ELEMIS PRO- COLLAGEN CLEANSING BALM

I'm so excited to be in Aspen for the Aspen Shorts Fest as one of the short films Dronemovie.co.uk, my husband wrote, directed and we produced through our company Third Man Films has been selected to show here! Aspen was always one of my dream destinations. I just loved the idea of huge mountains, log cabins and Apres ski in the form of hot tubs and hot chocolate. Aspen is everything I thought it would be and more.

Everyone here is so welcoming and says hello to you in the streets and coming from London where all eye contact is to be avoided, it did feel very alien but a couple of days in quite lovely! As well as feeling like you are being bear hugged by cuddly awe inspiring mountains, as they surround the town being 8,000 ft above sea level the air is very dry here. The air is delicious and clean but with not much moisture my beauty routine has been taken up a notch.

I brought  along with me Elemis' new Pro- Collagen Cleansing Balm, www.timetospa.co.uk, which I like to call a 'spa in a jar', as it smells like being on a therapy bed in an Elemis Spa being smothered with warm fragrant oils..... amazing. As well as it's heady aroma, it's packed with precious starflower, elderberry oils with decadent rose and mimosa waxes that melt onto the skin removing make up and leaving skin feeling nourished and soft. You can also use the balm as a treatment mask for 10 mins to leave you feeling deeply relaxed and the skin feeling soothed. Between the mountains and this mask I've been floating about Main Street (yes it's really called Main Street, it's like the town from It's a Wonderful Life here, it's soooo fabulous I love it here).

To lock in the moisturise my trusted Creme de La Mer, The Moisturising Soft Cream, www.cremedelamer.co.uk, also made it on the trip here with me. I have combination skin but as I'm in my mid 30s now I still need moisture and some anti-aging help but minus the grease. The soft cream really delivers as it leaves my skin feeling soft, silky and radiant and is also a great base for make up, with a Mr whippy, buttery texture I love pressing into the skin. Enjoy!

BOBBI BROWN SHEER FINISH PRESSED POWDER IN WARM CHESTNUT

Finally the beauty gods have answered my prayers with Bobbi Brown's new Sheer Finish Pressed Powder. As you all know I'm a huge Bobbi Brown fan- the make up leaves you looking like you but just better- without being drag-a-licious and the quality and range of colours for all skin tones is fabulous.

Now I've never been a big fan of powders because 1. they always looked too ashy on my darker skin tone and 2. I do love a dewy glow to the skin but I was really shocked and pleasantly surprised with the colour extensive of this iconic pressed powder. As you beauty junkies may know basic brown was the darkest shade the powder came in. I was always happy that Bobbi gave a nod to having a powder to darker shades as many other brands don't. However, with the new shades golden brown and warm chestnut for the first time ever I questioned whether these shades may actually be wait for it - too dark for me! That's a first people.

The powder is finely milled and silky and just adds a touch of polish to your foundation. It won't settle into lines or leave you looking like Bette Davis in, "Whatever happened to Baby Jane". It makes me feel very grown up and pulled together after having a light sweep of the warm chestnut applied all over my face. If you too are a bit put off with powders, as you feel as a make up artist once said to me like a chocolate truffle i.e. all matte and powdery, a la Naomi Campbell in the 90s with that the heavy natural look. Instead reach for this compact it will rock your beauty world. Enjoy!

LANCOME TEINT VISIONNAIRE AND ALEX BABSKY

Growing up I loved movies and make up. So for me my rock and roll stars were and still are make up artists. To this day I get very excited when I meet my make up heroes and I had so much fun filming with the fabulous make up artist and Lancome's UK Make- Up Ambassador Alex Babsky. Lancome has just launched their latest foundation with the most delicious skin care benefits enriched with Vitamin CG that help to not only conceal but correct your skin imperfections such as dark spots, pores and wrinkles. The foundation comes in a rather nifty 2 parts with a mirror and concealer on the top half and a liquid foundation on the bottom half. The fact it comes in 18 shades (I'm shade number 13 lucky for me) makes me want to cry. Finally major brands are realising that catering to everyone is what it's all about. I'm turning 35 this year and the fact that the past 18 months has been the first time in my life I have had a wardrobe of foundations all in my shade without having to mix and get the correct 2-3 shades is shocking and both a relief. I say BRAVO Lancome and congrats on a really innovative and fabulous new foundation. Check out the films below to get Alex's top tips on how to choice the perfect shade for your skin tone, apply foundation and also conceal and perfect your skin using the new Teint Visionnaire!

STUDIO LINE MATT & MESSY

If like me you are a child of the 80s you will remember stu stu studio line! Along with the Bourjois make up TV ads, these all formed part of my formative beauty years. The past few months have been super fun and busy with lots of filming with my production and creative agency www.couturecommunications.com. I was so excited to be working with the very latest generation of Studio Line products Matt & Messy, which has just launched. We have created a series of films on how to create the latest A- List looks using the new line. Check out the films below on how to create a messy bun and messy updo for your very own red carpet A-list moment.



How to Create a Messy Bun 

How to Create a Messy Up Do

BUTTER LONDON STARKERS LACQUER COLLECTION

I do love all things nails. When I say love I mean it. I have even bled..like real blood in my love and pursuit of fabulous nail art. Back in the day in the 90s when I was in school my friend and I went to the Odeon to see a movie. She had just received- by post a nail piercing kit from some kind aunt in the US (this was before internet shopping people). I was so excited to give it go I made her pierce my nail with a sharp mental drill in the back of the cinema in the dark (why do you have zero common sense as a teen), anyway after some bleeding and screams I had my first nail piercing on a perfect 90s french manicure thank you very much. 

A couple of decades on and piercings aside and post footballers wives french manicures I still do love a nude nail. Butter London one of my favourite nail ranges are launching the Starkers Lacquer Collection, www.butterlondon.com, with 3 nudes. I could literally kiss them, as often when people launch nudes there ain’t nothing for me to create hot mannequin nails. However, the new collection have a light creme, soft beige and warm tan, I would happily wear any of them but it’s a pleasant surprise that all skin tones have been thought of. The same goes for tights, it’s much better today but you have a look for nude tights for darker skin tones, they are hard to come by and if they are good enough for Kate Middleton....... anyway grab yourself a bottle for pain free chic nails. 

CHRISTMAS HOLLYWOOD RETRO CURLS

Oh I do love this time of year when it's icy cold and your sparkley outfits come out from the back of your cupboard and the slap goes on for parties and dos. If you want to get glamourous hair (remember the Texan adage the higher the hair the closer to God) I love that have a look at the film we produced at Couture Communications for John Frieda on getting Hollywood Retro Curls all super achievable to do by yo' self. Enjoy.

BOBBI BROWN CREAMY MATTE LIP COLOR

Like a pair of killer Louboutins, which make you walk a little bit taller and with a spring in your step, lipstick can also bring out the sex kitten in you. I don’t know what it is but when I pull out a lipstick and slather it on, I feel so grown up like a woman in a Film Noir or Alexis Carrington from Dynasty, all big blow dried hair and ready to kick ass darling. My latest lipstick obsession is Bobbi Brown’s Creamy Matte Lip Color, £18, www.bobbibrown.co.uk. The formula is very 21^st century, which won’t give you 80s flashbacks of matte lipsticks, which left your lips dry and cracked and looking as if you had been eating bowls of salted peanuts all day without drinking anything. Bobbi’s new matte lipstick is creamy and packed full of pigment and leaves lips feeling cushioned and soft, which I love. I’m wearing the Crushed Plum and Razzberry, which look great on darker skin tones and the True pink and Warm Beige look like they will become instant classics. Grab one today!