Dr Nick Lowe

Do you know of Dr Lowe? He is dermatologist to the stars and has a practice on Harley Street. He is often quoted in magazines on anti-ageing etc. He launched his skin care range about two years ago. The day cream is wonderful. It sinks in like a dream, has SPF 15 and does not make your skin greasy. I thoroughly recommend it. Get it in Boots and use your advantage card to stack up points as it's about £16.

I was so impressed with the day cream that I bought the cleanser. Which is very average and not that great. I also got the night cream which was nice enough but not wow factor. So I didn't bother trying anything else.

Glam boss went to see Dr Lowe for a minor procedure (NOT a face lift or botox or anything!) and Sophie Dahl was there. She said Sophie looked radiant and was buying lots of Lowe products...

Another day, another mascara

As you know, the search never ends. I bought Maybelline's new stiletto mascara the other week.

Pros:
Good brush
Easy to apply - no clogging

Cons:
You have to put quite a bit on
Slight smudging

Overall verdict:
Nothing special and I wouldn't recommend it. It's alright.

Having an Urban Decay moment

Having had such success with their eye primer, I decided to give some Urban Decay eyeliners a spin. I bought two yesterday. Covet (a peacock green) and Dime (a shimmery silver). I am thinking I can wear them both together to complete the clown look.

I was planning to wear one or both today but I have a cold so am skipping make up for the day. However, early signs of putting the testers on the back of my hand bodes well. They are very soft and long lasting - I had to scrub with soap to remove it.

Having looked at the site, I also want Ransom and Stash. I am of the belief that you can never have too much eyeliner in your life.

Eye primer

As the weather hots up, primers come into their own. I invested in a new eye primer last week after hearing very good things about the Urban Decay one.

This stuff is brilliant. It's much better than my Laura Mercier one. You don't need much but eye shadow/liner just stays put all day long and no smudging. No matter what. I am really impressed. It's also cheaper than the LM one.

Spring has sprung...

... and I am embracing colour. I recently bought red shoes, a green mac and a cardigan of many colours. And beauty wise, today I chose Essie bachelorette bash for my nails. Which, by the way, look great next to the green mac. It's a hot pink.

I love this time of year with fresh new colours and I am feeling like I never want to wear black again. Obviously I will because I cannot live completely without black.

I now want some really vibrant eyeliner. Any suggestions?

New hair

Last week I woke up and hated my hair. I am sure you know how that goes. So I called my hairdresser for an emergency appointment for later that day. Luckily she could fit me in.

Why was I hating it? Well, I desperately needed a colour and it just felt really heavy and blah. I had a rare moment where I said to my hairdresser - do what you like!

And she did, she cut loads of layers in, gave me a slight side fringe and made it a darker colour. I felt like a new woman. And being as good at her job as she is, she sold me two new products. A new hairstyle means new products. Always. It's the law.

Kerastase - the daddy of hair products. So I got a cream you put on after shampoo and conditioner to make it super soft. It is lovely and works very well and is designed to protect your hair when you blow dry it. It's very rich so I don't put much on but it smells very yummy and sinks in perfectly.

And I also got a texturising waxy cream thing. I am not really one for styling products at all but I felt chunky layers needed a little help. I am very pleased with them both. But boy, very expensive stuff. Good thing you don't need much!

The art of bathing

I take my baths very seriously. I usually have a bath everyday. I know that sounds indulgent but you know, some people drink wine, I take baths.

So having a daily bath habit means I have done research into lots of bubble bath products. Because a naked bath is a wasted opportunity. There is nothing nicer than sinking into a deep hot bubble bath after a day's work or a day's hard cosmetic shopping. I am sure you all agree. If you don't, you are mad or insane or both.

Now I am not a big fan of bath oils for a few reasons. They often mean you have to clean the bath afterwards which is a big no no. All that oily debris - yuk. And I know they are called bath oils but I do find them a bit oily. Having said that, I make an exception for Rose bath oil. The Ren one is fantastic and the Jo Malone one is also very nice. For a truly divine bath experience, mix one of these rose bath oils with an Absolute Delight bath ballistic from Lush. You can't get them from Lush shops anymore but you can buy them online.

I like bubbles - not so many that you can't see the water but a good amount. So, what do I recommend? Well, I have to start with Lush. Here is a company that understands bathing. Their bubble bath slices are really gorgeous - you crumble a bit in (not the whole bar unless you have Victoria Beckham's budget) and you get bubbles galore. And their products do smell very natural - nothing artificial and nasty. I am a fan of French Kiss and Amandopondo. As so often with Lush, their best products are a thing of the past. Marzibain is gorgeously almondy.

Lush also do ballistics. These don't give you bubbles but it's quite exciting to watch them fizz. My biggest beef with Lush is their propensity to add load of jetsam and flotsam to their products and nowhere is this worse than in their ballistics. So unless you enjoy fishing out petals, bits of bark, star anise and sodding glitter from your tub, stick to the pure ballistics. The all time classic was Absolute Delight but Avobath is perfectly acceptable. Although it says it has glitter in it, it's so subtle, I don't notice it.

Of course buying ballistics and bubble bath slices gets expensive and these are not for your everyday bath. Unless you are rich. I often squirt in a bit of shower gel from Lush. It gives you a nice bubbly bath without breaking the bank. In the Summer, there is nothing better than a bit of Freeze shower gel in a cool bath.

Enough about Lush. Other people make bubble bath too. I am currently enjoying Moringa bubble bath from The Body Shop. It's a pleasantly Spring-like floral. It's not going to win any awards but it's enjoyable enough. I am otherwise underwhelmed by The Body Shop's bubble baths - all too fruity for my taste. I don't wish to smell of a fruit bowl.

A company I do like is Bath & Body Works. Naturally you cannot buy this in the UK but if you are going to the US, drop in. The Sea Cotton range is totally yummy in a clean, fresh scented linen way.

Kiehls

Apologies for my tardiness in posting. I said I would talk about other beauty products I bought in Hong Kong so here we go.

Kiehls is a brand I try to really love but I only seem to quite like it. I love the shops, the layout, the naturalness of the products, the packaging. But I am generally underwhelmed by the products given the price. However, there are exceptions.

I'd love to tell you that I fly first class regularly. The truth is I've never even flown business class, let alone first class. It's a bit of a sore point so we won't linger. Anyway, a dear friend's significant other works for BA and therefore she has had the pleasure of first class and she gave me the bag they give you. Yes, she's a great friend.

It's full of Kiehls products. Full size lip balm (also very good incidentally) and the face moisturiser. A whole bottle of it! Mind you, given the cost of first class, it's the least they can give you. It's lovely. It sinks in but isn't at all greasy and you can really feel it plumping up your skin.

So at Hong Kong airport, I had some dollars burning a hole and it wasn't worth changing them back so I decided to buy a bottle of this. And I am pleased I did as it is perfect as the weather gets a bit warmer.

Combatting airplane skin

Let me give you some advice. Never ever sit through a long flight and not bother moisturising your skin regularly. The air is drier than a desert (as beauty editors always make a point of telling us). If you don't follow my advice, your skin will flake once you hit the ground and if you are going to sunbathe, the results won't be pretty. Also, never fly without lip balm - I did that once accidentally and my lips were disgusting at the end of the flight. I use my trusty 8 hour cream.

It won't surprise you to know I have researched and tested various moisturisers while flying. You know, long flights are boring, it gives me something to do. It's the ideal time to use up those little samples of really intense moisturisers you get from beauty counters that you would never use on the ground. Plus, you can't take on board anything too big cos of the stupid rule about 100ml of liquid. Madness. I always use that as an excuse to buy some moisturiser at duty-free but that might be just me.

This time, I decided to try Simple Serum wipes. I can't find a picture but they are quite small and come in packs of 25. About £4. And I can report that they are fantastic. I would never bother using these back down on earth but up in the air, they feel amazing and so quick.

Next time you fly, give them a go as I was really impressed.

A small update

Heathrow airport does indeed stock Missoni perfume but they hide it on a shelf near the bottom while promoting middle of the road boring stuff by Sarah Jessica Parker and that Marc Jacobs Daisy. Anyway, having hunted it down, I felt obliged to purchase it. Also, buying 100ml was so much better value than 50ml so 100ml it was. I am very happy with it and was the best smelling person on the plane!

On my travels I looked at a few other things. I checked out the Sisley handcream as they had it at Hong Kong airport with a big tube to sample. I sampled about £2's worth. Yes, it's a great handcream but am still reeling at the price tag. I checked out the Dior mascara but didn't like the applicator. I looked at the Bobbi Brown foundation stick but it didn't look amazing enough to have.

I think we can all agree I was quite restrained all things considered. I did get a few other things at Hong Kong airport but that's for another post.

Pedicures

To match my Manicures post. You can't have one and neglect the other after all. I just had a lovely pedicure at the little place at the end of my road. Now I know you can do this yourself but it's never the same is it? I always seem to splodge the paint around and make a bit of a mess of it. And I can never get rid of all the hard skin like the professionals can.

In an effort to try and save money (no laughing at the back please) I've not had a professional pedicure since way before Christmas. That's a long time for me! My feet were sadly neglected. I had a dilemma - did I get them done here or in Hong Kong (where I am going on Thursday)? In the end I decided here as it is hot in HK and I want to wear sandals the minute I get there.

A little extravagant I know as all beauty treatments are a fraction of the price in Asia but my experience is they are good at the scraping part but not so good at the painting part. Also, handy hint, always take your own nail polish as they rarely have the good stuff.

When I last went, my friend and I had a Shanghai pedicure which I didn't know doesn't involve any paint. We sat in those wonderful massage chairs and they put boiling water in the basin by your feet. Putting your feet in that water is a bit of a test as I kid you not, it is scalding. I think I must be a wimp as my friend gamely plunged her feet in - and she was pregnant. Yes, I am a wimp.

Anyway, they leave you like that for a good half hour. Then they moved us to beds and wrapped us up in blankets (it was cold) and those heated wheat things were put around our necks. It was bliss. And they spend 45 minutes scraping all the hard skin off, buffing and moisturising my feet. It was heaven on earth and my feet had never been so soft...

Until my treatment in Indonesia last November. If you've not had paraffin wax poured on your feet, you've not lived. Seriously.

I love having my feet pampered. Happy feet = happy people.

You can of course buy one of those foot buffers and try to recreate the experience at home. If you do this, enlist a friend to do the painting bit. A good friend. And wash your feet thoroughly first. And then repay the favour.