UP YOURS AND LIPSTICK OFF!

I just found out from a friend who has moved to China that my little old beauty blog is banned, blocked and can’t be accessed. After my initial shock wore off I was left feeling deliciously subversive and dangerous. My husband also said he thought I was ‘bad ass’.

As the streets of Iran burn and people march for the right to be heard waves of pride and gratitude race through me, as quite frankly we are all so lucky to express ourselves in anyway we see fit.

Blocking a beauty site may seem trivial on the surface but I don’t know of any period of history or culture where beauty has not been a dominant form of self -expression. Native Americans getting ready to open up a can of whoop ass, first ritualistically applied war paint. Punks and new romantics trapped in an oppressive Thatcherite Britain, screamed at their society using their make up and music. The 60s and 70s saw the Black power movement where hair straightening chemical relaxers were thrown out in favour of the afro, a strong political statement demanding civil rights and was a sign of the embrace and acceptance of the beauty of black ethnicity.

A lipstick bullet isn’t called a lipstick bullet for nothing. So every time you slick on your lip gloss, or a man applies guy liner, or you sport a smoky eye, you are saying Up yours and Lipstick off to the suffocation of self-expression, which is the most beautiful thing of all.

BEAUTY CRUSH PART DEUX

Many of you guys have been saying how much you too love my beauty crush First Lady of Cameroon Chantal Biya. She blows away all the boring Credit Crunch blues and I often sit and wonder that her hair along, soaks up the GDP of a small nation all by itself. Here she is in all her Maria Antoinette splendour meeting the Pope in a very subtle tribute to the church. Chantal Biya- don't you dare go changing we love you!

DERMALOGICA SWAP SHOP

I am a huge Dermalogica fan. When I see I am coming to the end of a product, I get flustered, my heart starts pounding and panic sets in- all signs of a true addict. I love their Active Moist moisturiser as it’s not full of fragrance and dyes and always leaves my combination skin feeling soft, glowing and spot free. I also love their Special Cleansing Gel, as it’s soap free and doesn’t strip the skin and chills me out with calming lavender and balm mint extract. The Antioxidant Hydramist is also fabulous. It’s not a toner but is a hydrating spray, which is spritzed onto the skin after cleansing. Pea extract helps firm the skin and a cocktail of anti oxidant and skin brightening white tea and liquorice leaves skin looking healthy and fresh. Every bathroom cupboard needs to have a Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque, which is packed full of anti oxidant vitamin A,C,E as well as soothing oat kernel. This mask comes in handy when I get a little over enthusiastic with a muslin cloth and strip off a layer of skin- not a good look.

As well as being one of my favourite skincare brands and sorting out my skin, Dermalogica are now sorting out my wardrobe. At the Dermalogica store in Kensington, 8 Lancer Square, they will be holding Summer clothes Swap parties on the 25th June, 9th July and 2nd July- call 0800 345 7546 to book. The swap parties are in association with Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation’s Swapping for Good Campaign. All you have to do is bring along 4 or more high quality clothes (leave the Primani at home) leave behind one piece and swap the rest for a credit crunch fashion blow out.

GLAMOUR AWARDS

On Tuesday I was lucky enough to be invited to the Glamour awards by Aussie hair care. Along with a few other fun journalists we were all treated like VIPS. We were whisked to the Mayfair hotel penthouse to a style suite beforehand, where friend of Aussie Liz Taw waved her magic beauty wand.

The party was jam packed with wall to wall celebrities such as Katy Perry, Adele, Estelle, Kylie, Alan Carr, Jack Black, Chuck Bass off Gossip Girl, Jo Wood, Mark Ronson, Dizzie Rascal and Ferne Cotton to name a few. The whole night felt as if I had been poured into the pages of US Weekly magazine.

Highlights from the star studded night included Jack Black and James Corden singing and rapping Kanye West’s ‘Gold Digger’, James Corden and Estelle singing ‘American Boy’ and a host of other mind boggling and fabulous things.

The sun was shining that day but when night fell, the stars were all out in full force!!!!!

SCREEN GODDESS

In the hey day of Hollywood any screen goddess worth her salt knew the ultimate beauty secret for smooth skin and soft, healthy hair- a silk pillowcase!

Silk pillowcases don’t dry out skin and hair like cotton. You also don’t get those scary creases in your face, which take longer and longer to disappear the older you get. Apart from being fabulous, decadent and a little bit naughty, silk is also very good for those with eczema and dry skin. Silk also helps reduce bedhead and brittle hair as there is no friction as you toss and turn at night.

I have always wrapped my hair in silk scarves for years- when my husband first saw me all wrapped up, he said I looked like the old woman from the Tom and Jerry cartoons but I didn’t care- love me, love my head scarf.

If you want to go the way of the screen goddess, try the 100% pure silk pillowcases from www.silksleep.com, which come in 3 colours ivory, icy blue and chocolate, which will suit any boudoir and make you ready for your close up.