There are 3 make up products I discovered this year that will basically change your life (in an Cheat-Spray-Love kind’a way!). All of them will make you look fabulous for any parties this New Year’s Eve, even after you’ve had the obligatory 2am fight with your boyfriend/best friend/lampost!

The first, won’t come as much of a surprise to regular readers, is the Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint. I’ve tried to run, and definitely can’t hide from the onslaught of the mid-thirties and this complexion enhancing moisturiser is a daily Hermione to my Harry Potter in the fight against evil…effects of ageing.

Next in my box of tricks is a Liquid eyeliner from Prestige Cosmetics, they come in a brilliant range of colours from which black, big teal and fame are absolute staples, and at £5.99 each are amazingly good value.

Then we have a mascara so immovable we call it Merkozi, that has checked so many boxes we ran out of ink. The Volume Lash from djv Beautenizer makes your lashes so long and thick you won’t be able to wear your glasses after application, and if you happen to be a contact lens wearer there is no flaking or smudging either to irritate your eyes. It’s legendary! alexia inge

Perdita has been a friend since Uni, you used to do the student marches together. You never had the heart to tell her your incentives for participating were less about changing Foreign policy for the Guatemalans, as changing Frederico’s hardline policy of ‘sticking with his girlfriend’. Perdita is a good egg who practices what she preaches and fights hard for her morals, but as a result never treats herself. You want to buy her something nice, but don’t want a long lecture about the wanton wastage of modern society.

Solution: Jade Facial Roller - £25-£43

She wouldn’t have a face cream – all that packaging, just for 2 month’s usage – but she’s starting to get jowls, and the olive oil and flax seed mixture she rustles up herself is not cutting the mustard in the anti-ageing department. This facial roller is made of pure, hand-carved Jade, a cleansing stone used in Chinese medicine for centuries to help the body to expel toxins. It aids lymph drainage eliminating puffiness, plumping out wrinkles and unless you drop it, it lasts for ages. alexia inge

The thought of the family descending (even though it is his side this year) is not filling Dad with festive joy. He won’t be allowed to watch the Top Gear Christmas Special, the DIY tools will have to be removed from the Kitchen BACK TO THE SHED WHERE THEY BLOODY BELONG and Auntie Geranium always takes his favourite chocs from the Quality Street. On the upside ’tis the season to eat as much as he wants without ‘the eye of Sauron’ appearing over the paper questioning whether that amount of butter is good for the cholesterol…Dad is hard to buy for because he doesn’t feel he needs anything and can’t stand waste.

Solution: Razorpit Razor Sharpener – £20.

Appeal to Dad’s practical side by enabling him to extend the life of his razor blades, you can just hear him…”It’s criminal how much these things cost…four blades on a razor! I ask you, what do I need with four blades!” Razorpit is based on the leather strap Barbers use to sharpen their traditional cut-throat blades. It revives razor blades, so you can extend your razor’s usefulness by up to 150 shaves. It works with most brands (Gillette, Wilkinson Sword, even Bic) and appeals to that mix of traditional and technology that Practical Dad finds so alluring. alexia inge

Josh always looks and smells good, but he is EXTREMELY picky about everything that exists in his physicality. In fact you once saw him cry in the street over a case of bad high-lights on a cute boy. He is impossible to buy for, but nothing is worse than turning up empty handed to his colour-themed, annual Christmas party: the tears, the falling to the floor, beating his fists on the teak, and that is just when he finds out Streisand’s Latest Greatest Hits Remix didn’t make Christmas number 1! Even your mate Davo who never buys a round will muster something up.

Solution: Cire Trudon Stink Bombs

It is rare you can say one of the celeb fans of a brand is Napoleon Bonaparte, this will go down well with Josh. These little paper-glass stink bombs each contain one of two incredibly refined French fragrances, when you smash one of these on the floor you are instantly enveloped with either the masculine, leathery, patchouli & Tobacco scent of Ernesto, or the fresh, minty & gingery Abd El Kader. This will allow him to enter the room in a flourish, dash the vial to the ground (a le Alan Rickman in harry Potter) and create a beautiful environment wherever he goes.

Unless you have Santa’s Mobile number here are the last dates to order from Cult Beauty in order to ensure you get your gifts before the Christmas deadline…

-UK, Standard Delivery – Order before 2pm Monday 19 December
-UK, Fedex – Order before 2pm Tuesday 20 December

-Western Europe, Standard – Order before 2pm Wednesday 15 December
-Western Europe, Fedex – Order before 2pm Monday 19 December

-North America, Standard – Order before 2pm Wednesday 15 December
-North America, Fedex – Order before 2pm Monday 19 December

-Middle East Asia, Australasia, South & Central America, Africa, Far East (inc Japan), Standard – Order before 2pm Monday 12 December
-Middle East Asia, Australasia, South & Central America, Africa, Far East (inc. Japan), Fedex – Order before 2pm Friday 16 December

STOP THE PRESS… the search for the perfect mascara is over, you can check that box, kick back in the comfortable knowledge that from now on lashings of naturally lustrous lashes are yours for the taking. No smudging, no flaking, no end-of-day dark circles AND it comes off in 2 seconds when soaked in warm water…

It is no wonder this has been the top selling mascara brand in Japan for over 10 years. We’ve been trying to get this brand for 2 years, d.j.v Beautenizer finally said yes to Cult Beauty launching it in Europe 2 weeks ago, and now it’s here.

There are only two products in the range, the original Fibrewig LX and their latest Volume Lash, one for beautifully alluring day lashes and one for a POWer-lash night look. It’s the mascara equivalent of finding a tall, dark, handsome, well-dressed man, an incredibly witty billionaire with an adorable mother and a love of animals…who is also straight and single! alexia inge

Dear Santa, I have been a good girl this year and was wondering if you could sort me out with this bedroom, I think it might help with stress relief…also please can I have the below drinks dispenser for the office…also stress relief…. oh and some sharks with lasers to discourage junk mail please. alexia inge

Just as the EU she so despised is crumbling around our ears, Maggie-mania is hotting up. The Iron Lady isn’t due to hit cinemas for at least a month, yet already the style nostalgia has started to permeate the fashion & beauty industries. Suddenly a boxy, shoulder-enhancing tailoring doesn’t seem quite so dated. Flesh tights, pearls and pumps (championed by the lovely Middleton sisters) seem somehow less mumsey, and what else is the crook of an elbow designed for if not a framed bag that would take out a Lib Dem at 40 paces?

From a beauty perspective Maggie was all about the bullet-proof barnet and the power lippy, no extraneously feminine trappings of eyeshadow or blusher and definitely no nail varnish. It is unlikely we will want to recreate the full hair-helmet, but creating a bit of volume and uniformity is definitely a trend to try.

Start by wash your hair with Sachajuan’s Volumising Shampoo & Conditioner, then run some davines For Wizards Body Mousse through your hair when wet and blowdry upside down while scrunching. Once dry, move the crown of your hair to the side, backcomb the under bits and then gently brush the top part back over with a boar bristle brush from Acca Kappa. Finish with a spray of davines Firm Hold Hairspray to keep it in place. alexia inge

Great news, we have a new Jouer product on board, hot off the press (as it were), the Liquid Shimmer Eyeliners have landed. In the video below Jouer founder Christina introduces the Liner better than I ever could (tops marks to the model at the end for the biggest cheesiest smile I have ever seen!)  alexia inge

A friend just told me about a brilliant event happening in London this Saturday in aid of chari-dee, ‘Dress for Success’, hosted by Jennifer Saunders, Betty Jackson and Sunday Times Style.

Working on the premise, ‘One wo-man’s Trash is another wo-man’s Treasure’, high-end bring & buy sales are rather exciting things.

The uber-cool readers of Style Mag will be bringing their boyfriend-never-liked, too small, too big, impulse-buys they no longer want to take part in this sale.

Harvey Nichols, Temperley London, Whistles, my-wardrobe.com, Matches, Mulberry, House of Holland and Astley Clarke will also set up special pop-up stalls offering exclusive one-off buys, brilliant Christmas gifts and stunning catwalk samples at discounts of up to 70%.

It’s on from 10am-1pm & 3pm-6pm; Entrance is £20 which all goes to the Charity. alexia inge

Style Fashion Bring & Buy, The House Of St Barnabas, 1 Greek Street, London W1. To book, call 0844 543 9806.

A world away from the 12 hour workdays and grimy, overcrowded tube journeys that we endure in London daily, Cult Beauty discovered a quiet, peaceful haven in Yalikavak on Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula (4 hour flight from Gatwick) and we just had to tell you about it. It may be off our normal subject of beauty, but we came back looking about 10 years younger.

Where to stay:

We discovered a super-cool hotel called the 4 Reasons (sic) where we lounged by the pool and gorged on the exquisite cuisine. The adorable library nook is a treasure of perfect beach reads, having been contributed over the years by previous guests. It had me at Marian Keyes’s Watermelon. Chic, reasonably-priced and with only 20 rooms, it is private without being isolated.

Breakfast is by the pool, surrounded by bougainvillea and a perfect view. The 4 Reasons is big on small, luxurious details like the litres of freshly squeezed orange juice we devoured every morning (full of anti-oxidants, great for the skin and the hang-over).

Doubles start at 85 EUR per night. Book online through i-escapes or directly with the hotel on +90 (252) 385-3212.

Soak up the sun:

For a real insider’s view of Bodrum, head down to Magi Beach about a 5 minute walk from the 4 Reasons. Ask any of the friendly staff for recommendations on excursions and restaurants to find some true hidden gems. From boat trips to secret swimming bays to the perfect spot to watch the sunset, you can trust these guys to hook you up with the best Bodrum has to offer. To completely de-stress, I recommend just floating in the crystal clear water and drinking a full-fat Efes beer. jessica deluca

PAN AM is set to be a mile-high Mad Men, promising a hot, weekly, 60’s fashion & beauty injection into our lives. Based around the iconic, and now defunct airline, PAN AM will transport BBC2 viewers back to 1963, a highly glamorous era when the only inflight safety precaution was a bit of extra hairspray in case of turbulence.

An age when being an air-hostess was the most alluring occupation you could possibly have and it was seen as totally acceptable to weight the stewardesses before every flight to check they hadn’t slipped in their primary duty as totty….calm that internal feminist, see how far we’ve come and then enjoy the immaculately spot-on 60′s fashion and beauty.

Patricia Regan, the head make-up artist for PAN AM, worked closely with Chad and Scott, owners of 3 Custom Color, to create a working palette for the show inspired by the 1960′s stewardesses handbook that, amongst other things, required the gals to ‘Wear a defined eye and coral lips and cheeks’.

“My inspiration comes from extensive photographs of 1963—fashion, documentary, and people, as well as Pan Am history,” says Regan. “I try to combine the style of the past and with the tools of the present to give a fresh new look!” Here’s how she achieved it.

1) Apply a matte finish foundation and I love to use the 3 Custom Clarifying pencil on the inside step to really brighten eyes.

2) Brows are an important part of this look, brush and groom them to define natural fuller shape, fill in and extend a touch with a matching brow shade.

3) Apply eye shadow – in Cool Sky, Cool Celery – both used on Margot Robbie & Karine Vanasse or Warm Lilac – used on Christina Ricci & Kelli Garner – all over your eyelid to just above the crease.

4) Draw a line along upper lashes with either the black or brown Opaline Eyeliner.

5) Apply a couple of layers of mascara, for extra drama, try a couple of individual false lashes on outer corners!

6) Add a generous sweep of cream blusher on the apple of cheeks. Three Custom Color Lip & Cheek Stain in Poppy is the coral I chose for this 60′s look.

7) Finish with a lip balm over the top.

To check out the finished look, tune in to “Pan Am” Wednesday nights on BBC2 – alexia inge

Where I come from in Somerset, every spring and autumn we get gigantic flocks of black starlings swarming in these beautifully elegant patterns just before sunset. It is almost like they become another organism. This happens when the birds leave their feeding places and take flight before settling in for the night. I’ve never had the wherewithal to film them but the video above is a sweet, if a little amateur, example of this amazing natural phenomena. It is literally breathtaking. alexia inge

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Now that her exclusivity period with Estee Lauder is up – the artist formerly known as – Jo Malone is back and as expected her latest incarnation, Jo Loves, is quite gorgeous.

The master perfumer is known for her clean, pure, crisp, nature-inspired and infused fragrances, a far cry from the over-powering, artificial wafts that hit you walking down the high street. Jo has poured her heart and soul into this project. When we met up a couple of days ago I found myself feeling every bit as emotional and proud of the launch of her new perfumes as she does.

Each perfume has a unique smell and each has been given it’s own launch. The first to go on sale was “Pomelo”, Wednesday saw “Green Orange and Coriander” launch, today is “Orange Tulle” and then Friday welcomes “Gardenia” to the noses of the great British public.

Gardenia is my personal favourite. It is the perfect balance between a light, sensual floral smell, a creamy puff and something a little darker like rich velvet. I find it near impossible to use words to describe scents, much better to head down to her pop-up shops in Selfridges or South Audley St, London and smell for yourself.

It sits in the luxury perfumes category (£95 for 100ml), alongside giants like Tom Ford. But what I will say is that you only need very little and it lasts well into the night. You are paying for a skilled and well honed nose with indomitable courage and an artisan approach to making the world a better smelling place. In a world of clones, you will have no problem standing out with a resonating smell of the best bits of nature in a bottle.

I am besotted with this delectable range. olivia inge

Magnets have been used for centuries as a tool to promote well being by a plethora of cultures, from the Chinese to the Ancient Greeks, especially for healing and pain relief. The theory being that magnets attract blood – which contains many metal elements e.g. iron – to the area in which they are placed, increasing the delivery of oxygen and nutrients. According to the National Centre For Complementary and Alternative Medicine, magnetized rings were used to treat arthritis as far back as 2000 B.C.. The modern beauty world is now tapping into their powers too.

Magnetic nail polishes have been exciting the manicure world (hugely championed by BritishBeautyBlogger) for a few months now, with Nails Inc leading the trend. It’s not the first time magnetic polishes have been released; back in 2007 Lancome launched a limited edition magnetic polish for Christmas.

Magnetic fibers are now being developed into credible thickening and volumising hair products. Originally created and used to help cover balding and thinning hair (remember those tacky adds in the back of newspapers), now researchers in Israel are applying the latest lightweight, bonding technologies to create a new wave of invisible styling products.

Currently the majority of thickening products work by attracting positively charged polymers to the hair shaft, giving a blended and realistic look. Israeli researchers are creating technology that adapts the fibers to help create a thicker, fuller and evenly textured appearance to hair. The magnetic fibers are naturally textured polymers, made up of ingredients like keratin, nylon, silica and cotton.

These minute strands are positively charged which allows them to attract and stick to the hair shaft, which has a negative charge. The attraction is strong enough that they stay all day, from when you apply the styling products until you wash them out that evening or the next day. Cult Beauty predicts this is the future of volumising hair products, very exciting stuff.

Skin care is also getting involved with magnets; American skincare company iLike have created a Magnetic Skin Therapy Mask which blends herbal pulps of Elderflower and Locust flower with a magnetic powder to create a powerful gel that increases blood flow to the skin. This increases the circulation, cell metabolism and detoxification of the skin to give you a refreshed and revived appearance.

Only time will tell how the magnetic trend will play out but this is definitely not the last you hear of this (rather attractive) technology. cate sewell

Cult Beauty Expert Annee de Mamiel has been receiving rather a lot of attention from seriously key publications.

The New York Times blog have just written this about her, see full article here: “To say that these oils have a cult following is to say that Miuccia Prada has a nice little dressmaking business — it is an understatement of colossal proportions.

Combining her training in traditional Chinese medicine, which holds that everything is seasonal, and her experience as a facialist, de Mamiel creates four limited-edition custom oils every year, each one available only during the three-month period for which it is intended.”

The FT How to Spend it Mag’s Lucia Van Der Post just published this:

If you want to see what all the fuss is about, the de Mamiel Autumn Oil is now available on Cult Beauty. alexia inge

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

The beauty world has become so heavy handed with Photoshopping that the Advertising Standards Commission has recently had to step in, with L’Oreal, Maybelline and Lancome all being read the riot act for their heavy-handed tampering with famous faces. They are not alone in this.

The biggest recent Photoshop fails were campaigns featuring Beyonce and Frida Pinto, which were heralded all over the internet with allegations that both had had their skin lightened by the magic brush of air!

The list of brands choosing to abolish all reality from their famous campaign-fronters, in favour of pore-less, line-less, colourless mannequins is endless. It’s getting silly!

We’re loving this faux campaign for Adobe Photoshop Day Cream, illustrating the level of artifice involved in putting together these campaigns using Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna.

The Photoshop debate will always be something that fires up every few months. A little touch up to disguise a red blotch or spot does no harm but when a brand takes it to the extreme and the celebrity or model look completely unrecognizable as a member of the human species – that’s when the use of Photoshop becomes too much.

cate sewell

Madonna might have been booed, but James D’Arcy received nothing but adulation at the W.E London premier this weekend. He didn’t rock up looking like this however, his look was perfected by Cult Beauty Expert Emma Day, and here’s how she did it:

“I prepped skin with a mixture of Aesop products which James particularly likes – the Parsley Seed Anti-oxident Toner to cleanse the skin, the Moroccan Neroli Post shave lotion to soothe skin post-shave and then the Sage & Zinc facial hydrating cream to moisturise his skin – all these products smell outstanding and men really adore them.

I used a very light virtually invisible tinted moisturiser by Jouer to even out his skin-tone and concealed where needed with Three Custom Color concealer to take any pinkness out. I then used a colour-less Mac Prep and Prime powder to avoid shine and Alison Rafaelle’s matifying Transparent Finish To Go where needed to finish off.”

Didn’t she make him look priddy… alexia inge

Until recently, Lip beauty trends have been focused on a ‘bigger is better’ ethos, but there’s been a style backlash against all those lilo-lipped, cushion-cheeked celebs. There are much more fabulous ways of looking sexy than channeling that pumped-up, porn pout…Lips come in many different guises, whether bee-stung, rosebud, finely curled or downright pneumatic, they are all beautiful shapes.

The skin on our lips is much thinner (around 5 cellular layers rather than 16 for the rest of the face) with fewer melanin producing cells, so you can see the blood vessels beneath, which is why lips appear redder. This is also why you need to protect them more from the sun. The surface of your lips have no sweat or sebum glands, which is why they have a tendency to become dry with extreme environments.

Dry, Chapped Lips

The ravages of winter are just around the corner and that means flaking and chapping are not far away. When you need to bring out the big guns Pommade Divine is just the kalashnikov you need. Exfoliate the area with your toothbrush twice a week and then use this as a night treatment. Here are some of the cult lip-balms no handbag should be without. Keep up with your vitamin supplements, cracks in the corner of the mouth can indicate a deficiency of vitamin B2.

Ageing Lips

As one of the most frequently moved parts of the body (for some more than others) and combined with the lack of natural protection makes our mouths prone to fine lines and wrinkles. During your daily skin care routine make sure you extend your attention to the area, especially around the lip-line, Payot do a very effective anti-ageing Eye & Lip Contour Cream. The handbag hero for this is the LIP20 by KaplanMD, anti-ageing, plumping, SPF20 and the coolest holster in the west.

DuWop have a brilliant product for anyone over 28 called the Reverse Lip Liner that you draw outside the outline of your lips, this clear waxy pencil fills wrinkles and stops lipstick or lipgloss pigment feathering into fine lines throughout the day.

Enhancing Your Natural Beauty

The trend is to enhance a beautiful bee-stung shape. Highlight your philtrum (grove above your upper lip) with a tiny smudge of illuminator, just along the ridge and then with your ring-finger pat your high pigment lipstick or tint from the centre of your pout outwards (with the densest pigment at the centre and very little at the edge). Then pat lipgloss onto the fleshiest parts of your lip to visually bring the area forward.

Then smile, the sexiest look for your lips is FREE!

alexia inge