British brand Laboratory Perfumes has just launched on Cult Beauty, and judging by the initial reaction by Cult followers we think it’s about to go stratospheric. The capsule range consists of two highly addictive scents, Gorse & Amber, each come in an Eau de Parfum & a candle.

Inspired by the flora of the English countryside, Laboratory Perfumes has created two clean, very modern fragrances, evocative of nature. While the gorgeous packaging reflects a love of simplicity, the fragrances are extremely complex and have an evolutionary life on the skin. The elegant, clear glass bottles and candle beaker echo the origins of the traditional perfumer’s laboratory. Check out the recent coverage on Glamour below. alexia inge

No-one wants to smell like everyone else and this boutique British brand, Escentric Molecules, is the perfect solution. Each collection 01, 02, 03 is built around a specific scent molecule (technical term aroma chemical).

Escentric 01 is built around the aroma chemical ‘Iso E Super’ that has made the 01 range such a groundbreaking cult for both men and women. Iso E Super is the molecule that experienced perfumers add to scents that need sexing up, that need a bit more GrrrrRRrr to stop purer scents from becoming too sickly.

Unlike Molecule 01, which is made solely of Iso E Super, Escentric 01 is also blended with Pink pepper, Lime Peel, Balsamic notes like Benzoin, Mastic and Orris Incense in a new balance. Moving away from the traditional fragrance journey through top, heart and base notes, Escentric 01 moves quickly from top to bottom, eventually lingering on a sensual, woody musky finale. alexia inge

Eye-catching, high-performance, addictive and achingly beautiful, ELLIS FAAS became a cult classic the day it was born. If you haven’t already tried it, the time is now. We have just launched the eye collection, which not only does a brilliant job at enhancing your natural beauty, it stays enhancing through thick and thin (if thick is 5 hours in a sweaty club and thin is a day at the beach).

Also with this launch there is a seriously lovely offer. With every two ELLIS FAAS products you pick, we will give you a Milky Eyes in colour 209 for free*. These products all layer beautifully so this one works as a great springboard priming colour (bottom left). alexia inge

* while stocks last.

After some pretty impassioned pleas from customers, and a nod from the expert panel, we’ve extended the Peter Thomas Roth range on Cult Beauty to include his UnWrinkle and Laser Free stories. As their names suggest they are hard hitting anti-ageing and resurfacing ranges aimed at people with more than, ‘just a few smile lines’, who are willing to commit to a four week process to tackle them. Read more about the products here >>

In order to inspire you to try some we’re giving away a luxury sample of UnWrinkle Night – worth £23 – with all Peter Thomas Roth orders over £40.

Cult Beauty Expert Emma Day reports on how she created JL’s look for the UK press launch of Hunger Games, pictured above… “I met Jennifer a year ago as a virtual unknown when doing her make up for the Winters Bone press launch, so I was excited to be part of the Hunger Games junket experience watching her star ascend, it couldn’t happen to a more down to earth, intelligent girl. I also loved the film!

Jennifer has almost poreless, flawless skin, I have never seen her with a spot and the texture is very even and glowing, even with all her travel commitments. I prepped her skin with Sisley Black rose mask for a bit of pampering, let it sink in and then moisturised with Origins Vitazing moisturiser, which people seem to love.

I used Chanel Aqua Lumiere in 20 as her base and created a soft smoky eye, something we did before for her previous junket and seems to suit her well – a sort of young, fresh Marianne Faithful/ Bardot look without any hard edges. Using Illamasqua Pure pigment in Static as an eye-base and in the corners of the eyes to add sparkle. I then created a soft smokey eye with Stila smudge pot in black, Dior Kohl Eyeliner in Black inside the eye and Dior New look mascara which gives very separated, long lashes. Adding my favourite medium length Eylure individual lashes along the lash line creates a natural full lash look that does not look obviously fake – I use them myself on a big night out sometimes. Her cheeks were given added glow with the gorgeous Stila Convertible Colour in Peony – I am mad for apricot blush at the moment, its so soft and pretty. Her cheeks were contoured with Jouer Glistening Brightening Powder on the top of the cheekbones and then Jouer Replenish & Protect Hydrating Bronzer which blends perfectly and is nicely matt. On Jennifers lips I used Tom Ford Nude Vanille and finished with a dab of Stila Kitten Lip Glaze in the middle of her pout for a bit of softness, so they weren’t too matt. The skin also had a mattified finish with T Leclerc Pressed Powder in Transparent and she was ready for the camera.” emma day

Yes, it is the UK, we rarely see such beautiful weather in March and the sun doesn’t feel strong enough to burn, but it is currently strong enough to age your skin, especially seeing as your skin’s natural sunscreen, melanin, will be pretty non-existent now.

Take the day off, get yourself out there to enjoy it while it’s there to raise your happiness and Vitamin D levels, but do wear sunscreen. If you haven’t stocked up yet, we can get it to you in 24 hours and all of the products on the site come expert recommended.

Institut Esthederm Adaptasun range is the best for activating your skin’s natural defences for the maximum deep tan. Invisible Zinc contains no chemical sunscreen, only the reflective zinc oxide so it’s good for people with sunscreen allergies. Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral is a powder sunscreen that can be brushed on even over make up, perfect for the city, and P20 is the star product of the forgetful and the people who find they sweat off other products as one application lasts all day.

I’m blond with fine, dry hair so finding a conditioner that is moisturising enough to give me some shine without a greasy residue, but light enough to retain bounce is a constant quest. Hair masks once a week do help, but I’m constantly on the look out for a leave in conditioner that would help daily.

When one of our experts recommended we check out a Swedish haircare range called Sachajuan my interest was immediately piqued, as the Scandinavians tend to have finer hair. The hook with this brand is something they call Ocean Silk technology, which basically means they extract proteins and minerals from the following sea algae – Enteromorpha Compressa, Himanthalia Elongata, Rhodophycea and Chondrus Crispus. The products are all made using over 50% natural ingredients and the effects are instant.

It was the Leave in Conditioner that sold me on the Sachajuan range, it has a slightly annoying pump spray design but one you get on your hair this stuff is pure bliss. Spray it onto towel-dried hair and then either style or leave to dry naturally, it adds an addictive softness and lightness without any notion you have product in your hair.

This conditioner also works well on thicker hair, but there are many brilliant conditioners out there that do that. alexia inge

There’s lip balm and there’s lip Xanadu… Some moisturise, some tint, some taste nice…KaplanMD LIP20 takes it to another level.

The first thing you notice about the LIP20 is the space-aged packaging, which allows you to open and apply one handed. It moisturises like a dream, contains super-effective anti-ageing ingredients – marine collagen, peptides, antioxidants, vitamin A, Black Cohosh & Seabuckthorn Berry extract – to stop the crease-creap that causes our lipstick to feather. It protects from UVA & UVB rays with SPF 20, AND also contains Hyaluronic Acid Filling Spheres, which plump lips over time creating a fuller, more youthful mouth.

Show me a mother who doesn’t want that and I’ll ask you to check vital signs…View the range here. alexia inge

You know when you come across design so well thought through it momentarily makes you feel like everything is OK with the world? I’ve just had one such moment, and it is dedicated to the latest Philips Sonicare Toothbrush. It’s genius and this is why we’ve just launched it on the site!

Some bright spark at Philips noticed that for convenience people keep their toothbrushes in a glass by the sink, the brush to clean, the glass to gurgle. They have added a super-safe electric dock under the glass so that when your DiamondClean is resting in there it is charging. The glass also comes away from the dock so it can be used in the normal way. This toothbrush also comes with a protective carry-case that charges the brush from your computer. Geek swoon!

Then they added super-speed sonic technology to the brush with varying wavelengths to suit different needs (clean, sensitive, whitening, gum care & polish). It’s so effective that your teeth still have that just-brushed feeling when you wake up in the morning. The sonic vibrations take about a week to get used to if you’ve never used an electric toothbrush before, but with this little tool you’ll be dentist’s pet in no time. alexia inge

Google is currently morphing, upgrading and changing many things we’ve taken for granted for a while now. Some of the repercussions will be good for speed and relevancy, and some are rather worrying e.g. privacy. For those not operating their blogs on blogger there is one change that is really messing with their traffic, and their ability to compete for readership with blogs hosted on Blogspot – the disabling of their Google Friend Connect facility.

Our friend Lipglossiping alerted us to the effects of these changes for all bloggers on the other platforms and it’s ‘just not cricket’, too much monopolising is not good for anyone… play fair guys!

Please join the conversation here. alexia inge