Prepping for the yacht

Darlings, tomorrow I fly off to the Med to spend a week on a yacht. You have no idea how much I love typing that sentence. We are sailing round Ibiza, lounging, drinking cocktails and sunbathing. I cannot wait.

A serious sunning holiday requires prep to avoid the first day, oh my god my skin is white, scaly and scary, blues. I have been prepping for about a month now. Truth be told, I never stop prepping for summer. I adore summer, it's totally my season. I don't ever want to feel caught out by it. So I exfoliate all year round, I have pedicures throughout winter on the basis that it's grim enough and my feet may as well look pretty to me as I bathe, and I moisturise religiously.

But that's not enough when the prospect of wearing swimwear is staring down the barrel at you. So I bought this:

It's a Korean Magic Peeling mitt. Read about it (and then buy one) here. No messy scrubs necessary, just scrub away with this in the shower and smooth skin is yours. It is actually magic. I love it and it's £4. It was sold out for weeks so when it finally came back in stock I bought two. I am considering buying more (they don't last forever) so I am stocked up.

I've been laying on the Kiehls Creme De Corps which is the best body moisturiser I've ever used. And I have been applying my trusty Clarins self tan gel every other day.

I really rate this. Of all the self tans, it's the easiest to use, it gives a very natural colour and it only slightly smells. I invested in a St Tropez tanning mitt which has been the best fiver I've spent for some time. Why I didn't get one of these years ago, I shall never know.

Last week I bought Olay's Everyday Sunshine after Sali Hughes recommended it and I now have a light glow on my face. This is a bargain product, non-greasy, no biscuit smell and very subtle.

Today I has a Shellac manicure in a neon orange which I am very pleased with. It's all shiny and fabulous. I had a pedicure in the week in my new YSL colour I told you about.

I am exhausted, I totally need this holiday. It's hard work being fabulous isn't it? My husband has simply packed 11 t-shirts, two pairs of shorts, trunks and a fishing rod. I am definitely coming back as a man in my next life.

John Frieda Luxurious Volume 7 Day Volume Treatment

India Knight recommended this a while ago in her Sunday Times beauty column. It was sold out for ages in the various Boots I went into which intrigued me. When it finally was back in stock, I bought a bottle.

Now then, I don't have fine hair but I figured, neither does India. Her father is Indian and (sweeping generalisation coming up) Indians have sumptuous hair. Thick and lustrous. She raved about this saying it just made her hair better. Who doesn't want better hair?

I've held back from sharing my thoughts on this as I wanted to give it a good go. So three applications in (you're only meant to use it every 3-4 washes) and my verdict is ready. It works. It's a bit strange, it feels odd when you put it on, a bit like plastic. You leave it in for 3-5 mins (which is a bore when you are in the shower but I use that time to exfoliate properly) and then rinse out. When you first blow dry your hair, you see no difference whatsoever. But the next day, I definitely saw a more volume. It somehow makes my hair easier to manage while adding subtle volume.

It's £9.99 surely it's worth a shot at that price? It's not going to change your life like a Parlux hairdryer but I plan to keep using it.

A Saturday shop

I met an old friend for a spot of lunch and shopping yesterday. She loves make-up counters almost as much as I do. We had a very pleasant time in Richmond House of Fraser and I treated myself to two new pretties.

There is always the perfect eyeliner out there and I may have found it. Dior Pro Liner. Look at the shape of it. It glides on like a dream (on the back of my hand) and it's the perfect green. I tried to resist, I really did but I wanted it.

I did my nails on Friday with one of my YSL colours and remembered why I like it so much. It's such a doddle to apply. Summer is here and a new bright colour is important to survival, I am sure you'll all agree, so I splashed out on this lovely coral.

I managed to resist a new Diptyque candle in SpaceNK so actually I saved money.

Soap & Glory Ultimelt cleanser

The flannel cleansing method is sweeping the nation and with good reason. It removes make-up, exfoliates gently and is immensely satisfying. Our grandmothers were right about flannels! All this muslin cloth nonsense that Eve Lom and Liz Earle recommend is very annoying. I bought a job lot of white flannels from Amazon and bob is my uncle.

It's with sadness I report that Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish is not 100% right for me. I adore the scent but I have noticed it makes me a little red. It has a lot of essential oil in it. Much dejected, I spotted this in Boots and thought I'd try it. It's £10 and it's really rather marvellous. No discernible scent, incredibly gentle and pleasingly effective. I am impressed. I've been using it for about two weeks now and I think it's a winner. And what a bargain price. Recommended.

Sanctuary Cooling Shower Drench

I am an optimistic soul. I am of the belief that we must be due a hot summer and so as I was browsing Boots, waiting for my train at Waterloo station last week, this caught me eye. Cooling shower drench with watermelon and cucumber extract. It's like summer in a shower and only £7 so naturally I bought it and guess what? Today has been hot and sunny. You're welcome.

What's it like? Cooling, fresh and perfectly lovely for a morning shower to wake you up in the summer months. Delightful.

More Charlotte Tilbury

I decided to try some Charlotte make-up. I bought two products. Firstly, this blusher.

Cheek to Chic in Love Glow. I am disappointed, it's ok but it's quite hard to be subtle with this, it's full on PINK! I feel somewhat of a clown in it. And this is the thing about Charlotte Tilbury, she's like the antithesis of Bobbi Brown. She doesn't do subtle. It's more put your make-up on with a trowel. I read an interview in this month's Red magazine where she said her husband had never seen her without make-up on. That's just sad.

On a brighter note, I also got this:

A 'colour morphing eye shadow pencil' in Amber Haze. This is very nice, easy to work with, a pleasing colour and good lasting power. However, I think there are other eye pencils out there as good and don't cost £19. Sephora do a whole range of them in every colour you can imagine and they are about $12.

So I am underwhelmed. However, as I have said before, she has her marketing nailed. I bought the eye pencil in Leeds and had a lot of fun playing with everything. Her counters are really well thought out.

Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask

How many masks does a person need? What a ridiculous question and thankfully one I would never ask. I have a new mask love. And it's from a woman who I frankly have very little time for, Charlotte Tilbury*. When CT launched her make-up range the beauty internet world went crazy. Credit to her, she has great PR because she was everywhere, in every magazine. I dropped by the Selfridges counter at the time and came away distinctly underwhelmed. It was a zoo, the staff were doing their best but they were unable to cope with the demand and the packaging was so Avon calling.

Anyway, time moves on. Minds can be changed. I read an article about this mask on the pool which is becoming one of my favourite sites. A mask to tackle hangover face is the name of the article. I think you'll agree that I had to check it out. Yesterday, I was in London town having a delightful shop and went to Fenwicks where they have basically handed the entire front of shop over to CT. I was astounded. I've never seen such a huge real estate for beauty other than a standalone shop. It's full of art deco mirrors, studded lights and is completely over the top. It was not busy, the staff were very helpful (although yakked on to much and had SO much eye make-up on) and I bought myself a tube of this. £45. Not cheap.

I applied it last night and it is annoyingly, rather wonderful. Thin layer on cleansed skin, I relaxed in my bath, 10 minutes later, I massaged it in (which is what they tell you to do) and then rinsed it off. Poof! Younger, brighter, insanely soft skin was revealed. Plump! Fresh! Bright! Yep, I'm sold. It also smells lovely and does not require chiselling off your face.

I applied Kiehls Midnight Oil and woke up this morning expecting to look like my 12 year old niece. That didn't happen. Oh well.

*the hair, I can't get over her mane of hair. I don't know why it annoys me so much but it does.

Kiehls Line Reducing Concentrate

I was sent this from Kiehls. No, I have not reached the heights of being picked up by brands to review their products despite seven years of blogging. My dear friend and personal stylist Hayley was sent two sets of this along with the Midnight Recovery Concentrate. She sent one to me, bless her. Full size too. Oh yes.

This is basically polyfilla for your face, it's amazing stuff and feels like velvet. I am already addicted to it. You use it before your moisturiser. Is it a serum though? One is rather confused. How many layers of products can I pile on my face and who has the time? All questions that wiser people than me can answer. Nonetheless, I am loving this. I can only describe it as liquid velvet, soothing your skin and filling in lines. It's sadly only a temporary fix but it very much feels like it's doing good work.

A review of the Midnight Recovery Concentrate will be forthcoming.

Get your nails ready for Summer

I am so excited about this warmer weather we've had. Ok, it's colder today but last week I had sunglasses on and toes out! It was beyond thrilling.

Being a child of the 80s, I can't let go of my neon love and I treated myself to two Essie nail varnishes in bright (and I mean bright) neon colours.

The pink one is called Bottle Service and I am sporting it on my toes and fingers. It's so fresh and lovely and, yes, bright. And the orange is called Saturday Disco Fever so I don't think an explanation is required. Dark reds be gone until September. Wooooo!

Eucerin Hyaluron-Filler Concentrate

In January I talked about serums. Since then, I've become somewhat obsessed which is not unusual. I bought a Sephora own brand serum in New York which was ok but nothing special. Then I read an online review of this and decided to buy it last week.

Eucerin is not a sexy fun brand. It's a 'get the job done' brand. What I have discovered is I like serums that feel like they are hydrating the desert, not ones that sit like a plastic film on your skin. Separating these is not an easy task and required some dedicated research. Fortunately Sali Hughes beauty forum is full of women with opinions and they're not afraid to speak up, they've tried everything. This gets a lot of love and I can see why. It's excellent, it soothes as you apply it like it's actually filling up your skin's fine lines. I don't know why it comes in six dispensers instead of one big bottle but it makes me feel like I am in a laboratory. Read more about it here.

Clinique Even Better Foundation

I said I'd report back on this so here I am. For years I've avoided foundation, finding them too cakey, too heavy, too much like hard work, too try hard if you will. No more! I am loving this so much. I feel all Mad Men Joan, elegant, sophisticated, a proper lady. I'm not saying I am abandoning my beloved tinted moisturisers but this is a serious contender.

First of all, there is no getting away from the fact that this requires more effort to get right. You can't just slap it on in a half-sleepy zombie fashion and hope it will look ok. You have to use a primer (I am still adoring Dior Maximiser) and you have to delicately dab dots of it round your face and blend properly. It probably takes twice as long as a tinted moisturiser to apply but even then, we're still only talking about a minute or so of your time. I then use a foundation brush to give it a more flawless finish which is an extra 10 seconds work.

As someone who has also avoided powders for years, a foundation does require some powder around the nose area. The lightest of dustings does the job. Basically, years of habit are being thrown out of the window as a new routine comes home to roost.

It's worth it though because the result is glowy, even skin. A divine base for blusher and again, a change for me. I've always preferred cream blushers but somehow this look requires powder blusher so I am rediscovering long-lost loves. I am currently enjoying a Bobbi Brown favourite I bought a few years ago. It all looks far more polished. Better still, after 10 hours in the office, it's all still on my face. This is a revelation and worth the extra effort in the morning.

If you've not tried foundation for a while, I urge you to revisit. I think the formulas have improved no end and I am very much loving the result. This Clinique one is £26 which although isn't cheap, it's by no means expensive and it's very impressive.