Its ALL about Bronze mascara this week. We have sold out of the BECCA Ultimate mascara in Bronze TWICE now. How wonderfully savvy our customers are! A little something special on your lashes is a great way to channel the S/S'09 metallic trend!

The Apprentice: Sandalwood Soap Opera!

I thoroughly enjoyed Wednesday's episode of the Apprentice! The challenge was to make a beauty product. The tragedy was, one team made a great product (that wouldn't have looked out of place on the shelves at Lush!- the host of this challenge) but lost due to losing track of finances. A fatal error it turns out as the other team, led by the more than hopeless Nooral, actually managed to scrape through and win.....surely he'll be fired as soon as he has the misfortune of stepping into that boardroom!!

Here are the pretty products that team leader Paula created. And luxurious as well, with lashings of the pricey sandalwood oil making it smell all gorgeous!

Mischa Barton on Cellulite

So, Mischa Barton has posed naked for Cosmo to finally put an end to the scathing attacks she has been subjected to of late regarding her cellulite issues.

Do you remember the uproar surrounding the pap snaps from her trip to Australia? Its amazing how excited we all get! Comments varied, from the people that were horrified that Mischa had cellulite at the age of 22, through to those that blamed overly retouched images for the 'fake' ideals that preside over the beauty industry.

Personally, I do enjoy flipping through the pages of a glossy magazine and seeing the aspirational images of beauty. But that is all they are- aspirational. They are not real. Its important to remember that before attacking someone for displaying signs of reality!

Good for Mischa, although the retouched images of her splashed across the Cosmo pages are definitely verging on the 'aspirational'!

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector

This week it seems like you are all inspired by the idea of Luminous Skin. We just can't seem to keep the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in stock! I am not really suprised, it is a GREAT product.

I use the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector as a base under my foundation in the evening or on days where i want my skin to appear especially glowing!

I always get compliments on my skin when I use it. I currently have the BECCA Skin Perfector in Opal, which I love, but when I run out I think I'm going to try the Gold or the Rose.

I don't like luminisers that make your skin look to greasy or to shiny...this one just gives you that healthy, glowing sheen!

Time to stock up on Blush!

Be Cheeky

It seems the rosy glow has replaced the tan this season as the new feel-good complexion enhancer. To replicate the sort of fresh flush you get from a hike in the Scottish Highlands, try a cream blush such as Model Co’s Cheeky Tints, £17.62, or Becca’s Cream Blush, £21.63 blended into the apples of the cheeks (this is where we naturally flush). For longer lasting colour, top off with a powder blush such as Korres Zea Mays Powder Blush, £16.15.

2009 trends brought to you by Susannah Taylor.

Spring/Summer 09 Beauty Trends

Susannah Taylor explores the new smokey eye:

Softly smoked

When it comes to smoky eyes, brown is the new black. Softer, more flattering and more expensive-looking than rock chick ebony, shades of chocolate and chestnut also look more modern. One look we’ll be stealing this spring is hot off the Valentino catwalks – a blend of chocolate brown, enhanced with a layer of burnished gold on the centre of the lids and the inner corners of the eyes for dazzling, bejewelled effect. Try Becca’s eye colour in brocade, £16.64 and customise with Becca’s Jewel Dust, £16.64 in Xantho, a burnished bronze gold.

Elle UK Beauty Website

I must admit, I am a big fan of the new look Elle website. It is the first online environment that really represents the physical magazine well, with great online content.
Check it out at http://www.elleuk.com/beauty

I definitely respect people that are making a big effort to make the online environment a little more glamorous!

Well done Elle!

Spring/Summer 09 Beauty Trends

Susannah Taylor takes us through the surge in lipstick sales:

Big Mouth


They say that lipstick sales increase during a recession – it’s the cheapest, quickest way to change your look, alter your mood and give a glamour hit without sending your mortgage into arrears. It’s no wonder then that the catwalks were awash for spring/ summer with lip-smacking brights, from shocking fuchsia to tomato red and candy pinks. The key to wearing colour now is to choose lipstick over gloss - more modern, more sophisticated - we love Korres’ Mango Butter Lipsticks in Coral, Fuchsia, Peach and Orange Red £14.69, to be applied with a brush such as Becca’s Travel Lip brush, £22.51 for colour-popping precision.

Spring/Summer 09 Beauty Trends

The Spring/Summer '09 Beauty Trends have just launched on http://www.zuneta.com/! Susannah Taylor, our f avourite beauty writer (and Beauty Editor at Vogue in her past life) has highlighted the 5 key trends that we'll all be embracing this spring. Lets start with the biggest trend- gorgeous, luminous skin:

Super Luminous

If there’s one big trend we’ll all be dipping into this spring/ summer, then it has to be the sculpted, luminous complexion. From Prada to Stella McCartney and Calvin Klein, make-up artists used luminizing lotions and potions and various nude shades to subtly enhance models’ features. It’s a look that’s as close to real-life re-touching as make-up gets.To get the look, make your first stop a sheer foundation such as Becca’s Luminous Skin Colour, £32.30 and blend into the areas you need it most. Next, invest in a cream highlighting product such as Model Co’s Luminosity Highlighting Serum, £15.66 and apply to the areas of your face that naturally catch the light such as brow bones, cheekbones, the bridge of your nose, and your cupid’s bow. Finally take a shadow-like powder such as Korres’ Zea Mays Powder Blush, £16.15 in Orange Brown and ‘sculpt’ areas that recede, like under the cheekbones, the jaw line and in the eye sockets.

(Spring Trends by Susannah Taylor)