shoot went well and the designer was very happy; I had emerged triumphant but a little flustered. A skill of an artist is to make good use of what you have and create a beautiful piece on your blank canvas. Brushes do make the job easier and you achieve precise handling and application with the correct tools, but sometimes its good to think outside of the box and go beyond standard procedures. This shoot felt very liberating and enlightening. So I might just close my eyes and grab a handful of random products and tools to my next shoot and see what I can create

One small step for the Human Race

Its dark, grey and gloomy from my bedroom window, my clothes are still not dry from having washed them by hand the night before and I’ve overslept; Saturday 24th October 2009 was the morning I had to run the Nike+ Human Race 10K.

After weeks of rigorous training with the boyfriend and advice from the infinite number of pro-runners in my office, I had this run down to a tee. Unfortunately for me though, 2 weeks prior to the race date I had injured my right foot walking along Chelsea’s dainty Oakley Street, after losing my balance on the crooked pavement slabs. Illness then followed and my foot had not yet fully recovered. Did I want to give up? Did I want the feeling of regret hanging over me? Just as in Cheryl Cole’s new, slightly irritating and playing-on-repeat single, quitting was absolutely out of the question and I was in no position to back –out from taking part in this global event I had worked so hard for.

So out of bed I fell, dumped my running kit in the tumble dryer, made a hearty porridge and banana breakfast and downed more water and Lucozade than a goldfish could handle. A nervous wreck, I ploughed myself onto the District line tube train to Mile End where I was to meet Ate Joan on the other side to Hackney’s Victoria Park. My breakfast was ready to come up and say hello.

After handing our bags in and using the ladies loo for the hundreth time, we set upon watching the first wave of runners, all female, pass the finish line. The winner made it in a fantastic time of 38 minutes, with not a trace of sweat in sight and happily posed for photographs seconds later. Then our ‘trainee’ wave group was called to the warm-up pit where the ever so lovely Kimberley Jay went through our course on the big screen and our warm-up began. We soon found ourselves nervously standing at the start line with the record-breaking Paula Radcliffe waiting to start us off.

After an agonising 10 kilometre run in the wind and light rain I used all the remaining energy I had left to sprint to the finish line; I had made it in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 34 seconds. What an achievement and what an amazing morning; you could not wipe the smile off our faces. To know that this run was taking place worldwide on that same day was awe-inspiring. Well done to those who took part, Iain and Darwin, ate Joan my partner, and to Claire who will join us in the next 10K run. We have definitely caught the running bug, will you?

Fashion embraces the Goth

  

Depressive, dark and deathly was the new revolt that emerged from the shadows of the colourful fashions in the late 1970′s and throughout the 1980′s. Borrowed from the Punks, Victorians and Elizabethans, this shocking and not-so-saintly style was re-born.

Who would have thought that those pale-faced and unnourished Victorian’s and their cult dress of mourning would be the origin of contemporary Goth style today? Yes, so we’ve all done it; worn all-black ensembles because it makes you appear thinner and it being the most dominant hue in our wardrobe. Apart from being fashion’s fail-safe, black, apart from being the colour of authority and power can make the wearer seem aloof or downright evil. Stark black clothing, dark make-up, hair and pale skin became the key accessories to the Goth subculture, making the style their own. They were seen as different and weird, social outcasts and not to be mixed with.

Goth fashion in its ripe old age is now vampishly sexy with celebrities and designers embracing the dark, skinny tailoring with gusto. It is compelling and mysterious, seductive, edgy and cool with designers such as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Rodarte, Gareth Pugh, Karl Lagerfield, Hussein Chalayan, Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy and Yohji Yamamoto all bringing elements back into fashion. It has been recreated and injected with new life with mixings of leather and lace textures and fabrics, slashings of zips and patent stilettos.

Where glamour had not been, it is now sought-after. With celebrities such as Eva Green, Angelina Jolie and Helena Bonham-Carter showing us that horror-film inspired style is sexy and alluring, it looks about the right time to get that Little Black Dress out.

How does he look?

 Complete opposites. Absolutely nothing in common. That is normally how Iain – my boyfriend of four years (pictured centre), and I try to comprehend our lengthy relationship together despite being best friends since our childhood days. It is also our method of settling disputes and arguments and the easiest way to reconcile. But unbeknownst to me, as I discovered whilst interviewing him for this assignment, is that our styling is closer to each other’s than we initially thought.

Truth be told, Iain is a geek, a good-looking ghetto geek. He grew up in a West London council estate and was educated at a top private school. Even though quite an attractive male, he doesn’t like compliments, but this cannot be avoided as his approachable nature and presentable appearance invites friendly reviews all round. His style is cool and relaxed, of a bad-boy nature but smart and business-like. Unable to generalise his style he tells me that he dresses for the environment, the occasion and the mood that he is in. I must say that I admire his style. Yes he does struggle to piece together his clothing, making sure that his bold colour choices compliment his trainers or shirt. He is influenced by the styles and creativity of the urban city streets; hip-hop meets skater boys meets the Sloaneys, namely that of Pharell Williams and the brightly coloured designs of A Bathing Ape. To Iain, Pharell encompasses his own personal interests and dress sense. Admittedly he does not like fads or trends for the moment but much rather prefers to dress in classic pieces and adds a key trend pieces that would ‘drop’ well with his shape and build – I love this style!

We all want to look smart, on-trend and well-groomed, ready for any occasion or task at hand. Perhaps our own styling reflects this. We shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously and the way that we dress, you’ve got to lighten up and have humour. Iain’s style is cool and hip, it’s fresh and smart, it’s street and savvy. And those are just the crazy bright coloured socks he is wearing to work today.

The funniest man in comedy

Wednesday 30th September, the boyfriend and I suffered from sore jaws and belly-laughed through Michael McIntyre’s comedy show at Wembley Arena. It was absolutely HILARIOUS!!! To be brutally honest, battling a hard day at work on no more than a poxy sandwich for lunch, didn’t fill me with excitement, which unexpectedly was one of the most enjoyable evenings of this year. Having never been to Wembley Arena before, I found myself complete awe of the design and sheer size of the Wembley Stadium just next door. Thousands of people, all in high spirits filled the arena to full capacity – it was such an amazing experience to laugh along with 12,000 others at one increasingly popular and hilarious comedian. I am proud to say that I managed to buy the perfect seats; half-way down the arena, at the front of the 2nd tier, good view of the stage and screens. Such a great night and finished it off with home-made curry, courtesy of Ka Fely. Michael McIntyre is the biggest thing in comedy right now, be sure to see him live and if not live, then be sure to buy the DVD – which was filmed on the night so look out for me!