Gotta Wear Shades

Next spring/summer is like, forever away but we can't resist compiling our wishlists in advance. How bonkers are these sunglasses necklaces from Tatty Devine? We'll take all three please.

BEAUTY BUYS FOR UNDER £5

We asked our favourite make-up artist Nadira what her favourite budget beauty buys are:



WET N WILD 3 of a kind, £2.49. A great multi-purpose stick for lips, cheeks and eyes. Choose from three shades to highlight and accentuate your features! Visit http://www.wnwbeauty.com/ for more details).








RIMMEL French manicure Nail Care in Rose Praline and Café au Lait £4.49. These are great neutral shades for everyday. The subtle colours are also great for hiding chips and polish blunders.









BARRY M Glossy Tubes £3.95.
It's an unspoken beauty rule that every girl has got to own at least one lip gloss for each day of the week. But with Barry M's candy-coloured Glossy Tubes you'll find a shade for every occassion too!

BOOTS Fragrance Free Eye Makeup Remover Lotion £1.49
One of the very few lotions on the market that actually shifts the toughest waterproof mascaras. And it’s under £2! Bargain!!!

MISTER MASCARA Eyebrow Groomer £4.87.
This double ended brush/comb will keep brows at bay and lashes clump free. After one use, you’ll wonder why you hadn't bought one before! See www.mistermascara.com for more details.




ME ME ME Beat the Blues Highlighter £4.50.
Most illuminators are really pricey, but this one is a steal! Plus it really does the job and livens up those cheekbones no end.

17 Get Cheeky Cream Blush £2.99.
Achieve a radiant and natural flush with this cheeky buy. TIP: Remember to pat the product on - vigorous rubbing will just wipe it off before you've even left the house!

Graphic Jam

Following on from the designers designing for the high street trend (which let’s face it has outstayed its welcome), we think the next big thing will be designers creating limited edition make-up ranges.

Boots 17 has been an early adopter of this trend and we’re loving their work. After Eley Kishimoto and Antoni & Alison comes Jonathan Saunders, he of the arty graphic prints that have been working the runway this London Fashion Week.

Make a beeline for his lip and eye autumn collection – even the packaging is awesome!

Antoni & Alison’s Anniversary Surprise

We haven’t always loved Antoni & Alison. Like Henry Holland, their witty slogan tees started to grate a bit after a while but this year celebrates their 20th anniversary in fashion so we decided to go along to their London Fashion Week show.

Well, it wasn’t a show in the regular sense of the word but oh my god, what a fantastic production! Set in the Curzon cinema in Mayfair, we entered the auditorium to be greeted by hundreds of multicoloured balloons and a cupcake on each seat from Lola’s Kitchen. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, the show itself was in fact a home-made film called ‘The Party Portraits’, a kooky short film showing a woman getting ready to go to a party and practicing the gestures she thinks necessary for a party, starring none other than…Nicole Kidman! No kidding! Apparently Miss Kidman gave her services free as an anniversary gift to the duo.

Antoni & Alison have always stood out as a company doing their own thing and for that they have a huge following. Plus, it’s great to see something a bit wacky and different amidst all the conventional catwalk shows (even if the clothes were a bit bizarre). Happy Birthday Antoni & Alison!

Beauty Is...

What is beauty? Is it a Marc Jacobs bag? A Chloe dress? Mischa Barton? Or is it a sunset, a smile, an energetic hug? Nivea asked us to take part in a panel discussion to debate the question over coffee and croissants as it launches its latest advertising campaign.

The debate was certainly thought provoking. As teen experts, our opinion is that today's beauty is about confidence. When it comes to outer beauty the recognised standard is conventional beauty - the straight-toothed, symmetrical-featured, size ten type of beauty - but surely this is starting to look old hat?

To us, modern beauty is unconventional beauty, an aesthetic where something unique stands out - think Amy Winehouse with her wacky hair and strong nose, Kate Moss with her child-woman look, snaggly teeth and unkempt hair or Lily Cole with her ravishing red locks, round face and long limbs. These days, beauty is not about so-called perfection, it’s about learning to celebrate our differences. Once we recognize this we boost our confidence and self-esteem and worry less about how people see us. (That said, a Marc Jacobs bag and a Chloe dress go a long way to supporting the cause!)

What's your definition of beauty?

How To Handle Hat Hair

Autumn/winter is all about the hat. Cloches were key at Proenza Schouler, beanies brought street chic to Ralph Lauren and furry headwarmers were all the rage at Anna Sui. But be warned, hat hair can attack any style and hair type! Whether baseball or beret, headgear of any description causes every strand to go in the opposite direction that you want it to.

The main cause for this is that hats cause hair to dry up and therefore turn static. So it's key to keep hair moisturised. This means, as well as using a conditioner after shampooing, try using a rich leave-in styling cream before drying.


Pic: www.nymag.com

More About Models...

No soon as we've posted our "return of the supermodel" prediction, we hear the news that the old, no sorry, original catwalk queens have been working hard to re-live their own superstardom the noughties way - by launching beauty ranges.

First it was Kate with her fragrance, now Erin O'Connor and Helena Christensen have put their names, faces and ideas behind a new range of haircare products aptly named Model.Me! Coincidentally, this season's hair trends saw a throwback to the 80s Amazonian style (see Versace above) that was sported on the likes of Cindy, Helena, Christy et al all those years ago...lets hope these products help us get ours looking that way!

Mad About Models

New York Fashion Week kicks off this week and New York magazine is running a huge models special (http://nymag.com/fashion/models/) to commerate the occasion. Check out these priceless model quotes:
“I don't want to take my clothes off, it's raining.”
Kate Moss, April 1, 2007. The Sunday Times

“I've never looked drib and drab in my life.”
Naomi Campbell, June 2007. W magazine

“I used to dress up as a model for Halloween, like every year.”
Chanel Iman, February 2007. Teen Vogue

Seems like people really are embracing the return of the model. Is the end of the celebrity nigh?

Pencil Case

It's the beginning of term and the start of a new beauty season, so why not sharpen up your beauty bag with a collection of make-up pencils? As you can see from this backstage shot from Alexander McQueens autumn/winter show, eyeliner is bolder and brighter than ever, from Amy Whinehouse stylee flicks to colourful Cleopatra coloured in blocks of colour. But not just for eyes - our favourite beauty crayon collection can makeover your whole look before you can say "pass me the sharpener"....

Best Black Eyeliner: BeneFit Bad Gal
TIP! Line upper and lower lash lines using short but sharp strokes.

Best For Whitening Nail Tips: Sally Hansen 2-in-1 Nail White Pencil
TIP! Run it under your nail for a quick French Manicure groomed look.

Best White Eyeliner: Sisley Phyto-Kohl Perfect Pencil In Snow
TIP! Apply to the inner corners to "wake-up" your eye.

Best For Defining Lips: Benefit D'Finer D'Liner
TIP! Avoid coloured lip liners like the plague! But use this invisible one to seal in colour.

Best for Defining Brows: No7 Japanese Brow Pencil
TIP! Wear it with pastel shades on your eyelids for an on-trend look.