Birthday beauty haul

It was my birthday two weeks ago. It was hard to miss if you are vaguely acquainted with me. I like to announce my birthday and give everyone plenty of notice to go shopping. I did very well on the beauty haul this year. My lovely sister knows me so well. She got me a tub of Molton Brown bath soak. Which is really very yummy. It turns the water a beautiful blue and it has a subtle, clean scent. I just had a bath with it and feel very relaxed. Which it promised me. And it looks pretty in the bathroom.

She also got me Ren Rose body scrub. Oh me, oh my. Regular readers will know my love of the rose scent. I've not used it yet but I cannot wait to break into it this weekend in the shower.

And she got me (I know, I am lucky) some blue nail varnish. Now how could she have thought I wanted that? Hmmmmmm. Essie, Mesmerize which is a very pretty denim blue. My toes are twinkling in it.

So special thank you to the best sister a girl could have. Another very sweet friend got me a Penhaligons taster set. It comes in a dinky tin and has several scents in it - like a cool chemistry set.

So I am delighted to report that I shall be smelling fabulous over the next few months.

A scrub that smells so good, you want it to be a perfume

I got a small pot of a scrub from Bliss in my Christmas stocking. At this time of year, I always try and use up things and this morning I decided to use up what I had left of this. Sundays are for full on body scrubbing action and my skin was feeling very dull.

Anyway, this really is a lovely scrub. The grains are just the right consistency - fine but not too fine. And it smells heavenly. I wasn't expecting it to smell so nice after it had all rinsed off but I am sitting here sniffing my arm and realising I smell fabulous! And I am smooth as a shiny conker!

The scent is vanilla and bergamot. I usually am not a fan of vanilla but the bergamot stops it being sickly.

Lipstick - the holy grail

I don't wear lipstick. Not because I don't like it but because I find it becomes a mess very easily. It doesn't stay put, you leave lipstick marks on coffee cups. This may provide inspiration for great Take That songs but it's annoying in real life.

Every now and then I buy a lipstick and then remember why I don't wear them. Today I was in Boots browsing the make up and was buttonholed by an OFL*. She told me all about the new Revlon colourstay lipsticks. I had read about these and thought they sounded worthy of investigation. The usual promise - this lipstick lasts all day. So she let me test some and I must say, it glided on beautifully. And they had a £2 off offer on and I am a soft touch. So I bought one in 'nude'. I got home after a hard few hours' shopping and can confirm the lipstick was still there. It did feel a tad drying though. Is there anything worse than scuffy lips? Urgh. It didn't give me scuffy lips but I felt it could be in danger of doing so in the winter.

I shall report back on how I get on with it. I also looked hard for Opi nail varnish but no joy. Apart from Selfridges, where else sells it? Not online, a real shop. Anyone?

*OFL = Orange Faced Lady

Nail varnish

Continuing my summer theme. It's important to have sunny colours for this time of year. Deep reds have no place on summer feet (or hands).

Here are my top colours for the sunshine.

Jam n Jelly - Essie - gorgeous bright pink. This is a funky, slightly shimmery pink. I am wearing it on my hands at the moment.

Clam Bake - Essie - I can't wear corals but if you can, this is gorgeous. Perfect on tanned feet.

Footloose - Essie - named after a classic Summer film, how can it not deliver? A perfect purple.

Blue nail varnish can look fabulous on toes. I think this only works if you have tanned feet or you run the risk of looking dead. Opi do a great blue. Add a bikini and a cocktail and you're laughing.

Summer scents

Having discussed coping in the summer, I think it's only right to talk about summer perfume a little bit more. So, in no order of preference, here are some I love.

Mitsouko - Guerlain.
Some would disagree that this is summery but I think it is a very 'green' scent and find it strangely refreshing. It's not a typical refreshing scent but I am not wild about light and airy fragrances which disappear in about 10 mins. This is a grown up, sexy yet subdued, beautiful perfume.

Lime, Basil and Mandarin - Jo Malone
No list would be complete without this. I used to love this very much but in the last year or so I've gone off it rapidly. I can't explain why. Maybe I am just over familiar with it. There is no denying that it's summer in a bottle though. Very zesty but with something to make it a little more interesting.

Grapefruit - Jo Malone
I love this. I understand grapefruit is a difficult scent to reproduce and that it never lasts. It's true this doesn't last long but layer it with Jo Malone Red Roses and it's heavenly. I know that sounds like a weird combination but trust me, it works. I use this combination when I need waking up in the morning before I head off to work.

Colonia - Acqua di Palma
I don't own this (let's face it, I have enough perfume) but it is divine. A classic. If you don't know it, you should. Italy in a bottle.

Eau Dynamisante - Clarins
Another classic. I love this and always turn to it like an old friend. Another one that doesn't last long but I love it after a cool bath at the end of the day. Gorgeous.

Laughter - SpaceNK
I have a friend who wears this and it smells wonderful on her. I got a free bottle of this about 6 months ago. It smells horrible on me. All screechy and shrill. Awful. But if it suits you, it's lovely. I guess I should give her my bottle...

Tell me what you wear in the summer.

Coping in the Summer

Ahhhhh summer days. Wimbledon, long cold drinks, ice creams on the terrace, lounging on the beach, Jazzy Jeff...

Love it. I do love summer and I don't mind being hot since it only ever lasts for about a week if we are lucky. However, when you live in the city and have to dress smartly for work, summer can be a challenge. One always strives to look fabulous and hot days can be a menace.

Here are some of my current tips for surviving summer looking cool as a cucumber.

1) Get comfy shoes. I am all for suffering for fashion but not when it comes to my feet. My feet swell at the mere whiff of sunshine and heels are an impossibility for me. Fortunately I have dozens of pairs of shoes that live at work. So give your feet a treat, wear flat comfy shoes to get to work and then slip into the elegant ones when you get there. While you're at it, invest in some cooling foot spray for your desk drawer too. Your colleagues will thank you.

2) Ditch the tights. Come on, let's be honest, tights and heat are a nightmare combination. Invest in a decent razor and fake tan and get your legs out for the summer. My current fake tan is St Tropez - the gradual tanner that you apply daily. It's the best I've found and a million times better than Holiday Skin which, I think, stinks. It's £12 from Boots but it lasts ages.

3) Get a pedicure. And repeat. Get your feet out for the summer but please do make them presentable first. Get a decent pedicure where they will tend all of your foot, not just the toes. It will leave you walking on air. And put some decent colour on the toes. No pinky frost! I have a gorgeous metallic purple on mine at the moment and they were freshly done today. *wiggles toes* And don't think you only need one pedicure to last you the whole summer.

4) If you've not yet realised primers are the best thing ever, now is your final chance. My Urban Decay eye primer is doing sterling work for me at the moment. Eyeliner stays in place all day. No running, no smudging. It's a miracle. Also, a primer for your face is fab too - it really keeps your skin matt. And also, Pores No More - GET IT! It's amazing.

5) Get a zingy shower gel. I am currently loving the Naked range from Boots. They do a minty one that is so zingy. It really helps you stay cool or cools you down at the end of a hot day.

6) Anti-perspirant - Mitchum. That's all.

7) Get a summer perfume. This is no time for heavy scents. I made that mistake today and spent all day wondering what I could smell. And not in a good way. Get a green, fresh scent and top up during the day to keep you feeling daisy fresh.

8) Get a funky hat. This is not necessarily for your commute but hey, I won't judge. But please wear a hat on your sunny holiday or in the garden at weekends. It protects your hair colour and keeps you from fainting and needing the smelling salts.

And spend anytime not at work outside. All too soon it will be cold and grey once more. So stop moaning that you are hot.

American drugstores

I just went to New Jersey for work. There was no time to shop but I did spot a giant Walmart within walking distance of my hotel and found 30 mins to make the journey.

For those unfamiliar, there is nothing more satisfying to a beauty junkie than an American drugstore. They are always huge, they have them everywhere and they sell a vast range of products from biscuits (in a pharmacy, yes) to nail polish to ped eggs (waste of time by the way) to 50,000 types of body lotion. And they are cheap, cheap, cheap. And of course they sell drugs - Tylenol cold and flu, Advil etc all in giant packs of pain relief heaven.

Walmart is, of course, much more than a drugstore but it was all I had available to me so I hot footed there. It's not quite as good as a dedicated drugstore but it provided me with Maybelline Great Lash mascara in a better range of colours than you can get in the UK. Here it's hard to find anything other than blackest black. There I bought some brownish black and soft black. Less than $4 each. And I got a whole load of travel sized toothpastes, cotton buds etc. I got a pack of three Carmex lip salves with SPF 15 which was the princely sum of $2.

Altogether I spent $52 and $25 of that was on a bottle of antihistamines (so much cheaper than over here). I would have bought loads more but I had very limited luggage space as I wasn't checking my luggage in.

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.