Ateh Jewel Beauty Insider

JO MALONE LONDON APPOINTS CHARLOTTE STOCKDALE AS STYLE EDITOR

2012-01-16T02:31:00.004Z

I love me some Jo Malone London. This very British beauty brand is both sensorial and luxurious. What the hell did people do before posh candles? Incense sticks don’t quite hit the stop, do they? I don’t know how it happens but somewhere in your 20s or 30s you begin to really care about candles and interiors as well as recipes, cushions and you start watching property porn shows and start fantastising about owning a farm house in the Cotswolds for lost weekends in the country filled with Jo Malone products.

I love the fact you can be dipped from head to toe and have all your senses tickled by the world of Jo Malone with body, skincare and fragrance. I’m obsessed with their new Vitamin E Moisturising Day Crème SPF 15, £50, www.jomalone.co.uk, as it’s nourishing without being too heavy and is a great make up base with a velvety finish.

As one of my favourite beauty brands they have combined some of my two loves of beauty and style with the appointment of Charlotte Stockdale, as their Style Editor. Charlotte is the ultimate cool kid, as fashion director of I-D Magazine and works with the likes of Mario Testino and consults for Karl ‘call me Monsieur Fashion’ Lagerfeld. Stockdale’s new role will be to help cultivate the brand’s image, contributing to campaigns and she will also act as a curator of collaborations sniffing out fresh new British talent. Fabulous.

I HEART RIMMEL

2011-10-20T09:55:00.000+01:00

I’m having a Rimmel moment. I have always had happy Rimmel beauty memories. I remember as a teenager I bought the iconic Heather Shimmer lipstick I don’t think it looked great on me, I was just thrilled it had enough pigment to actually show up on my skin! Those were the days when everything looked like ash on me because of poor pigments.

Last month during fashion week they had the best backstage survival kit, filled with goodies such as their new Glam’Eyes Eyeshadows and the New Kate Collection lipsticks, £5.49, www.boots.com. I am completely in love with the new Kate collection, which is a delicious new range of 7 shades of lipsticks by the icon herself La Moss. This is a big year for Rimmel and Kate Moss as well as getting married this year (Bless!) it’s been 10 years since these 2 very British institutions hooked up. Last month there was a bit of a do at Claridges in the decadent, sumptuous and iconic art deco ballroom. Kate looked amazing, her skin was flawless and she was all glowy. She actually looks better in the flesh than in pictures if you can believe it- that girl has won the genetic and cool lottery! Kate’s magic has rubbed off onto this new line. The fashion forward shades are packed full of pigment and have great textures and punch. They are housed in a sleek matte black packaging and are elegantly numbered. I love number 1 for a sexy classic red and number 8 for a fleshy nude lip, which looks really good on darker skin tones as well. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't wash me out it was really sexy and has a mod feel. I also love the number 4 shade for a wearable semi-matte vampy purple/plum. I salute you Rimmel!

CHANEL AT HARRODS

2011-09-09T01:14:00.002+01:00

This week started off with a bang. I was more than a little overexcited to be invited to the top secret unveiling of Chanel at Harrods. Now I’m a massive Chanel fan and when I say fan- I mean devotee. I love all things Chanel, it’s my spiritual label. Everybody has a spiritual label- one designer house, which makes you go a bit silly and weak in the knees and makes you eat beans on toast for a month when you're a student and broke because you just had to have that bag/shoes/dress (delete as applicable). Some of my friends love Mulberry, Hermes, YSL, and Prada but for me- oh for me it has always been sweet, sweet Chanel. The chic black and white, the pearls, the quilting, the lady like elegance with edge- Oh that lady Coco and her glorious discipline Mr Lagerfeld are right up my street when it comes to what I find beautiful and fabulous.

For 3 weeks only Harrods have also devoted themselves to all things Chanel, as the entire Brompton Road façade has been Chanel-ed, inspired by Lagerfeld's 2011/2012 A/W collection, which is all gothic, sexy fairy tales meets surrealism (love it). There's also a pop up Ephemeral boutique on the ground floor by the Hans Road entrance featuring bags, shoes, costume jewellery and soon to be collectors items, I’m sure- green Harrods/ Chanel bags (a fantastic love child of these two most iconic brands). Another fun Chanel zone is the installation ‘Une Promenade’ on the third floor, which immerses you in the Chanel world. I enjoyed watching the videos of how the classic 2.55 bags are handmade. I love craftmenship and quality, which each bag oozes.

When it comes to beauty Chanel make up packs a punch and is full of pigment, which looks good on all skintone- no bull! Head down to the Ephemeral beauty boutique on the ground floor, which showcases the ‘Knightsbridge Collection’, created by Peter Philips, Creative Director of CHANEL make-up. The exclusive range for Harrods boasts the coolest Knightsbridge inspired names such as the Brompton Road palette and corally pinkish Belgravia lipstick, which is fab. I also had a wicked time hanging out with celebrity make up artist Mary Greenwell and Sophy Robson, the cool kid nail expert who can always been seen backstage at fashion week. Sophy gave me a sexy mani in this season’s latest must have colour- Peridot. It’s a shimmering blinging golden, greeny metallic, which feels alive as it changes colour in the light. You can see me modeling the mani in my 'America’s Next Top Model' inspired photoshoot above (I tried to find my light and smize- that’s smile with my eyes for those of you that don't watch the goddess- who is Tyra Banks) in the Chanel photo booth, which can be found at their new make up counter. I was totally overwhelmed and excited by seeing so much Chanel and if you too want to put a spring in your step and a dent in your wallet, get yourself down to Harrods to have fun in this most chic Chanel wonderland.

MARIE CLAIRE AND DOVE'S HAIR REHAB STARRING MOI

2011-08-26T15:57:00.000+01:00

Hi guys,

Please click on the links below and check out my starring turn as Dove's Beauty Expert in their Hair Rehab series for Marie Claire!

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/dove-hair-rehab/hairdiagnosis/529054/colour-holic.html

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/dove-hair-rehab/hairdiagnosis/529053/product-fanatic.html

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/dove-hair-rehab/hairdiagnosis/529056/attention-deficit-hair-disorder.html

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/dove-hair-rehab/hairdiagnosis/529078/obsessive-compulsive-back-comber.html

MARIE CLAIRE AND DOVE'S HAIR REHAB STARRING MOI

2011-08-25T12:36:00.000+01:00

Ok people are you ready for it - are you ready for my close up? Well here it is a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be asked by Dove to be a Beauty Expert in their series of films called Hair Rehab on Marie Claire's fab website helping real women sort out their hair dramas.

I love talking beauty with women it doesn't matter who you are and where you come from Beauty is a universal language all women speak. Back in the day after I graduated from university I used to work on counter as a beauty consultant. I used to work in Harrods, Selfridges, Dickins and Jones (I told you it was back in the day) and Harvey Nichols. It was fantastic and I really enjoyed it, as I felt like I was a bartender listening to woman's tales of woe and triumph, as I dished out advice and a lipgloss on the rocks. Women would walk up to the counter asking for make up as armour or a treat as they had a big corporate meeting they wanted to look glam for, had received a promotion or wanted a diva esque F*** you red lipstick, as they had to give back keys and have a last showdown with a cheating boyfriend. That's what I love about the Beauty industry and products it's emotional and taps into something quite primal and is not just about looking pretty.

So when I was asked to do filming with Dove for their Hair Rehab series I was thrilled and had a blast chatting all day to these dynamic cool women. I tried not to get too Sunset Boulevard when they shouted action but now my friends and family are only allowed to talk to me with a spotlight in their hands (with no eye contact I don't like people in my eye line while I'm in the moment or I'll get Christian Bale on their asses) while filming me on their iphones. Too much? Anyway, check out the films below!

2011-08-25T12:32:00.001+01:00

BOBBI BROWN HIGH SHIMMER LIP GLOSS

2011-08-16T18:09:00.002+01:00

When you think of Bobbi Brown you don't usually think of bling as she's the queen of the natural make under- you but only better. However, with the new High Shimmer Lip Gloss, £17, www.bobbibrown.co.uk, she's bring us a touch of grown up bling Bobbi stylee. I love the new range with it's new tapered applicator and the lip colours are non-sticky with a sexy mix of fine pearls and clear pigments, which means the colours stay true, packed full of colour and look fab on all skin tones. The multi tasking lip glosses not only make you look fantastic but they are also nourishing as they're laced with vitamin C and vitamin E. I'm loving the shades Midnight Velvet, Plum Gold and Hot (in my mind I like to think Bobbi named that one after me).

GRAZIA AND ESTEE LAUDER'S MODERN MERCURY COLLECTION

2011-08-16T17:47:00.002+01:00

As you all know Tom Pecheux Estee Lauder's Creative Makeup Director is one of my beauty heroes. He is kind, directional, cultured, fun and very talented. He has knocked it out of the park yet again with his latest Pure Color Modern Mercury collection. Tom says he was influenced by the architecture of the New York skyline and the collection boasts exciting new texture- get your hands on the new Pure Color Illuminationg Powder Gelee, £28, www.esteelauder.co.uk, which is the beauty love child of a liquid, powder and gel and the powder texture gives a sort of wet look shimmering glow and can be used wet or dry.

Check out the film below, which my company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com, had the pleasure of producing for Grazia. Check out Grazia's fabulous Beauty Editor Lauren Murdoch Smith interviewing the man himself about the collection!

KIM KARDASHIAN TAKES LONDON

2011-07-06T22:29:00.009+01:00

OMG to say I am a Kardashian fan is a complete understatement. Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Khloe and Lamar are all like Mother's Milk to me.

So when we got the opportunity to film with the ridiculously beautiful and super sweet Kim Kardashian herself as she launched her new UK fragrance Kim Kardashian, prices start from £22.95 for 30ml Eau de Parfum, available nationwide, at the Dorchester Hotel in London and also her PA on Oxford Street, we at my Beauty and Fashion filming company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com jumped at the chance.

Just like Kim, her new fragrance packs a feminine, sensual and sensory wallop. The fragrance is straight up my street with femme fatale notes of Jasmine, Tuberose, Gardenia and warming Tonka bean. The fragrance is a pure reflection of Kim, as like her a it's also all about family. The three main notes, were inspired by her late father's love of Gardenia, her momager mother Kris Jenner's love of Tuberose and Kim's favourite Jasmine note.

This totally feminine debut fragrance is encased in a deep purple glass flacon with pink pearl writing and is just screaming out to adorn any woman's dressing table (if only Kim's 20.5 carat engagement ring came with it! I've had a look at it and it's a big'un).

Do check out the film below of Kim 'Taking London'. Her fans went nuts and I must admit I was one of them!

CHANNEL 4'S KATIE: MY BEAUTIFUL FRIENDS

2011-03-28T10:59:00.003+01:00

I was really moved like everyone by Katie Piper’s strength and guts at battling both her emotional and physical scars, after her horrific acid attack at the hands of her ex boyfriend.

Last week, I watched Channel 4’s Katie: My Beautiful Friends, a new 4 part series on Katie’s efforts at setting up a support network for others dealing with disfigurement, which was incredibly inspiring. In our society how we look determines so much about how we feel about ourselves and can dramatically affect our self-esteem. What’s even more interesting is even if you are at peace with what you see in the mirror- other people’s reactions can shape our personalities and self-esteem. This documentary is really important, as we can all judge people at face value and don’t really see the real people behind their condition and appearance.

I learnt a very important life lesson when I was 19. I was in university walking to a café when the most beautiful man I had ever seen was walking along the road (well second most beautiful after my husband). Men, women and dogs all literally stopped to stare at this heavenly creature. Immediately (I think it’s human nature) I started transferring all these positive emotions and thoughts onto him and thought, “oh he must be such a nice man, I bet he loves animals and babies and works for the Peace Corps”. Then suddenly he bent down to tie his shoelace and I saw poking out from under his coat, a dead blood splattered pigeon. Yes, you read that right- a dead bloody pigeon WTF, which he was secretly caressing. Everything I thought went out the window and I said to myself,” Oh my God what a psycho, what’s that about. Is he on crack on something?" I crossed the road and ran in the opposite direction. The point is I had assumed very wrongly all these things about him based on his appearance and as soon as I saw the bird, I looked at his face again and the volume on his choir boy looks were dramatically turned down. I said there and then let that be a lesson to you Ateh, beauty shines through us all from within and don’t ever again judge a book by it’s cover- get to know the real person inside to see real beauty that will never age or fade.

"Watch the first episode here [link to http://www.channel4.com/programmes/katie-my-beautiful-friends ]on C4 on demand and tune into the next episodes every Monday at 9pm on C4”.

AVEDA LIGHT THE WAY CANDLE 2011 EARTH MONTH

2011-03-17T22:36:00.001Z

I love beauty companies with a conscious. We live in very unsettling times (my heart and prayers especially go out to the people of Japan at this time) and it's good to know as a beauty consumer you can give a little something back. With this in mind, Aveda has launched their fabulous limited edition Light the Way Candle, £16 for Earth Month again this year. During Earth Month this April, to raise awareness and funds for clean water around the world, which shamefully millions of people still do not have safe access to- £12.80 per candle sold in the UK will go the the Global Greengrants Fund (GGF).

This clean burning soy wax candle has stress relieving benefits and 100% certified organic essential oils with French lavender, lavandin and clary sage sourced from the Diois region of Northern Provence, France. Go on, do something good for yourself, the Earth and the lives of some of the world's poorest communities by buying one this April.

LFW CHRISTOPHER KANE A/W 11 PRODUCED BY COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

2011-02-24T15:34:00.003Z

Hi guys! Please check out the film I directed backstage at Christopher Kane A/W 11 and my company Couture Communications produced, which features on Instyle.co.uk! It was so much fun going backstage and the make up look created by Chantecaille was amazing. It was really chic and flattered all skin tones. Check it out!

DAY 4 LFW A/W 11 PRODUCED BY COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS FOR GRAZIA

2011-02-24T15:25:00.000Z

DAY 3 LFW A/W 11 PRODUCED BY COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS FOR GRAZIA

2011-02-24T15:24:00.000Z

DAY 2 @ LFW Produced by COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS for GRAZIA

2011-02-22T00:02:00.000Z

DAY 1 LFW GRAZIA PRODUCED BY COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

2011-02-20T22:41:00.001Z

LFW A/W 11 DAY 1 WITH GRAZIA AND COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

2011-02-20T22:40:00.000Z

It’s that time of year again people…. it’s London Fashion Week A/W 11- have it! I was backstage again filming with my Fashion and Beauty Production Company COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS, www.couturecommunications.com, with the bubbly and fierce Lauren Murdoch Smith, Associate Beauty Editor for Grazia filming for Grazia Daily. The first show of the day was at Louise Gray at the On/Off Studios on Mercer Street. There wasn’t enough room to swing a cat backstage and the whirl of the hairdryers and cramped quarters ramped up the diva level to 11 for the fashion types buzzing about. I had to keep reminding myself as I dodged through waving arms and shrieks that people are fighting for their democratic rights in the Middle East and at the end of the day it’s just fashion baby.

The beauty looks backstage at Louise Gray was fabulous with MAC make up artist James O’ Reily using primary colour circus-esque dots painted onto the girls faces. To translate the look without looking like a nutter, try using a primary colour liner in blue or yellow as a liner in the corner of the eye. The hair was created by the delicious Luke Hersheson (so polite and talented) and referenced the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the 80s with a masculine edge – genius. Then it was to quote Jay-Z…..onto the next one…..at House of Holland.

All beauty girls love Henry and his show as he really gets beauty. Beauty can be treated like a bit of a bothersome kid sister you’ve been forced to hang out with by your parents- by the fashion crowd. However, our Henry loves a hair, make up and nail look- bless him and it showed backstage. The inspiration for the show was tweed and granny but with a modern twist. Henry’s collection felt more sophisticated and he said it’s because he designs for his friends and they are all growing up and going to cocktail parties.

MAC’s Lucia Pica knocked it out the park with a juicy glossed up raspberry cherry lip using MAC’s Ruby Woo lipstick custom blended. Adam Reed for Babylis lightly tonged the hair and then swept it up into a dreamy and romantic ponytail, while nail guru Sophy Robson gave the girls a twisted French manicure with some girls sporting neon orange tips, navy tips and others with tiger strips- Grrrrrrrr.

The last show of the day for me was Jonathan Saunders, which referenced the 1930s/40s yet had a futuristic feel, which had a touch of a Blade Runner vibe to me. The make up look created by MAC’s Lucia Pieroni. Cheekbones were teased and chiselled with MAC’s Tenderling and Bone Beige. The wash of MAC’s Groundwork Paint pot- a tobacco brown was swept over the eye with a layer of MAC’s lipglass slathered on top, which does what it says on the tin giving the eye a glass like quality.

The hair was created by Paul Hanlon for Fekkai and he created a look every woman loves- sleek, sexy yet coquettish ballet hair…lovely. Extensions were added for a super long, groomed blunt cut ponytail and slicked into submission with hair spray blasted dry into the hair. I wanted to run home and do the look on my own hair, which is always a good sign in my book as it’s totally covetable yet achievable hair. My feet are throbbing, I need a cup of tea and a lay down before having it large again tomorrow. See you backstage Manana.

BOBBI BROWN RICH LIP COLOR

2011-02-09T23:21:00.000Z

As you all know I'm just a little obsessed with Bobbi Brown (the make up guru not Whitney's bad boy ex). While doing a phone interview with the lady herself while in a broom cupboard in a posh Marco Pierre White restaurant (it's a long story), I gushed embarrassingly all over her. Like some kind of make up stalker I told her how much I appreciated she always made me feel included and fabulous when rocking up to her beauty counter back in the day, when most other cosmetics companies idea of a darker shade was something Cameron Diaz would wear. Bobbi's done it again with the new Rich Lip Color range, £16, available nationwide from the 1st March, which is quite delicious and has an extensive 12 shades, which really does suit every skin tone- no bull.

This lippie is for a new generation of ladee as it's light weight, packed full of pigment and creamy, leaving lips feeling conditioned instead of like you've applied a layer of paint stripper to them. The lipstick uses clever technology with a colourless base so the formula is totally colour saturated. I love the Plum rose and goth Crimson shades (which look fab on darker skin tones) but I also tried the Sweet Nectar shade, which I wouldn't usually go for but I was pleasantly surprised that it looked really fresh on my darker skin tone and brightened up my face making me feel all Spring like. I think the lipsticks would also make really good cream blushers as well- have a go dabbing them on the apples of your cheeks for a sheer wash of colour. I also love the packaging, which is matte black and feels a bit gangster ( I do love matte black cars especially pimped out Range Rovers I'm a bit of a boy like that).

Have a go for yourself and enjoy!

NICKI MINAJ- NEW GENERATION OF POWER WOMAN

2010-12-31T19:53:00.000Z

Just when you thought Madonna was the queen of outrage and scandal and tit flashing, her avant garde heir apparent manifested herself from Stefani Germanotta into Lady Gaga. Then just like that Madonna seems a little tame compared to the meat dress wearing new queen of pop but wait for it …….. a new ingénue has rocked up on the scene and is giving Lady Gaga a good run for her money in the form of Nicki Minaj, a Trinidian America hip hop singer. I do love her and not just because she a Trini like me but I also love her gravity defying derriere, which makes JLO dare I say look like a flat assed chica. Nicki has the attitude and look of the love child of Grace Jones and Lady Gaga. Thank God we live in a world that allows women to reinvent and express themselves and push the envelope on what is sexy and outrageous. I think it’s very democratic and helps women from everywhere, especially those from a stale and suffocating environment find their place on the sliding scale from being as conservative as the Queen to the likes of Nicki and Lady Gaga.

Remember that in the Victorian age, you would have been considered a bit of a slapper for flashing your ankles. I take my hat off to the ladies who did because without a bit of ankle flashing what type of world would be living in today? The world needs ankle flashers, even if you don’t want to flash your own but the option is always nice.

However, I do sometimes wonder if the likes of Lady Gaga and Nicki Mianj are the wicked brainchild of some portly middle aged men in a music boardroom somewhere -who are in fact pulling the strings on their meat and lobster jumpsuits. They both feel very different compared to Madonna and Grace Jones who have evolved their images and sense of self very organically over their careers, which has spanned decades. Or is it just that Gaga and Nicki are 21^st century canny performing arts school brats, who can play the game and are taking advantage of the path that has been beaten and head butted down by the likes of Madonna, Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper and Bette Midler? Lady Gaga went to New York’s Tisch School of the Arts and Nicki Mianj is a graduate of New York’s LaGuardia School for Music and Performing Arts whose famous alumni include Kelis, Eartha Kitt, Jennifer Aniston, Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and Adrien Brody. Apparently Nicki played the clarinet at school it’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?

Whatever the case may be- I likey and want the new generation of women being forged to be brave, bold and embrace their creativity.

P.S. I love the barb wire booty protector Nicki is sporting in the photo above, which was a present given to her on a TV show so people would stop groping her- I would love one for my giant ta- ta s.

GWYNETH PALTROW: PILLOW FACE?

2010-12-14T11:47:00.000Z

Oh Gwyneth love, what have you done? While basking in her glory collecting her Hollywood Star of Fame the other day Gwyneth, 38 looked shall we say slightly Pillow Faced like she had (allegedly) hit the botox and fillers a little too hard.

Gwyneth babe, I know it must be frustrating that you have 20 something year old hotties like Scarlett Johansson, all up in your grill but really turning to the pillow face is sooooo aging. Everyone can see you have had a little something done and it screams paranoia and an air like you really care about those 20 year old bitches trying to take your movie star crown. You know what, as Tyra Banks once said on America's Next Top Model, "I've done my starving". Yes Gwyneth you have been on a diet since you were probably 15 and you have even confessed you have early osteoporosis (probably caused by this extreme lifestyle) but you have 2 kids, a happy marriage and your star, the ultimate Hollywood stamp of approval- let it go. I think this picture does symbolise what a lot of women in their late 30s and 40s go through.

As a women you will have to give up your hot sex kitten crown at some time and pass it on either to the Scarletts of this world or your teenage daughter- but it will happen. All you have to do is go to Topshop on a Saturday to see mother's who should know better changing side by side with their teenage hot daughters competing and struggling to get into that ra ra skirt and skinny leggings while silently whispering to themselves, "I've still got it, I've still got it".

Women really can have it all but just not at the same time- trying to do so will drive you crazy. Enjoy your hot 20s, your career driven 30s, your mama years and your powerful 40s and 50s and the wisdom and peace of your 60s and 70s. You can be sensual and sexy at any age like Monica Bellucci (46) but in no way is she trying to be sexy like her 21 year old self. It's just naff and try hard. Gwyneth ditch the botox and fillers do a Dannii Minogue, the woman has never looked more beautiful because she is literally glowing from the inside out with the happiness, contentment and joy her new life and baby has given her and that is the ultimate anti - aging secret.

ESTEE LAUDER SIGN NEW GLOBAL FACE PUERTO RICAN BEAUTY JOAN SMALLS

2010-12-10T12:43:00.003Z

To say Estee Lauder is on fire at the moment is a bit of an understatement - they are a burning furnace of cool! Last night I was lucky enough to meet one of my beauty heroes Tom Pecheux, Estee Lauder's Creative Director of Make up (more on that later- the man is a genius and complete sweetie and needs his own post) and witnessed their new lip and nail collections, which quite frankly was a bit mind blowing with the explosion of colour and edge (2 words not readily associated with Estee Lauder but from now on they mosdef are).

If meeting Tom wasn't enough, I politely stalked him back in the day for Sunday Times Style and he was so lovely and undivaish he was a delight to interview, even though he really didn't know who the hell I was and probably thought how did this girl get my home number- is she watching me now as we're chatting? Estee Lauder has added some flavour and diversity by signing a new Global Face with Puerto Rican model Joan Smalls. I remember almost 10 years ago when Estee Lauder signed Liya Kebede - I almost cried. However, even with such a commercial stamp of approval as Estee lauder, Liya was still a hard sell to pitch to titles for me to interview because of her diversity, which was surprisingly not shocking but still upsetting.

We have come a long way and things are getting better and today in 2010 to hear Estee Lauder who I have always admired for their choice of global beauties and colours and consciousness to be inclusive have signed Joan I say- bravo. Estee Lauder you have just given a lot of self esteem and self respect to a new generation of little girls across the world, who will look at Joan and will then look in the mirror and say I am beautiful too. At the end of the day we are all pack animals and we need to see reflections of ourselves and our future selves in the world around us to help give us the imagination and vision of what we can be. Whoever we are and wherever we come from. Whether that's seeing and believing you can go to university, even with the rise in tuition fees (shameful), even if you live in a depressed area and everyone you know is banged up or a smack addict or seeing and believing that a woman can be a mogul and politician like Oprah, Hilary Clinton or Diane Abbott and that women can be successful not just by shagging footballers and being someone's mistress or wife. All little girls need positive role models but especially those from ethnic backgrounds as they are often starved of beautiful, classic, chic and powerful (and not just in the entertainment world) images to identify with -so again thank you Estee Lauder for having vision and being fabulous.

GRAZIA BEAUTY AWARDS

2010-12-01T00:01:00.001Z

One of my absolute favourite titles to write for and read is Grazia. I love the mix of high street, the catwalk and the general fabulosity and that's why it was so exciting to be involved in their Beauty Awards this year, which shines a beauty spotlight on the most glam and covetable products of the past year.

I flew to New York this month with my husband and our Beauty and Fashion Filming Company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com to film one of the judges of the Grazia Beauty Awards - the bubbly and world renouned make up artist Wendy Rowe who can be seen backstage at Burberry with supermodels like Daria and Anja Rubik. It was super fun and we had a right giggle filming some of the winning products on the stunning model Rose and winners included Tom Ford lipsticks, Estee Lauder's new eyeshadows created by Tom Pecheux, Lancome Precious Cells Mascara and Bobbi Brown's latest Natural Finish Long Lasting foundation SPF 15 for darker skin tones. Back home in old blighty we also filmed the other judges which included Anja Rubik, Hannah Poole author and fashion and beauty journalist, the gorgeous and talented superstar hair stylist Neil Moodie and the lovely Grazia Beauty girls at Grazia HQ.

To check out all the films we made featuring the judges and why they picked the winners please do check out the films on Grazia Daily on the link below.

http://www.graziadaily.co.uk/beauty/archive/2010/11/25/video--say-hello-to-the-grazia-beauty-award-winners.htm

DANIEL HERSHESON BLOW DRY BAR OPENS IN THE CITY

2010-11-08T23:59:00.000Z

I am obsessed with Daniel Hersheson, www.danielhersheson.com (not the gentleman himself that would be creepy and weird even though Mr Hersheson is a lovely man) but the empire of amazing salons and blow dry bars he has created and runs with his super talented session stylist son Luke Hersheson. Every time I walk into a Daniel Hersheson salon, I feel frazzled like the city has kicked my ass and like some kind of wild beast. When I walk out I feel groomed, chic and like a beauty journalist. Merci.

Daniel Hersheson salons attract the best talent such as Sibi is one of the best colourists not only in London but the world, James who I see for power blow dries that really last and is an afro hair expert (if you have curly, thick, rebellious hair always see an afro specialist they will laugh in the face of your curls, as it’s nothing to them compared to afro hair). The beauty department is also first class see Kully for the best threading (she will make you look as if you have had a brow lift) ever she has a host of A- list celebs who all rush to see her and also their mani/pedi bar, facials and treatments are fabulous.

As well as the salons in central London, Daniel Hersheson also have blow dry bars in Topshop, Oxford Circus, Westfield and now a new one in the city at One New Change, St Pauls EC4, The blow dry bars are quite frankly genius. You can book on line www.hershesons.com or walk in for a cool up do or sexy blow dry from a smorgasbord of styles created by the Hershesons. You can walk in feeling a blah and walk out with a swing in your step and a smile on your face. The emotionally healing power and soothing elixir of a blow dry- can’t be explained but only felt, am I right? Can I get an Amen up in here.

Now the party season is fast coming upon us the Hersheson Blow Dry Bar is brilliant for those Wonder Woman esque moments when you need to twirl around (metaphorically) and go from office to dance floor diva in a flash. You can even try out the New Hair Accessories range, which includes Gagalicious hair bows, clip in fringes or Winges, plaits and hair extensions, which will leave you feeling all glamourous. Hurray for Hershesons!

I'VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR A BEAUTY AWARD PLEASE VOTE FOR ME ON HANDBAG.COM!

2010-10-25T00:17:00.001+01:00

Ahhhhhh!!!!! I've been nominated for Best Beauty Blog on Handbag.com 2010 Beauty Awards, it's so exciting! I screamed the house down when I found out. It's such a pleasure writing this blog and getting all your fab comments and kind emails! Please do vote for me my lovelies as you know how much I love my bling and mama would love to win this award. You also get the chance to win a cool weekend away to Barnsley House, www.barnsleyhouse.com, a 17th century Manor house in the Cotswolds for your trouble, once you have completed the voting process- nice! Thank you!

http://www.handbag.com/beauty/awards/handbag-beauty-awards-vote-2010

ESTEE LAUDER/ ELIZABETH HURLEY HARRODS LIGHTING FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

2010-10-24T23:49:00.000+01:00

Last Tuesday was very exciting. I was at Harrods all day (as you do) with Estee Lauder and my Beauty and Fashion Filming and Consultancy Company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com, filming Elizabeth Hurley. Elizabeth started the day off at Harrods raising awareness for Breast Cancer Research with a personal appearance where huge crowds of people lined up to meet her. Elizabeth is really passionate and a complete trooper. She told the crowds that since 1993 when Estee Lauder started the pink ribbon/ October Breast Cancer awareness month that they had raised more than 300 million dollars to help fight breast cancer and that with early detection there is a 98% survival rate with Breast Cancer.

Later on Elizabeth braved the rain and freezing temperatures to dazzle in a blinged out pink number (like she does every year- God bless her, I don't know how she does it I would be f-ing and blinding if it was me) where she turned Harrods pink. We were all given special pink 3D glasses, which made the lights on Harrods turn into 3D ribbons, which was cool. Please check out the films we produced below and remember to tell your friends, mum, sister and grannies to regularly check their breasts!

http://www.facebook.com/EsteeLauderUK

SHU UEMURA EYE SHADOW FROM SASS AND BIDE S/S II LFW

2010-10-24T23:04:00.001+01:00

I'm completely obsessed with Shu Uemura. Ever since I was at school I used to save up and go to the Harvey Nichols counter and buy their amazing eyeshadows. They are packed full of pigment and look great on all skin tones especially darker skin tones, as many brands don't put enough pigment in their products -so they look washed out and ashy. As a beauty journalist I was lucky enough to meet the legendary Mr Shu Uemura himself and he was the sweetest most zen, kind man and artist and is one of the reasons why I love the beauty industry so much.

This season backstage at London Fashion Week at the Sass and Bide show I saw this new Shu Uemura eye shadow called G bronze, £14.50, www.shuuemura.co.uk, from the spring collection and I got that butterflies in the stomach feeling I used to get when I rocked up to the Shu counter as a kid. The lovely Pr (bless her) gave me one backstage (to probably stop me drooling over it) and I am lovin' it. It's a shimmering bronzy/gold colour, which can be worn by itself or on top of another base colour to bling it up, which is fab. Grab one as soon as it comes out!!!!

ELIZABETH HURLEY AT HARRODS TODAY FOR ESTEE LAUDER'S BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

2010-10-19T00:52:00.000+01:00

Roll up, roll up the poshest and most mind blowing shop (seems wrong to call Harrods a shop but you know what I mean) in the world will be hosting a personal appearance with Elizabeth Hurley, spokesmodel for Estee Lauder and The Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign at 1pm at the Estee Lauder counter today. You will be able to meet Ms Hurley herself as she will be signing purchases from the exclusive Estee Lauder Pink Ribbon Collection 2010 in support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, www.bcrfcure.org. I don't know anyone who hasn't been touched or affected by breast cancer in some way and this is really a fantastic way to give back and support the fight against breast cancer. In the evening there will also be a stunning 3D landmark illumination you will not want to miss!

As a beauty journalist I have been very lucky over the years to be invited to Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness events in October and can tell you that Elizabeth Hurley is truly passionate and dedicated towards the cause. While I have been snugly wrapped up in boots and my cashmere scarf in the cold, I have seen Elizabeth Hurley each year in jaw droppingly beautiful and tiny pink dresses speaking with vigour and commitment and putting on a good glamourous show to help raise awareness without a shiver or complaint and I take my hat off to her and think to myself that sort of spirit wins wars and hopefully the war on breast cancer- good on you love. Get yourselves down there!

DOLCE & GABBANA THE LIP JEWELS

2010-10-11T23:21:00.000+01:00

Now I have had quite a few emails asking about this rather blinging and fabulous Dolce & Gabbana The Lip Jewels, £40, on counter from November, exclusively at Harrods, which I spotted backstage in Milan at their show. It literally took my breath away it was so delicious. Quite frankly if I wasn't in the presence of Pat Mcgrath and in the uber chic backstage area- I would have been fist pumping Jersey Shore style I was so excited but I kept myself together and only squealed a bit instead (not too shaming).

I am the biggest magpipe and love all things shiny. I love patent shoes, diamonds baby and the big ass shiny ruby on top of this palette. If I could stick a ring under it I would wear it and touch up everywhere I go in a rather vulgar Marie Antoinette 'flashing my wares' sort of way.

The good thing is this lip palette not only looks good it also doesn't disappoint as such a lot of pretty beauty products do, in a all fur coat, no knickers way. I am pleased to say The Lip Palette is bang on trend as red lips are everywhere this A/W and bless their hearts they have even thrown in a nude (be warned this nude doesn't work on darker skin tones) for those off duty vamp days. The red lip colours are Dahlia (a classic blue red), Devil (a Hollywood starlet red), Ultra (a warm red) and they all can be mixed and are very versatile and easy to wear with a creamy, weightless and silky texture, which feels very modern (oh that Pat Mcgrath can conjure up and create some fabulous products). Grab yourself one as I can predict these will fly off the counter and there will be tears if you can't get your hands on one!!!!!!

ELIZABETH ARDEN PREVAGE ADVANCED ANTI AGING SERUM

2010-10-07T11:37:00.001+01:00

The last few weeks have been crazy busy for me going backstage at LFW, filming with my company Couture Communications, as well as flying to Milan to go backstage at Dolce and Gabbana. It’s been a bit surreal but to help my skin keep in tip top condition I have been trying Elizabeth Arden’s Prevage Face Advanced Anti-Aging Serum, £145.

Now I do love Elizabeth Arden as a brand - it was started by a grand Beauty dame in her own right back in the day. You can always tell a strong beauty brand by their hero products and in this case the 8-hour cream is both iconic and brilliant!

To say my skin was feeling a little knackered during September would be an understatement, but I have been glowing and my skin looks well rested (even though I have had three hours sleep a night this past month). The silver Prevage packaging looks really high tech which I like as it looks like it will do what it says on the tin.

The serum also delivered. I love the texture… it sinks in really well with no greasy tacky residue which I liked as at the age of 32 I feel I need to step up my anti-ageing skincare regime but with combination skin lots of the gloopy anti-ageing serums and creams put me off. The serum is bright orange but it’s not from freaky E numbers, it’s actually the natural colour of the main ingredient of the Prevage range and serum – Idebenone which is a potent and powerful anti-oxidant.

This star ingredient has been blended with a cocktail of anti-oxidants such as a green tea blend, Bamboo Isoflavones and Thiotaine to help firm, tone, smooth out fine lines, age spots, minor scars and wrinkles. My skin loved this serum! It feels really soft, smooth and radiant, especially impressive considering what I have recently put it through! Grab a bottle and give it a whirl!

http://www.elizabetharden.co.uk/prevage/

AUTUMN'S STATEMENT RED LIPS

2010-10-05T21:58:00.001+01:00

Ohhhh it's time for a statement red lip, which is so exciting. Red lips were back with an ass kicking avengence on the catwalks this A/W 10 of Karl Lagerfeld (loved the patent leather effect), Sass & Bide (gothic burgundy) and a worn red lip was seen at Moschino. For me red lips will forever be my mama's look, as she vamped it it up hard in the 80s with a power red lip. There is nothing more sexy and grown up than a red lip. You can't be as Britney so eloquently puts it, "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman". Red lips are all about embracing the woman inside of you and being fearless. Repeat after me, everyone can wear a red lip, like clothes you just have to know your red lip rules. If you have a warmer skin tone no matter your ethnicity, tomato warmer red shades look great on you. Deep aubergine / berry shades look (try MAC's Kittenish lipstick, £12.50) great on darker and cooler skin tones as well as giving blondes and brunettes are more vampy feel. Also look out for reds that have lots of blue in it if you have a cooler skin tone. For the purest amongst you, nothing beats MAC's Russian Red lipstick, £12.50, www.maccosmetics.co.uk, for a classic red which will never date just like a Hermes Birkin bag- you know what I mean!

I've been a busy bee this month and here is another film my company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com produced for Sky Showbiz on how to create a 3 different red lip looks seen on the catwalk.

Sky Showbiz

http://www.youtube.com/user/skyshowbiz#p/u/0/8X8NDvX8irg

HOW TO GET DAY TO NIGHT HAIR IN A FLASH

2010-10-05T21:24:00.000+01:00

Hi guys,

I can't believe it's the October already you know how much I love Autumn and chic Autumnal beauty looks. As the days are getting shorter, making a quick change to rock your beauty look in evening can get hard. Celebrities such as Whitney Port, Olivia Palermo, Leighton Meester and Lauren Conrad are all sporting super easy but chic updos all created from a simple ponytail. Grab yourself a baby sized can of the iconic L'Oreal Paris Elnett and stash it in your desk drawer, which every session stylist I know swears by and was everywhere backstage at LFW this season. Please check out this film my company Couture Communications produced for Sky Showbiz with celebrity hair and make up artist Holly Silius on how to turn your work ponytail into 3 evening looks in the blink of an eye!!!!!

Sky Showbiz
http://www.youtube.com/user/skyshowbiz#p/u/8/bLMmH-jJfpo

DOLCE & GABBANA MILAN FASHION WEEK SS/ 11

2010-09-27T14:56:00.002+01:00

I woke up with butterflies in my stomach the day of the Dolce & Gabbana show, I felt like I was a kid and it was Christmas morning. But instead of running down the stairs and seeing a Christmas tree with loads of presents under it, I was whisked backstage to the Dolce & Gabbana show at the chic Metropoli in Milan. This was a real honour, as they have not let journalists and bloggers backstage before and given so much exclusive access, so I was really thrilled to be asked. I was also to meet and interview one of my make up heroes- Pat Mcgrath, who was creating the make up look for the show.

In the beauty industry Pat is our Mick Jagger. She is a legend who transcends make up and turns it into art. She is super skilled but it's her ideas, inspirations and concepts that make her so interesting and why I love the beauty industry. It's not just about lipsticks, it's about a mood, channeling characters from history about being that feisty bitch rocking a red lip and owning it (word). Make up can help you become, express and unleash sides of your nature, which both empower and excite you and that's beauty to me and Pat Mcgrath is the high priestess of this school of beauty. All great artists tell stories and they tell them really well whatever the medium be it film, music, fashion or make up and the Dolce & Gabbana show didn't disappoint. Backstage was the most organised and most chic backstage I have ever been to. It was all clean black and white lines, security guards with presidential style radio mics and ears pieces in D& G black suits and patent leather shoes politely saying please move back and wait for your pass Signorina. Even the bottles were lines up in an very pleasing and OCD manner (at LFW you'll be lucky to find some overturned red bulls and half eaten Pret a manger sandwiches). I said to myself, "you're not in Kansas anymore Ateh". Lovely Chanel Iman was backstage and I said hi to her bless that girl she was so sweet she remembered me from LFW!

Pat was brilliant and created a make up look every women in the world aspires to a glowing, simple, clean chic and polished look with a nude to red mouth depending on the girls. Pat said the collection was mainly all white and that Domenico and Stefano wanted the girls to look sensual and gorgeous. She said the guys were inspired by white lace and the make up had to be natural and very peaceful, which it was. Pat has been working with the guys for 12 years and said it was a joy to collaborate with them and you could really see the relationship between the beauty and the clothes.

Pat used the Dolce & Gabbana make up line she created and used the eyeshadow quad in nude in the crease and just under the eye with lashings of black mascara on the top lashes only. She lined the eye with the chocolate pencil but also said you can wet black/ dark brown eye shadow to use as a liner to give the eye definition. The top of the cheek bones were chiseled using a silver ish highligher, which made the girls look like angles and a caramel blush was used on the cheek for a slight sun kissed yet sophisticated look. My absolute favourite backstage product was the new lip jewels! The packaging was blinging with a giant ruby on top and it housed a quad of creamy lip colours in Dahlia, Devil, Ultra and Nude. Pat said she was mixing the colours together for some girls and using them separately on others, which was fab. The palette works well on all skin tones (no BS) and was too delicious.

Eugene Souleiman who is a super creative powerhouse of a session stylist created the hair look for the show. He is also a complete sweetie! Both Pat and Eugene had to prepare 50 girls for the show but like all people at the top of their game, they both had time to talk me through the look with no diva drama or hissy fits. He said the guys wanted the hair to be romantic, soft but without looking like wedding hair, so he created a loose raw chignon with some structure at the back but with fly aways. He blowdried the hair at the roots to give the hair guts before twisting and pinning it. It was very dreamy and covetable hair.

Before I knew it-it was time to leave and go and see the actual show. The waiting area was v glam and they served amaretto sorbet, which stopped me in my tracks and almost made me trip on a stair, it was so good. Ice cream, beauty looks to die for and amazing fashion to come, I was in heaven and having some sort of out of body experience. Inside Kylie, Naomi Campbell, Anna Wintour, Suzy Menkes and Hilary Alexander were all excitably waiting for the show to start. Giant plasma screens showed us all the hussle and bussle that was taking place backstage, which felt very interactive and cool, as we saw the girls having finishing touches applied to their hair and make up before hitting the catwalk.

The show started with a huge projection of images of Sicily with old women making lace, of beautiful Monica Bellucci types cradling their beloved little first born boys and white washed church staples, which was quite emotional as they were really drawing from their past and personal heritage. Then out walked a succession of beautiful girls some with tits and ass (model tits and ass, so that's a size 8/10 to you and me), which was quite shocking but fantastic to see. The clothes told a story of a Sicilian woman on her wedding day with beautifully crafted white lace dresses. Then this woman made her way onto the beach with flirty white romper suits. Then all of a sudden the colour palette changed from brilliant white to that of black adorned young sensual widows dressed in curve clinging black power suits. The final florish was that of embellished blinging white dresses, which made me gasp they were so fabulous and made parts of the audience burst into spontaneous applause they were so overcome with the beauty of the white dresses and shimmering diamante.

I left on a high and then was grabbed outside by a Dolce and Gabbana camera crew, as they wanted to interview me about my blog and what I thought about the show, which really was the most glam ending to a fab time at the show. I could see people looking at me, as they were spilling out into the street thinking that Oprah's aged well but her weight's gone up again. Oh well. Thank you Dolce and Gabbana and Pat Mcgrath for a fantastico time in old Milano! See you next season Ciao bella!

LONDON FASHION WEEK SS 11 COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS AND GLAM MEDIA

2010-09-27T12:55:00.012+01:00

Hi guys,
As you know London Fashion week was a crazy and exciting time for me and my company Couture Communications. We had four crews out filming all at the same time! Please check out this fab film we produced for Glam Media!

p.s. check out my hand in shot as I shamed myself getting various celebs such as Sienna Miller, Tracey Emin, model of the moment Jessica Hart, L'Oreal Paris' James Kailardos and MAC's fabulous Gordon Espinet to give me some sugar and fashion week tips!

VOGUE ITALIA 3D PARTY IN MILANO SS/ 11 FASHION WEEK

2010-09-27T12:54:00.000+01:00

Hi guys. You will never guess what's happened! London Fashion Week was a blast as I was filming all day and writing all night, to bring you the backstage gossip from the shows. I then got a call from Dolce and Gabbana's "people" to say that they had seen my blogs and had requested I come to Milan and go backstage for their show. WTF. So here I am in Milan and the fabulousity has been cranked up to 10. As soon as I touched down I was whisked to a Vogue Italia party, which was also an exhibition of Steven Miesel's 3D photo shoot with Miranda Kerr. From the moment I stepped into the sprawling Palazzo Citterio, with it's majestic courtyard scattered with the 3D art installation with it's neon lights and stunning mix of 14th Renaissance old world feel with a modem New York loft- I felt right at home.

The courtyard featured 3D art (we were all given rather jazzy 3D felt glasses to wear) such as a blown up vanilla ice cream sundae (it made my mouth water) and the picture next to it was of an 18th century couple dancing in an orangery what was really fabulous. The whole thing screamed beauty as well as art, as there were dozens of scented candles strategically placed around the courtyard to give your senses a tickle, as vanilla wafted in the air as you looked at the sundae, which just made my mouth water chased by mind blowing orange blossom.

The inside of the exhibition was an homage to all things Miranda Kerr and in 3D it really worked as you felt you could see the wind machines blowing in her hair (very Beyonce/ Sasha Fierce I loved it)! The place was packed wall to wall of the fashion set such as IHT's Suzy Menkes, American Vogue's genius Creative Director Grace Coddington who stole the show from Anna Wintour in 'The September issue'. I had a chat with her and she really is a ethereal romantic artist. I told her I was a romantic too, as she mentioned we were a dying breed in the documentary, she was super sweet and told me that was very nice dear in such a charming English school ma-am/ great aunt sort of way- I did love her even more for that. It's a great feeling when you meet your heroes and they live up to the hype. As I said my goodbyes to Grace in walked Miranda herself and baby daddy/ husband Orlando Bloom she looked amazing with killer high heels on. The whole room gasped as she stumbled on a random ramp on the floor but she didn't fall ! Her 5 month bump was non existent- I looked more preggers than her after a plate of pasta Ragu ( the food is so good here it brings tears to my eyes literally- I get emotional and my husband thinks I'm a freak and laughs at me with every teary mouthful). Orlando looked cute but quite slight and his mop of curly brown hair looked very well conditioned and defined- top marks I notice stuff like that. He was very loving to Miranda and always caressing her back blesssssss, it was time to go and grab some rest as tomorrow was the biggie going backstage at Dolce and Gabbana then my interview with the legend that is make up artist Pat McGrath!!!!!!!

THE FIFTH AND FINAL DAY OF LONDON FASHION WEEK SS 11 AND COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

2010-09-24T01:10:00.000+01:00

The fifth and final day of London Fashion Week for me started with a bang, as I was backstage at Marios Schwab. There the 70s, a major trend for Spring/Summer was revisited again, as the lovely Luke Hersheson channeled Joan Jett, Courtney Love and all things rock and roll with his lived in and sexy cut, which were all wigs! There Nichola Joss, celebrity beauty expert (she works with Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie) and all round sweetheart was using St Tropez to sculpt and highlight the girls skin. She applied a cream highlighter onto the skin down the arms and across the decolletage - body finishing is a going to be a huggge trend- you heard it here first! The make up by Petros Petrohilos was glam rock as well with a worn smudgy kohl pencil with a little vaseline on the lids to make it crease. The lip was really simple but effective with a berry stain pressed into the centre of the lips which looks like it was the end of a wild night and the girls had been necking down bottles of bordeaux. Tres cool.

Then it was onto Burberry where I spotted Sarah Jessica Parker backstage before the show and lovely Lauren from Grazia got to interview both Wendy Rowe who was working on the new face for Burberry make up model de jour Nina. The make up was totally wearable and how real women love to look polished and sexy. The burberry lip was creamy and pink and the blush was worn low of the cheek to give the face a more sultry look. The fabulous Neil Moodie who created the hair look described it as if the girls were on motorcycles with helmets on and had jumped off and shaken their hair out so it was a bit flat on the top. He used tongs to put a slight curl and wave in the bottom of the hair and smoothed down the centre parting. He used Bumble and Bumble prep spray on damp hair to give the hair guts. As always the most simple looks take the most work and effect, so it's pretend helmet hair -there's no use sticking a bicycle helmet on your head this will not achieve the look- trust me!

While backstage I had a lovely chat with Jourdan Dunn who was so down to earth and warm and looked amazing in the show. As we posed together for pictures I got a little too into it and was giving my cameraman my best Zoolander blue steel/ 90s Linda Evangelista supermodel moves next to Jourdan. When he said he would like to shoot more film I said, "how do you want me" ? He said, "errrr Ateh do you mind if you move out of the shot, so I can shoot just Jourdan", she literally pissed herself laughing and I screamed, "what do you mean you don't want me in the shot, you're telling me you only want to shoot the supermodel who is actually in the Burberry show- what the hell is the world coming too". Blessssss him he was so embarrassed. I really do think some days I suffer from high self esteem. Oh well. That was a great way to end a fantastic London Fashion Week. Thank you so much for all your fab comments and emails. I'm off to Milan for fashion week and will keep you all posted on all the gossip!

COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS AND GRAZIA ROCKING LONDON FASHION WEEK SS11 DAY 5

2010-09-23T20:48:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,
Here is the last day from backstage at LFW. After 3 hours sleep a night and living off adrenaline all week we finished our Couture Communications Grazia LFW filming going backstage at Marios Schwab and wait for it..... Burberry. We were given exclusive access backstage at Burberry and the security there made the Pope's visit look like a national coach trip. Here is the backstage film from the final day of the fabulous London Fashion Week!!!!!! Enjoy. I'm off now to Milan for Fashion week and will be blogging my heart out for y'all.

COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS AND GRAZIA ROCKING LONDON FASHION WEEK SS11 DAY 4

2010-09-22T03:31:00.002+01:00

Here is my next directorial offering from backstage on Day 4 of London Fashion Week. We saw beautiful beauty looks backstage at Peter Pilotto, Christopher Kane and Giles. There were wall to wall celebs at Giles with Kelly Brook, Chanel Iman, Abbey Clancy, Stella Tennant, Agyness Deyn with Kerry Katona on the front row!

COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS AND GRAZIA ROCKING LONDON FASHION WEEK SS11 DAY 3

2010-09-22T01:11:00.002+01:00

Hi guys!
Our latest backstage beauty film comes hot off the press here at day 3 of London Fashion week. I directed the bubbly Lauren Murdoch Smith from the Grazia beauty team at Antonio Berardi (chatting to make up artist Gucci Westman for Revlon), Vivienne Westwood and Matthew Williamson where we chatted to nail expert Andrea Fulerton and spotted Sienna Miller and Matthew himself!

p.s. Can you spot me behind Pamela Anderson at the Berardi show??? I'm trying to tell my cameraman to get a shot of Pamela without screaming shoot her- shoot her and getting taken down by her security but we did get the shot for the film in the end!

LONDON FASHION WEEK SS 11 COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS DAY 4

2010-09-21T14:03:00.000+01:00

So it's day 4 of London Fashion Week and it was another crazy fun day on planet fashion. I spent the day filming again with lovely Lauren Murdoch Smith from Grazia with my beauty and fashion consultancy company Couture Communications.As a beauty girl I'm all about the hair, make up and nails but do love the fashion too, which was an explosion of colour. The first stop of the day was back to Waterloo the Old Terminal for Eurostar and Peter Pilotto where I had a chat to the charming and elegant Olivia Chantecaille. The girls had fabulous pulled back soft hair using John Frieda new volume range into an messy yet intricate bun, which was very wearable and fab. The clothes were also delicious with a palette of sky blues, pale blue and navy.

At Christopher Kane he was 'aving it large with his neon yellows, orange and pinks with rocking mind blowing techno beats blasting in the background and being in what I can only describe as an East End lock up- it did feel like the chicest rave party in history. I did bust some big box little box hand moves, which didn't go down that well with the hungry (as in they don't eat) hoxton posse that were there, oh well.

I also spotted model of the moment Jessica Hart again where I did tell her I swear we are not stalking you. She is so well brought up, patient, warm and giving and totally cool and an excellent example to all models you don't have to be a diva to get on (I'm talking to you NC). Hilary Alexander was also running around backstage as well as French Vogue's Carine Roitfeld. You know me once I spotted her, I went to say hello and told her I loved her style and also got her to give me a wave for the camera for my filming crew.

Now power players like Carine are either scary The Devil wears Prada ladies or sweet teddy bears who are warm and lovely -there is generally nothing in between. I can tell you Carine was a sweet heart and super friendly and talented! Outside the Giles show ( was in an East End abandoned warehouse which was very Sweeney Todd) I spotted Chanel Iman the latest Victoria Secrets model. I grabbed her to say a quick hello ( ps never have your picture taken with supermodels if you can help it, I'm 5'6 1/2 and I still look like a black oompa loompa, it's days like these I thank God for my Nigerian genes and teflon skin) I have interviewed her before and she is super chatty, bubbly and cool. She said she was in London to visit a friend who has moved here and she was having fun and enjoying shopping and LFW. Bless her! Giles was a hugggge celeb packed show in the run though and backstage I spotted Stella Tennant, Kelly Brook (whos bangers were on amazing form and looked twice as big next to the other models and it was great to see her representing us big boobed ladies on the catwalk), Jessica Stam, Abbey Clancy with no bump at all in sight, Chanel Iman and Agyness Deyn. I loved the clothes at Giles whose colour palette was that of Neaploitan ice cream. Kerry Katona, Pixie Geldof, James Brown and Zanna Roberts were all in the audience and were all given heat reflective blanket to keep warm. Random!!!!! The strong theme of the season so far seems to be that the 70s are back from the soft romantic flicked out fringe at Giles with Glam Rock harlequin glitter make up to the Joan Jett inspired hair created by Luke Hersheson for Marios Schwab today. That's me over and out people for today. Am having a cup of tea and a biscuit and am then heading out to Burberry in 20 mins. I will tell you all about it later today!

COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS AND GRAZIA ROCKING LONDON FASHION WEEK SS11 DAY 3

2010-09-19T23:38:00.002+01:00

Filming and directing today for my company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com was super fun and exciting today. We had lots of our film crews out shooting tons of exciting shows such as Julien McDonald, Vivienne Westwood, Antonio Berardi, Matthew Willamson and Basso & Brooke. I spotted the hottest model on the block Jessica Hart 3 times today and twice yesterday and she was sweet and chatty but had a look in her eye, as if to say is this film crew stalking me- but she was too polite to say it anything but sweet things. Blessssss. Check out our latest film from London Fashion Week, which I directed presented by the bubbly and super cool Lauren Murdoch Smith from the Grazia beauty team. Here are a few images we captured and the last one is my husband / co director of Couture Communications and I relaxing backstage at Matthew Williamson after a hard day filming at the shows!!!!!!!

Enjoy the Grazia LFW film I directed for Couture Communications............

LONDON FASHION WEEK SS 11 COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS DAY 3

2010-09-19T23:12:00.004+01:00

It was another fun filled day in fashion paradise at Day 3 of LFW! To say today was manic is a complete understatement! I started at Basso & Brooke at an eye watering 7 am with a few camera crews from my company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com, where I stopped to have a chat with the boys and take a picture with lovely Bruno. They told me the hair and make up was inspired by the film 'Chloe' starring Amanda Seyfried with glossy and glamourous brushed out waves.

Then it was off to Antonio Berardi where Malcolm Edwards for John Frieda flew in the door hot and bothered, as he was running late from the Julien McDonald show yet he pulled it out of the bag to create the most dreamy and chic soft top knot bun with angelic wispy bits pulled out at the sides. Gucci Westman for Revlon also created an ethereal look with a wash on grey on the lips and a peachy pink lipstick used as blush on the cheeks. Marian Newman nail guru was also there mixing together a custom made nail colour for Revlon, which was a stunning pale grey.

The next pit stop was for my lady (y'all know I do love all things Viv) Vivienne Westwood where the make up by Gordon Espinet for MAC walked the tight rope between make up and high art. Good on you Gordon you lovely Trini!!!! As usual the hair and make up looks all changed about 5 mins before the show but the guys were just pushed to genius mode by the pressure. Gordon used a rainbow palette of MAC paints from pastel blues, violets to forest greens on girls with all skin tones to shade and carve out the face. It looked amazing on the catwalk BUT please don't try this at home love- it's not what I would call translatable! Fabulous but not translatable. I also had a quick chat to Daisy Lowe and petted her cute white dog before her Dr Who boyfriend popped in to wish her luck.

The last show of the day was Matthew Williamson, which was at the Battersea Power station (there's always one person who needs to be random). Driving up to the backstage felt like MAD MAX 2, as it was a desolate concrete wasteland and as cars drove down, they kicked up huge dust balls Surreal is not the word, especially when you saw the fashion crowd walking down the dust track in their Louboutins WTF!

Once backstage, I chatted to my lovely mate and nail expert Andrea Fulerton who had custom blended a nail colour called Matthew for the show, which was a sheer cream with Gemstone overcoat, which dried matte. J'dore. I rushed home and put Andrea's Nail Boutique Gemstone overcoat over my Chanel Khaki Vert nails and it looks bloody trippy and cool will a touch of pink glitter bling on top. Well done Andrea! I chatted to the warm and friendly super hair stylist Duffy for Clairol and the rather delicious make up artist James Kaliardos for L'Oreal Paris, who is living proof you can be super talented, successful and a wonderful human being without any Diva strops backstage! He created a look on the girls inspired by a girl who had been ship wrecked and the eyes and cheeks were all chic, shimmery, sheer and bronzed but in a warmed by the sun way and defo not warmed by a wag in heat slapping on the orange bronzer way (girl from X Factor with the spider lashes I am talking to you). Well done James! I then saw Sienna Miller styling Matthew Williamson's hair and having a giggle with him and I decided to have a chat with them. She was super sweet and told me she loved Matthew because he was an incredible friend and she loved his talent. Matthew told me his collection was a return to his origins and roots but Sienna butted in to say no the collection was inspired by meeeeeeeeeeee! They were a right giggle and really fun.

That's me done. I'm rocking on about 3 hours sleep a night. My next call time is 7 am again tomorrow boooyayyyyy, I laugh in your face LFW see you tomorrow morning with bells on!

LONDON FASHION WEEK SS 11 COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS AND GRAZIA

2010-09-19T00:37:00.003+01:00

I'm so excited please check out the film I directed with my company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com for Grazia. It brings you all the gossip, tips and trends backstage at the shows from the first day of London Fashion Week SS 11 at Felder Felder, Sass and Bide and PPQ with Grazia's Lauren Murdoch Smith from the Beauty team!

Everyday we will be bringing you a new film with all the action from behind the Scenes at London Fashion Week!

DAY 2 OF LONDON FASHION WEEK WITH COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

2010-09-18T23:06:00.000+01:00

Day 2 of London Fashion Week went off with a bang! Filming with my company Couture Communications was really fun we have been filming for Grazia and L'Oreal Paris. We started out at the fabulous Topshop Unique show, which was held at the mind blowing and beautiful Old Eurostar terminal at Waterloo. There the hair was an afro explosion created by Paul Hanlon for Bumble and Bumble with hair prepped in a figure of 8 and pins and then brushed out with lots of extensions added to create the angelica halo hair effect. Dyed pieces were placed into the hair to add splashes of colour like pink and lavender very Lady Gaga if you ask me. I also loved the patent red lip created by Hannah Murray at the show you can create the look at home by using a red lipstick and layering on top a cherry red gloss with no liner.

The second show of the day was Charles Anastase, which was held at the Old Sorting Office on New Oxford Street. The entrance looked like some ravers had crashed in and threw some shapes at a house party. Once through the doors it was like Narnia as the glamourous stage looked like a garden party and backstage was bustling with people screaming models walking in an hour late and general fashion madness. Lyndell Mansfield for L'Oreal Professionnel and Sally Branka for MAC created the look. A blunt fringe was cut onto wigs and the look was like the hair was washed and left to dry and very easy breezy. I fell in love with a new MAC lip colour out in Spring called Good to be bad. It's the perfect glossy dark raspberry shade and looks good on all skin tones ( for real ) and looks amazing on black skin tones. When dabbed on the lips it created a beautiful stain and made the girls look like
"they were eating cherries or kissing all night", says Branka. Please beauty gods well MAC send me one as soon as it comes out. People you need to have this lipstick in your life. I will keep you posted on all the gossip tomorrow!

LONDON FASHION WEEK SS II AND COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

2010-09-18T03:41:00.001+01:00

As I'm writing this my feet hurt and it's silly o'clock in the morning boooyayyyyyy it's fashion week and it kicked off with a big bang today! I had so much fun going backstage and filming with my Beauty and Fashion Filming consultancy company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com, directing the lovely Lauren from the Grazia beauty team- check out our film on Graziadaily.co.uk today. Couture Communications went backstage at Hannah Marshall, Felder Felder, Sass and Bide and PPQ.

The looks were fabulous at Felder Felder as the inspiration was a cool rock chick who idolises Janis Joplin and studies pagan literature with Georgina Graham for MAC doing the make up. She used MAC indigo eye pencil on the eyes and MAC Strobe Liquid (a lighter weight version of the Strobe Cream) down the T-zone to highlight the face. I loved the nail colours, which were specially blended for the show in 3 hues of blue inspired by the blue ink cartridges you used to have at school. Genious.

At Sass and Bide I loved the braided hair and top knot bun and the soft Shu Uemura peach blush on the cheeks and new blinging bronzed sparkle eye shadow and black gel liner.

Liner was also used at PPQ using Benefit cosmetics on the top and lower lashes with lots of Bad Gal mascara on both the top and bottom lashes but combed through with a Tweezerman eye lash gadget
(well a tiny comb) to keep them flirty and feminine versus rock chick and badasssss. I also loved the trick I picked up there for getting the perfect pout. Dab some Benetint in the centre of the top and bottom lip to make them pop and then add some Benetint lip balm on all over for a sensual and glossy look. The cheeks were sculpted with a light bronzer, which the make up artist said was like Spanx for the face!

I will be bringing you more backstage news, tips and tricks and gossip over the next 5 days of London Fashion Week!!!!!!! Watch this space!!!!!!!!!

JLS JUST LOVE SAFE CAMPAIGN WITH DUREX AND COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

2010-09-18T03:01:00.002+01:00

It's been a crazy and exciting few weeks for my Beauty and Fashion Filming consultancy business Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com. We have been doing lots of filming behind the scenes with the delicious JLS, as they launch their Just Love Safe campaign. They held a press conference last week at the Soho Hotel to share their new news! Now to say the JLS boys are sweet, chatty, warm and well totally undiva ish is an understatement. They are a complete credit to their families and are just well mannered, well brought up young men. Even after I tried to bust some moves and sing a few lines from their 'The Club is alive with the sound of music' video, they gave me bemused yet sweet smiles (you know the one you give your demented aunt after she has had a few cocktails and decides to shame herself by dancing on a table in public thinking she is 18 years old again) blessssssss. As lovely guys they are passionate about giving back and have launched the JLS charity foundation to help aid the causes close to their hearts.

The first project the boys have launched is the JUST LOVE SAFE campaign with Durex as they have launched their own range of extra safe condoms to help 16-24 year old promote safe sex. Shockingly the UK has the highest rates of STDs and unwanted pregnancies and JLS want to do something about it. As Aston and the boys says, "no glove, no love"! They want to take the stigma and peer pressure out of both women and men carrying condoms, which is the responsible thing to do. The condoms are available at Superdrug nationwide and have a slighter lower price to help them fly off the shelves and protect this 16-24 year old age bracket. There should be no shame in both women and men carrying condoms but many people think they will look like slagggggs. WRONG. The boys say you look both ways before crossing a road, its madness not to do the same and carry condoms for safety when you go out!

I have nothing but praise for the boys and I salute you and Durex for this admirable and progressive step! Which packet will you be buying????? Hmmmmmmmm

LES KHAKIS DE CHANEL

2010-09-14T20:46:00.000+01:00

My goodness how does that naughty Peter Philips, Global Creative Director of CHANEL Makeup do it? The nail shades Jade and Particuliere were such smash hits it saw women scratching each others eyes out to get a bottle and I was stopped 3 times down Bond Street, after I had a Jade manicure at Chanel HQ. Now that Peter P has done it again.

Y’all know I’m a sucker for all things Chanel but when these 3 little beauties landed on my desk- I did do a little gasp. Chanel’s new nail polish (oh polish doesn’t sound posh enough, will refer to it as Le Vernis) collection Les Khakis De Chanel in Khaki Vert, Khaki Rose and Khaki Brun, £19 each, available from Chanel Boutiques and Selfridges call 0207 493 3836 for stockist details, are quite frankly fabulous. The collection was created in honour of last week’s Vogue's Fashion Night Out and is fiercceeee. I shall be rotating the shades and wearing them on my nails during London Fashion Week -look out for my blogs and Twitter updates @atehjewel from Friday!

The Khaki Vert is actually really flattering for all skin tones, just think of it as a cool J brand Khaki jean, you can dress it up or dress it down. For black skin tones, the Khaki Rose is one of the best chocolaty nudes I have ever seen and gives you that milky chic mannequin hand that I love. Khaki scaredy cats should try the Khaki Brun, which feels like a mix of the two shades and gives a nod to all things camouflage. Well done Chanel you have hit it out of the park yet again, I salute you!

THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS AND BEAUTY

2010-09-01T00:06:00.001+01:00

As you know I love all things musical and jazz hands. Last night I rediscovered some of my favourite dancers The Nicholas Brothers on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBb9hTyLjfM. Check them out in this clip from the movie ‘Story Weather’, it will make your eyes water they are so good- you can also see the foundations of break dancing in there too. As I marveled at their sheer talent, athleticism and acrobatics I began to get angry....very angry (you won’t like me when I’m angry).

I stood mouth open and was enraged at the injustice, as this clip was a metaphor. When you think of tap dancing, black and White or MGM films- whom do you think of? Fred Astaire, right? Well compared to the Nicholas Brothers- Fred Astaire seems like some geriatric shuffling around the dancefloor while muffling to himself, "I've still got it...ahhhh". To be fair, even Fred Astaire said that this sequence of the Nicholas Brothers in ‘Stormy Weather’ was the finest piece of tap dancing ever filmed.

Now the injustice of this really pisses me off. Have you heard of the Nicholas Brothers probably not. What springs to mind is something the editor of Elle US said on 'The City' about the spoilt and rather pleased with herself it girl Olivia Palermo, she said well in this industry there are show ponies and work horses. I hate the double standard but the lady was bang on. Because of the colour of their skin The Nicholas Brothers were condemned to be work horses in the business we call show. As black men they were only usually given a 3 minute set piece to do in a movie -their scene would start with the hero Fred Astaire or some other 1930/40s dream boat bringing their gal to a nightclub to see the brothers perform as part of the side show and that was it.

This annoys me because really how far have we come today? When you look at the fashion and beauty industries how many real positions of influence do ethic people hold. At launches (where I am usually the only black person) I'm told the UK will not stock foundation colours for darker skins. When I ask why, I'm told an array of offensive answers from because there is not enough space on the shelves to we don't think they will sell over here etc Translation ...... We don't think ethic/ black people can afford or want our products and quite frankly they are not important enough to make room for them. This is all madness when you think brands like Bobbi Brown, MAC (God bless you and all who sail in you), Estee Lauder, IIamasqua, NARS, Giorgio Armani, YSL, Sue Devitt, Clinique and the like all stock extensive colours and there is enough room for their lil’ old bottles to shove up on a counter.

In the wake of the anniversary of hurricane Katrina this all does hit a nerve with me about the perception of black people and their importance in the beauty world. Yet, ironically today you do have show ponies in the form of Naomi (don't look at me or I will throw a phone at your head) Campbell and make up artist mega stars such as Pat Mcgrath but why is it still a big deal to stock a full spectrum of make up for black and ethic consumers. It's very hard to have any sort of self worth and self esteem, when you, as a consumer rock up to a major beauty brand and the lack of choice screams you are not important especially when it comes to foundations and powders. The weird thing is these naughty brands do have darker shades but they are only available in the US. When I asked a marketing man of one of these brands why they don't bring the full range to the UK, he told me they needed to do more research. I told him to save his time and money on research, as there were black women living in the UK - trust me on that. It's part of a deep seeded problem that spans social/ economic reasons and is a reflection of how ethic/black skin tones can feel marginalized and that is also reflected on the counter. Close your eyes and imagine Cameron Diaz walking into a beauty hall and being told, “ sorry love we just don’t do any shades in your sunny yellow toned skin colour”, it does sound nuts doesn’t it, so why should it be the same for someone with a darker skin tone? So the next time you go make up shopping just imagine how it feels and what it says when you walk into a beauty hall and are met with a beauty apartheid.

STOP THE PRESS ROJA DOVE CREATES NEW FRAGRANCE FOR THE SUN

2010-08-27T12:55:00.002+01:00

Hold up ! It has just been confirmed that the fabulous and super talented perfumer Roja Dove who I adore and is one of the reasons why the beauty industry is one of the most exciting and dynamic industries to work in is wait for it..... creating a fragrance for The Sun newspaper called BUZZ apparently.

I almost choked my my decaf latte when I heard this but The Sun is a British Institution and Roja does big institutions, as he has just created a fragrance for the V & A (I will be reviewing this asap I promise). As for the new fragrance for The Sun I await with baited breath along with everyone else as to what the fragrance will smell like. I'm thinking notes of bacon sandwiches, Benson and Hedges and the sweat of a nubile topless young thing...........hmmmmmm.

TEN PILATES

2010-08-27T01:11:00.002+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I got the shock of my life. I weighed myself, it was the first time in 7 years and I realised that I have literally doubled in size since I was 19. The funny thing is I was super sporty at school and used to be really active. I was captain of everything from volleyball to basketball, I can shake my ass on the dance floor and I was the London Girls Inter school Junior Fencing Champion (don’t laugh). From university like it is for many of us it was a slippery slope, until it got to the point where I spent my days looking at E! news, The Hills while sitting at my laptop eating slices of Victoria Sponge that was 2 weeks ago by the way (oh happy days).

Therefore it shouldn’t have been such as shock but it was. My husband says I have body dysmorphia because when I look in the mirror I see Britney Spears circa 2001 in her “I’m a slave for you” video (anyone who knows me will be pissing themselves). Let’s put it this way, when I get offered a seat on the bus, I think it’s because I’m hot and still got it and they think it’s because I’m a few months gone.

Anyway, I’ve decided to do something about it and took myself off tonight to my very first Reformer Pilates class at Ten Pilates, www.tenpilates.com, which have studios in Mayfair, Notting Hill and Chiswick.

I can be very OCD about new places and didn’t know if I would like pilates to be honest. I dislike yoga, as I think it’s for bedwetters, I’m sorry my darlings I do, what’s all that downward dog business- I’m an angry black woman and I need to kick the shit out of something in a boxercise/ thai kickboxing stylee.

However, I was really pleased to find Ten Pilates was all zen, with clean lines white washed walls, wood floors and Diptyque candles scattered everywhere (oooowww very posh and classy, me likey). The studio was airy and air conditioned and was super clean even for by my OCD standards. The instructor was brilliant, really sweet and made me feel at ease and that I could take things at my own pace. The class is never more than 10, which is good as you feel you get a lot of individual care and attention. I liked the fact I didn’t get all hot and bothered and sweaty but had a deep sweet burn and I know I’m going to feel this tomorrow. I feel like my body has been bitch slapped but in a good way, I feel alive boooyayyyy!

At the end of the class I had a gentle tap on my shoulder and it was a really sweet super star global stylist from John Frieda who I know. They were also there in the class but in the back so I couldn’t see. A wall of shame hit me, as I was trying to think if I had grunted and growled my way through the session like some kind of mad dog in heat? Oh well. I will definitely go again. I can feel myself standing straighter and being aware of my core even after one session and I loved all the leg pulley things, it felt a bit scandalous. Feel the burn baby grrrrrrrr.

DIOR VERNIS IN BRONZE LIBERTINE AND AUTUMN LEAVES

2010-08-17T21:55:00.003+01:00

Ok, please don’t think I’m a freak but I have never liked the Summer. When I tell people this I usually get confronted with open mouthed shock and stares, which seem to say, “ohhh she’s a wrongin’ I bet she likes to hurt puppies”. I have never liked summer as a season that much, even as a child. In summer most people who really should know better are out in tight unforgiving skimpy mid riff baring tops with their muffin tops proudly on display for all the world to see (put it away love, please) and with sandals and unpedicured feet (I’m sorry I can be a beauty snob when it comes to that sort of thing- if you have your feet out for god sake give them a good going over with a foot file). Women with layers of skanky badly applied day glow fake tan, which would put Lindsey Lohan to shame are on every street corner (especially Oxford Circus outside of Topshop) and random old men think it’s acceptable to take their tops off and wonder around central London scaring the tourists and people’s personal hygiene seems to go out of the window, leaving me gagging when I’m on the tube or bus. Am I wrong?

Now Autumn, oh me amour. I love Autumn /Winter and spring but especially Autumn. I love walks in the park all snuggled up in cosy cashmere and scarves with a coffee in one hand and a crisp breeze licking my face. I love the Autumnal palette out goes acid neons (to be fair I do love these) and in comes regal jewel tones, burnished coppers and bronzes and rich deep tones, which I love. I also love Fashion week and the giddy feeling I get in anticipation of seeing the new ideas and styles we will see for spring (I’m sorry I won’t acknowledge the summer bit in S/S). I just think Autumn is a more chic season everyone looks fabulous in layers, A/W make up and people seem to take note and care of their skin in a back to school sort of way so every seems to glow a bit. For me I associate Jersey Shore with summer it’s in ya face and a little bit too much.

Anyway, September is always a really exciting time for me as it rings in the beginning of autumn. I am even more excited this September as Dior are launching their new nail polish Dior Vernis in Bronze Libertine, £17, exclusively available from Selfridges Oxford Street, www.selfridges.com, from the 6th September. It was seen backstage at their A/W show as you can see above and is mouth wateringly delicious. It looks really glamourous on all skin tones no BS and especially on darker skin tones. It has a metallic sheen and looks great on both fingers and toes. If you’re mourning the end of summer (unlike me) then get yourself down to Selfridges Oxford Street for a bottle as it will put a smile back on your face and make you glad to see the first falling autumn leaves.

DARPHIN ORGANIC ORANGE BLOSSOM AROMATIC CARE

2010-08-16T17:34:00.002+01:00

I'm all about the oils (I know that sounds pervy) but I really am. I love bath oil (Espa's soothing bath oil knocks me out- in a good way), body oils (I love Origins as it's so potent), body balms ( Decleor ohh so buttery it melts on the skin) and facial oils ( I use Aromatherapy Associates Rose and Sandalwood Facial oil every night for soft and hydrated skin).

I'm also a big fan of Darphin and just started using their new Orange Blossom Aromatic Care, £45 for 15ml, www.darphin.co.uk. You use this oil after your serum and before your moisturiser and it’s great for brightening and soothing the skin. Screw fine and lines and wrinkles I think one of the most aging things is dull skin. Radiance is key for every age as it screams health, vitality and expensive skin. I’m loving this product as the potent oil is laced with 7 precious organic oils with detoxing and purifying lavender, skin brightening liquorice as well as calming and soothing carrot essential oils and Orange blossom. I’m a bit OCD and like ceremony, rituals and routine in my skincare regime. What I love about this is oil is that you can take deep breaths of the oil, as it really soothes the spirit as well as the skin.

The oil is really lightweight and non greasy and sinks in really quickly. If you don’t use oils on your face you should really try it, as the skin recognizes oils and sucks it in rather than sitting on the skin and causing congestion like some heavier creams and silicone laden products. Go on and try this oil you'll be as obsessed as me!

IIIAMASQUA CREAM BLUSHERS IN RAVISH AND CRUSH

2010-08-09T18:32:00.000+01:00

Hold up, I have a new obsession. I love Illamasqua cream blushers in Ravish and Crush, £16 each, www.illamasqua.com (their decadent names are very appropriate as they will do just that). The Ravish shade is a delicious bright raspberry red and the Crush is a deeper cooler raspberry.

I know a lot of black girls are scared of a blush but I love it. It makes the skin come alive, it gives a glow and it lifts your whole make up look. One of my cousins was a model and really should have known better because of all the make up she had to wear for shoots but had that black girl fear of The blush. “Oh it doesn’t look natural, it’s not for us”, is what she would say until one day I literally sat on her and I ain’t easy to budge off and dusted one side of her cheek with a warm deep pink blush. I then said to her, “ look in the mirror, you tell me which side looks better?” She was like, “ohhhh” and she has worn blush ever since. I think in the past people could get overexcited on dark skin and do a nasty angry old fashion brick red blush, as a one size fits all on black girls, which is aging and really 80s in a bad way.

However, Illamasqua’s Ravish and Crush cream blushers are both brilliant as they are packed full of pigment, which is so important for all skin tones, especially darker skin tones as it shows up really well on the skin and looks expensive and not washed out or ashy. You can also use these on the lip as a sexy lip stain. I love the packaging and texture, which is whisper light as it looks like proper rouge from the 18^th Century, which I love and echoes that womanly look seen in some of my favourite films like ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ and Monica Bellucci (she is ridiculously sexy and womanly isn’t she) in ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’.

When it comes to blush it’s all about getting the right shade for your skin tone. If you are honey toned like Chanel Iman above or Beyonce warm peaches and golden bronzers will look amazing on you. If you are more like naughty Naomi, although I really doubt you could be as she is being “’inconvenienced” by having to give evidence in the Hague for accepting dirty looking rocks AKA uncut diamonds –bush -from an alleged African dictator who is said to have raped, pillaged, had slaves and child soldiers errrr red deeper toned shades will look fab on you. You can see in the pictures what blush does for her skin as the image where she is going solo looks quite flat and washed out and the other image with the blush adds radiance to her face.

With cream blush, a little goes a long way, make sure to dab on the blush to the apples of the cheek and blend, blend, blend like you have never blended before. Buffing the cream blusher into your skin will make it look natural and like light and vitality are trying to explode out of your pores. This is good. Go on give it a go and you’ll be amazed how you ever did without it.

LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL

2010-08-05T00:13:00.002+01:00

Thank God the Prop 8 law has been repealed in California. I think it's shameful that in 2010 this kind of non sense even happened. Love is beautiful and should be celebrated. When my dad was a young man he was sent to South Africa with the UN to do some work. As a black Nigerian man he had to have a special document placed in this passport saying he was an honorary white man, so he would be allowed to stay in hotels and offices for his diplomatic work. This was in the 60s and an outrage. Our children will look at Prop 8 with equal disgust and amazement about how this kind of discrimination was even allowed.

Now I watch a lot of E! news I love my Britney and Jersey Shore breaking news gossip. However, I have noticed every time there is an image of a gay celeb couple kissing, the image is blurred out, which is so offensive to me. Why should Lindsey Lohan snogging her girlfriend Sam or America Idol's Adam Lambert snogging some poor unsuspecting backing dancer be blurred out when the likes of the Jersey Shore posse having girls drink shots through the ripple of their 8 packs (I kid you not) and them snogging random hos. I think this type of double standards and subconscious bigotry is really a problem. I look forward to the day when people are judged for who they are and not who they want to share their lives and make a home with. Amen.

ESTEE LAUDER'S BLUE DAHLIA AND TOM PECHEUX

2010-08-04T20:57:00.003+01:00

When I look at Estee Lauder’s latest A/W make up collection called Blue Dahlia created by the make up artist legend and new Estee Lauder Creative Makeup Director that is Tom Pecheux- it makes me smile.

I’ve been in the beauty industry for a decade and first went freelance when I was 24. I had worked at Tatler and In Style magazine beforehand. I was young and fearless and thought this freelancing lark seems alright, I’ll give it and go and off I went- that was 8 years ago. Back in the day I had a bit less shame (not much less) and was queen of polite stalking. I had been commissioned to write a piece for Sunday Times Style and knew I had to get quotes from the make up artist genius that is Tom Pecheux.

Now to put this into context, make up artists and hair stylists are like rock stars and big names like Tom are considered to be like demi gods in the beauty industry. There are lots of rules and regulations regarding interview access with such biggies, which would make divas like Mariah Carey and JLO’s eyes water. The usual rules entail having to go through their agencies, faxing questions to be checked, deciding whether they approve of the questions and you have 15 mins to chat but can’t ask about certain things blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I didn’t have time for all that and somehow got Tom’s home number in Paris (don’t ask me how -it was an out of body experience). Anyway, I thought F*** it and called Paris, where a very sweet and polite "bonjour" greeted me. Now the 24 year old me realised holy crap, I have the equivalent of Mick Jagger on the phone here and I am invading his space by calling him at home. I explained who I was and that I was a huge fan and knew it was a rather unorthodox way of contacting him but could I have a 5 min chat with him. Now Mr Tom Pecheux was the most chilled and lovely man and didn’t bat an eyelid. We had a lovely 30 min chat and he was totally generous, wonderful and really interesting. Bless him he never asked how the hell a random 24 year beauty journalist from London got his home phone number in Paris.

I have found that the most talented people in any field, be it backstage like Vivienne Westwood, movie stars like George Clooney (he stepped on my foot at the Baftas and was charm personified he could have stepped on it all day for all I bloody cared) or pop stars like Mariah Carey are really lovely. They have the goods and have grafted all the way to the top so they have nothing to prove and once you get past their scary ‘people’ are rather fabulous and normal.

Anyway, Tom’s new collection for Estee Lauder Blue Dahlia is totally delicious. What a clever move on Estee Lauder’s part to have Tom on board. Estee’s make up has always been elegant and timeless but this new collection adds some guts and cool to the brand. I love the blues and purples he has used for A/W in the Pure Color Five Color EyeShadow Palette in Blue Dahlia, £34, http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/flash/seasonal/seasonal_look.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CAT26908&PAGE=all and Pure Color Five Color EyeShadow Palette in Surreal Violet, £34, which are a world away from safer browns and traditional autumnal shades. The Pure Color Gloss Stick in Orchid Dream, £17 is also a hero product. It’s a grown up gloss with lots of pigment and staying power. I’m also itching to paint my nails with the Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Blue Dahlia, £12, a cool goth ish deep blue/black but it seems a bit wrong in August. I will wait a few weeks or will rock it on my toes. Congrats Estee Lauder for an exciting new direction and thank you Tom for being so lovely all those years ago!

BOBBI BROWN TREATMENT LIP SHINE SPF 15

2010-08-04T20:19:00.002+01:00

I’m a huge fan of Bobbi Brown and love the new Treatment Lip Shine SPF 15, £17, www.bobbibrown.co.uk. Bobbi does the richest and deepest pigments and have a great range of products for every skin tone, which in 2010 is still shamefully not the norm on the beauty counter. Next time you are in a beauty hall or are online have a look at the major beauty brands and think to yourself if you were Rihanna or Naomi Campbell’s shade, which brands could cater to your skin tone. You will be shocked.

Anyway, Bobbi Brown’s new Treatment Lip Shine SPF 15 is my latest make up obsession. When it comes to make up, I love eye shadows and blushes and love a pulled together nude ish lip. As a child of the 80s, I grew up with 'Dynasty' / 'Dallas' type women who all rocked a crazy power red and scarlet lipstick. As a result, I have done a 180 and love sheer washes of colour. If you too love some 2 in 1 action when it comes to your lips, you will love these new lip colours that come in 13 shades. They not only leave a proper veil of colour on the lips (I hate tints which quite frankly are transparent and blahhhhh on the lips) and condition with Cocoa and Shea butter.

The lip treatment also contains anti-aging properties with SPF 15 protection and ingredients such as Peptides, Vitamin C and Paracress to help plump fine lines and prevent you getting that unattractive cat’s bum effect around the mouth area that old age and smoking can cause. Nice. I am loving the Berry and Plumberry shades. Check out these little beauties as there is bound to be a colour to suit you. Thanks again lovely Bobbi!

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY VIKTOR & ROLF’S FLOWERBOMB

2010-08-02T21:23:00.000+01:00

I can’t believe it’s Viktor and Rolf’s Flowerbomb’s 5^th birthday! The juice is super feminine and does what it says on the tin with a huge bouquet of flowers in ya face. It opens with tea and bergamot with heart notes of jasmine, freesia and orchid with base notes of centiflora rose and patchouli.

I also love the ad campaign and knew I had seen it somewhere before. I love MGM 1950s musicals. The more technicolour and camper the better. As a child, I was 6 or 7 I used to bunk off school by pretending I was sick so I could slip into my favourite dress (I loved it because I could swish around in it and I felt it was very ‘The Sound Of Music’, bless) and watch my musical magic. I would be transported into a all singing and all dancing fantasy world. I loved the costume design, the sassy voluptuous women (the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell would be seen as obese by today’s size 0 standards) and the musical numbers.

One of my favourite’s is ‘Gentlemen prefer Blondes’. In the famous 'Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’ routine (never a truer word has been said lady the theme is look after your own financial security because men will screw you over, too true Marilyn I hear ya) this image is amazing. When I saw it I wondered if this influenced the Viktor and Rolf ad campaign. I like to think so. Great art comes in lots of different mediums and nothing is new, just transformed and sprinkled with fairy dust for a new generation. Do you think Lady Gaga invented sexual mouthiness and her avant garde approach to her sexuality? Mae West was doing a Samantha from 'Sex in the City' in the 20s and 30s and Marlene Dietrich was doing gender bender chic well before YSL, Helmut Newton and Madonna. Happy Birthday Flowerbomb and thank you for taking me down memory lane.

SUN PROTECTION

2010-08-02T20:21:00.004+01:00

Ahhhh hello August. I can’t believe it’s high summer already. For all those of you jetting off on your summer hols it’s a good time to start thinking about your sun protection and if the sun makes another appearance in London, it will probably be this month. Now what to do about sun protection is still a big bone of contention. What factor do you use, should you bother using it at all? Celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow have also thrown in a curve ball in sun protection as she has been talking about being ordered to get more sunshine to help her osteopenia (the early stage of the bone disease osteoporosis).

Now when it comes to sun protection I am vain. The thought of not using anything and frying in the sun is nuts to me and I’m black. Screw skin cancer (for obvious reasons) but as well as not dying for the sake of a tan I don’t think it's a good look resembling a mashed up Hermes crocodile handbag. For anyone seriously not using sun protection just look at Jordan. I do love Jordan she’s a grafter, I love a grafter. However, her looks have been ruined by fillers, botox and her love of sunbeds. She’s 32 but looks like Janice Dickinson’s (who is 55) randy twin.

To stay sun safe make sure to stay out of the sun from 11-3pm when the sun is highest and hottest in the skin. My mother is from the Caribbean and like all people from the sun she has an innate respect for it and carries an umbrella to shade her skin from the sun. I used to laugh at her but she now gets hit on for 30 year men who think she’s the same age -the woman is 64! Love it.

Also when choosing the right sun protection look for products with 5 * UVA protection and those that protect against UVA and UVB damage. When it comes to sun damage remember UVA equals A for aging and UVB is for B for burning. As well as protecting the skin against burning with UVB protection (the red lobster effect) it’s also really important to go full spectrum and protect against UVA damage as this will help prevent premature aging, skin roughness and wrinkles.

Like hotels, 5* protection offers the highest and best levels of protection. Have fun this summer but also be sun safe x

p.s. this is Alex Reid as Roxy being Jordan their love life must be interesting (I couldn't help myself).

ZOE SALDANA+ CALVIN KLEIN = DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH

2010-07-30T16:31:00.001+01:00

Ok now tell me if I am being a big boobed bitch here but when I saw this picture of Zoe Saldana, who has been announced as the latest face (or lady lumps should I say) for Calvin Klein I was a little amused. I then went on to read how she has such great curves and I did literally spit and sprayed my desk with the decaf latte I was drinking out of sheer shock. Zoe is a beautiful and talented actress (loved her as the saucy female pirate in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl') but curves she ain’t got and it’s a bit scary to live in a world where she is described as curvy.

Now as you all know I have the biggest boobs known to man and womankind. I live in a big boobed world, my 2 huge bad boys are a gift and a curse with back pain, limited clothing options and everyday I try and avoid being sexual assaulted. However, buses and taxi drivers always stop for me- swings and round abouts, right?

It does piss me off that those with the smallest boobs get great frilly sexy lingerie (maybe they need more help in the seduction department) just whipping mine out seem to do the trick. My bras should be packed for black Ops Jason Bourne style survival kits, to be used as a make shift emergency jungle shelter.

Zoe is fab but she ain't no Latin goddess like Eva Mendes or is this a good thing? Am I being an inverted body fascist snob because I want to see some more junk in the trunk? Is it good for my small boobed sisters to have her as a role model, just as I think it's important to have curvy big boobed women in the media? I would love to know what you all think.

SNEAK PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES AT LATEST JOOP! MEN'S FRAGRANCE

2010-07-30T15:26:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited behind the scenes of the latest Joop! Men’s fragrance commercial. I got to have a sneak peek and met the face of the new fragrance, as he was filmed the commercial. I also spotted and chatted to the lovely hair stylist Malcolm Edwards (a fabulous backstage fixture at LFW) who was also on set. The new fragrance is launching later this year and I can’t wait to share all the gossip with you soon x

BRITNEY’S HAIR EXTENSIONS FROM BAD TO BALD

2010-07-23T19:49:00.001+01:00

Oh Britney, Britney, Britney what have you done now. When I saw this image of her hair extensions gone bad, I did think WTF. You all know I love Britney. She’s a grafter who titillated the world at the age of 16 and spun it into a £50 million pound fortune (good on you love). I loved her even after her delicious decent into madness with that pink wig and her weird baby talk and flashing her C- section scar at anyone who would look at her cooch. It would have been so easy to hide away, as a mad recluse rolling around naked in a vault filled with one dollar bills while singing 'Baby, hit me one more time' but oh no that was not for Ms Spears. At the age of 27, older and wiser than most she came out swinging with autobiographical songs better that her earlier teeny pop stuff with hits such as ‘Circus’, ‘Piece of Me’ and er ‘3’ about her love of threesomes. I salute you Britney.

When I look at her hair in this picture with that angry ginger bald patch, I see a dark hair road I could have gone down at 17. My hair stylist used to call me a hair slut, as I didn’t care what went in or out of my hair. Back in the day I had it all (not at the same time I hasten to add). A weave that would put Naomi Campbell to shame, bonding, glues, clip on extensions and braids, which were so tight I couldn’t sleep at night because of the silent yelps of pain and hot salty tears that would roll down my cheek all in the name of beauty.

Britney's mother prophetically ten years ago said other people worry about their kids in college and she worried that after all the bleaching and extensions Britney was having that her hair would fall out. How right she was. Britney you should have listened to your Mama and not just about K-FED.

The day I said to myself, "you know what Ateh, why not look after what God gave you" was truly a good hair day. I still chemically relax my hair but I do look after it now. I love the Kerastase Oleo Relax, www.kerastase.co.uk range of shampoo, conditioner and their serum, as it works really well on my afro hair without any greasy residue. I have regular weekly deep conditioning treatments and regular trims- I love Daniel Hersheson, www.danielhersheson.com, John Frieda, www.johnfrieda.co.uk, Gielly Green, www.giellygreen.co.uk (ask for Lala) and my lovely talented friend Paulette Blake, tel. 07723 340911, who is based in Manchester. Ironically cutting it means less split ends and more healthy hair growth.

I also wrap my hair every night. Now this is a black girl trick but those of you with thick, dry and curly hair will literally be weeping tears of joy, as I pass on this secret hair miracle. At night I put a pump or two of Neal’s Yard Remedy Organic Jojoba Oil, £15.50, www.nealsyardremedies.com, into my hair. I also love leave in conditioners like Kevin Murphy’s Leave in Luxury, £14.45, www.hqhair.com, which has mango butter and silk proteins for added softness. This is optional -afro hair is usually very dry and dehydrated, so a few pumps at night followed by a pure silk scarf wrapped around my head tied with a bow on top, leaves my hair frizz free and soft.

Now my lovely husband and I have been together since we were 19 and when he first saw me at night with my head scarf, he did ask what’s that about in reference to the red Hermes scarf wrapped around my head, bless. I used to use my mum's Hermes scarves from the 80s and I said – "Love me, love my head scarf" and that was that. Never be ashamed of your head scarf ladies.

The silk in the scarf allows the hair to breathe. Avoid cotton as it absorbs your hair's natural oils and moisture and you want to keep it in your hair to help smooth it. Now after sleeping in a silk scarf or popping it on for a couple of hours before a date or night out, your hair will look really glossy, smooth and frizz free like you've hit a blow dry bar or something. Genius. Now if you're worried about having a silk scarf on your head in the name of beauty I say take a look at Britney’s head and get with the program! Look after what you have.

LEIGHTON DENNY: JEANS FOR GENES

2010-07-19T14:04:00.005+01:00

Leighton Denny is one of my beauty buddies and I love him because he is sparkling fun, warm, generous and super talented. He is one of the best celebrity manicurist in the business and is the founder of his own nail product line, which is celebrating its 5th Anniversary this year, www.leightondenny.com. He’s sought after by celebrities such as Dita Von Teese, Jade Jagger, Joan Collins and Victoria Beckham to tend to their talens.

This year throughout the month of September, lovely Leighton is donating10% of every product sold from www.leightondenny.com to the children’s charity Jeans for Genes, www.jeansforgenes.com. Leighton is also running a fabulous competition to win a manicure with the man himself and £100 worth of Leighton Denny products! To be in with a chance to win visit: www.justgiving.com/LeightonDennyCompetition.

The charity has raised £35million to fund research into a wide range of genetic disorders, which affect 1 in 25 children born in the UK. Leighton says, “Jeans for Genes is an incredible charity, raising money and awareness for children with genetic disorders. I have lost a close family member to a genetic disorder, and so generating funds for research and development is important to me”. Please do help support this brilliant cause.

Bravo Leighton x

BEAUTY CRUSH PART TROIS

2010-07-15T01:02:00.004+01:00

Now y’ all know I have a massive beauty crush on Cameroon’s First Lady Chantal Biya. Her unabashed 80s in ya face, loads of money power dressing is deeply nostalgic and throws me back to my 80s childhood, which was filled with international glamazons who all made the cast of 'Dynasty' look underdressed.

Here is Chantal blasting Carla Bruni out of the water when it comes to presence and glam, which I find hilarious. I also find Chantal’s hair the 8th Wonder of the beauty World and it even has it’s own name called ‘the Banane’. It reminds me of Marie- Antionette’s power hair do, this one is from 1775.

That’s the thing about beauty and history, humans really don’t change but the outfits do (only to be re-imagined by the likes of the fabulous Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano) but the need for power and status stay the same. Here First Lady Chantal and Marie- Antoinette seem to be channelling the same look and are literally elevating themselves through volume and height in the hair. Love it. Keep on rocking that look First lady Chantal Biya! I even love the matchy – matchy white Kelly bag and Essex bird white stilettos.

PLEASE VOTE FOR ATEH JEWEL BEAUTY INSIDER FOR THE COSMO BLOG AWARDS

2010-07-02T14:06:00.001+01:00

Hi guys,
I hope you are all well. If you like my blog please vote for me at the Cosmo Blog Awards. I do love a bit of bling! Please do click on the link below and nominate me (under the Beauty section) http://atehjewelbeautyinsider.blogspot.com/ for the Cosmo Blog Awards. I would really appreciate it!!!!

Thank you xxxx

http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/your-life/cosmo-blog-awards/special

SKY SHOWBIZ AND COUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

2010-07-01T15:14:00.006+01:00

Hi guys,

I wanted to share some exciting news with you! The first in a series of beauty How to’s I filmed with my husband and our company Couture Coummincations, www.couturecommunications.com, is now live on Sky Showbiz. We had a brilliant day working with the fabulous celebrity make up artist Holly Silius who has worked with Diane Vickers and Alexandra Burke. We all had a blast filming how to get the smoky eye/ feline flick look. Please do check it out on the link below!

http://showbiz.sky.com/beauty-masterclass

CONGRATULATIONS ESPA'S SUSAN HARMSWORTH MBE

2010-06-24T22:23:00.004+01:00

I want to a say a huge congratulations to Susan Harmsworth, Founder and CEO of ESPA for the MBE she has so deservedly been awarded by the Queen. I love Sue as she is a generous, driven, warm and formidable woman and is a complete inspiration to me. Not only has she forged a beauty Empire with the delicious ESPA skin care and body care products and spas but she did it all while raising a family and was successful in both endeavours. It gives me hope as a woman and also for the next generation (did you hear that you WAG wannabes) to see such a glittering example.

Some of my favourite spa experiences have been ESPA treatments. The spas are dotted in glamorous locations around the world and in the UK and are breathtaking with black slate and will make you whip out your camera phone for inspiration for your own humble bathroom. I love the bespoke aspect of the treatments as you book time instead of having to fit into a rigid timetable. You never have therapists tuk at you, as what you want is not on the menu. In ESPA land I can indulge, as I am a complete massage junkie and love having 2 hour full on massages- amazing.

I also love ESPA’s Soothing Body Oil, £28 for 100ml and Soothing Bath Oil, £25 for 100ml, www.espaonline.com. Years ago I co-wrote a fashion guide called ‘Where to Wear’, and I had loads of nights writing into the wee hours. To stop me having a nervous breakdown my husband would lovingly rub ESPA’s Soothing Body Oil into my shoulders at 3am and tell me to keep going. The oil is laced with relaxing and comforting frankincense, myrrh and sandalwood and is better than any valium or prozac you could pop. Anyone who doesn’t believe in the healing powers of essential oils needs to take a hit of those bad boys.

Anyway, I want to salute you Sue congratulations and see you soon. You are a fabulous Dame indeed.

MAMMA MIO GET WAISTED BODY SHAPER

2010-06-24T03:21:00.004+01:00

Now I love my body care with moisturising oils and bath products. When it comes to body contouring products I can feel a bit wary as many over promise and under deliver. Besides, when it comes to cellulite, I say if I can’t see it (because it’s on my ass) I don’t really care.

However, when it comes to the tummy area- that I can see and I am loving Mamma Mio’s Get Waisted Body Shaper, £35, www.mammamio.com. This potent serum is packed full of 9 ingredients such as Hydrolysed Wheat Protein, Caffeine and Phyco R75, which helps to tone skin, reduce puffiness and boosts Lipolysis, which is the way your body breaks down the fat stored in fat cells.

Now by rubbing in the serum once a day for 30 seconds in large clockwise strokes, you won’t get rid of your barrel belly and turn into Gisele but you will notice a tightening and a real difference. If that alone doesn’t warm your cockles, Mamma Mio is also donating a £1 from every bottle sold from mamamio.com to the cancer charity Look Good Feel Better, and have launched a band, Belle and the Buttons, to help tell the story. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITs5p5OZPBU  

THIERRY MUGLER'S WOMANITY FRAGRANCE

2010-06-14T20:50:00.003+01:00

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Paris launch of Thierry Mugler’s latest fragrance WOMANITY, prices start from £38 and is available from 8th July, Exclusively from Selfridges and from 5th August Nationwide, www.WOMANITY.COM.

To say Mr Mugler is a visionary is a bit of an understatement. He is one of those sizzlingly and deliriously highly energetic and creative people. He trained as a ballet dancer in his youth, made his name with futuristic and mind boggling couture designs with his fashion label and gave the world….wait for it Angel. Love it or hate it Angel launched in 1992 and was the first of its kind, creating the new olfactory family of Oriental Gourmand with its vanilla, caramel and praline notes, which has now been copied a thousand times over and still is one of the best selling fragrances of all time.

Mr Mugler also directed George Michael’s iconic music video 'Too Funky' and set the screen ablaze with his avant garde and electrifying outfits, which touched the 14 year old me very deeply and made me think to myself, “that’s the kind of world I want to live in”. Obviously I didn't want to wear the Mugler motorcycle dress to Tesco- but live in a world where high art, fashion and beauty collide, which is very Mugler. He recently designed Beyonce’s concert tour outfits, which is a divalicious match made in heaven. His designs are cartoon meets fetish, which is simply fabulous. I was really honoured I got to meet the man himself, as I’m a huge fan of his work. Dita Von Teese was also at the launch and was really charming and warm and I can imagine is one of Mr Mugler’s dream women to dress.

Like the man WOMANITY doesn’t disappoint. Again with this fragrance Mugler is pushing boundaries and it's a potent mix of sweet and savoury, which harnesses the latest technology with molecular extraction to create the salt/ savoury notes without going down the traditional marine accord route.

The top notes are that of a fleshy juicy fig, which is both sweet and green and earthy mixed with an almost animalic caviar note. The woody base notes of fig wood and leaf are elegant, green and sensuous. The fragrance leaves you a bit dazed (in a good way) as your head tries to get around it, as it really is in a category of its own. Me likey.

The bottle is also nuts which I love. It looks like an Alien (very Mugler) ship had landed in an ancient Mayan community where the woman have all run wild and killed their menfolk and taken over and the aliens have left this bottle behind as a little present. Then centuries later Mr Mugler dug it up and made it into his fragrance bottle. Fantastic. Grab a bottle of genius asap.

ATELIER FLOU BLACK PURPLE

2010-06-13T16:08:00.001+01:00

I love a sensual, rich oriental fragrance and love it even more on my husband! I have discovered the sophisticated warm oriental fragrance for men Atelier Flou’s Black Purple, £115 for 100ml Eau de Toilette, available from Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie, 5^th Floor Harrods, tel. 0207 893 8797, which is rather fabulous. Roja is one of the beauty industry's most knowledgeable and passionate fragrance experts and the most charismatic and fabulous as well! He has the best taste when it comes to unearthing classic fragrance houses and Black Purple from this well established and chic house is a gem.

Fresh hesperidic (citrus family) top notes are blended with the herbaceous Rosemary with floral heart notes and warm Amber and comforting Vanilla, Nutmeg and soothing Vetiver. What I also love is the unusual animalic Liatrix base note, which is both sexy and unique. I really like it when people can’t name your fragrance and there is a bit of mystery in what you are wearing. Grab a bottle and spritz your man in it, which will leave you singing Prince’s Purple Rain and looking at him in sexy slow mo.

REVLON A/W NAIL COLOURS IN RUBY RIBBON AND EMERALD CITY

2010-06-11T19:30:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have a sneak peek at Revlon’s new A/W nail colours. I am a huge fan of Revlon nail colours. They are fashion forward and don’t chip diddy chip. I went on a one woman mission to get the sexy Valentine shade over from the states and almost cried with joy when they brought the shade to the UK! These shades are just as covetable.

The fabulous matte Ruby Ribbon, £6.29, available nationwide, is tres chic and I have it on my nails as I’m typing, it makes me feel a bit mysterious and like I’m in a 1940s film noir. The other new shade is Emerald City, a delicious green with a metallic sheen. The shade reminds me ironically not of Judy Garland in the ‘Wizard of Oz’ (I saw the film again the other day I thought my God someone must have been on tripping on acid when they made that, it really is a bit surreal and psychedelic- genius) but that of Liza Minnelli in Bob Fosse’s ‘Cabaret’, which makes me smile. Paint your nails with either shade and do your best jazz hands and have fun with these fab new shades. Enjoy.

CHRISTIAN DIOR PARFUMS PRESENTS NATALIE PORTMAN

2010-06-10T01:23:00.000+01:00

I’ve always loved Natalie Portman and it’s really exciting that she has been named as Dior’s new face. As an Oscar nominated and Golden Globe winning actress Miss Portman started young at 13 in1994 with her beguiling, hypnotic and slightly disturbing turn as a Lolita esque character in Luc Besson’s brilliant movie 'Leon'.

She is the epitome of class and is a fab choice for Dior. Her diverse roles in the Star Wars trilogy, Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’ and Woody Allen’s ‘Everyone says I love you’ show she’s got the range, darling.

I love the fact Natalie Portman also made that sometimes painful transition from child star to big girl movie girls with dignity and also without a smack habit or images of her rolling out of clubs half cut (are you listening Lindsey?).

She’s also got her education with a degree in psychology from Harvard university. Bravo Dior!

CLAUDIA SCHIFFER AKA BLACK BARBIE

2010-06-04T12:45:00.000+01:00

Today there been a storm of controversy over images of Claudia Schiffer taken two years ago by the legendary Karl Lagerfeld for a Dom Perignon ad campaign gracing the cover of German fashion magazine Stern Fotografie to celebrate its 60 year anniversary.

Now this image has been called tasteless and has been accused of invoking images of ‘blacking up’ where white performers even as recent as the 70s would don black make up and afros to mimic and mock black ethnicity.

To me I don’t find this image is offensive and I feel it wasn’t meant to insult but I would be lying if I said it didn’t hit a few nerves as a black woman.

When I see the image the first thing that springs to mind is the outfit and necklace are bang on for Dynasty fabulousity. They remind me of my mum in the 80s, as a diplomat’s wife she would often kiss me goodbye before being whisked off to some glamourous charity ball at the Dorchester. However, the hair reminds me of a black Barbie doll my mother bought me in the 80s. She was scared I had no positive reaffirming images of black feminine beauty and had it shipped over. My black Barbie had this exaggerated afro and was dressed in a red lace slip, which made her look like a disco singing (‘Street Life’ comes to mind) hooker and this is the problem. As a little black girl and even today we are devoid of seeing many powerful images of black beauty. Yes we have the phone tossing amazon that is Naomi Campbell and younger models (literally!) such as Chanel Iman, however this image just smacks of, “Oh look at Claudia dressed up as a black woman! Oh she is an exotic curiosity”, which I find a bit odd and slightly unnerving.

Back in the day when I was a hot little number hitting the dance floor in clubs doing my thing dancing to ironically jungle music, I would often have young men come up to me from Italy and other European cities where multiculturalism wasn’t as developed in the UK and whisper in my ear that I was like a beautiful panther, which after laughing in their faces I found offensive. This image reminds of that, where people accept and acknowledge black beauty, it’s what I call the Grace Jones effect- where she is a beautiful creature rather than just being beautiful for beauty’s sake, it’s beauty with a black label on. I will be happy when people don’t feel the need to do these kind of images and try and make statements like the Claudia one- even as an artistic expression but here’s hoping. I would love to know what you all think please leave comments.

L’OREAL PARIS NATIONAL MOVIE AWARDS

2010-05-28T15:32:00.001+01:00

On Wednesday I was lucky enough to be invited to the National Movie Awards by L’Oreal Paris. L’Oreal Paris had a beauty room set up in Claridges for both hair and make up to help glamourise everyone, which was fab. I also got to have cocktails with Diane Kruger and her boyfriend Pacey from Dawson’s Creek AKA Joshua Jackson at the Soho Hotel. I got a bit overexcited chatting and hanging out with him, he really was warm, funny and a cheeky chap - is there anyone who didn’t have a crush on him back in the day? I also got to walk the red carpet and my husband was there too filming with our beauty consultancy company Couture Communications, www.couturecommunications.com with the presenter George Lamb who was lovely and super sweet.

As I stopped to say hello and have a chat to my husband on the red carpet, I could see a wave of men walking towards me so I thought I should dash off and as I did I managed to almost smash into in Mr Big himself Chris Noth- he did look a bit startled bless but I got screamed at by a wall of paps telling me to get out the way. Not very cool I felt like a complete nerd.

Once inside it was a really fun and fast show and I was seated within spitting distance of the stage. Tom Cruise didn’t look that short I’m thinking lifts in shoes???? I also did a rise the roof salute to Chris Rock- he was v cool. I was so excited to be seated behind George, Diane Kruger, Pacey AKA Joshua Jackson and next to James Corden (how funny was he on stage) and Dominic Cooper who looked a little sad and thin- it must be heartache from his rumoured split with Amanda Seyfried. I would have given him a hug but obviously that would be stalking right? With Pacey and Katie Holmes AKA Joey only a few rows away from each other, we all were waiting to see if there was some kind of love triangle smack down (Joshua and Katie dated for real during Dawson's Creek) but sadly there was not.

The aftershow party back at Claridges was just as glam and I was rubbing shoulders with Gwyneth Paltrow who looked amazing in pink. Thank you again L’Oreal it was a magical night!

BEAUTY BANG

2010-05-28T12:54:00.003+01:00

It's been a busy and wild couple of beauty weeks for me. I was invited to give a talk to a lecture hall full of Unilever scientists in Holland to get them all fired up about beauty, which was really exciting.

I also met the legendary Dr Weil at an Origins launch, shot beauty films for Sky Showbiz with my beauty consultancy company Couture Communications, attended the National Movie Awards and walked down the red carpet and had cocktails with Diane Kruger and Pacey from Dawson's Creek- OMG. I also went to the Chelsea Flower Show with Estee Lauder's Calyx and had the pleasure to spend the day with the iconic perfumer behind the creation Sophia Grojsman.

I will be blogging all about it so look out for my posts!!!!!!!!

GOODBYE LENA HORNE

2010-05-13T01:51:00.000+01:00

On Sunday the legendary singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist Lena Horne passed away at the ripe old age of 92. Horne joined the famous Cotton Club when she was 16 as a singer and later went on to become one of the first African American women to be in mainstream Hollywood films. She became a star with her hit movie and song ‘Stormy Weather’. Her success in Hollywood was due to the fact she was light skinned and didn’t threaten white audiences of the 30s and 40s with her overt ethnicity.

However, she was a fierce fighter for civil rights and was deeply hurt when her scenes in movies were cut when shown in the Deep South -due to the fact she was black. When asked if she ever considered passing for a white woman, as life would have been much easier she replied, “no never, my grandmother would never have forgiven me!” She also walked out of a USO tour during WWII when she noticed that black US soldiers were seated behind Nazi POWs. Her mantra was “accept me for who I am, do not try to typecast or compartmentalise me”, and she fought to enter buildings through the front door instead of the back as her colour dictated and to swim in unsegregated swimming pools.

I think we all owe a huge debt to Lena in terms of beauty and how we see ourselves. Without pioneers like Lena pathing the way for different types of beauty and ethnicity, we wouldn’t have JLO and her Puerto Rican bottom or Grace Jones and her ebony skin or Beyonce and her shimmering golden goddessness. I salute you Lena for being an amazing artist, inspiration and the epitome of beauty, which is acceptance and celebration of whoever you are without any limits.

NINFEO MIO BY ANNICK GOUTAL

2010-05-11T21:41:00.003+01:00

Good God this election has had me on edge. Five days of a hung parliament, speculation, backroom deals with Nick Clegg the Kingmaker-it’s all a bit much. Now to cap it all off Gordon Brown has resigned ninja stylee and David Cameron is the new PM with a coalition government, our generation hasn’t ever seen. In these uncertain times I need a bit of comfort and have been pumping myself with Annick Goutal’s Ninfeo Mio, prices start from £51 for 50ml.

I love Annick Goutal fragrances as they use the best quality ingredients, feel very individualist and interesting and when I wear them I always get asked by complete strangers what I am wearing, fragrance that is- there are loads of weirdos in London, aren’t there??? Anyway, the fragrance is deeply comforting and creamy and was inspired by a visit to the gardens of Ninfa near Rome by Camille Goutal, Annick Goutal’s daughter and Goutal’s Isabelle Doyen. The fragrance like the garden is laced with a heady smooth mix of bitter orange, petitgrain, fig leaf, lavender and the woody accord of the lemon tree. The bottle is also very chic and makes me feel like a lady and starts my day off with a bit of elegance in these unsettling times.

Whatever happens politically in the next few days my Ninfeo Mio will take the edge off and leave me feeling a bit dreamy. LOVELY.

THIERRY MUGLAR'S WOMANITY.COM

2010-05-04T17:05:00.002+01:00

Theirry Muglar has always been a visionary, whether it has been with his Haute Couture fashion seen on 90s supermodels in George Michael's iconic " Too Funky" Video, which he also directed by the way to his fragrances like Angel, which broke records and the mould in every way.

Now Mr Muglar has launched what I can only call quite a noble new endeavour with Womanity.com. This new site is open to women of the world to express themselves and encourages them to interprete the world around them and post these thoughts on what can only be described as a massive mosaic or patch work made up of their photos and musings. I was really honoured to be asked to contribute to this lady mosaic and please see my photo and quote, which was "What Womanity means to me is the power of creation, whether it's the power to create life, relationships, art, ideas or love" . Please visit the site and add what you want to say, it's a great way to feel connected ironically through technology, which can be incredible isolating. Get in touch with your Womanity today!

KATE HUDSON: PUMP, PUMP IT UP!

2010-05-04T16:07:00.001+01:00

Did she or didn’t she that’s what everyone is asking about Kate Hudson’s suspected boob job??? Here she is in Stella McCartney at Monday’s Costume Institute Gala in New York. If she did have a boob job rather than gain a little poundage by eating cakes and chillaxing with the exercise regime, it’s really telling about how she feels about her body.

I had a friend who had a boob job, it was her 21 st birthday present from her Aunty (cool Aunt- all I get is a call and coupons) anyway she went up to a rather small B cup- like Kate Hudson’s alleged boob job. This modest increase hardly meant my friend was battling Pamela Anderson and Katie Price in the implant stakes. Her boob job was not a sex alert/ look at me message to the world but made her feel more feminine and confident and it really did a lot for her self esteem and the way she presented herself to the world. I think good on you lady, if that’s what you want to do and you feel good about yourself.

The truth is when it comes to boobs and femininity there is a strong link and whether you are small or big- I don’t know one woman who loves and is 100 % happy with hers. I have the biggest boobs known to mankind and don’t really know what it’s like to live in a small boob world. I have had buses stop for me, free black cab rides (please read my black cab beauty post to further elaborate), free Starbucks and Pret coffees and strange men being ever so nice to me while chatting happily to my chest (freaks). However, there is a dark side to having big boobs too, girls can be mean and think you are going to steal their men and white van drivers just assume because of your cup size that you are a slaggggg and that " you love it up you", I am quoting here by the way, while drinking my free decaf latte I have had that shouted at me on Oxford Street -mortifying! So boobs whatever the size really do matter in our society and world for good or for bad. However, if you want to take charge of your body and make yourself happy and your boob job comes from a confident emotional stable place I say pump, pump it up! What do you guys think?

Please tell me what you think in the comments section under this post.