Archive for December, 2009

With everyone doing their top ten lists in the rundown to the end of the noughties, I though it was only right I stuck my oar in with some lists of my own. I’m starting with an easy one – beauty products. Though a few of these may have gone on sale before 2000, it was in the last decade that I discovered them for the first time. This is my ultimate top ten of the last ten years…and believe me I had a tough time choosing.

10. B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful eyeshadow in ‘Beach’ £8.30

With the news that Lush’s sister perfumerie / makeup emporium will be closing at the end of the year, this is very much a product of the Noughties. B started to get popular around the time I was working for Lush, and I definitely took advantage the staff discount during that time! There were a lot of products I likesd, but this is the one  I’ve continued to use constantly. Compared to other bold, bright, glittery offerings from the brand, it’s a pretty innocuous looking shimmery nude shadow, but it’s the perfect shade for highlighting, blending and creating a natural look on fair skin. It’s also ethical, long-lasting and packaged in a pretty jewelled pot. I’ve already stocked up for when the shops finally shut.

9. St Tropez Everyday Gradual Tan Body £14

I’ve tried dozens of fake tans and gradual tanners in the last couple of years. What I learned is what I secretly knew all along. St Tropez is the best. Perhaps not for everyone, but definitely for me and probably for a lot of you. The results are natural, noticeable and never orange. I use both the mousse formula self tan, and this new gradual tanner and matching face moisturiser (in medium / dark, oddly, considering my super-pasty skin). Both give amazing results, fade without too many streaks, and don’t make me smell (too much) like roast chicken and digestive biscuits while the colour is developing. After a disappointing experience with a spray tan (black feet for three days, anyone?) I now know I’m much better at DIY!

8. Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara £9.99

To be honest this list could just be my top ten mascaras, given how devoted I am to finding the perfect one. But when choosing my favourite mascara of the noughties, I considered three things: affordability, practicality and innovation, and this (just) topped the list. It has it all – it costs less than £10, it’s easy to apply, it lasts all day and it has something new and cool about it.  The 2000’s were all about newfangled mascara brushes, but unlike some of the other offerings that could be tricky to get used to (huge fat bristles, oscillating heads, combs, fans and ball shaped heads) this new plastic bristle brush actually made applying mascara easier. The flexible bristles grabbed lashes, coated them evenly and didn’t clump. The result was noticeable but natural. As a day to day mascara for someone who doesn’t want to fuss about, this is the ultimate.

7. Philosophy Amazing Grace Fragrance £32

As a rule I tend to go for slightly stronger, more unusual perfumes, but this has to make my 2000’s top list because it’s an amazing, unusual modern classic. What you’re essentially paying for is a perfume that smells clean and soapy…like the bubble baths you had as a kid, and you’d be surprised how appealing that is. In a world of sickeningly sweet celebrity fragrances and musky, mumsy scents, there is nothing else like this. It’s subtle, simple and addictive. I’m a huge fan of the matching 3-in-1 shampoo / shower / bath cream which comes in a huge bottle and last forever.

6. Sleek Makeup I-Divine eye makeup palettes £4.99

I’ve been lucky enough over recent years to have easy access to loads of expensive beauty products, and it’s very easy to become spoilt. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a bargain too. Sleek’s range of eye palettes are tremendously good value, coming in at less than £5 but just as good, if not better, than things that cost £20+. It’s no wonder the limited edition ones sell out before most of us can get hold of them. The more shimmery shadows have a tendency to crumble a bit , but they blend well, the pigments are amazing for the price, and the palette is slim and sleek (natch) with a big mirror.

5. Origins Modern Friction face scrub £28

Most face scrubs are either sandpaper-rough or so mild they don’t feel like they’re doing anything. This is the perfect happy medium, with tiny but hardworking grains in a really rich creamy base. A little goes a long way, which makes the price tag a bit easier to bear, too. When I’m having bad skin days (which happen frequently) this always helps to sort it out, it’s particularly good for those irritating blocked pores around the chin and nose.

4. Nars blusher in Orgasm £18.50

As predictable as it is to include this, I had to. Magazines, experts and websites don’t rave about it for nothing. Somehow, Nars really have created the ‘does it all’ blusher. Not only is the shade universally flattering, but it gives an amazing ‘light from within’ look to the skin. I love this shade so much I don’t just have the blusher, I have the Multiple stick and a compact with a matching Laguna bronzer in as well. In the pan it looks incredibly shimmery and peachy, but it’s so finely milled and soft that on the cheeks it’s just incredibly natural and pretty. Worthy of all the praise it gets, this is a must-have.

3. Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray £20

I tried some Bumble & Bumble shampoo and conditioner recently and it was, for want of  a better word, crap. The products did absolutely nothing for my hair and I was really disappointed. So it’s ironic that when it comes to styling products, I rarely use anything but B&B. From hairspray to defrizzer, they seem to do everything well, but the real wonder product is this thickening, volumising, mattifying spray. I like my hair big – be it straight, curly or roller-set – and this stops the roots from going flat and gives amazing texture without being sticky. It also seems to stop my hair getting greasy quite so quickly, making it perfect for a second day refresh on long hair. Just spritz it in, tip the head upside down and blast with the hairdryer!

2. Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher £49

I can spend £50 on a bottle of this without blinking – that’s how much I love it. A friend recommended it years ago for the way it’d helped with milia – those little white dots that many people get around the eyes. But it seems to do a bit of everything; it refines and smooths skin, it reduces the appearance of pores, acne scars and so on, and generally just makes skin look better.  When they changed the packaging and renamed it, for a minute I thought my favourite product was gone forever, but the new noughties version is just as brilliant and I will happily continue to splash out on it!

1. Batiste Dry Shampoo £2

I’ve said before that I should be on commission given the amount of times I’ve raved about Batiste. But I’ll do it one more time – this stuff is brilliant. It’s cheap, cheerful and a total lifesaver. A quick spray and rub into the roots of the hair adds body, soaks up oil and generally refreshes hair in between washes. I probably use this more than I should, but when you have long, super-thick hair that takes forever to wash and dry, a quick squirt of this stuff saves a whole lot of hassle. I like the new(ish) pink blush scent in the traditional white powder, but a lot of you will be happy to know there are now black and brunette versions for only a few pennies more.

Highly Commended: Benefit Dallas (for a great ‘I work outside, honestly’ glow), Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish (the best cleanser in the world?) Lush Daddy O (purple, violet scented shampoo for fabulous fair hair), Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb (a truly unusual ‘what does that remind you of?’ scent) Stila Smudge Pots (amazing gel eyeliner in loads of natural shades), Maybelline The Collossal (Who needs expensive Diorshow when you have this yellow devil?), Aussie Dual Personality shine serum (affordable and amazingly scented shine enhancer), Stila eyeshadow in Golightly (the perfect bronze / brown for day) & Gillette Venus (the first women’s razor that’s actually better than a man’s razor – just ask my boyfriend!).

So what are yours?!

Disclosure: You’ll probably see quite a few bloggers talking about Paris in the next day or so. You could just pretend there’s ’something in the air’ that’s making them discuss it. The truth is, there’s a competition running to promote Le Nouveau Paris and I couldn’t resist joining in…

The last time I went to Paris, I saw Eurostar, a cab, the inside of a posh hotel, a cab, and Eurostar again. I didn’t get to climb the Eiffel tower, I didn’t break into song on the steps of the Sacre Coeur (though I may have done that in my youth, surrounded by my school choir friends) I didn’t get to queue for ages at the Louvre, and I definitely didn’t get my wallet nicked out of my back pocket on the metro (*coughDadcough*).

I wasn’t, you dirty minded fools, there for a quick hotel suite ‘rendezvous’ (look! I used some French). I was actually at a blogger event for a skincare brand. It was lovely being taken to Paris, but the truth is I could have been anywhere. The only evidence that I was in Paris was the incredibly well-dressed PR person and the tiny portions of incredibly rich food we were served.

So I would love to go back. And this time I’d like to have the time to properly explore the places I’ve only seen from cabs or coaches in the past. I might even get to put that oft-forgotten French A’level to good use.

The Paris trip I’d like would be just like one of my favourite films, Funny Face. I would look like Audrey Hepburn, my boyfriend would be able to dance like Fred Astaire, and there would be a lot of pink, a lot of fun and more aspirational fashion than the latest issue of Vogue. I wouldn’t go as far as to pose in front of famous French buildings with balloons, but…ok, maybe I would!

The problem with my previous trips to Paris (as a teenager on French exchanges and choir trips) is that I’ve never had the funds to really enjoy myself. Staying in Formule 1 hostels in dodgy suburbs, you’d be forgiven for believing Paris is an absolute hole.

Of course, it’s not. It’s just not made for 16 year olds in bootcut jeans with backpacks and Brummie accents. Like Los Angeles, Paris is a city that’s best enjoyed if you have the money to do things; to stay in the nicest hotels, eat in the best restaurants and shop in the exclusive boutiques.

Hotel and restaurant wise, I’m sorted. My day job allows me to research these kind of things and call it ‘work’. We have a whole section devoted to the most stylish and A list places in Paris, and I’d be printing it out for reference. Hotel Lancaster definitely looks like my cup of tea.

Fashion wise, while I might never fit into the tiny clothing that Dior and Hermes stock for their ultra-chic Parisienne clientelle (especially after a Ladurée macaron or seven) I would definitely make up for it with handbags and shoes. I’d take this woman as my inspiration, but wear ballet flats (Repetto, natch) so I don’t tire halfway down the Champs Elysees. So many snooty shop assistants, so little time.

Once the shopping was done (if that ever happened) I’d head to the Eiffel tower, then the metro station named after Alexandre Dumas for cheesy photos (the boy’s a big fan – of Dumas, not having his photo taken). I’d finish my afternoon in Montmartre. Here I could stop pretending to be Audrey for a minute and pretend to be Amelie instead. This would involve a red dress, a spoon and an ill-advised fringe (maybe).

Evenings in Paris mean only one thing. Long walks by the Seine and a hundred and one photo ops, followed by dinner with champagne and an indulgent cocktail (dress).

Call me predictable, but my tolerance for London tourists having worked in Covent Garden (on and off) for a good four years has made me feel I have free reign to act like one myself in other cities. If I went back to Paris, I would gleefully do all the stuff I was supposed to do years ago, visit all the tourist haunts, spend way too much money and bore you all with 700 flickr photos at the end of it all. If you’re lucky, I’ll bring you back some runny cheese…