Superfacialist Vaishaly’s “less is more” philosophy is one of the main foundations of her award-winning skincare range and her simple-is-beautiful approach makes using her products a breeze.

Rather than creating a complicated skincare ritual with loads of different products and steps, her products are clean, balancing and gentle – as she says, ”you don’t need a lot of different products to achieve beautiful skin.”

Correct cleansing (cleansing with a small “c” – not stripping!) is a crucial pillar of beautiful skin which is where Vaishaly’s lightly foaming Facial Wash comes in.  It washes away the day’s grime and oil build-up and sweeps off mascara and make-up as well and this would be an excellent “investment cleanser” to splurge on if you take the Tube every day or live in the city.  In fact it works out well, cost-per-use, as you don’t need a lot – plus it comes in a full 150ml pump which will last for ages.

It also gets extra points for its delicious citrus-mint scent because the sugar-based cleansing ingredient formula contains lime and lemon essential oils and a hint of peppermint, as well as lemon myrtle (purifying and anti-microbial) and calming, anti-inflammatory aloe vera.

Vaishaly’s famous facials and her skincare range are available at the Vaishaly Clinic, 51 Paddington Street, London W1 or at the  Four Seasons Hotel Spa in Park Lane, London W1 and you can find out more and buy the products here, online. 

Vaishaly Facial Wash £45/150ml for normal/combination skin

www.Vaishaly.co.uk

Wonderlip by Lubatti won Best Lip Therapy in our Awards last month for its cashmere soft texture, lip-plumping/super-hydrating triple Hyaluronic Acid complex and its UVA and UVB filters – and it got bonus points for being paraben free.

Targetted skincare is on the rise and Wonderlip caught our eye when it launched last year as the first product in Lubatti’s Anti-age collection.  Designed to increase lip volume and reduce fine lines and wrinkles, it feels like a silky serum and works best when applied a few times a day around the mouth area and lips.  (Allow to dry before applying lip colour).

At £29 for 10ml it’s a beauty investment, but if you’re starting to see wrinkles around the lip area, already have defined lines or you have a tendency towards dry lips and need something more concentrated, it’s well worth a try.  This would also be a good lip treatment if you work in air conditioned offices or live in a hot, dry climate as it increased hydration by up to 60% in tests. We tried it over a two week period – it works.

We also tried Lubatti’s Wild Violet Pure Indulgence Bath Oil (beautifully British and very luxurious, with a true wild violet scent) – if you don’t know the brand yet, have a look at Lubatti’s new skincare range, their heavenly-smelling reed diffusers and more Lubatti loveliness here: www.lubatti.co.uk

We had so much fun choosing a handbag for Cannes on BagServant recently that we asked co-founder Lenka Gourdie to reveal her beauty and health handbag picks – and choose a handbag for London’s big Jubilee/Olympics year…

“I love this Aspinal of London Brit Tote, it’s not my usual style but it’s perfect for Jubilee Year and London’s one of my favourite cities.  Some of my handbag essentials include:

A Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick

Almonds, a healthy snack

Firefly Tonic Drink – lemon, lime & ginger is a great detox

I use Perricone’s SPF30 No foundation Foundation – the first advanced anti-ageing foundation

My new discovery Elemental Herbololgy’s anti-Cellulite SOS Circulation Invigorating Body Tonic. Summer means showing off my legs

85% Lindt dark chocolate – I can be a little naughty, but 20g a day is good for your heart

My gym membership card to Curves – if you’ve not heard about Curves, you need to check them out

I keep my gym card and keys in this matching clutch zip Aspinal wallet

BagServant is a small start up company, and my days are long and very busy, but I always make sure I do at least 30 minutes of  Curves exercise. It’s conducted in a small group and we do a combination of cardio, strength training and stretching. It’s also a great opportunity to network with other women too. Business and exercise are two of my greatest passions.”

We’re slightly addicted to BagServant and they’ve just launched their “bag personalities”. Lenka’s handbag style is “Big Bag Lover with a Classique Confident edge” – which handbag personality are you?

Yes Clinique’s Mascara Swap is back! Say bye bye to your old mascara, take it to a Debenhams Clinique counter between May 14-20 and you’ll get a new Clinique mascara completely FREE.

Choose from High Length or High Impact and there’s no purchase necessary, it’s Clinique’s treat.  (Be quick, though, because the promotion runs while stocks last and these will go fast).

www.clinique.co.uk

Jo Malone’s Lime, Basil & Mandarin cologne, the fragrance that started it all, comes of age this summer – and it still feels as new and fresh as the day it launched 21 years ago.

When Lime, Basil & Mandarin first hit the fragrance market it made a massive splash with its unexpected trio of feel-good Mandarin, breezy Caribbean Lime and peppery Basil.   Jo Malone’s new London brand was intriguing, daring and different. Almost overnight exotic orientals felt too heavy and suddenly pretty florals seemed, well…slightly dated.

Elegant, sexy, grown-up and a real “pick-me-up”, this newcomer quickly became the scent we couldn’t get enough of – in fact, neither could men who were looking for a man’s fragrance that was bespoke, British and very modern. Still very much the beauty editors’ favourite, Lime, Basil & Mandarin never left the spotlight and it’s set to be bigger than ever this summer…

Explore the Jo Malone’s signature Lime, Basil & Mandarin Fragrance Collection, including the Room Fragrance, Candles, Body and Bath treats here. 

Jo Malone Lime, Basil & Mandarin £36/30ml £120/100ml at Jomalone.co.uk

Fragrance notes: Top note Mandarin (fresh, uplifting), heart note Basil (herbaceous, leafy, modern, unexpected), with a base note of Amberwood (creamy, woody, long-lasting).

We’re feeling blue and it’s delicious!  Feast your eyes on the new Summer 2012 Guerlain/Emilio Pucci Terra Azzurra collection - including these delectable Météorites Perles D’azur. Drawing inspiration from the Italian Riviera, it’s all about “la dolce vita” this summer (thank goodness – we’re soaking up all the summer sparkle we can get until summer decides to make an appearance).

The enhancing multi-coloured Perles D’azur have a:

• Corrective effect: blue and pink counter the yellow tones if your complexion looks tired.

• Skin-evening effect: beige and orange warm up the complexion to create an even tan.

• Illuminating effect: ivory and white gold are light reflectors without a whitening effect.

The rest of the collection includes three new lip glosses in Sensual Brown, Indigo Blue (yes – it’s really different) and Sunny Coral, plus an Eyeshadow Quad, two Nail Colours in Indigo Blue and Coral Pink and a bronzer palette, new mascara and Kohl Kajal in midnight blue.

Exclusively at House of Fraser from 20th May then at other stores nationwide from 3rd June (Harrods, John Lewis and Debehnams).

Choosing my lust-have handbag pick on BagServant.co.uk was easy and practically impossible –  at the same time.  Easy, because the clever bag site filters by shape, price or occasion (or colour!) and once you find a bag you like it whisks you over to the retailer’s site.  Difficult…because I just couldn’t make up my mind (thankfully I’ve never been on The Apprentice and never will be, Lord Sugar would have a fit).

I’m a black or dark chocolate person when it comes to bags (and chocolate) but this Marc Jacobs “Bowery” bag really caught my eye.  I love its five little metal feet, supple orange Italian leather and there’s enough space to fit in everything from my Jo Loves “Pomelo” to a small tube of Caudalie’s genius self-tanner Teint Divin – so for me, it’s the perfect weekender. And the perfect bag for Cannes, too, with the Film Festival just around the corner…

If you haven’t discovered it yet, have a look BagServant. (Warning: ”can become addictive“)

Collagen Shots by Rejuvenated

There’s only one way to find out if something works (and works for you – not other people!) and that’s by trying it, so we did. If you Google “what is collagen?”  you get an unappealing biology class type description: “col-la-gen: the main structural protein found in animal connective tissue, yielding gelatin when boiled”.  But its potential in the beauty industry is huge – Japan, the USA and France have already cottoned on to collagen, the UK is further behind.

Our skin is made of collagen, so…when collagen production tapers off with age, its shows – one effect is sagging skin.  In a 2008 study in Tokyo, for example, 33 women aged 40-60 took 10 g of Hydrolyzed Collagen daily for 2 months showed 91%  saw an increase in skin hydration and resilience. 

Collagen helps plump, hydrate and soften skin (and as you’re taking it internally that means from your cheeks to the soles of your feet!) and there are various reports that it helps minimise pores although we didn’t notice a difference there. Collagen Shots is £30 and comes in a 30-day foil pack (you take one scoop mixed in water or juice in the evening) and is pleasant tasting  - many of the other powders are not.

Verdict? We saw a difference – softer, plumper and, cliched though it may sound, yes, younger-looking skin.  If you’re in the mood for a beauty experiment for £1 a day (and collagen’s good for you anyway) you can buy/read about the science here: COLLAGEN-SHOTS.COM

Ingredients per serving: Marine Collagen 10g, Acai Berry 500mg, Niacin 4.8mg, Pantothenic Acid 1.8mg, Pyridoxine 0.42mg (30% RDA on the vitamins) plus Mild Berry Flavouring and Sucralose

They’re Green, it’s Spring – so we had to feature GREEN & SPRING!

All the rain recently had us thinking about those very British brands and retailers –  Crabtree & Evelyn, Penhaligons, Molton Brown, Liberty’s, Burberry…and M&S, making headlines recently with Joanna Lumley spreading the word about their “shwopping” campaign (great idea – more big brands should follow suit).

Well Green & Spring, as fans will know, is inspired by the English countryside.  Their products are made with natural spring water sourced from the Cowley Estate, they list all the ingredients and they really are natural. Don’t try this at home but we were so taken by the brand prior to our Awards last month that we did a bit of experimenting, using their Relaxing Shampoo as a cleanser.  Not what the product was designed for but it shows how beautifully pure this range is (the shampoo smells divine, it has comfrey, lavender, rosemary, orange and lemon extracts in it!)

And if you’re in the mood for a new hand cream, their Intensive Hand Cream (a finalist in our Awards) is full of hedgerow inspiration…clary sage, lavender, chamomile, horse chestnut, bilberry, elderberry, rosemary, spruce, bog myrtle, peppermint…and it has just the most wonderful slightly minty, calming scent and it’s very light, not rich and greasy, like a refreshing drink for skin.

Now’s the time to try Green & Spring if you’re curious because they’ve just launched their NEW Skincare Starter Set – you get 5 items for £26 and buy before May 7 and you’ll be entered to win the large sizes, worth £100.

GREEN & SPRING

Jo Malone fans, look what’s coming in May! The Limited Edition “Plum Blossom”.  We haven’t tried it (we usually only review products we’ve tried and tested) but we couldn’t resist the mention as we can never get enough of anything by Jo Malone, so we’ll defer to another beauty blogger London Beauty Queen – read her review here.

IT’S THE WEEKEND! SO HERE’S A SNEAK PEEK OF ELEMIS’ NEW PRO-COLLAGEN ADVANCED EYE TREATMENT, EXCLUSIVE TO QVC UNTIL IT HITS STORES IN JULY…

If you love Elemis, you won’t want to miss the exclusive debut of  Pro-Collagen Advanced Eye Treatment, the brand new serum which launches on QVC on Sunday 29 April – it runs for three months on QVC until it launches in-store in July. And…this Top To Toe Luxury Collection (with a couple of mystery products in the bag) will be available for under £45.

The airing times on 29th April are: MIDNIGHT, 1am, 7am, 8am, 9am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, and 10pm and the Top to Toe Luxury Collection will also be available for purchase at www.qvcuk.com/elemis.  The purple zip travel bag contains:

NEW Pro-Collagen Advance Eye Treatment 15ml – Full size
• Melting Cleansing Gel 125ml – Full size
• Pro-Collagen Marine Cream 30ml
• Cellular Recovery Skin Bliss Capsules x14
• Rehydrating Ginseng Toner 50ml
• TWO MYSTERY PRODUCTS

If you’re an Elemis fan you won’t want to miss this!

But of Gorse! What’s yellow, prickly and somehow very British, even though it thrives in places like Spain? Gorse, of course. Gorse finally gets to be the star of its own show among so many flowers, now that Perfumier Christopher Perry has captured its essence in Laboratory Perfumes’ brand new, soon-to-be-cult EDT.

This is definitely a spring/summer fragrance and  if you’ve ever brushed past gorse on a walk you’ll recognise its faint, almost powdery soft sweetness. Gorse No. 002  is slightly citrusy, soft, very feminine and has a Cardamom note too, so it’s warming yet decidedly “British countryside summer”. If you’re a fan of traditional British scents like bluebell or rose but want to try something more left-of-centre, this has more of a “lie on the grass under the clouds” in an English seaside meadow feel to it. Very different, very modern. And really quite intriguing.

GORSE EDT at Cult Beauty £40/100ml  Made in the UK

GORSE “BEAKER” CANDLE

You might also like this clever “beaker” recyclable candle…once it’s burned down, you can reuse the beaker which has marked “levels” all down one side for measuring. Comes with its own little cork “base” inside the box, to protect surfaces from the heat. £29/248g also at Cult Beauty.

Roger & Gallet Eau des Bienfaits

You know that hit of fresh orangey citrus you get when you peel an orange? Add a bit of concentrated zest and Roger & Gallet have captured just that in their newest fragrance. Then they poured it into luminous neon orange bottles which have ‘summer’ written all over them.

Eau des Bienfaits is a little bit different – it’s not an EDT or EDP,  it’s a hydrating body mist made with kiwi extract, ginseng, lemon fruit acids and soothing aloe vera, and the clincher is the fact that Eau des Bienfaits is not at all oily – it’s very refreshing, so a good one for under the beach umbrella.

At £28.50/100ml and on offer at Escentual.com for £25.65, you can spritz away to your heart’s content this summer, in the city or on the sunlounger…

PS: “Bon anniversaire”, Roger & Gallet! 1862-2012: 150 beautifully perfumed years.

Fragrance notes: Officially inspired by the blood orange, “EDB” mixes bright notes of mandarin, bergamot and lemon with “powdery notes of violet leaves and orange blossom in the heart, and a sensual dry down of cedar and patchouli”.  

“Ila” in Sanskrit means Earth…

…and deep in the heart of the English countryside, ILA-SPA’s products are hand blended and made in small batches, using natural ingredients such as Himalayan Salt and Babassu Oil (from the Babassu Palm in the Amazon Rainforest).

Ila’s hero product is their Face Oil for Glowing Radiance, with Damascena Rose Otto, Sandalwood, Rosehip Seed Oil and Wild Argan Oil. The delicate rose petals are picked at dawn in the lush foothills of the Himalayas before they’re immediately placed in copper vats to be distilled and heated by water warmed by the sun, and the whole process reminds us how precious and magical Mother Nature really is – and how we owe everything to her.

Earth Day 22 April, 2012

ILA-SPA

CAUDALIE TEINT DIVIN FACE – BEST SELF TANNER

The Beauty Shortlist Awards 2012

“Flawless”

CAUDALIE

Caudalie is a member of 1% For The Planet 

www.onepercentfortheplanet.org