Glossy Box

As a woman there is only one certainty every month and it ain't very nice! Wouldn't it be great if as well as spending the best part of a week feeling gross each month we also had something that we could genuinely get excited about?

Glossy Box is a genius idea that is guaranteed to inject a little bit of excitement and anticipation into your life. For £10 plus postage and packaging you get a pretty pink box each month that contains five brand new beauty products. They come in a mixture of minature and full sizes and invariably cost a lot more than £10!

I was very excited to get my box this month. It contained:

1. A Ciate nail polish worth £9 in a universal natural pink shade.

2. A large bottle of Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil worth £19.95

3. Some Nouveau strip lashes

4. Illamasqua eyeshadow worth £15.50

5. Some small perfume testers

There is something exciting about not knowing what's going to turn up each month and I was impressed to see that there were some genuinely expensive, quality products in my box.

This is the kind of thing that would make a great monthly and affordable gift for yourself or someone you love. If you want to know more here's a link to the Glossybox website:

http://glossybox.co.uk

Bourjois 10 Days Nail Enamel

The problem with nail polish is that it never lasts for as long as you want it to. My main problems arise from forgetting to wear rubber gloves when I wash up only to find that my perfectly manicured nails are ruined and washing my hair which invariably leads to chips!! Even without these water-based issues, nail polish rarely looks perfect for more than a few days and other than spending considerable amounts of money on 3 week manicures, there hasn't really been an answer.....until now!!

Bourjois have come up with 10 Days Nail Enamel which not only promises to strengthen your nails but also to last for 10 days (with the odd touch up!)

The polish goes on very easily which is down to a small, angled brush. I chose no 11 which is a very sexy and true red! It dried very quickly and looked great even after one coat. The other colours in the series are vibrant and fun and at £5.99 you could buy all of them for the price of a 3 week mani!

I've been wearing the polish for a good 6 days now and it's still looking good!! No chips yet and the only problem is that the tips have faded slightly. (This can easily be dealt with). I recommend a top coat when you use this polish which will gloss it up a bit!!

All in all, this product has been a long time coming and I think it's going to make our lives a lot easier!!

How to get a 50's hair do the simple way!!

I had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful Pixiwoo a month or so ago. Pixiwoo (if you haven't come across them) are sisters Nicola and Sam Chapman. They are incredibly good makeup artists who started giving their mates makeup tutorials by posting videos on Youtube. The rest is history. Their tutorials have become a hit worldwide and they have millions of viewers.

I am a massive fan of them...their videos are easy to follow and give great hints and tips and the girls themselves are totally down to earth and lovely.

I was particularly taken with this tutorial on how to get a great retro hair look really easily. I always want to create this look but never quite know how!! It's great if your hair is a bit greasy and needs a wash as Sam explains!

So here you go...Bonn Beauty introduces the fabulous Pixiwoo!!

Pure Package Gourmet Diet Delivery

I love cake, and chocolate and ice-cream and yes sometimes I go to the local Greasy Spoon and get a fry up after my show. I also eat a lot of good stuff but my biggest weakness in life is naughty food.

I lost about half a stone before my wedding which was instantly reinstated on Honeymoon when I couldn't resist eating everything that my all inclusive package had to offer.

The problem with putting on the half a stone again was that my gorgeous new jeans were so bloody tight last week that I felt faint every time I sat down and I saw a woman looking disapprovingly at my "muffin top" on the tube! In sheer panic I decided to try out a diet delivery programme in the hope that it would get me back on the right track. The one I chose is "Pure Package". It is London based and used by a plethora of celebrities when they want to get in shape.

The idea is that you get a cool bag delivered each night with all your meals and snacks for the next day. All the food is of a very high quality and the meals are creative and delicious. By the end of the day, you have eaten healthily and had your quota of all the necessary ingredients for a healthy, balanced diet.

I've been trialling the "weight loss" diet for the past three days and it has been amazing. Having all my meals and snacks sorted has been a total godsend. I haven't been snacking on chocolate like I usually would and it's been so good to get home and not have to worry about what to cook that night. I obviously haven't lost a lot of weight as I've only been doing it for a few days, but my stomach looks flatter and I feel healthy and energetic.

Here's an example of what I've eaten today:

Breakfast:

Granola, natural yoghurt and grapes

Mid-morning snack:

A pear and pecan nuts

Lunch:

Ginger beef and noodles

Afternoon snack:

Spiced peach compote

dinner:

pesto chicken, rice and green vegetables.

It's also recommended that you drink a litre and a half of water each day.

Lisa Snowdon does this diet for a week or so when she needs a detox and I know that if I was doing this for longer I would get really good results. There are also a whole load of other diets including a detox one and a post-baby diet.

Check out the details at http://www.purepackage.com/

Magical Mandara Spa

Last week was crazy crazy crazy!! I found myself working double shifts on Heart because of the riots and was feeling a bit stressed meaning that I wasn't getting enough sleep.

The one thing that kept me going was the fact that I had a treatment booked at the Mandara Spa at the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster on Friday. I had heard great things about the place and was hoping I would leave feeling like a new person.

I was booked in for the Mandara Spa Discovery package where "Age-old tradition combines with the finest of European skincare for a deliciously relaxing experience. Aroma Reflex Foot Ritual ~Balinese Massage ~ Elemis Taster Facial."

When I arrived I was led to the waiting room which I just loved. There were refreshments in abundance, every up to date magazine you could ever want, comfy sofas and relaxing music that almost lulled me to sleep before the treatment actually began.

My therapist for the next one and a half hours was the lovely Aline who led me into one of the most comfy and atmospheric treatment rooms I have ever been in. I was given a cosy dressing gown and slippers to change in to and sat back in a sofa as I was treated to a Balinese foot ritual. This involved having my feet placed in a warm bowl of water filled with rose petals and a beautiful aromatherapy oil (which I had chosen in advance). My feet were massaged and pumiced and I could already feel myself unwinding.

Following this gorgeous experience I was led to the treatment bed where I had one of the best massages I've ever had in my life. Aline exerted just the right amount of pressure and it just went on and on. My whole body felt like it was floating!

Finally I was given the mini facial (which went on for far longer than most) and felt even more relaxed as Aline rubbed and scrubbed my face with a variety of great smelling Elemis products.

I left the spa feeling relaxed, glowing and really soft from the gorgeous products that they use.

The great thing about the spa is that everything is based on Balinese traditions and Aline explained to me that a beautician from Bali teaches every therapist in the place exactly how to do the treatments. The outcome is something just a little bit different to your usual spa experience. The whole thing felt a bit spiritual and magical to be honest.

The price for the Discovery treatment is £125. I recommend this for anyone who is feeling very stressed and needs a real treat. Check out all the details here: http://www.mandaraspa.com/

Long Hair and Ghastly Looters

Almost every woman who gets married decides to grow their hair (or so my hairdresser tells me). It's the weirdest thing. You could be renowned for your elfin crop for years and years but suddenly you have an overwhelming desire to become Rapunzel.

After having had a cheeky bob literally forever I also got sucked into the "I need long hair" club about a year before my wedding and I set about finding a miracle product to help me in my search for long, luscious tresses.

The product that I found was expensive and contained caviar which I refuse to put near my mouth.(Rest assured you won't smell fishy when you use it)! It also made my hair go greasy after a day! However, it really did make my hair grow very long very quickly. It is called Alterna Caviar and I recommend the Seasilk Moisture range. It is around £35 for the shampoo and conditioner and you can get them from a number of salons as well as online. http://fragrancedirect.co.uk are one of a number of stockists! Try it out and let me know how you get on!

May I add at this point that none of the rioters that I have seen named and shamed in the papers recently had good hair or skin. Perhaps they should swap looting, violence and stealing ghastly trainers for a good old fashioned hair wash, scrub of the face and an early night!

Awful Sofas and Peeling Nails

I am well and truly married and I know that because my heart skips a beat with excitement every time I think about my decorating plans for my lounge. I've gone into nesting mode and this was unthinkable a few years ago!

Anyway, something that really hit me during a sofa shopping spree on Saturday was how many awful sofas exist. Go to Mulberry and the chances are that you'll like most of the handbags and want pretty much all of them. Go to a sofa shop and you'll probably spend most of your time looking round in amazement at how unstylish, uncomfortable and all round offensive most of the sofas are.

I was in one particularly awful shop and was struck that most of the sofas were quite plainly meant for the older generation. This is no offence to my Grandma or anything, but I know that a lot of older people are attracted to pale, floral designs and also need sofas with straight backs etc.

The other thing that struck me was the unbelievable amount of stairs in the place. I mean for a shop that is meant to be serving old people, what are they thinking?? I made the comment to my husband and we decided that by the time they had made it up all the stairs the customers were probably so knackered that they collapsed into a sofa, paid for it and then asked to be delivered home with it!!

By the end of the morning we were both knackered and stumbled into IKEA (my worst place in the world...it's a haven for arguing couples) and half-heartedly plonked ourselves on a half decent sofa and decided that we'd probably take it. (We're still undecided).

After all those drab colours and stairs I felt the need to inject some colour in my life and rushed to Carnaby Street for a manicure at Cowshed. I really like the vibe in the place. There's a communal table where you can wait, sip on tea and discuss your chosen nail colour (and other such things) with friends or strangers.

For the actual mani there's no sitting down. You lie back on an incredibly cosy bed and relax while having your hands pampered and preened.

For a while I've had problems with my thumb nails...they keep peeling! My manicurist said that there are two ways to deal with this problem. The first is regular buffing to smooth them and the second is regular applications of cuticle oil which strengthens them. (If only sofa shopping was so simple).

I opted for bright, neon pink polish which instantly made me feel summery and cheerful. (Until I chipped one of them on the way out).

If you're looking for a great cuticle oil then I highly recommend OPI Avoplex. My nails always grow beautifully when I use it.

If you're looking for a nice sofa then I can't recommend anything but email me and I'll tell you where NOT to get one!!

Hedgehogs and Factor 15

Apart from being obsessed with beauty I am also a great lover of animals.

I have had all sorts of pretty commonplace pets in my life including numerous hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs and budgies. I have always wanted a dog!

A couple of years ago my husband phoned me all excited and said that he had found the perfect pet for me (basically to stop me going on about wanting a dog). Three hours later he arrived home with a hissing creature in a box and so my life with Hetty Wainthropp the African Pygmy Hedgehog began.

Hetty is one of the weirdest animals I have ever known. She hisses, licks people and produces a weird foam which she then puts all over her spikes, she runs for 8 hours a night on a wheel and has the bowel control of a geriatric tortoise.

Anyway, we recently found out that Hetty is in fact a boy. This was revealed when she/he started mating with the carpet and what we thought was her bellybutton turned out to be something completely different.

I have no idea what to do about this little "issue" and any advice would be much appreciated.

Anyway, while I sort out my hedgehog's relationship issues I thought that I would also share with you my newest love. It comes in the shape of a very simple white bottle of Palmers Cocoa Butter with added Factor 15. I don't like the smell of the usual Palmers but for some reason this one is more creme brulee than sickly sweet chocolate. It obviously has the added benefit that it gives you protection from the sun and reduces scars and marks.

Here's a picture of Hetty. xx

The Ultimate Mascara Continued....

I honestly think that the most important part of any makeup bag is mascara! I had a long chat with Ruby Hammer about the eternal mission to find the perfect one and she said that like most women she is still searching for the perfect product. It makes me feel better to know that even the best makeup artists in the world share my mascara challenges!

We obviously all have different lash needs and what works on your best friend may do absolutely nothing for you, but some mascaras are so good that they deserve a mention and a try.


MAC Haute and Naughty Lash:
This is my mascara of choice at the moment and I absolutely love it. It is a day and night mascara in-one with a thick brush making up the main body of the mascara and a thinner once cleverly added at the top. I tend to stick to the thicker brush and it has the most amazing effect on my lashes. They look long, thick and not too clumpy. I thoroughly recommend the thick brush for dramatic lashes and the other one for a natural daytime look.

L'Oreal Double Extension Beauty Tubes Technology
Sarah Brock recommends this for people with damaged lashes as the "beauty tubes" extend the lashes by literally attaching themselves to your natural ones, making you look like you're wearing the most natural falsies ever.

Basically this mascara has two ends. First of all you apply a white substance containing the tubes and then you go over them with mascara. Your lashes will look really long and natural. This is notfor you if you like a really heavy look though.

Taking this mascara off is really easy too. You literally use hot water and the tubes fall off. A great product!!

As ever, let me know which mascaras you love and why! The search continues!!