Being a busy PR girl, I adore those saviour products designed for on-the-go moments. Between my PR role and this beauty blog, I am often rushing off post-work to events and so therefore carry a fair few beauty staples in my handbag. I now have a new favourite which is one of those rare finds that once you have it you wind up wondering how you ever functioned without it! This is the Silver Bullet Mini Moods hair straightener with a delectable, stylish look (available online from www.i-glamour.com).

Silver Bullet Mini Moods Hair Straightener in 'Florentine' rrp: $29.95

 Another handbag essential for me is the Borne Naked Handbag Liner. Made from clear plastic, they come in various different sizes so that you can keep all your bits and pieces together, find them with ease and swap between your favourite handbags in seconds.

Borne Naked Handbag Liners prices from $24.95

Lip Therapy pots by Vaseline are super versatile and pocket friendly. You can use them on cuts, chapped lips or dry skin. The formula moisturises, soothes and hydrates skin/lips.

Vaseline Lip Therapy Pots rrp: $3.99

 Polka Dot Mini Slant Tweezers by Tweezerman, are the perfect answer for all your on-the-go plucking needs. Featuring the same professional slant tip Tweezerman is famous for except in a cute little miniature version. The polka-dot designs are adorable, yet still functional. Available in pink with yellow and white dots, black with pink and white dots, or blue with pink and white dots. Each tweezer also come with a bonus clear protective case.

Polka Dot Mini Slant Tweezers rrp: $26.95

The Blush Cheek and Lip Tint by Kit, gives lips and cheeks a natural rosy blush for dewy radiance. Featuring a delicious watermelon scent, this 2-in-1 compacted colour also contains green tea and rose hip extracts with vitamin E. The squeezy tube is pocket-friendly and provides easy pop-on colour in an instant.

Kit Cheek & Lip Tint rrp: $22.95

Vani-T Mineral Eye Crayon rrp: $28.95 each

 For beautiful eye make-up that really pops, try these nifty Mineral Eye Crayons by Vani-T. Each eye crayon provides a shimmering eye-colour shade with one soft sweep! The jumbo pencil application provides easy definition and has a creamy, glide-on formula, which means you can achieve eye-popping perfection in an instant. I would recommend the ‘Steel’ shade: a smoky, silvery-grey colour which creates the perfect rock-chick eye. Team it with a translucent powder base for extra hold. 

Vani-T’s Mineral Eye Crayon is priced at $28.95 and is available in six shimmering shades including: Bronzalicious, Champagne, Crystal, Gold Digger, Platinum and Steel.

For more info, check out: www.vani-t.com.au

Smooth Operator...

This week is all about Tools, or so it seems. First came the boy ‘tool’, who really upset my week.  Then came the beauty tool: the nice, reliable kind, that helps you along the way.  Back from hols and ready for a pre-spring clean, a gorgeous little tool brush landed on the beauty desk . The delivery, from Mr Kevin Murphy, is an exceptional and exquisite little tool. The handcrafted wooden brush was designed (I am told) by a small Spanish supplier located on the north-eastern coast of Spain. How precious is that? Being made of high quality raw materials, it is strong but yet quite lightweight, so you are able to use when styling/blow-drying quite effectively. The brush’s bristles are made from pure natural wild boar to control static and ensure there is no damage to the hair structure. This is a brush like no other and definately worth the investment!  An aptly- named smooth operator…

KM Smoothing Brush rrp: $79.95

Stockist for Kevin Murphy:   call 1800 104 204 ,

Topshop Makeup range

I have been bangin’ on about Topshop make-up for some time now. It is most definately the Brit-girl in me and so I am well aware that Oz-lings who have never visited a Topshop store may be tiring of my weak obsession! So please excuse me on my little rambling, but I wanted to give a brief run down on some of my fave picks from the range picked up on my recent overseas excursion. If  you ever make it there on travels OR  happen to end up on topshop.com, you will now know exactly what to opt for!

For starters, let me just state that I have always been cautious about buying make-up online; it’s fine when you know the product well, however, most of us girls like to go in store and play and I really do think that’s the best way to go. However, the good thing about the Topshop range is that the visuals online are very close to the actual product, so with the colour palettes such as the eyeshadows and lip sticks, you really are getting the colour that you see on screen.

The range is defined (in my opinion!) by it’s playfulness. The packaging design is fun and cutesy, with the white backgrounds and freestyle polka-dots and lines. I love that the lip sticks and eye-liners take on the appearance of crayons- the pieces are definately created to make you get involved and mess around with the palettes. My fave item is the crayon-style lip stick in ‘Vintage’; a gorgeous pinky coral colour that will be perfect for Spring/Summer.

Lip Stick in 'Vintage'

Crayon in 'Moonshine'

Blush in 'Pinch'

For more info check out www.topshop.com and click on the ‘Make-up’ tab!

Picture credits: www.beautybus.co.uk & www.topshop.com

I just got back from my epic Euro trip and i’m now safe and sound (and super jet- lagged) on Australian soil! As you may know from previous posts, I’ve been away for the last couple of weeks touring with my brothers band in the UK (he’s called Example if you wanted to check out his awesome electro-pop! www.trythisforexample.com).

I had a truly amazing time and one of the best bits was watching him at Wireless festival in London’s Hyde Park. Before the gig, I had a chance to wander around the festival grounds and was amazed at the amount of beauty-inspired offerings for festival goers! Now, i’ve always been a bit of a snob when it comes to the festival scene:  i’m reluctant to get all sweaty and dirty and roll around in the mud a-la-Glastonbury, so I was so excited to see steps in place to ensure that you can stay immaculate in the heat and crowds. First off I spotted a mega ‘Elemis Spa’ bus. With various treatments on offer including luxury facials and massages, they were also offering an exclusive ‘Festival Pack’: a mini-satchel containing select Elemis products that come in handy when the heat strikes. So cute!

Elemis Spa Bus

Super cute Elemis Festival Satchel

Next-up was the Superdrug (major UK cosmetics & pharmacy outlet) make-over tents where they had laid on complimentary make-overs for festival goers. So, you can walk in and have your hair spruced up and make-up re-applied by their beauty team and then go back to dancing!  Backstage, the fun didn’t stop and I entered the Bed Head ‘Quick Fix’ and gifting tent where you could receive a selection of their best products as well as a blow-dry/styling session. Delightful!

As the sign above stated: Festivals Just Got A Little More Beautiful….

P.s… I also ran into this guy backstage… too good not to share! x

Oooh I have an exciting new discovery from Nail land to share!  Whilst on vacay in London, I came across a talon treasure by name of ‘Minx‘. It all started when I noticed some super sexy nails on Samantha in SATC2; check out the scene where  she is sitting poolside and pimping out the most delightful shiny gold nails. I was intrigued as to what the polish could be since it’s more of a mirror-like, flashy finish- not your ordinary metallic paint! As luck would have it, a few days later I spotted a girl on the tube sporting the exact nails, my stalking tactics served me well and I was able to catch her up and make my enquiry. The lady in question was more than happy to share her special nail secret and pointed me in the direction of  the über cool WAH Nails in the basement of Topshop (Oxford Circus) where I scheduled an appointment straight away! I discovered that the gold talons are not the result of a magical shiny polish, but are in fact delivered by a foil coating called Minx.

 There are a number of delightful foil designs to choose from (you can check out some designs on the WAH blog!) but I opted for the classic gold. The application takes about 30mins and is well worth the $40 (aprox!) fee. Mine have lasted for over a week now (you can maintain them by painting clear polish over the tips) and I’ve received lots of compliments! They are quite bling so my advice is to tone down accessories and outfit choices so they look classy as opposed to tacky!

What do you think?

You can check out the WAH website for more designs at: www.wah-nails.com and see www.minxnails.com to locate a salon in Australia (at the moment it only looks like they are available in QLD but I am going to do some investgating so will keep you updated!).

Another fresh new idea from LUSH: the fab skincare brand has now introduced a rance of facial tints, which enable you to ‘create-your-own’  tinted moisturiser…pure genius!

There are four Colour supplements to choose from depending on your skin-tone, these consist of: dark pink, light pink, dark yellow and light yellow. All you do is use them with your daily moisuriser for a lighter alternative to foundation. This is a really nifty little product and even works well as a concealer when used straight from the pot.

Colour Supplements are available in LUSH stores nationwide from July, rrp: $17.95 each

I have just been sent the delightful ORLY Sweet Collection and must report that I am absolutely thrilled to have finally got my hands on this brand, which has been on my radar for a long while. The collection showcases cute candy coloured shades of polish including (from L to R-above)  Pixy Stix, Lollipop, Lemonade, Gumdrop, Cotton Candy and Snowcone. I am loving all the colours in this set but i’m already developing a soft spot for Cotton Candy; a versatile, pale pink creme colour, which goes with every outfit combo. The colours have a rich pigment formula, which means you get the exact shade when you pop the paint on your pinkies! And as if this wasn’t enough, each polish comes with an additional mini-matching-lipgloss with the delicious scent of the shade name…awesome! I’m certain these polishes will be on high rotation on my nails for the next couple of months…

ORLY Sweet Collection: 'Cotton Candy'

ORLY Sweet Collection nail lacquers are available from selected salons nationally, rrp: $18.95 each and they will hit stores in August 2010.

For more info check out: www.orlybeauty.com.au