Beat Sensitive Skin with Perricone MD Hypoallergenic Collection

Sensitive skin affects millions of us and while there are four general types of sensitivity (acne, rosacea, burning/stinging and contact dermatitis), they all have one thing in common: inflammation.

Inflammation is aggravated when it comes to the complications of varying temperatures. While the next few months include great things like sun, sea and relaxation, they also include cold air conditioning, hayfever and the inevitable dry patches, redness and breakouts that follow. Those of us with sensitive skin are sometimes left to use products that aren’t ideally formatted for our needs, leading to further redness, more breakouts and fingers-crossed for a sweat free summer. Perricone MD, seeing a need for a gentle yet effective take on sensitive skincare has created its new line, the Hypoallergenic Collection, to fill the void. As the brand’s first dermatological-grade hypoallergenic collection, it was specifically created for sensitive skin.

Perricone MD Hypoallergenic Collection

The new collection gives amazing results (smooth, even-toned skin) while still being gentle and safe enough for sensitive skin types; so gentle that the line is actually recommended for use after cosmetic procedures when skin needs all the extra TLC it can get. Dr. Nicholas Perricone, dermatologist and healthy ageing expert, harnessed the power of the olive polyphenols, hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein, all of which are naturally occurring molecules found in the olive leaf and fruit to create the keystone of the line. The polyphenols are known to rapidly calm sensitive, dry and irritated skin. After using it for a few weeks, our testers noticed skin is much more hydrated and even-toned…

The collection includes four products, all under £100:

Gentle Cleanser: A mild, non-detergent cleanser that eliminates dirt, oil and makeup without stripping skin of its natural oils. Formulated with green tea extract, this soothing cleanser leaves skin feeling soft, refreshed and residue free. £34

Peptide Complex: An anti-aging treatment formulated with two proprietary neuropeptides that work synergistically to increase the appearance of firmness, while toning and smoothing out surface and deeper set wrinkles. £80

Nourishing Moisturiser: A supremely hydrating moisturiser formulated with collagen-boosting neuropeptides, tocotrienols and ceramides. The emollient-rich cream helps prevent future wrinkles, repairs the skin barrier and helps maintain a natural, supple elasticity. Great for use in the morning and at night. £59.50

Firming Eye Cream: A multi-tasking cream that addresses fine lines, loss of firmness, crow’s feet, dryness and dark circles. Packed with hyaluronic acid, it’s a surge of moisture that keeps skin feeling hydrated all day long. £50

The Hypoallergenic Collection is available through at PerriconeMD.co.uk and other leading specialty stores.

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Fragrant Festivities: Molton Brown Home Fragrance Collection

Outside of the typical winter activities, like shopping for party frocks and searching for the perfect Christmas tree, one of the most relaxing is just the act of opening a window to let in the cool breeze and enjoying a good book while cuddled up on the sofa – in the prerequisite trackie bottoms of course!

Molton BrownRecently, we discovered an excellent addition to this favourite pastime through a scented candle – Molton Brown’s Night Tempest.  The recent re-launch of Molton Brown’s Home Fragrance Collection features signature scents that speak to both male and female senses alike.

Night Tempest is a perfect scent for winter – even the name evokes a mysterious quality that makes for an ideal companion to a dark winter nights reading session. Shortly after lighting the candle, your home will be filled with the promised traces of cedar wood, tangerine and soft vanilla, leaving you to enjoy your Kindle and a cup of tea.

The collection offers a variety of calming and luxurious fragrances, all of which are great additions to warm up any home. Other Molten Brown scents that we love are Nightingale Song with scents of lily of the valley, jasmine and patchouli, and Golden Solstice with the bright aroma of lemon, blackcurrant and a woody undertone.

Molton Brown Medio Candelas, £36.00, are available at Molton Brown stores nationwide and online at www.moltonbrown.co.uk.

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Be “Breaking Dawn” Beautiful

Ladies! It’s official. Edward Cullen is off the market, Bella’s effortless bridal look is something that transcends wedding day beauty . With the help of Kevin James Bennett, Emmy-award-winning makeup artist, we can all achieve Bella’s classic look that stole the heart of one of Hollywood’s hottest vampires.

Bella EyesGet Bella’s Eyes

Bennett suggests the first step is to “neutralise any discolouration on the eyelid” with a little foundation, concealer or a flesh-toned eye pencil. We recommend Maybelline EYESTUDIO MONO in Naked Beige all over the eye area up to the brow and then set with a translucent powder. This will help to prime the eye for makeup application. Next follow these steps:

Start by applying a shimmering champagne colour, like bareMinerals In The Buff Eyecolor, to the very inner corner of the eye and then blend outward towards the center of the eyelid, Bennett says.

Then, use a honey brown colour that has a warm tone and a subtle glow and apply starting at the outside corner of the eyelid and blend inward and up into the crease.

Next define the eye and softly smudge the liner. Bennett suggests using a powder kohl pencil in a charcoal colour, and starting from where the inner lashes start, draw a line that gradually gets thicker as you reach the outer corner to give the eye a slight upward tilt. Give it a softer edge by using a small eye shadow brush to blend and smudge the liner into the lashes.

Set the liner with a matte taupe shadow like Nars Matte Eyeshadow in Bali. Use the same eye shadow to line the lower lashes three-quarters of the way in from the outside corner.

Eyebrows should be groomed and filled in softly. Follow with two coats of black mascara to the upper lashes.

Get Bella’s Skin

Bennett recommends starting with well-moisturised and primed skin to get Bella’s smooth and even-toned skin.

Next comes the foundation. “I prefer to use silicone-based foundations because they don’t sink into or clog pores,” Bennett explains. “They’re also naturally water-resistant, so tears, perspiration, etc., have no effect on them.”

After the foundation, flush the cheeks with a mauve/rose-toned blush. Bennett likes to use cream and gel blush, blending it into the skin with the same brush you used for the foundation to get the flushed effect.

Bella LipsGet Bella’s Lips

Bella has a very innocent look to her lips, though we all know that steamy honeymoon scene is just around the corner! To achieve the natural look of Bella’s lips, use a rosey nude lip liner, like Bobbi Brown Lip Liner in Rose, and define and fill the entire lip. Top it off with a shimmering gloss.

In just a few simple steps we can all achieve the effortless look of Bella Swan on her wedding day. Why wait for a wedding, try the look when going to see the movie!

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Strike a Picture Perfect Pose

Strike a PoseWatching all the supermodels and celebs, posing for the cameras at London Fashion Week in their gorgeous garb, is enough for us mere mortals to lose all hope! But don’t despair just yet – we have the tricks that will transform you from a double-chinned, sack of potatoes, to a svelte, camera-ready siren.

About Face

Tilt your chin down slightly (nobody wants to see up your nose), this will create the effect of a more heart shaped face – focussing on large wide eyes and a small chin are very youthful.

Find your best side, we all have one, and make sure this is the side you put forward to the camera.

Keep your smile relaxed, make sure you are not scrunching up your eyes and emphasising those crow’s feet.

If after many attempts your smile still looks too much like a grimace, go for the innocent look and form your mouth into a gentle ‘O’ shape instead.

For the perfect relaxed pout, imagine you are blowing bubbles softly through your lips.

Figured Out

Do we really have to say it? Stand up straight with your shoulders back ladies - good posture will not only make you appear full of confidence, but take pounds off your waistline too.

Don’t stand straight on to the camera; angle your body to one side so you look leaner.

Keep your arms away from your sides; if you squash them against your body they will only look larger.

Do a Victoria Beckham and try placing one foot in front of the other, which will elongate your legs.

You can also cross your legs to make them appear slimmer, à la Alexa Chung.

And finally, relax, don’t hold you breath, this will show in your face, make your body tense up and leave you resembling a block of wood.

Now you ready to strike a pose, search for a  fabulous photostudio here.

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On Trend Talons: Nail the Look

Everyone loves a good manicure, and these days there are loads of options when it comes to fancy nail decorating. But let’s face it—sometimes you just don’t have the time or money to give your nails the pampering session they deserve.

We put the at-home nail polish decal trend to the test:

O.P.I. Nail Apps: As a trusted salon staple, we thought that these single-application stickers would be the brand to beat. While the decal design options impressed us, when it came down to it, all of the trimming and shaping that had to be done to fit the stickers to our nails was a hassle! The stickers are a bit thick, which makes them easy to remove by peeling off—a plus if you’re acetone-phobic, but not great if you happen to be the type who’ll pick at peeling polish. In the end, the application looked slightly unprofessional, and at £13.80 from John & Ginger, it just didn’t feel worth it.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips: Boasting that it wears like nail varnish because it IS nail varnish, we were a bit sceptical. How can a sticker be nail varnish? Upon opening the package and finding the strips carefully sealed in vacuum-packs, we started to understand that they really are made from actual nail varnish. You peel the strips from their individual plastic covers, the decal is a very flexible film that sticks and stretches easily across the nail, making application simple. The strips also come with all of the tools required for prep and application, like a cuticle stick and nail file that makes removing the excess film from the top of the nail simple. The pattern selection is impressive too, and comes in solid shades and glittery options as well. The mani lasts up to 10 days, and with a top-coat probably even longer! Ours has lasted six days without a chip! And they’re a steal at just £9.29 on amazon.co.uk for the set; hopefully the full range will be stocked in the UK soon.

Nail Polish Strips

At the other end of the spectrum, and if you have £125 and 2 hours spare, how about a python skin pedicure? High-end spas, like the Spa & Salon Vdara in Las Vegas, are introducing a new trend in nail design that is not for the ophidiophobic. This new nail look involves naturally shed python skin (no harm was made to any snakes in the making of this manicure!) which is cut to the shape of each client’s nails and then layered between a flexible Bio Sculpture gel polish.

Snake Pedi

The python skin is then prepped with a bit of clear gel and applied delicately to the nail with tweezers and smoothed with a brush before the nail is buffed and the colour is blended and set. This gives the appearance of texture, but nails will be smooth and glossy!

Are you a splurger or a saver when it comes to your nails? Let us know in the comments below.

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Beauty Counter Conqueror: Tom Ford

Tom Ford Beauty RangeThe man who first brought sexy back, (in the ’90s and early noughties, while designing for Gucci) then directed one of 2009’s most critically acclaimed films, A Single Man, only to return to designing ravishing luxury clothing for men and women under his eponymously named Tom Ford brand, is working outside of the box again. Expanding to department centre beauty counters around the world! In addition to his recently released fragrance Neroli Portofino, his dedicated following could expect a whopping 132-piece cosmetic and skincare line to arrive at a beauty counter near them soon!

Though he says he’s been interested in doing a cosmetic collection since his days at Gucci, it wasn’t until last year when his Private Blend Lip Color Collection launched and instantly became a cult obsession that he understood what an impact he could have on the industry. The 12-piece lipstick collection debuted in 2010 and sold out immediately. “There is no more dramatic accessory than the perfect lip,” Ford said. “It is the focus of the face and it has the power to define a woman’s whole look.”

Private Blend Lip Color CollectionNow Ford fans can complete their look from head to toe.  From polishes to an eyebrow pen with a calligraphy tip so that you can carefully draw in brow hairs, Ford has figured out what his following wants, and this includes seeing him in the print ads alongside Lara Stone. The collection will also include two new Private Blend fragrances so you’re sure to have the Tom Ford air about you!

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Salon Spotlight: Joe’s Salon and SACHAJUAN Hair Care

Joe’s Salon has a reputation for delivering innovative, high quality hair care to all their clients. It was no surprise when they joined contemporaries such as Fred Segal’s of Los Angeles, and Woodley & Bunny of New York, in stocking the SACHAJUAN hair care brand in their salon.

Sachajuan Hair CareOriginated in Sweden, SACHAJUAN uses Ocean Silk Technology containing a nourishing blend of Algae extracts. Providing a silky feel to the hair, closing the cuticle, restoring moisture, shine, body and bounce.

Salon owner, Joe Mehmet, sang the brands praises, “In all my years in hairdressing, I have never used a Styling Mousse as exceptional, the SACHAJUAN mousse disappears into nothing once applied to the hair and its styling properties far exceed any other product on the market”

At Glambition we also love the brands ‘Overnight Hair Repair’ which was voted winner of Cosmopolitan’s Beauty Awards 2011. The perfect solution to sun frazzled locks.

Pop into Joe’s Salon for the ultimate hair cut/colour, where your hair will be caressed with this range and your ‘new do’ will look like it has stepped off the pages of Vogue.

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Jeepers Peepers!

Blue MascaraWith so many sassy summer trends in full swing, like neon nail polish peeking from platform sandals, bright bikinis gracing the nation’s beaches and Lady Gaga seemingly making it officially OK for people to go trouser-less on city streets – colouring up lashes seems somewhat tame. We say, go beyond fuchsia lips this season and punch up your sweet summer look with coloured mascara!

If you are a colour virgin, start with a subtle effect, try applying the colour over your usual black or brown mascara, just at the tips. Max Factor Beyond Length Blazing Black/Pink, at GlitterStore, adds a really nice subtle pink shimmer to your lashes, perfect to wear every day.

Feeling a little more daring? Cult favourite DiorShow, has a tried and tested “Azure Blue” that’s a fun alternative to black and looks great on brown eyed beauties. Yves Saint Laurent’s Mascara Singulier comes in “Deep Plum” to flatter blue eyes to the max.

If you want to really open eyes with your lash look, try Barry M Lengthening Mascara in Shocking Pink, this especially suits green eyed girls. And how about adding a little sparkle with a glitter mascara, like Hard Candy Lash Tinsel – Glitter Mascara, applied as your last layer.

We know that we love this trend, and with one flutter of your eyelashes you will too, you could even take this trend to the max by using different colours on your top and bottom lashes!

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Pucker Up

KissIt’s National Kissing Day and we are hoping for an innocent smooch or two. Unfortunately, with the dry summer air, being caught out and about without sunscreen, our lips leave little to be desired!

Here’s our emergence action plan to plump up your pout:

1. Exfoliate

Before you even think of reaching for the gloss, smooth your lips by giving them a good buff to remove any dead skin cells. You can use a damp flannel or muslin cloth and work in circular motions. If your lips are really rough, try a toothbrush dipped in Vaseline for a tougher scrub.

2. Prime

Primers are a great base which moisturise your lips and help your fave lippy stay put all day. We love Too Faced Lip Insurance Primer £14, available at Debenhams, full of skin softening Vitamin E, the easy to apply applicator and cute packaging are perfect for your makeup bag.

2. Colour

Finally we are ready for the finishing touches. Apply your best lippy with a brush for a classic finish, L’Oréal Color Riche provides long lasting, intense colour, without drying. If more of a hippy flush is your preferred look, smudge the lipstick on your lips using your fingers. For all you organic girlies, Bert’s Bees, available at Boots, have expanded their range of lip products in the UK, to help you gloss, shine, shimmer and tint to perfection.

3. Gloss

Dot the centre of your pout with gloss to give the illusion of a fuller pout. Soap & Glory have a super sexy range of new lip glosses for you to try.

Top Tip: If you are taken by surprise and need to pucker up in a flash, but have forgotten your toothbrush, don’t panic! Try eating a strawberry, biting an apple or chewing on a sprig of parsley, your breath will be as fresh as a daisy in no time.

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Heat Things Up

Wavy HairThe curling tong is one of the classic beauty technologies that we rarely think about reinventing.  Round barrel, clip, heat, what more could you need? But that pesky clip can end up leaving annoying creases and lines no matter how light your hand or how careful you are.

Clipless curling irons deliver bouncier, natural-looking ringlets, waves or spirals without the crimp factor that can come on occasion with traditional irons. The conical shape means you can create large, full curls using the top of the barrel, or get tighter spirals with the tapered tip.

Here are our top 3 product picks:

Babyliss Curling Wand – So easy to use, this wand gives you perfect curls in seconds and is ceramic coated to protect your hair.

Corioliss Glamour Wand – This is available in some very glam prints so you can leave it proudly on display.

YOGI Hair Wand – Super light-weight, you won’t get any uncomfy arm-ache using this product.

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