Lush Sumery Shades at My Fingertips

Ever wonder why nail polish bottles only come in absurdly large sizes? "What a waste", I thought to myself, every time I disposed of yet another half-full bottle of dried up nail varnish in the trash can. Wonder and waste no more, zesties. Max Effect, the mini nail polish bottle by Max factor, is the hottest most delicious piece of low-end cosmetics you'll lay your hands on these days. What with its miniature size, its great value for money at £3.49 a pop, and its fun and playful pastel summery palette, such as Cappuccino, Pretty in Pink, Chilled Lilac...

...and hold your breath, my all-time favourite colour this season, Mellow Yellow, summer won't feel so far away.

Pick out your hot new summery shade at Boots Pharmacy now. Hurry up! Summer won't wait!

Cleanse Away 2011 - Glow in 2012

It's nearly the end of the year - and as expected you're exhausted. Your skin feels gray, drab and it looks almost yellowish. You feel an urge to cleanse away all impurities that have managed to nestle themselves into your pores over the last 12 months. You want to brighten up again and start fresh. There's a simple solution for that - the facial cleanser. Now I know that most of you are attached to your regular go-to's when it comes to cosmetics and beauty products, and that when in doubt, nothing beats an express run to the Duty Free counter at Heathrow airport before catching a flight. I get it, I do it too. But no more. With my thirties fast approaching, I've decided to stop neglecting my skin and making it a priority for 2012.

I've recently been recommended a cleanser by a dear friend of mine whose grooming tastes I blindly trust. I tried it, bought it and never went back. The amazing Shu Uemura Skin Purifier is a rich and delicate oil, which rinses and purifies your skin to leave it looking smooth and glowing. After a long day of stress and makeup, simply use a couple droplets of water to foam up the oil and massage your skin, eyelids and lashes gently with your fingertips, soaking up all the makeup and dirt accumulated during the day. No need for extra makeup remover, no need for cotton swabs. Job done.

 Check out Shu Uemura's tutorial here:

Choose the Classic for normal skins, Aloe Vera for normal or ageing skin, and the Fresh for oily or blemish-proned skin. 

Visit Space NK, Liberty or the flagship Neal Street boutique to get your Shu Uemura Cleanser, and for £28 you'll be one step closer to a balanced and glowing 2012.

A Pink Box Full of GGGs (Glossy Girly Goodies)

The latest Brit-born girly start up, called Glossybox, brings you an innovative and fun subscription service, offering its members a selection of 5 beauty product samples each month, from the most up-market and coveted brands to the most niche and exclusive, and that for only £10 a month. If you're an avid cosmetics consumer, love experimenting with new products but would rather die than to spend the money or time on products that you try once, hate and ultimately throw out, this is your new girly discovery. Or better yet, if you're fed up with the regular Boots run, gag at the sterile smell of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals on your daily lunch Cosmetics trip, you'll want to read on.

Glossybox is a fantastic consumer proposition insofar as it's easily digesteable and user friendly. This is how it works. It's a 3 step process.

1. First sign up to receive your monthly Glossybox and complete your Beautyprofile to allow the experts to carefully match products to your likes and personal beauty.

2. Every month you'll receive a beautifully wrapped pink and purple polkadotted box full of girly goodies in the Royal Mail.

3. Enjoy 5 cherry-picked luxury products each month and avoid the hassle of long queues and the pressure of sales people.

Provide feedback and with every survey, receive 20 points. After collecting 1000 points, your next Glossybox is free. You'll want to do this.

With brands ranging from O.P.I, Nars and Lalique, to All For Eve and batiste shampoos, you'll be able to sample from all sorts of products for nails, skin and hair alike.

Plus enjoy regular style and beauty tips via their online magazine. This week, Glossybox talks you through Olivia Palermo's beauty tips on how to look effortlessly glamorous. You can subscribe to news updates on Facebook and Twitter as well.  All of this from the comforts of your cozy living room. What are you waiting for? Check it out here and sign up now, zesties.

As Close As It Gets to the French Pharmacy

There is one really huge thing I miss about France these days, aside from, well okay, a lot of things. But lately, what with Springtime being nigh, the sunshine lending us its delicious rays and pollen allergies kicking in, I feel a dire need of a pharmacy run. I generally get my pharma-fix once a year, when visiting family and friends in Paris. I spend about 60 euros (who am I kidding, 100?) on Homeopathics, shampoos and conditionners, body oils, waxing strips, curing creams and gels, and last but not least, my beta-carotene sun capsules (from Oenobiol Solaire). I just find the pharmacy experience that much more pleasant over there. I guess I'm just a bit of a pharma-snob. And judge me all you want, but I'm just not that big of a Boots fan. There is no such thing as an enjoyable Boots run. It's get in and get out. So where to go where Lifestyle Guru Gwyneth shops for her fantastic pharmaceuticals? I found just the place today on my Covent Garden lunch run.

 

The Garden Pharmacy is as close as it gets to a good-old fashioned, vintage French apothecary and carries all of the essential go-to French products. Here are some of my body and healthcare products of choice:

 Oscillococcinum: the homeopathic cure-all for seasonal flus

 Caudalie Makeup Remover: gentle and strong at once; no need to use 2 cotton swabs, one is enough

 Biotherm Aquathermale Spa Body Scrub: exfoliator and scrub for the body

Avene Eau Thermale: perfect mist of clean, mineral water for irritated and dry skin

 

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse: For a smoothe and silky skin on those summer nights

 Klorane Shampoo and Conditionner: For all hair types; leaves your hair feeling rich and healthy

No need to plan your next Parisian trip around your cosmetics. Find all you'll ever need in terms of delicious cosmetics in the midst of busy Central London, but enjoy your pharmacy run too!

LondonZest Beautifies

There is nothing like a £50 mani pedi to make you think twice about living in London. But yet again, this tends to be my sentiment about London prices in general. Tell me, why is it so hard to find an inappropriately low paid Vietnamese-employed, hygenically-challenged nail salon in this town?? New York has them strewn about everywhere, why why why does London have to be so PC all the time??? 

I have lived here a year now and I've gotten a professional manicure...hm, let's see...twice! And don't even get me started on the waxing. And so, I am ashamed to admit that beautifying and taking care of my girly self has not been such a top priority these days. Instead, I find other ways to brush, groom and paint my body parts and extremities. Yes, like most girls, I do it myself...no pun intended.

As low budget as self-beautifying can be, it does get tedious. At times, it gets boring and at times, excruciatingly dangerous, especially when it comes to applying hot liquids to your skin, in and around obscure areas. But what girl doesn't need to indulge once in a while? I was told that the less you treat yourself to the small luxuries in life, the more you appreciate them. The truth is, the less you treat yourself to the beauty salon, the uglier you get. That's the truth. And no, my friend, ain't no appreciation in an ugly pair of hands and feet or the inability to put on a bikini. And I know a self-made manicure seems like a walk in the park for most of you, but for some reason, I can just never stay inside the lines! Well, maybe it's because I could never do it even when I was little and trying it in my coloring book. 

There's nothing like a little splurge to make you feel fresh and girly again. In fact, I happen to really look forward to my trip to the spa, and also really enjoy it once I'm there. My personal favorite spa in London would have to be the Savannah Urban Spa, on the quiet and charming Hereford Road in Notting Hill, not only because it's close by to my flat, but because the prices are pretty reasonable (bikini waxes range from £20 to 30 and mani pedis from £25 to 35), the service is quick and professional, and they actually really care about their customers. I'll also have to admit that I really really enjoy their mood music; and I'll sometimes find myself swaying side to side until the manicurist has to tell me to stop moving cuz I'm making her slip. But seriously, this place is a true find, so what are you waiting for? Go get pretty!!!

                      

                                Savannah Urban Spa, Hereford Road