4 fabulous oils to treat your skin this winter

Brrrrrr! When I was living in Australia I really missed winter in London. That feeling of walking in the crisp air, all wrapped up in chunky layers and dreaming of hot baths.

This year I've noticed more than ever just how much winter can play havoc with my skin. Particularly central heating! I'm getting through my giant 500ml bottle of E45 lotion like noone's business (it's the bees knees on parched, flaky legs by the way. Apply liberally to dry skin after a bath or before bed).

For my face I've been turning to oils. Here are some of my tried and testeds...

1. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate (£36 for 30ml)

I think this was the first face oil I ever bought and I loved it. Replenishing, nourishing and perfect worn on its own in the summer months or under your regular moisturiser at night (be mindful not to use a moisturiser with SPF at night as this can clog the skin unnecessarily, particularly if it's a topical SPF rather than a chemical one).

2. Medik8 C-Tetra Serum (from £28 for 30ml)

I was recommended this recently by a friend who's a facialist. Not only does it smell divine (like freshly squeezed orange juice!) but my skin looks and feels noticeably softer. Wear a couple of drops twice daily, on its own or under your regular moisturiser for an extra antioxidant boost. 

3. Aēsop Fabulous Face Oil (£40 for 30ml)

Do you get dry and congested skin in the winter? I do. Which is why I decided to give Aesop's Fabulous Face Oil a whirl. Made with 9 botanicals including macadamia seed, sweet almond, hazel and jasmine it leaves my skin with a velvety texture. It also promises to clear up any congested areas and I've definitely noticed a difference around my jaw since I've been using it (I get hormonal spots). The only thing that might put you off is the smell (it's pretty potent - not that it smells bad, just intensely floral!).

4. Orico Superico Vitamin Rich Face Oil (£30 for 30ml)

I was given a sample of this last February when I was house sitting for a friend of mine off the King's Road (there's an Orico shop at 315 Kings Road, see oricolondon.co.uk for details). The sample was a generous size so I was able to wear it consistently over a full week. I loved the effect it had on my skin together with the company's organic ethos. I suspect it's only a matter of time before I invest in a full size bottle.

Other face oils I'd like to test...

• Una Brennan Super Facialist Rose Hydrate Oil (£14.99 for 30ml)

• Sarah Chapman's Overnight Facial (£46) - the name alone has me at hello!

• Decléor Aromessence Oils (various according to skin type, from £44) 

To get the most out of your skincare remember to drink plenty of water (sipping herbal teas is a great solution during the winter months) and be careful not to overload the skin with too much product. Thin layers applied more regularly are better than one thick layer.

Do you have a favourite face oil? I'd love to know!

A Manicure Marvel (and £5 off your first booking)

Hi, I'm Natalie and I have a slight (ahem) obsession with nails. Not nail art mind you, although some of the more subtle nail art designs can be unbelievably chic such as this and this (but more on that another time).

Today I want to tell you about a new mobile manicure service that has recently launched in London. Ladies (and gents) you'll want to jot this one down in your little black books. Trust me.

GlossPod's new 'manicures on demand' service mean you can book a nail technician to come meet you anywhere (and I mean, literally ANYWHERE)... your home, your office, the tube?! (seriously, check it out). 

Personally I find the idea of having a mani in the comfort (and warmth) of my own home, with no make up on and wearing my slippers, unbelievably appealing. So that's exactly what I did.

The online booking process took mere minutes and was later confirmed by text. On the morning of, my nail technician Jade arrived exactly on time, knocking softly at the door (very much appreciated!).  Jade was friendly (had a lovely energy about her), was quick to set up and keen that I was comfortable. 

Manicures can make for a wonderful treat, but only when they're done well (a bad manicure can leave me feeling narked for days, not to mention frustrated having spent my hard-earned cash on a service that I could frankly do better myself at home!)

A decent manicure should include:

• a brief consultation
• accurate and gentle nail filing 
• cuticle soak and tidy
• hand and arm massage
• professional application (base coat, 2x coats of preferred colour, top coat)
• a smile/conversation

...and that's exactly what I got from GlossPod. 

Image credit: Nail The Day Blog

I'd been wearing a lot of burgundy shades on my nails and was feeling a bit 'meh' about residual Christmas sparkle so Jade and I talked about the power of a good red. She had a great selection with her but in the end I opted for one of my trusted favourites: Big Apple Red by OPI (from £11.95).

I'd recently switched from 'squoval' to almond (BIG move people) and was keen to keep my new nail shape. We both agreed Big Apple Red looks stunning on shorter, groomed nails so she carefully filed them down checking in with me that the length and finish were both OK.

Jade was great to chat to. I discovered she'd owned her own salon previously, spent several years working in fashion and had even done Ms. Wintour's talons! (well if it's good enough for Anna).

After filing and tidying my nails she gave me a wonderful hand and arm massage using CND's divine smelling Mango and Coconut hand and body lotion. I could still smell it on my hands several hours later and was seriously tempted to buy some. Jade said it works wonders on super dry and cracked winter hands (and she was right).

Jade's Top Tips

During my manicure Jade gave me two fabulous tips:

1. Cuticle Maintenance

During my manicure I was bemoaning to Jade that not all nail technicians know how to correctly trim back the cuticle and asked if there was something I could do at home to help keep them in check. She suggested rubbing CND's cuticle treatment* into bare nails and then gently buffing them against a dry towel (top tip!). 

* NB: CND Cuticle Eraser® is the at-home product. CuticleawayTM - if you can hold of some - is salon grade.

2. The Big Clean Up

I've always used cotton buds to clean up any splodges but Jade suggested investing in Wah Nail's clean up brush (£4 at Boots). Simply dip the brush in nail varnish remover for a super neat finish.

Coat vintage Hobbs, shawl Accessorize, rings Monica Vinader, lip: Nars Dragon Girl velvet matte pencil

My manicure lasted seven days, only slightly chipping only on the right hand after five days' wear.
A very welcome treat.

Makeup Debate Offer!
Simply enter MAKEUPDEBATE at the GlossPod checkout for £5 off your first booking (whoop!). Terms and conditions apply. Please see website for details yadda yadda.

GlossPod manicures: Home manicures from £25.00. Office manicures available as corporate packages (prices starting at £15 per person for group bookings) or individual sessions (please enter your office address via the 'Home' booking).

Broken Nail? No problem! GlossPod now offer an Emergency booking service (from £15).

Male Grooming: Chaps, The 3 Key Areas You Need To Be Looking At

Male models must have skin of the gods right? Some have amazing skin but the majority have skin just like any other mere mortal, namely, a bit dehydrated, the odd spot (try twenty) and great big shiny patches (hurrah!)

Here are the 3 things I look out for when I'm doing male grooming.

Happy as Larry with my own makeup station at the Gieves & Hawkes show at Christie's recently
(it's got LIGHTS and everything :)

Official skincare sponsor 

If you pay even a little bit of attention to the following 3 things I guarantee you'll feel and look on top form:

• Skin
• Under eye area
• Brows (and other hairy bits)

1. Skin

A person's skin is one of the first things I consciously (or perhaps subconsciously?) notice about someone. When do you notice a person's skin? When it's looking great or when it's looking not so great?

I believe that the skin is as much a window to the soul as the eyes. Our skin speaks volumes about our lifestyle, diet and general stress levels so it's worth thinking about how you can take better care of yours. Us girls, well, we're lucky given it's arguably universally accepted that we will turn to makeup to hide signs of tiredness, a hangover, or illness. But what about guys? What can you do?

The best starting point is to work out your skin type*.

Next time you spot a mirror in a room with good natural light take a good look at your skin (and I mean a GOOD look). A great time to do this is during the middle of the day and preferably not after a shower (water strips the face of its natural oils).

Ask yourself:

- Does my skin feel tight anywhere? (you are probably dry or dehydrated)

- Do I have a shiny t-zone? (forehead, nose, chin)

- Am I oily all over?

- Does my skin feel/look quite sensitive or congested?

Once you know how your skin behaves it's far easier to choose the right product to treat it.

Ever wondered what the differences are between men and women's skin? Click here to read what skincare specialists Dermalogica have to say.

* If you're unsure, ask a female and they should be able to tell you.

John from Next models was my first model on the day.

My Top Skin Tips 

• Guzzle water. Like, all the time. It's without a shadow of a doubt the best thing you can do for your skin (I'm talking to the girls here as much as the guys).

• Invest in a decent moisturiser that is appropriate for your your skin type (think oil-free for oilier skins, hydrating for dry etc). Also, look for moisturisers with built in SPF/broad spectrum. Some of my favourite skin ranges for gents include: 
• Cowshed Bullocks range (my soon-to-be brother in law has been requesting the Bullocks moisturiser 2 Christmases in a row now. I think he likes it)
• Kiehl's (super impressed with their new liquid SPF 50....it's like a milk and is so easily absorbed. Perfect for guys!)
• Aveda

• For the more adventurous among you why not take a look at some of the tinted skin products now available for men: 
• Energizing Bronze Cream from Recipe For Men (£30, available from yes-sir.com)
• Sheer Tint SPF20 (£33 approx, comes in 3 shades, for women and men)

Highlight of my eve: having my photo taken with 

ex-porn star (ahem) / super successful model Aiden Shaw *sigh*

Clinique Anti-Fatigue Eye Gel (£23)

2. Under Eye Area

What's your concern? Puffiness? Dark circles? Dryness? 

For puffiness:

• Choose a cooling eye gel or roller ball (like this one by Clinique or Mazorin's aptly titled Working Late Eye Serum £21). Any eye cream that has caffeine as an ingredient will also help with puffiness as caffeine boosts circulation.
• Home remedy: Lots of makeup artists swear by cold used green tea bags kept in the fridge. Wrap them in cling film to keep the air/bacteria out. When you want to use one unwrap two and place one over each eye for 5 mins.

For dark circles:

• Don't be afraid of a tinted eye cream/product (like this one by Recipe For Men). Orange cancels out blue on the colour wheel so a peach tinted eye cream/concealer will give your under eye area a bit of a subtle lift. Strike the right balance and no one will know. When I'm doing grooming or prepping a gentleman to appear in front of the camera, if he has really dark circles I only conceal a little bit. Guys aren't meant to look flawless but you can certainly dabble ;)

For dryness:

• For dryness an eye cream is best (rather than an eye serum). Be careful not to overload the eye area. Take a tiny amount and apply it using your ring finger to the outer edge dabbing inwards. Pat, pat, pat until it's absorbed. Do not wipe (waste of product).

Declan from Elite. 22 and has had a beard since he was 19. He told me he doesn't
actually know what his adult face looks like without a beard! (bless)

3. Brows (and other hairy bits)

The key thing here is subtlety.  Personally, I like a guys' brows to be groomed but not preened. 

Top tips:

• Thread much? If your brows are bushy or you've got a bit of a mono brow going on it's worth asking your barber if they offer a threading service. Or you can pay a visit to one of the Blink bars where an expert threader will subtly (and discreetly) give you a bit of a tidy. Decide ahead of the appointment what you want tidied (a good threader will know how to thread men's brows versus a woman's brows).

• Watch out for the rogue brow. Gents, even I get these every now and then...a brow hair that seems to triple in length overnight and can awkwardly catch the light the next day in your business presentation or date if you're not careful.

Other hairy bits:
- beards should be well maintained no matter the length. Consider investing in a beard oil (Tom Ford's launched one!) or one of the fabulous beard products available on yes-sir.com.

I'll leave you with some more images from the show...

 Minutes after this shot was taken someone managed to stream *a live football match* from their laptop.
You should have seen these 6ft 4 adonises suddenly become goofy smiling kids!

The guys are briefed by the brand's creative director. Lots of talk about being the creme-de-la-creme, how they need to ooze confidence...etc.

Check out the pony-skin coat

The show took over two of the great rooms at Christies with each model stood on a plinth. The centre of each room was devoid of light so that the lights streaming down onto each model were the primary focus. It looked FANTASTIC.

I should have called The Hat Appreciation Society whilst I was there....you've never seen so many fabulous hats!

Fellow makeup artist Angus and I enjoying a rather lovely glass of champers

Hope you found that useful/interesting and thanks for reading :)

An indulgent purchase (naughty!)

When it comes to spending money on luxury makeup or beauty I'm surprisingly fussy. 

I nearly always test products to death before I buy them... (a recent exception to this rule was the Aesop Fabulous Face Oil I bought on Christmas Eve when I should have been buying presents for other people??! I blame the super cute Aussie male assistant who served me, haha). 

Oribe 

For those of you who haven't heard of this insanely beautiful-smelling haircare brand, Oribe (pronounced OR-bay) is the name of its founder - tattooed Cuban hairdresser to the stars who shot to fame in the 90's, unleashing his own product line in 2007. 

Oribe has crafted a unique spot in the luxury haircare market with his products famed for helping us mere mortals achieve “over-the-top sexy 60’s fashion scary hair,” (click here to read the full Oribe background story). But the one thing you'll hear people say about his products again and again is 'Omg it smells so good!' (it's divine).

Dry Shampoo - The Mid-Week God-Send

I've used dry shampoos pretty much ever since they first launched and have test-driven a number of different brands from Klorane's Oat Milk Dry Shampoo (£7.50 at John Lewis; key ingredient is nettle which helps to balance sebum production) to the king of drugstore dry shampoos Batiste (from £2.99 at Boots and Superdrug). Batiste is at a great price point but has always been a bit 'talcy' for me. I loved Klorane when I was using it but as it required ordering online or a trip to John Lewis I seem to have migrated back to more readily available ones.

A dry shampoo that's been growing on me recently is Aussie's Mega Instant Miracle Dry Shampoo (£4.99). I wasn't sure at first as it didn't seem to work?? Left my hair feeling more greasy (like a shine spray) than dry but I've taken to spraying it liberally all over, concentrating on the roots and then roughing it into the whole hair which seems to work well. It's also very non-talcy.

Back to Oribe...

A Moment of Madness
I've lusted after Oribe's Dry Texturizing Spray (£38 for 300ml) ever since it was first introduced to me during a shopping trip to a local Space NK in 2012. Now, £38 is a heck of a lot to spend on dry shampoo (eek!) but I'd say it's much more than just a dry shampoo. For one, having used it a couple of times I love the way it doesn't feel 'icky' in my hair or on my hands after I've used it. It styles beautifully and gives my hair a weightless 'oomph' that just seems to get better the longer it's in. Lastly it really does smell divine and there's something quite feminine about the concept of hair perfume that puts a little spring in my step and a glint in my eye. But as I said at the beginning, no-one really needs this product in their life but it's definitely a treat ;)

How To Use Dry Shampoo
- If your hair is freshly washed and you want to add some va-va-voom first ensure your hair is completely dry. Then lift sections of the hair and spray at the root. Next, tip your hair upside-down and spray the back. Finish by giving your hair a bit of a ruffle and a style as you feel (works wonders on freshly washed hair if you have thin hair like me).

- If it's been 2-3 days since you last washed your hair and you want to eek it out a little longer, first brush your hair then repeat the above process. I also find spraying my hair liberally the night before works well so that by the morning it's looking fresh (you might want to wrap your hair in a light scarf to keep the dry shampoo from your pillow).

Do you have a favourite dry shampoo? Dying to try Ruth Crilly's Colab range (from £1.99) and I've heard mixed reviews about Bumble & Bumble's Prêt-à-Powder (£21) and Thickening Dryspun Finish Spray (£21.50).

And finally... (I couldn't resist).

Turn zee head upside down like so and spray :)

New Year Test Drive: Chantecaille's Le Camouflage Concealer

Wahey it's 2015! A brand new year and a new start.

Just before Christmas I'd been on the hunt for a new under eye concealer. Well actually, if truth be known, I'm permanently on the hunt for the World's Best Performing Under Eye Concealer (answers in the comments box below please!)...one that does it all but without looking like I'm wearing anything. Tough call? Hey, I didn't say it would be easy.

A few have come along and impressed me.  No 7's Instant Radiance Concealer has long been a favourite and a welcome £13.50 rather than the usual £20-25 clicky-pen price.

YSL's iconic Touche Èclat (£25) does more for me as a highlighter rather than a concealer and about a year ago I had high hopes for Burberry Beauty's Sheer Concealer (£26) but found its texture to be too slippery, invariably settling into the fine lines around my eyes (I'd say this would be perfect on someone in their late teens to late 20s).

So imagine my excitement when I heard Chantecaille - one of my all-time favourite luxury makeup and skincare brands - were launching their very own under eye styli!

A new venture for the premium French brand, it was never going to be cheap...but would it live up to the hype?

After trying some on in Liberty (special thanks to Chantecaille's lovely counter manager John) I was immediately impressed with its consistency and coverage. Its texture is light but paradoxically  boasts fuller coverage compared with most stylos so a little goes a long way. It's also not drying at all (my main bug bear when it comes to liquid concealers).

As you can see from the swatch I went for shade '2' which is slightly warmer/peachier than my skin tone as I knew this would help to counteract dark circles.

Since I bought it I've been wearing it daily on its own or together with a light reflective pen over the top but I rarely feel I need anything more. The only exception is if I'm doing an evening makeup when I'll tend to reach for my trusty Bobbi Brown creamy corrector (£19) and full coverage creamy concealer kit (£24.50). I find these two products combined provide the most full-proof way to remove all signs of tiredness - a must when sporting a smokey eye or the classic eye flick.

Added Skincare Technology
The best thing about the Chantecaille Le Camouflage Stylo is the fact it's also an under eye treatment pen: its unique anti-fatigue tetra-peptide complex helps to depuff whilst sugar oligopolymers boost hyaluronic acid and elastin production. And the figures are impressive with respondents reporting a 46% reduction in wrinkles over a 28 day period. 

Basically, it brightens, depuffs and hydrates all at the same time. Good to know when you're wearing a makeup product all day, particularly on and around the delicate eye area. 

Now, I did warn you, it's super spenny coming in at a whopping £42 in the UK ($49 if you're Stateside) but when you find something that really works then I'd argue it's (occasionally) worth splashing the extra cash (see this post on the Best Mascara In The World).

I justified this particular purchase by taking advantage of my £10 Liberty Beauty voucher which meant I saved £10 on the RRP.  

Chantecaille's Le Camouflage Stylo comes in 7 shades and is available at Space NK, Liberty, Harrods, Harvey Nichols and online.

What's your go-to under eye concealer? 
I've heard great things about Clarins Instant Concealer (£21), particularly from beauty guru Sali Hughes, so am dying to give that a whirl, plus, I regularly hear makeup artists rave about Rimmel's Wake Me Up Concealer...worth a punt at only £5.49.

More soon. In the meantime, stay hydrated wherever you are. Nothing helps counteract dark circles than lots and lots of water :)