Caudalie

When I was in New York I discovered this brand which is, of course, French. It's actually cheaper over here which is novel. It's made from grapes and vine and suchlike. Oh la la, only the French can put wine in skincare.

I have tried two products that I love.

The make-up cleansing water is fabulous, it's very gentle and gets rid of eye make-up perfectly. It's taken me ages to find an eye make-up remover that isn't greasy or stings. This works. I am on my third bottle.

The hand cream smells like heaven and sinks in perfectly. No greasiness.

Bolstered by such success, I've just ordered the foot cream, more handcream, a buffing cream and the perfume. I found some money kicking around my Paypal account. All that came to £56. It's new thrifty Cover Girl! I shall report back.

Beauty round-up

I'm back and just sneaking in a June post before we officially enter Cover Girl's Birthday Month. I've been kind of busy jet-setting to Monte Carlo and Madrid (for work), moving back to London and settling into my new house. My new favourite pastime is picking Farrow & Ball paint colours and considering what plants I should put in my garden.

Yes, I am officially middle-aged but no less fanatical about beauty. The busier you are, the more you need those products that make you look fabulous in minutes. These are my June hero products.

Origins Smarty Plants. This product is miraculous, I reviewed it back in March. No matter how you look, this will make you look better. I simply adore it.

I also love my Nars Multiple matte blusher. The difference the matte makes is extraordinary. This makes you look healthy and glowing and is the easiest blusher in the world to put on.

I bought this Smashbox eyeliner in New York and I am absolutely heartbroken to tell you they have discontinued this line of eyeliners completely. I have no idea why.

If you find this on eBay in Black Gold, buy it. It's the most flattering colour I've ever worn, it's easy to apply and it lasts all day long. I wear it most days.

This Sephora own brand jumbo eyeliner is also good. It's not as good as Smashbox but it's cheaper and it still pleases me. I have Dark Taupe Shimmer and it's a good day colour.

Sephora now ships to the UK so if you are buying one of the jumbo crayons, bung this in your basket too. It sharpens it beautifully and lots of people complain that normal pencil sharpeners don't work.

The 5 in 1 Living Proof cream still amazes me. Put this in your basket with your Sephora order too.

Finally, a beauty salon just opened up opposite our new house. It's like they knew I was arriving in the 'hood! I now Shellac pretty much all the time, the no chipping together with stronger nails works for me. If you have had a bad experience with removal (lord knows I have) then I must say it's worth looking around and finding someone you trust. My nails have never looked better!

Exciting new hair product: Living Proof, Perfect Hair Day

My friend bought this on a visit to NYC and sent me an email saying I needed it. Obviously I wasted no time in picking up a bottle. You smooth it through wet hair and then style. It's FABULOUS. It smells gorgeous and it makes your hair super shiny, manageable and all swingy without any grease whatsoever. You can read more about it here and then I suggest you run and buy some immediately and a present for me for telling you about it.

Nail colour of the week

I returned to Shellac this week having found the one person in Manhattan who is as fussy as I am about application (Linette at Bliss 49 - she's awesome). I went for yellow. Am I insane? Quite possibly, yes.

The thing is I've had a hankering for yellow nails for a while now. Not neon yellow but more of a primrose yellow. On Tuesday I am heading to the desert for a road trip so I figured I could be a little daring. I love the results but it does take some getting used to.

It will be better when I have a tan.

Boscia Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel

I received a free sample of this and I have fallen in love. It's a black moisturiser. Yes, properly black, freaky and weird yet it glides on like a dream, obviously does not appear black on your skin and cools you down as well! With my slightly jaded post-champagne morning face today, it worked wonders.

And so I have something else I must purchase before returning to London as I've never seen this brand in the UK. You can read more about it here.

Nars Matte Multiple

We all have a trusty Nars Multiple kicking about in our make-up collection. I have two and I like them both but when I read they had new matte ones coming out, my heart skipped a beat. It's no secret that I am obsessed with blusher but as I get older, I find the sparkle, shimmery, glistening look to be a bit, well, teenage for me.

I want sophisticated. I want to look like someone who could wear a cream suit all day and not get a smudge on me. Basically I want to look expensive and removing the glitter helps with that. I resisted this for days. DAYS I tell you. And it was hard with two Sephoras within spitting distance of my office. However, as I was gadding about town yesterday morning, I found myself magnetically drawn to it and decided that I must buy it. No more dallying.

I went for Anguilla because Sali Hughes said it was a good shade and I trust Sali. It's a delightful, suit anyone, pink. The texture is heavenly, you barely need to blend it. I had forgotten how much I love the Multiple for that. I'd never put it on my lips as it's way too drying. But as a blusher, I feel like I've come home.

Nail colour of the week

It's been a while since I've done this but I went for a mani/pedi today having spent the afternoon in the office. Yes, Saturday afternoon in the office. I figured I deserved it.

On my toes, I went for this YSL beauty (I took it with me, I've yet to enter a salon that has YSL varnishes).

I was going to have the same colour on my fingers but the lady next to me was having Essie's Limo-scene and it was so clean and fresh looking, I changed my mind.

I bounced out in sandals. Yes, sandals! Happy days.

In other news I am obsessing somewhat over the Nars new matte multiples. I need and want. It's a dangerous combination.

Spring hair beauty round-up

I am going to say this very quietly but I think Spring might have finally hit New York. Today I went outside and was too warm. The sun was shining and the gay boys downstairs are having a party on their balcony with no tops on. It's time to shed off the layers and dust down the body ready for summer. It's also time to move away from the dark colours and brighten up. I am well aware that the UK has sprung but here in New York, we've been getting excited about this moment. It's been so cold. I won't go on about it but there are parts of my body I had forgotten about.

To celebrate I thought I'd talk about a few hair products that I've been exploring recently. Firstly, this Thickening shampoo by L'Oreal. Sali Hughes raved about this and then so did a trusted friend. I bought some despite the fact that I don't have fine hair. I find my hair is a little flat in this city so I figured I'd give it a whirl.

There is nothing wrong with it but it makes no discernible difference to my locks. It is a perfectly acceptable shampoo and conditioner however so it's not going in the bin but I won't buy it again.

I bought this, which my sister raved about. Living Proof Style Extender.

This isn't cheap, you smooth it on your wet hair and then style as usual. It repels grease and dirt meaning you can go longer between washes. It does work I must admit but my problem is I live in a polluted city and I go kickboxing. Leaving my hair too long between washes is just icky. It may look ok but I have to live with it! It would be good for holidays perhaps.

Despite knowing all this and the fact that I don't get on with dry shampoos, I still bought yet another one this weekend.

Psssst! Best name ever! It's $6 for a huge can. It doesn't smell disgusting and it does appear to work. I will probably use this more in London than New York but I am giving it a cautious thumbs up.

My conclusion is that I need to be rich enough to afford a blow-dry three times a week. Nothing makes you feel as fabulous as professionally blow dried hair. I reckon I would actually save a fortune as I would stop buying all these products and wouldn't ever need any shampoo! I'd just always get it washed professionally. Oh well, maybe one day.

Origins Smarty Plants

I wasn't sure anything could replace my beloved Vitazing but I bought the Origins CC cream at the weekend after my friend said it was brilliant. I must say she is right, it's fabulous. It's miles better than the Clinique one which I do like but it is a bit drying and you have to work quite hard to make it look good. The Origins one simply glides on, blends easily, smells lovely and lasts all day. I adore Vitazing and will always have it in my make-up bag but this is good for those days where you need a bit more help than Vitazing can provide.

Walking into the Origins shop I was overwhelmed with love for the brand. Their products are so good and smell so delicious. I've not looked at them closely for ages. I very much recommend this.

Clinique Cheek Pop

I had a yearning for a powder blusher after years of using a cream one. I have no idea why. I bought this Cheek Pop from Clinique and I am very happy with it. It's subtle, easy to apply and the packaging is so pretty. In comes in four colours and I got Peach Pop. Recommended.

Joan Collins has a beauty range

There are few people I adore quite as much as Joanie. Ignore her politics for a moment and just focus on this.

Nobody does glamour like Joan.

I'm not sure anyone wears fur hats quite as well as her either. And now, unbelievable news. Wondrous news. She has launched a beauty range.

It's shamelessly gold and epic. It's how to look like Alexis Carrington Colby Dexter all packaged up. And who doesn't want to look like Alexis?

She's always been my style icon. Check out the nail varnish and lipsticks especially.

Yes, they actually say Joan Collins on them. She knows what her minions want. Bow down to Queen Joan. I am going to have to buy a nail varnish, the bottle is a work of art. I've no idea when they go on sale and who is stocking it but all I can say is that it had better be in Sephora.