Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, Lush Style

As a celebration of the new year Lush have put together a pack which, as suggested by its name, has something for all the body starting at the end and ending at your toes. Natasha Rampley outlines the special pack and delivers her verdict on Lush’s latest bulk offering.

The Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes pack costs £12.50 in-store and contains: a full size face mask of your choice and a full size of their BIG shampoo, as well as sample sizes of a moisturiser of your choice, Leomony Flutter cuticle butter, Handy Gurugu hand cream and Pied de Pepper foot lotion. The pack also includes a mini sugar scrub, one of their Vitamin C toner tabs and one of their Mini Each Peach massage bars. Plus, for some amusingly obscure reason explained within the pack, you receive a paper moustache to cut out and stick on your face, should you so wish.

Given the variety of products, and moustache, included in this pack £12.50 is a brilliant deal. The face masks and moisturisers are catered to your skins needs depending on which one you pick and that Lush smell, which entices many a customer through their doors, is transported from store to your room in this little box, resulting in your very own little slice of Lush. Perfect as either a gift for someone else or simply a little pick-me-up for yourself, this is something I’d recommend for Lush fans and those wanting to explore the Lush products but aren’t sure where to start.

Honey, I’m Doing it Fair Trade.

As ethics moves from our kitchen cupboards and into our bathroom cupboards, then so does the baffling question: “What came first - the ethical chicken or the ethical egg?”

Which is why we ask ourselves another question: “Can conscience have a beauty regime?”

Bring questions like that into beauty and we begin to see a range of products that, as well as being packed with natural ingredients - yum, have their foundations built on fair-trade.

Fairtrade Fortnight starts this month and Boots is about to add another product to their Fair-trade arsenal, and this one sounds like it is going to be just as bee-eautiful as the rest.

The launch of Boots’ Runny-Honey Body Butter comes at the time when we’re all more conscious about what goes into the things we buy and where they come from. Stephen Johnson, Boot’s sustainable development manager says: “Our Extracts range uses natural ingredients sourced from around the world. This not only provides us with great products but, by working with the Fair-trade Foundation, we ensure a fair price is paid for the produce.”

It’s great that vanity is dismissing compunction from our beauty regime, with no compromise on performance benefits. “I love the new Honey Body Butter - it smells beautiful and leaves my skin feeling great,” says fashionista, Mica Paris, “I have always been an advocate of helping disadvantaged communities around the world.”

The honey used in the body butter is sourced from farms located in the foothills of the Andes. The Apicoop co-operative, in Chile, farm the honey, which is a by-product from bees pollinating the Ulmo Tree, a plant native to South America. The tree produces a delicate flower, which gives the honey a delicate and sweet flavour - perfect for us to use on our skin as it isn’t overpowering, just delicate and enticing.

Honey is overlooked when it comes to benefits; most people use it as an alternative to sugar, however, it’s up there with the rest of the super-foods: it has antioxidant properties, of course, and contains alpha hydroxy acids, which are used in many anti-aging creams and serums and are believed to smooth fine lines, wrinkles and fight skin damage.

Runny Honey Body Butter will be released later this month. Fair-trade Fortnight is about creating awareness; try and do something each day to be a part of it, even if you just buy a bar of fair-trade chocolate, it still helps. I suggest that you make it a pleasure for yourself each day - use fair-trade beauty products for the fortnight. Find out more about events at http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/fairtrade_fortnight/default.aspx

To find out where and what Fair-trade products you can buy and visit  http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/products/retail_products/default.aspx

My Little Beauty

“My Little Beauty could be the salon of the future!” Explains Kerry Lewis, director of My Little Beauty. “This salon offers much needed help to worn out women everywhere, treatments in the most contemporary travelling location, I think we have found something that keeps up with our fast track lifestyles.”

As us ladies continue to pull in our belts with regards to our spending, it takes something extra special for us to try something new. So far however it seems beauty treatments have remained a basic human right but I wanted to know if there was anything out there, which was worthy of our precious pennies?

My Little Beauty sounded fabulous, but as I made my way to its location I was worried my excitement might be overrated and it would let me down.
Based inside a classic 1962 American Airstream trailer, the premises are in fact quite a beauty. As I made my way up its three small steps (I had flashbacks of E.T and Elliott stepping aboard for the first time) I opened the door with caution. I needn’t have, it was spectacular!

Inside were nail bars, a spray tanning booth and a waxing bed to complete the fully functional beauty salon. But as I walked around I was told that this was not all the airstream had to offer. With treatments complete the table and nail bars can be folded away to reveal an area for karaoke with a flat screen TV and disco lights. Dare I ask…is there dancing?

Kerry smiled when assuring me that dancing was a must on board. “Oh yes, there is definitely dancing. The last hen night we did was a pyjama party so we parked up on the drive, 15 women piled in… we had pedicures going on, manicures and eye brow waxing but once they were done we folded the tables away. Then the women really have a good time because we have karaoke microphones and they are up singing in their pyjamas. Its great, the clients love it.”

It’s her fun and unique business that got Kerry shortlisted in the ‘Best New Business’ category of the annual Women Into the Network awards. The awards, now in their 10th year and sponsored by Business Link, have been refocused to include two brand new categories that reward both pre-start up and inspirational entrepreneurs.

As I sat talking to Kerry her enthusiasm for her business and its success is obvious. She is passionate about the service she provides and wants to give customers the best experience possible. So just how did it feel to be recognised for her hard work?

“Well its fantastic really isn’t it! I am a one-woman show, I have had the ideas, I have had the stress and I’m now being recognised for all my efforts. Its very nerve wracking, but I don’t think there is anyone in the final thirty who have a similar business to mine, so fingers crossed. It would be the cherry on the cake to win.”

Listening to stories of broken down boilers and flooding toilets, I realised Kerry had come a long way since she first opened. The packed out diary was the proof. But I couldn’t help but wonder what gave her this remarkable idea and whether the tale behind it was anything as wonderful as the ones she had been telling me.

Having always loved beauty, Kerry decided she needed her own premises. But should she buy a shop and spend her days looking at only those four walls or would she better travelling to client’s houses and offices? Obviously, she decided upon the latter and began looking for a vehicle. Originally playing with the name urban beauty and a pink and gold horse box nothing felt right until one day she joked, she found the answer to her prayers in the form of a film.

“I came home, sat down and my kids had a film on the telly and it was an airstream and I thought oh yeah, what are they called, you know when you just know straight away that, that is what you want. So I got my laptop out and typed in shiny silver caravan and they started popping up and the rest is history as they say.”

The airstream itself came from Kansus, which is where the nickname Dorothy came from. Had she opted for a horsebox, I’m not quite sure it would have been as successful.

Whilst I’m there, she has to leave me three times to take appointments. Upon her return she apologises but explains that, as with any new business, you don’t get a minute to yourself and any calls could be possible appointments.

“I target certain business parks where I know there is going to be a lot of women.” Kerry explained. “They use their breaks at work to come for eyebrow waxing or to get their nails done. Its great, they all say how convenient it is.”

Dorothy, as she calls her, is the perfect place to unwind and enjoy some pampering, not only do you get a unique service but the convenience of her coming to you, wherever that may be!

“Last night I was in Dishforth so I took three beauty girls with me who work as and when I need them. It is an eighty-mile return, which means that we had to charge a call out fee. We have to cover our costs because it is so far away but they were happy to pay the fee.”
The bespoke seating area is the first thing you see as you step into the trailer, which is why Kerry wanted the wow factor for her seats. Laughing as she tells me of her design plans, Kerry always knew what she wanted the inside of her salon to look like.

“The décor was a huge part of my business plan as it was its main selling point along with the vehicle of course. So I got the seats made to look authentic, I wanted the theme to work throughout the salon and in-keeping with the type of trailer we had chose to use.”
Not just aimed at women, My Little Beauty is very popular with the children Kerry says this side of the business is just getting bigger and bigger.

“We have done 75 kids parties in the last year. I would say we have nailed it with the children. Every week we have a children’s party and often we have to turn people away and say that we are fully booked. Durham yesterday, Redcar last week and last week was the first week that we have had three children’s parties in one day. Its unbelievable!”

Not content with allowing other salons to catch up with her or her ideas, Kerry has teamed up with an events management company to focus on a new themed night called ‘Beauty and the Butler Parties’. Immediately she had my attention and I had to ask more about this new event.

Beauty and the Butler parties Kerry gushed basically mean “the ladies getting makeovers and the butlers pouring champagne and doing a bit of singing with the girls. It’s a two hour party and we think it is going to be very popular.”

With lost to offer My Little Beauty is already thinking about another trailer and the possibility of branching out with different themes across the country. Its fair to say that Kerry Lewis has shaken the beauty world with her iconic vehicle and all that is left for us to do, is jump aboard the legendary airstream and indulge in a little beauty therapy of our own.

And then there was… DIET

 It is a word that we speak with dread and sometimes embarrassment. A word which we whisper quietly when asked: “Are you having dessert?” But this word, which we fear and hate, often ends with freedom and satisfaction.

  Diet is the only way which we can justify our edible regrets. We eat that extra chocolate because we know, in our minds, that tomorrow is a fresh start and it won’t matter. 

  They have become a commodity; we have infinitive options and we’re always getting a new one. But which ones actually work? Is it better to go crazy and crash diet, or should we consider what the long term effects are and, instead, have a complete lifestyle change?

 Crash diets have been around for decades and involve dangerously low calorie intake and rediculous meal plans - the egg diet, the cabbage diet and the juice diet.

 Weight loss works because we use more calories than we consume. A healthy balanced lifestyle and daily exercise will do the same as a crash diet, but takes a little longer.

 I tested a crash diet for four days, I did plan on doing it for a week - I found it impossible. Here is my diary from four days on the Porridge diet, a diet which cuts calorie consumption to about 800 or less a day - two bowls of porridge and a low calorie meal.

 Day One, Friday:

I decided, the night before I started, not to binge on all foods fatty and sugary, but to eat a healthy balanced meal and have a glass of red wine - I didn’t see the point in going crazy.

 I started my day with - yes, you guessed it - porridge with honey (170Kcal) and a large cup of coffee. I feel fine, in-fact I felt normal and full until 1pm, which is when I had lunch - a pack of Sushi from Boots (about 284Kcal), Carrot Sticks (about 56Kcal) and a bottle of water.

 When I get home I am starving but, because I had my non-porridge meal at lunch time, I have to eat Porridge - which I eat with sugar to ease my disappointment and I treat myself to a glass of wine.

 Day one and only about 680 calories - that scares me, but I feel fine. The glass of wine was probably another 60-70 calories. 

 Day Two, Saturday:

 I have to get up early to go to work; I’m starving and seriously considering blowing my non-Porridge meal on breakfast; I resist and eat Porridge with honey again and have a glass of water.

 I feel strange, my stomach didn’t feel full after breakfast, but I don’t want to blow calories on lunch, so I have a bowl of Porridge and explain to my colleagues, who are bewildered, why I am starving but, only eating Porridge and drinking water. 

 After lunch I felt a bit dizzy and my face gained a friend (a spot). I’m not happy, I’m hungry, spotty and lightheaded. 

 Dinner time, and I can look forward to a meal with more substance: Couscous, Spinach, Rocket, Watercress, Tomato and Olives all drenched in Balsamic Vinegar (approx 239Kcal) and then 100g of Blackberries (161Kcal). It felt like a feast, I would have ate the plate too. 

 End of day three total = 740 calories and I feel strange; I always eat when I’m hungry, but I eat healthily, so not eating when my body is telling me, panics me a bit and I cave: I eat a 30g portion of Olives (30Kcal). 

 Day Three, Sunday: 

 My skin looks terrible, I have clear skin and very rarely get spots, but today it looks white and blotchy, plus my friend looks like he’s raided the fridge - he is a lovely shade of red and a little bigger than when he first appeared on my cheek. 

 Breakfast and Lunch are no different from Saturday. I practically drool over the Haribo in Tesco. I start to understand how desperate someone must be before they decide to crash diet like this, instead of choosing a healthier lifestyle - scary. 

 Dinner is a treat. I make some Pasta and my own Tomato Sauce with Garlic and Onion (about 328Kcal). I don’t feel like eating anything else and go to bed early with around 668 calories in me - looking at the amount I was eating scares me, but at the time it did feel like a lot. 

 Day Four, Monday:

 I don’t feel bad at all today, I guess the extra sleep did me some good. 

  I brave a Jacket Potato with Beans for lunch, from a shabby van in town, I figure it’s about 300 calories max. The Potato went down just nicely and filled me up, or this was the fullest I had felt in a few days, until I go home for dinner. 

 Blew my ’real’ food at lunch time, so I demolish a bowl of Porridge for dinner - with maple syrup this time. 

  Day four was a strange day. I felt fine, but my body craved nutrition and variety. 640 calories for Monday. 

 Day Five, Tuesday:

 It is silly now, I could go on for another two days and it is tempting to do it for a week, but I know it will do more bad than good - I eat toast for breakfast and weigh myself: I’ve lost 4 pounds in four days. The Porridge Diet came up with the goods but, if I had continued, at what cost? 

 Over the four days, I consumed 2,828 calories, That’s 328 more than the Government reccomends I should consume in one day - I under-ate by 7,172 calories. My skin changed from clear and even to a blotchy, red mess. Most of the time I was tired, dizzy and moody - not worth the weight loss.         

Alternative Style Icons

It seems that nowadays people have even lost the ability to be individual not only with their style, but with the people they regard to be stylish too. We all know the typical ones - Audrey Hepburn, Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham to name but a few - but what about those super stylish women who look great but remain under the radar? Here Emily Solan gives them the credit they deserve.

Anna Karina:

This Danish film actress from the 60’s had the fashion world at her feet. Her professional name ‘Anna Karina’ was devised by Coco Chanel herself, she had a the typical 60’s look - heavily lined eyes, blunt fringe and when mixed with her effortless every day chic, one beautiful woman was created. She was even stylish enough to carry off a beret!

Kate Jackson:

Lead singer of the now defunct indie band The Long Blondes, Kate’s style provided us a with a much missed link to the past. This vintage vixen was nominated for Sexiest Female at the NME awards 3 years in a row, and managed to place at 7 in the annual NME Cool List. Adding a touch of glam to a scene full of drab indie boys, she was never seen out of vintage outfits, this former librarian echoed the former glamour of such bands like Pulp, Blondie and shone heads and tails above the skinny jeaned masses.

Edie Sedgewick:

Now she may be far better known than the above two, but how many of those people who cite her as a style icon could actually describe her style? She is known for her androgynous look, which was very on trend in the 60s, but she placed far too much femininity to create an a totally androgynous look. The influence of Edie can be seen today with the strong emphasis on a heavy lined eye with a paler lip to add drama to the face, and the pixie crop is still a massive look for hair this season.

Florence Welch:

She is officially making being ginger cool again. Her mismatch, crazy stage outfits have hit the fashion world by storm, and more people are getting the courage to copy her looks. My easiest suggestion would be to copy some of her downtime looks - brogues and lace dresses, rather than attempting her rather full on ‘disco bat’ look!

Karen O:

On face value her outfits seem a bit out there, but to add an extra dimension to your outfit follow Karen O’s lead. She ’s not afraid to use bold colours and accessories to stand out, which is something that anyone can do. While her outfits can be a tad over the the top, it’s this unique take on style that sets her high above many others in the fashion stakes. Karen O’s influence has increased greatly ove the last few years, and her personal designer Chrisitan Joy was commissioned to create a range for Topshop, making Karen O’s look more accesible.

Inside my make-up bag

Unfortunately, I’m rather poor at the moment so my make-up bag isn’t as exciting as it usually is. Hopefully after Christmas, it will be full of gorgeous goodies since I feel I’ve been a good girl for Santa this year!

Currently I mix cheap and cheerful with some brands.

I use 17 super wear long lasting foundation, £5.37, in soft ivory. Normally I find foundations too cloggy but this one feels light on skin but gives a through coverage. When I have the money I usually use Bobbi Brown’s tinted moisturiser, £27, in porcelain.

Since I have many a late night (although lately this is due to lots of homework rather than partying!) and many an early start, I need an excellent concealer to hide my bags. Recover, anti-fatigue concealer by Rimmel, £4.88, gives amazing results and I start to look human again. Now all I need is Red Bull or coffee to keep me awake through lessons!

Next, I use either Barry M or Rimmel eyeliner in black for my bottom lashes. Again I usually use Rimmel or even Avon liquid eyeliner for my top lashes if I want a more dramatic look.

For university, I generally just add mascara to my eyes. At the moment, I am using Colour Trend by Avon curling mascara in Jet. This is a great inexpensive product, which makes my lashes just as long as any other branded product for less money! It’s only £2.50!

For a different daytime look, I use Bobbi Brown’s basic eye palette with 3 small eye shadows and one shimmer wash shadow. I love using these to make a different slant on the smoky look by using brown eye shadows. It’s pricier at £31.50, but does come with a dual-ended mini eye shadow/eye liner brush for easy application.

My going out look consists of black and grey eye shadow from my Good girl/Bad girl box set by Too Faced.

On my cheeks, I use Bobbi Brown blush, £16, in pale pink, giving that just-pinched look. For night times, I use Bobbi Brown pot rouge, £16, in Calypso Coral, for a darker look.

Also for nighttimes, I absolutely love Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks, which can be used over cheeks and décolletage, for a slight sparkle to your look. It is slightly pricey at £29 but they do last for ages. I’ve had one of mine for 2 years now! I’ve tried pink, limited edition gold and limited edition rose quartz. A new one comes out every Christmas.

My current perfumes are Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker and the DKNY summer fragrance. My signature scent I would say was girlie and flowery

For lips, I use whatever lip-gloss I fancy at the time. I’ve just found a great cheap place for make-up if you want to experiment with colours … Asda! I got a red lipstick there for£1!

And there you have my make-up and me! Fingers crossed its a jam packed make-up bag in January!

Lush: A Step Back In Time

To celebrate all things retro, Lush have relaunched many of their cult products under the bracket of ‘Retro Lush’. The customers have had a massive impact on the products that were included in the launch, through their online community ‘The Lush Forum’.

The new range includes products from the entire Lush spectrum, including their patented shampoo bars and massage bars. This collection also includes Lush Perfums, an area which the company tends to avoid, with the recent launch of sister company B Never Too Busy Too Be Beautiful which specialises in make-up and fragrance, following a similar ethical promise to Lush.

So here are my highlights:

• Playdoze Bubble Bar, £2.80 - A flourescent green bar that creates the most amazing bubbles in your bath, with soothing essentail oils to send you off to sleep.
• The Strokes Hair Mask, £8.10 - Rather expensive but gives the softest, smoothest hair ever. Named after the effect it has, you won’t be able to leave your hair alone.
• Sonic Death Monkey Shower Gel, £17.50/500g - Another pricey one, but the chocc0-mocca and lime flavoured shower gel leaves you feeling perky and smelling amazing. And as the bottle says: Dig that crazy gravy!
• Ginger Hand and Body Lotion, £11.95 - Named after film icon Ginger Rogers, this mixes floral scents with spice, to give that air of adventure, with the added benefit of making your skin super smooth.
• 17 Cherry Tree Lane Soap, £2.95 - Inspired by Mary Poppins, this jasmine, lemon and cherry blossom soap leaves skin feeling soft and moisturised, with a striking floral scent.

These products are only available for a limited time, from www.lush.co.uk and in a special edition gift box filled with a selection of the retro products, available in most stores.

Skin care for men

Guys your skin care regime should extend beyond soap and water.

 There are so many amazing brands and products which take no time to use and benefit your skin almost immediately.

Cleanse, exfoliate, tone and moisturise.

 Replace generic soap with a cleanser specific to your skin type.

 Clinique has a variety of solid and liquid cleansers for greasy to normal skin. A solid bar will be easier to use as it will just take place of your old soap and can be used without difficulty in the shower.

 This bit is probably going to sound a bit strange, especially if you’re new to the world of skincare.

 Exfoliation removes dead skin cells more effectively than, well, not exfoliating. Clarins for Men, Active Face Scrub, promises to deep clean and resurface your skin “super-quick” .

 Lack of dead skin cells on your face means your skin will look and feel brigher.

 If you thought exfoliating was a bit strange, then toning is going to appear more-so.

 Boots Botanics has a selection of toners which are made up of plant extracts and authenticated by the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Toners are specific to skin types - from sensitive to oily - so get which ever suits you.

 Toning gets rid of the dead skin cells that are left behind after cleansing - it makes your skin feel tingly and really clean.

 Moisturise is the most important part; you should do it daily to restore essential oils and moisture which your skin loses throughout the day.

 Again, this is specific to skin type, so go for one which suits your skin most.

 Lancome for Men has created a gel moisturiser, Hydrix, which will add moisture to your face as soon as you use it - amazing after a night out because that’s when your skin loses a lot of moisture.

 It is vital to the health and longevity of your skin to do all of this at least once a day - apart from exfoliating, which you should only do once a week.

 Having a good skin care regime is essential; it is the difference between healthy and young looking skin - which will last well into your future. And dull lifeless skin which will make you look older much faster than you ought to.

  If you’re not sure what skin type you are or what products will be most beneficial to your skin, make time to visit a skin care counter to get exactly what you need.

Beauty Food

It is the era of paranoia and fear. A time full of facts about food: what they do to you, what they could do to you and what they don’t do to you. This is the era of food-a-phobia.

 The babble about which foods cause what disease is never going to end. As more ‘experts’ research every aspect of what we consume, it’s inevitable that we’re going to have a phobia of what we eat.

 Enter the Super Foods, our heros, our saviour.  

  A great day could start with a bowl of porridge oats.  They are filling and slow burning; they will keep you going till lunch. They are high in Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Vitamins E  and B and a bowl full has oodles of Protein.

 If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, then think about your skin: the Vitamin E in porridge can help improve your skin and it’s great if you are stressed and tired.

 If you’re constantly tired and stressed, then lines and wrinkles are going to appear more rapidly. Pomegranate seeds are full of Alagin, a super nutrient which increases your body’s ability to preserve collagen - the thing that people pay to have injected into their faces… why not make an investment now and eat a pomegranate a day? They’re in season right now.

 You may have eaten them in a muffin or in pancakes, but do them some justice and eat them on their own once in a while, because the Blueberry, when it comes to Super Foods, is like a king.

 Packed full of fiber and free radical fighting antioxidants, these little berries help to prevent cell-structure damage caused by the sun, stress and exercise; which can lead to fine lines, wrinkles and a reduction in skins firmness.  

Experts recommend eating at least half a cup a day.

 Probably one of the easiest and cheapest of all Super Foods is Spinach. Like the Sprout, it’s reputation precedes it and is constantly shunned as boring and disgusting. 

 Try Baby Leaf Spinach in a salad or a pitta or even wilt it in a frying pan with some garlic and onion - delightful.

 Spinach is bursting with Beta-Carotene, which helps skin hold onto elasticity and helps fight against sun damage - so please, just give Spinach a chance, otherwise the consequences could be far worse than the parental threats of: You won’t grow up to be big and strong.” 

 Apart from being a healthy and handy snack to have between meals, nuts and seeds contain lots of useful fats, such as the highly regarded Omega 3.

 Along with Fibre, Protein, Calcium, Vitamin E and a long list of other nutritional pluses, nuts and seeds contain lignins, which have cancer-fighting properties. So go, erm, nuts! But make sure they are unsalted, unsweetened and aren’t chocolate covered, because that’s just counter productive.

 Moving on to our celebrities of late, the Acai and Goji berries, they seem to be every where, but why are they so good for us? 

 It is said that Goji berries, pound for pound, have more vitamin C than oranges; they contain 18 kinds of Amino acids; more Beta-Carotene than carrots, which can help fight heart disease, defend against cancer and help protect skin from sun damage. Some experts even say that [wink] they can raise your libido.

 Some fats are good fats, these fats are called Monounsaturated fats, and can help with digestive and cardiovascular health; that’s why it has been suggested Acai berries can help you loose weight.

 As well as helping with weight loss, the Acai berry has 10 times the amount of antioxidants than grapes and they help with muscle contraction and regeneration - which is all great, especially if you go to the gym a lot.

  The theme of maintaining healthy skin is preventing sun damage - so not too much sun exposure. Also you should keep your skin hydrated by drinking a lot of water, but why not try drinking something that is going to do two things at once?

 Green Tea has been drank for centuries by the Chinese and contains many antioxidants which can help prevent sun damage boost your metabolism - it has been said that Green Tea can reverse the effects of ageing too.

  If you’re addicted to chocolate, then you’re going to love this: Dark chocolate (65% and above) has health benefits; it can lower your blood pressure, lower your colestoral and it releases good endorphins when you eat it.

 Only 1/3 of the fat in Dark Chocolate is bad for you, which means some of the fatty acids in chocolate are good for you, such as: Oleic Acid, which is a monounsaturate - this helps lower cholesterol; Stearic Acid, which is a saturated fat, (bad normally) but this one has a neutral effect on cholesterol; and Palmitic Acid, which is the one that causes heart disease and raises cholesterol - bad, but in moderation it’s ok.

  Two out of three is good though, and it means you can eat a small bar of dark chocolate everyday, Try Green and Blacks 85% bar.

 Last Super food that is easy to include in your diet is Olive oil.

 Once again, it has those monounsaturated fats in it - the good ones. It contains Vitamin E and has cancer preventing properties. So cook with it, use it in salad dressings and throw out your vegetable oil.

  So, 10 little tips to healthier skin and, potentially, a happier you.

 But don’t forget, just because they are called Super Foods, they aren’t going to cause a miracle - you won’t magically loose weight because you ate a pomegranate, and you aren’t going to have the skin of a new-born baby because you drank a cup of Green Tea.

 These things take time and a balanced lifestyle: yes that means exercise and watching what you eat, but it will all be worth it when you have an amazing complexion.

 Try a Super Food salad for lunch for a week and see if you feel any different.

New CID

If like me, you love trying out new make-up and getting pampered, you should go to the New Cid counter in Fenwicks. I received a complimentary ten minute make-over and was very pleased with the results. This offer is running for a while in order to promote their products as the counter has only been in store for about 6 months.

Battling fierce competition from Mac, Bobbi Brown and Benefit (to name a few), New Cid could still come out on top, with its versatile products and affordable prices, ranging from £11 to £26.50.

My make-up artist, Kate was really friendly. It was like chatting to one of my friends, which is what I’d hope for from a make-up counter. Someone young and vibrant who doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable. First, we chatted about what kind of look I wanted, what make-up I usually wear etc.

Kate started off with a product I hadn’t heard about before. Prmier, £23.50, is a water based product that you apply before foundation. It helps smoothen out lines and wrinkles, whilst making your make-up last longer. Kate told me to think of it like a base-coat that you apply to nails. It felt lovely on my skin - light and refeshing.

Normally I wear tinted moisturiser but I decided to try out the foundation, which still gave a natural finish and felt like I wasn’t wearing any make-up. I had on Vanilla, £26.50. Each comes with a brush applicator to smooth on, which uses less product. I also had on medium concealer, £17.50, which also contains a brush. I love these products - having to rush between my two jobs, university or meeting friends, I like to carry my make-up with me for touch ups. Having a brush already on my product, means more space for other essentials!

Next, Kate used a dark powder, £19, to give my face a bit colour and to get rid of shine. This also acts like a bronzer. Shimmer stick, £16, in Sorbet, was used on my cheeks to give a natural blush. I really like this, as you can use it on cheeks, eyes and lips. Then she brushed some of the pink i-glow compact shimmer powder,  £20, over my cheeks to give a bit more colour. This product is baked in the oven to give it a good texture.

On my eyes, Kate used the Choca Mocha eyeshadow quad, £20.50. She used medium brown on all my eye, then the darker one on my socket line and under my eye. I liked the effect and am going to practise at home! She also used charcoal smoulder, £16. This has an eye pencil on one end and a shadow on the other, which is ideal for smudging to create a smoky look. The i-groom eyebrow pencil, £13, also has a brush on the end to define brows. You can follow your natuaral line or if you want bigger eyeshadows, which is the look this season, you can use the pencil to thicken them. Since my 15-year-old cousin reckons I look like an alien, with my thin brows, maybe I should do this!

Kate used the shimmer stick again on my lips to give a pearly effect. I enjoyed about their new cocktail lipglosses, so Kate used Tequila Sunrise, £16, a peachy colour to match my look. These are halfway between a gloss and a matt lipstick. They come in small pots with a mirror. I liked the look of pina colda too, a pearly white, which smells of coconuts too!

I throughly enjoyed my make-over, especially since I got a glass of bucks fizz too! New Cid’s image is natuaral and fresh - all the make-up artists followed this. Not like some brands whose make-up often looks overdone!

There are three offers on at the moment - Buy any three products and get a make-up bag free. Powder and blusher brushes are £5 now, instead of £20. And if you pay £10, you get all your make-up done, free falsh eyelashes and they’ll fit them for you too. Ideal for a big night out.

Now all thats left to do is give my Mam my updated christmas list, including these products! I have a feeling Santa is going to be good to me this year!!

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