I really enjoyed this little talk from TED.com, the example he uses is extremely funny while also a perfect illustration. The bit I love most is the point he makes about the 1st person to follow the leader of a movement is as important as the person who came up with the idea. Food for thought. I hope you all have a lovely Weekend.

This is an incredibly proud moment for ladies in politics! Thanks to the brilliant columnist Lucy Mangan for highlighting this awesome speech captured in Australian parliament. Prime Minister Julia Gillard uncorks some long bottled-up thoughts on the hypocrisy and inherant misogyny of her shadow 1st minister. In 15 minutes she exposes some of the entrenched prejudice against women in both our politics and the media who cover the issues. Go girl!!

Stress is one of the most talked about afflictions of our time. Apparently the British waste, on average, a year and a half worrying during their lifetimes. Long periods of stress can lead to a huge range of nasty symptoms including headaches, teeth grinding, lack of sleep, weight gain, stomach pain, reduced fertility and sex drive, all horrible.

Radox have been helping calm stressed Brits for decades with their hearty bath soaks, and as part of a new PR drive for their Spas they’ve done some research into whether it’s the massage or actually the ambient music that makes the experience so relaxing. They commissioned Manchester band Marconi Union to produce a track with the brief that it had to be ‘the most relaxing music in the world’, the result is called Weightless.

The music applies the science of ‘Entrainment’ – using specific rhythms, tones and frequencies with a continuous rhythm of 60 BPM (beats per minute), which causes ones brainwaves and heart rate to synchronise with the rhythm. The low underlying bass tones relax the listener while the low whooshing sounds induce a trance-like, deeper state of calm.

Scientists at MindLab International in Sussex tested subjects to record the subconscious physical responses to listening to ‘Weightless’ versus other music, or the action of having a massage.

Surprisingly the measured effects on heart rate, skin conduction and respiration proved that listening to ‘Weightless’ was more relaxing effect than both a massage and listening to more conventional music by the likes of that old fave, Enya.

If you are feeling stressed we suggest you light a Tranquility Candle by NEOM, put on the Silk Eye Mask from Holistic Silk and download this tune from the Radox Facebook page. cate sewell

Yesterday the stunning Elisabetta launched her latest campaign for PETA which reads, “Animals killed for their fur are electrocuted, drowned, beaten and often skinned alive. Be comfortable in your own skin, and let animals keep theirs.” I definitely don’t want to trivialise this key animal rights issue…But looking at this beautiful nude picture of her just made me want HER skin, by whatever means necessary! alexia inge

If you had told me that Hugh Laurie would become the worldwide face of a L’Oreal Skincare range 10 years ago I would have fallen off my chair laughing. He personifies everything the world finds funny about British men, foppish, slightly chinless, bad teeth, lofty brow and a brilliant ability to make fun of himself.

Then he landed his dream role in the US series ‘House‘ and the transformation began…

Discovering what the inside of a gym looks like, the joys of a brilliantly tailored, crisp white shirt, what dentists do other than extractions and how limiting ones appointments with a razor is apparently all one needs to do to bring about a rebirth I never thought possible. What next, Jack Dee posing in white pants on a boat for Dolce & Gabanna, Alan Carr rolling around in the sand with puppies for Estee Lauder?! alexia inge

Our selection of quite brilliant men’s products >>>

TED.com is a recent discovery in the Cult Beauty office. A brilliant nonprofit organisation dedicated to the sharing and spreading of ideas. Whether through conferences around the globe, or for those of us who aren’t Al Gore… their website, TED offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers. A community of curious and creative souls that share their thoughts on how to improve the way we do things, as individuals on a small scale as well as starting international movements.

I highly recommend watching the presentation below by fly-posting, French, photographer JR, who just won this years TED Prize… alexia inge

TED is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you’re an important part of it. Have an idea yourself or want to recommend a speaker for one of their conferences click here.

My default setting over the last couple of weeks has been a wonderfully enjoyable, ‘Oh go on then, it’s Christmas’, as is only right and good. But this has taken its toll on my skin, eyes and energy levels and it is plain to see that I am not the only one afflicted in this way…<<<

One of the first things to concentrate on is the inside.  Your face is a barometer for your body:  if you are looking flat it means the engine needs a service. EBOOST, Emergen-C (effervescent drink) and Orac Super 7 are both packed with anti-oxidants and B vitamins to help boost energy levels and cleanse the toxins. Another good tip to help your gut is to have a fresh lemon and ginger tea every morning before anything else:  this will clear your skin in no time.

There have probably been a a few, “I jdontsh nee choo take my makeup offffgrr…..snore” moments over the past weeks, so it is really important to get back into a good cleansing routine – the Clarisonic is the best way to remove dirt and make up from your skin leaving it blooming and able to breath again. Alpha H are geniuses at renewing and resurfacing the skin: go to bed wearing Liquid Gold and you will wake up a new woman.

The boys at 3 Custom Color have a brilliant little tool called a Clarifying Pencil, a flesh coloured eye pencil that you draw along the inner step of the bottom eye lid to counter tired, red eyes instantly, brightening the area and making you look years younger.

A great tip for dull skin is to mix a small squirt of BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector and a teeny bit of facial Fake Tan with your daily moisturiser to add that moisture-rich luminosity you get after having a facial – instantly.

Last but not least don’t forget your poor hair – pulled, fried, teased and trussed up – it has not had as much fun as you have! Detox your locks with Hairfix’s protein-packed trio of hair savers.

Time to reformat to, ‘I really shouldn’t’ and then move on to ‘not for me thanks’…alexia inge

For most men a beauty routine means a mild drowning in Lynx, excavating belly button fluff and Febrezing their jeans, or does it? Many a soul has chuckled over humorous posturings, mostly in the conservative media, over slightly obscure launches like KenMen’s Man-scara and Guy-liner, but retail sales reports don’t generally lie and when you see brands like Clinique and YSL getting in on the act it’s time to take notice. In the UK the male grooming market has grown 800% in the last decade and is currently worth around £1.5bn. American consumers spent $4.9bn on grooming last year.

We all have such short memories now-a-days, talking about men in make up like it’s some revolutionary invention of the Seventies. Anyone seen the film Dangerous Liasons? Or a kohled-up Egyptian Pyramid wall painting. In the 18th Century it was almost compulsory to be rouged, primped and powdered and the Greeks and Romans loved a little liner.

This is not a prettifying trend, the men’s cosmetics market is all about (surprise, surprise) little touch ups! The boys are starting to experience the same pressures to look better and younger that women have felt for centuries. Whereas men are programmed to find younger women more attractive, while never receiving the same pressure back from the ‘fairer sex’, it is now the youth-prejudiced job market that is bringing some equality to this imbalance.

So what cosmetics are the boys hiding in their bathroom cabinets? Under-eye concealer is the favourite, concealing bags and dark circles, followed by mattifying products – on average men produce 20% more oil than women and have 20% thicker skin, which is why they generally age better – bronzer, self tan and the taming and defining of beards and brows. Its all about complexion enhancing products from lines such as Menaji (terrible website and packaging but much loved), 4voo, The Men Pen, My Ego Cosmetics, even the fashion visionary Jean-Paul Gaultier has a range of mascaras and eyeliners called Le Mâle Tout Beau. All these come with sufficiently masculine packaging and names like Confidence Corrector, Hydrating Enhancer, Undetectable Camo, M Cover and Touche Eclat for men, just don’t call it make up!

Personally I wouldn’t find a man striving to look his best a turn off, unless the ‘Undetectable’ Camo wasn’t living up to its name, but that goes for both sexes.The only thing that would annoy me is if they gouged out globs of my Cle De Peau, that is a firing offense!

What do you think, enhancing or emasculating? alexia inge

Rarely do those forwarded emails warrant anything more than a swift shift to the delete button, but we just received this amusing comment on the comedy of the human condition, love it:

“According to a news report, a private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem.  A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick, they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little prints.

Every night the maintenance man would remove them, and the next day the girls would put them back.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done.  She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man.  She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses).

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.  Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

There are teachers … and then there are Educators.” unknown author