SUPER BOWL BEAUTY 2010 WITH KIM KARDASHIAN AND HER BUSH

The Super bowl in the U.S. happened last Sunday and is a huge cultural and sporting affair, with most of the country watching the big game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts. Ok, that’s quite enough of that, not that I care about the Super bowl but it was quite fabulous for the beauty and celeb spotting with Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore as well as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt who were putting on an Oscar worthy performance of ‘we are not breaking up people’. Personally, I think the lady doth protest too much.

Anyway, the real celeb who was on full WAG duty was Kim Kardashian, who I love for being dark haired and big bummed while growing up in LA LA land- she must be so hard. Anyway, she was there supporting her off but back on again boyfriend Reggie Bush, who was playing on the winning side with the New Orleans Saints. Now, Kim’s nails were quite something as she had them painted gold and black, Bush’s team colours with his name and Jersey number on them. Now if I was watching ‘High School Musical 3’ and a cheerleader was doing this for her quarterback beau, I would think this was to be expected but from a 29 woman???? What do you guys think- is this nail empowerment and fierce or is it totally WAG-a-licious?

CALVIN KLEIN ETERNITY FOR MEN AQUA

Last week I went to a rather fab fragrance launch for men by Calvin Klein, www.calvinkleinfragrances.com at the new bar/restaurant /club Aqua on Regent street. I met the new face of the fragrance model Ben Hill who was totally charming and lovely. The legendary photographer David Sims shot the campaign in the Hamptons. Rather fittingly Calvin Klein’s latest reincarnation of Eternity is also called Aqua and is a modern aquatic woody fragrance. The fragrance has a outdoorsy, elegant and refined feel (think Daniel Craig as Bond by a pool with a G&T in his hand) with top notes of clean, fresh chilled cucumber, water lotus and drenched green leaves with heart notes of classic Mirabelle Lavender, Szechuan pepper and warming sandalwood, patchouli and Guaiac wood. Grab a bottle for the man in your life but I can’t promise he will turn into Daniel Craig!

CHANTECAILLE: SEXY LIPS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Valentine’s Day is hurtling towards us and getting a good bit of slap with a new lipstick and gloss is all part of the fun. If you’re in a beauty rut and want to give your look a revamp in time for V day, go to the Chantecaille counter at Fenwick’s for a glass of champagne and chocolate now until the 14th Feb, where experts on counter will help choose a new lip look. Chantecaille do some of the best lip colours on the market, as the textures are high tech and feel really good on the lips, are packed full of pigment and looks good on all skin tones. Pre-book your appointment by calling 0207 629 9161 and appointments cost £10 redeemable against a Chantecaille purchase and every guest who books a make over will receive a complimentary full size lip gloss worth £21. Happy Valentine’s Day.

FROM THE HILLS TO JERSEY SHORE

I am a freelance beauty journalist as you know and I work from home and that means I watch lots of TV. I'm one of those people who like to work with a bit of background noise, so an ideal day for me is booty shaking to Beyonce's top 40 videos while working on a deadline. I also love watching E! News and ‘The Hills’. 

Now lots of you have been emailing me telling me you loved my ‘I heart Britney and Modern Beauty’ post so thank you and it would be great to see what you think about this beauty observation! 

As I said I love ‘The Hills’, the reality show about young 20 somethings working at Teen Vogue magazine, in fashion Pr, events pr and partying in LA at the best night spots. The show focuses on female friendships such as bitching, hooking up with your friend’s ex-boyfriend as well as the support and the kindness women offer each other, which you never see on TV. No matter your age, female friends and relationships are extremely important to women in a way men often don't understand or get. Look at the long suffering Toni Terry and her wayward husband footballer John Terry. Out of all his women and conquests his supposed shagging of her friend and fellow WAG Vanessa Perroncel had to hurt the most. Oh to a fly on her wall at Toni's house when she gets back from Dubai, as her girlfriends gather round to support her and bitch over coffee. 

‘The Hills’ have made stars of young blonde barbie esque girls such as Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port and Heidi Pratt. However, ‘The Hills is sooooo yesterday as ratings are falling due to the credit crunch. In boom times, it was fun to see 21year old girls launching their own fashion lines, driving in BMWs and toting Chanel and Hermes birkin bags. However, our American cousins like us are tightening their belts and most of us are now shopping at Aldi rather than M & S everyday. As a result people in the US have turned to the new reality show ‘Jersey Shore’, about young Italian Americans in Jerrrsey baby, who live to party and fist pump in the air on the dance floor. The show’s stars are girls such as Snooki (she looks like Amy Winehouse if Tony Soprano was her dad) doing knickerless cart wheels on the dance floor, she also got punched in the face while at a club by a drunk random (classy). The guys or guidos such as 'The Situation' (that's his actually name) hunt women to take home, fake tan and use enough gel and hair spray in their rather 80s throw back hairstyles to create their own hole in the ozone (again that's the boys), it's rather fabulous watch it!

I think it's really interesting in boom times it was all about the LA west coast blonde beauties and in the economic downturn people have been put off by their excessive consumption for East coast dark haired Italian Americans, whose lifestyles seem more real and relatable, in that we all remember shaming ourselves back in the day. I remember trotting about in a silver mini skirt, it was the whole space man thing in the late 90s over broken glass bottles in open toe heels at 3am waiting for a nightbus in Leiceister square with my home girls-you know who you are. Oh those were the days...... 

What do you think? 

ELEMIS 20TH ANNIVERSARY!

Last night I went to the 20^th anniversary party for Elemis. The party was packed full of loyal followers of the brand and celebs such as Yasmin Le Bon, Lisa B and Trinny Woodall. I have always been a huge fan of the very British brand as the treatments are not your average rub down but are a truly holistic experience for the mind, body and soul. I love the day spa just off the hectic and busy Bond street in central London and it’s only after an amazing treatment, which is medicinal as well as luxurious where you get to unwind, tense muscles are soothed and you have a chance to quieten your mind, that you realise that London living can really leave you feeling a bit battered and exhausted.

I also love Sean and Noella the driving force and heart of the well loved brand as they really are soulful people who deeply believe in the giving back, creating great quality products and spa experiences. In true Elemis style after 20 successful years the beauty company is giving back with  two 20^th Anniversary limited edition products with the iconic Skin Nourishing Milk Bath which is great for dry skin with its soothing oat extract and Japanese camellia oil, repackaged in an Italian glass decanter. The ultimate anti-aging face cream Pro Collagen Marine Cream has also been pimped out with a Limited edition 100 ml jar and a special silver lid. The most special part of the 20^th Anniversary limited editions is that a percentage of the profits will go to the charity Mothers4Children founded by Yasmin Le Bon and Lisa B, which supports existing charities such as Kids Company and F.R.O.D.O, the foundation for the relief of disabled orphans in Romania.

Well done and congratulations Elemis!

I HEART BRITNEY AND MODERN BEAUTY

Hello my name is Ateh and I love Britney Spears. There, I said it and I am not ashamed. I have always loved her from the beginning. I loved the marketing juggernaut behind her image and brand, which actually made the public believe for just one second, she was an innocent teenage virgin and not the Britney we now know. Genius. Respect .

I also love Britney’s dancer’s body, which in her heyday in the ‘I’m a slave for you’ video was like a race horse, all lean yet muscular and healthy, as you couldn’t dance like that if were a weak size zero Rachel Zoe wannabe only eating green salad. I also love Britney the survivor and how she has bounced back after her multiple melt downs, divorces, pink wigs and babies. She’s a grafter I like that too and also the way her hair changes from Blonde Britney I’m a pop star to Brunette Britney I’m being introspective, so please take me seriously or I will flip and lose it again. On her road back to mental wellness and pop stardom the Baptist Britney has released her latest song '3', all about threesomes- praise be! The video is fab and I was watching it on my i phone the other day when I noticed they seemed to have used a very old trick to make Britney look more starry and prominent in the video.

It suddenly hit me that a few frames of the video reminded me of a 18th century fashion trick where rich ladies of quality would be painted with their black maids/slaves next to them to make them pop, look fairer in the picture and also show off their wealth due to the fact they could afford an exotic black maid/slave.

In Britney’s video she is flanked by hot black and Hispanic dancers, which does make her pop with her white swimsuit and blonde hair. However, unlike in the 18th century Britney is fake tanned within an inch of her life but the comparisons do seem very similar. Britney does look good, the dancers do look good but it just reminded me of the times when Asian, Black and Hispanic beauty was not considered beautiful but comical with big lips, boobs and bums. Thank God for JLO’s bum! In terms of making ethnic bodies and sensuality acceptable and desirable we have a lot to owe to Ms Lopez. Without JLO, Eva Mendes, Jessica Alba, the Kardashian sisters, Nicole from the Pussycat dolls, Beyonce or other ethnic women wouldn’t be seen as the goddesses they are but as ladies who need to tone up. Now women like Heidi from 'The Hills' turn to plastic surgeries like lip collagen injections, boob jobs and even butt implants - the world has certainly changed.

What do you guys think?

DIOR HAUTE COUTURE SHOW

I was really blown away by the look at Dior’s Haute Couture show in Paris last week. Pat Mcgrath the legendary make up artist who created the looks really is a visionary and is a bit of a rock star in the beauty world. Other beauty journalists like me, get a bit silly and overexcited by her work and her down to earth personality. I love the drama, romanticism and historical referencing in the look. If you want to give a nod to the look, reach for Diorskin Nude Foundation in Ivory or if you have darker skin think matte and powdered, with plenty of black liquid liner and on the lips Rouge Dior Replenishing Lipcolour in Red Premiere or Celebrity Red. Bravo Madame McGrath and Monsieur Galliano!