Sunday Round-up

Hi All!

To say this has been a busy week would be an understatement. Firstly, no vlog this week. I did start a vlog, and then got a migraine that knocked the stuffing out of me for almost three days, so I scrapped it. No-one wants to see that.
On top of that, we had a gas leak at home, got capped off by the authorities and have been without heat, hot water and a cooker for five days at the time of writing (it's ongoing). Happy days.

BUT: life obviously carries on as normal so here's what you may/may not be up to speed with:

• I announced the second Cult Beauty Box of Dreams over on Instagram, you can sign up for the waitlist here: cultbeauty.co.uk/caroline-hirons
• I announced my collaboration with Pixi - our Double Cleanse goes on sale in January. Your response was completely overwhelming and I cannot thank you enough. I will do a post answering some of your questions this week, so if you have any more, do leave them in the comments and I will add the in. More info here: Double Cleanse Reveal (n.b. The Double Cleanse is not in the Cult Beauty Box, despite internet whisperings to the contrary. It goes on sale in January, not before.)

• The Zelens 30% offer is still on until Wednesday. Dr Lens has written some mini reviews on his Instagram if you are undecided on what you need: instagram.com/zelensskincare and my original post is here: carolinehirons.com/zelens
• We launched the Give and Makeup Shoebox Campaign - more details here: carolinehirons.com/give-and-makeup - thank you so much for your support.
• We have new babies in our family. If you're not on Instagram you have managed to avoid cat picture spam, so here's some to keep you happy ;) If I'm missing from anywhere, you might as well assume that I am on the sofa, with these fur babies.

Penelope aka Penny

Montgomery aka Monty

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Beauty News Round-up

This week's round-up - starting with...

• Stop the Press! Next Friday - 10th, Emma Watson - Hermione herself, is doing a P.A. in Selfridges as part of her role as Lancome Ambassador and Face of the brand. She's there to launch her new collection of lipsticks and nail polishes called Rouge in Love and Vernis in Love respectively. Prepare to be squashed to death by screaming Harry Potter fans.
  Selfridges Oxford Street - 4.30pm. Friday 10th February.

• Origins launch Youthtopia Lift today. Designed to help skins affected by stress, age, fatigue and lack of hyaluronic acid (moi) - it uses Commiphora Mukul - a key plant ingredient used in ayurvedic medicine for over 3000 years. 92% of their testers said their skin was 'lifted and firmer'. That'll do.
  My favourite part of Origins packaging? This bit:
  
  Origins products are formulated WITHOUT:
  Parabens  ● Phthalates  ● Propylene Glycol  ● Mineral Oil  ● PABA  ● Petrolatum
  Paraffin ● DEA ● Animal Ingredients (except cruelty-free honey and beeswax)
  Doesn't it look nice to see that? Youthtopia is £48.00.
  
  

• Deborah Mitchell launches her Eye version of her infamous Bee Venom Mask exclusively through NutriBeauty this week, priced at £55.00. A natural alternative to botox - she has taken the 'sting' part of the mask and added river silt - rich in  minerals, enzymes and marine collagen to feed, firm, tighten and rejuvenate. I kinda need that all over.
  

• The stunning cologne 4711 is sponsoring Matthew Williamson at LFW 2012. Frankly it's about time this unisex cult classic was put in front of people in a more pro-active manner. Never smelt it? It's citrus-y, think James Bond wears Aqua di Parma.
  Interesting sidebar: this is the first time I've linked to a wikipedia page for a product. Told you it was a classic.
  

• Also launching is Wild - a bright, bold and fresh initiative proving that Fair Trade doesn't have to be brown, dull and drab. Taking oils directly from ethically sourced and sustained suppliers from Africa, they have beautiful body butters and soaps that won't break the bank and make great gifts.
  

• Speaking of Africa - this week pureDKNY launch their latest collaboration with CARE International - an organisation that aims to empower and lift women out of global poverty. *stands up, claps*
  A Drop Of Verbena not only donates £1.00 per bottle to CARE, it sources the verbena directly from farmers in Togo to help sustain the local community. Can I get an AMEN?
  Watch this video featuring the face of DKNY Angela Lindvall for more info about the work DKNY are doing with CARE.

Good work DK peeps.

• Fast on the heels of RapidLash comes RapidBrow - the gift from the Gods for over-pluckers everywhere.

• Your eyebrows are the coat hangers for your face - if yours look like old wire hangers from the dry cleaners instead of sturdy fabulous wooden ones from Peter Jones haberdashery department (trust me), you may wanna look this up. Exclusive to Boots - £37.00
  

• Dove Spa have launched their Real Local Beauty campaign. Open to all ages and sizes you can nominate a friend or enter yourself if you fancy your chances. Prizes of up to £250 are on offer along with the chance to appear in their advertising campaigns and in the windows of Dove Spas across the country.  To enter email realbeauty@dovespa.co.uk. Entries close 17th Feb.
  

• Can we all take a minute to bow before the altar of NARS and these gorgeous previously-exclusive-to-Selfridges-now-in-SpaceNK new glosses?  He's basically giving us a super-pigmented-crack-version of his original glosses in THE most amazing, bright, beautiful colours. I suggest you go now and investigate Norma - pictured above. No I don't suggest, I HIGHLY suggest. £19.00

• Speaking of bowing, my old favourite Doctor P as usual, is at the forefront of his game and has released a Hypoallergenic Collection for those of us with sensitive skin - for whatever reason. I love this man and I trust him implicitly. No he's not cheap, but if you want cheap I suggest you go and use something for £2.00 on 3 for 2 in Boots and come back to me when your face is falling off. Yeah. That's what I thought.
  Starting with a cleanser, eye cream, peptide complex and moisturiser it is priced between £34 and £80 and is available online and on Perricone counters. Review to follow.
  

• Coach launched its latest fragrance - Poppy this week. Fruity and floral, it's the perfect escape as we get SNOW forecast. Priced from £29.00 at Debenhams, Harrods and selected stockists.
  

• Balance Me launch their skincare Try-Me kit on QVC on Sunday 5th at 6pm and 10pm. Priced at £22.50 it contains trial sizes of both cleansers, Radiance Face Oil, Moisture-Rich Face Cream, Wonder Eye Cream and Stellar Face Balm. Tune in at 6pm - it's bound to sell out.

• And finally - be careful what you wish for. Stila launching online with SpaceNK in March. HELL YEAH!

Beauty News Round-up

A little round-up of stories this week - first up...

• A reminder. Invati - the new range from Aveda that I reviewed late last year is on counters now. If you are worried about thinning hair - give it a go. I found it really good.
  
  
• FOUR London are teaming up with Daniel Sandler and offering a Consultation Evening next Thursday on 19th of January. The experts at FOUR will be giving colour consultations, Daniel will be giving MU tips and experts will be on hand from Dr Duve skincare to give you advice on how to get the best out of your skin. All with a glass of bubbles. To attend - simply email shirley at sdpr.co.uk
  

• Jo Malone announced this week that Charlotte Stockdale would be their new 'Style Editor'. In all honesty I'm not sure what a 'Style Editor' will do. Or how it will affect the brand. Very few brands are as visually strong as Jo Malone.
  I recently attended a CEW talk given by Jo herself to launch her new brand Jo Loves - during her speech she said that trying to pick which brand she loved more would be like 'trying to say which of her children she loved more'. I wonder what the original 'nose' makes of the new 'Style Editor'.
  Perhaps the original Jo Malone company (owned by Lauder since 1999) injecting newness into the range will be good for them - and good for the consumer.
  
  
• To celebrate the launch of their new counter in Harvey Nichols London - Stila are having a lipgloss amnesty 'Stila Steal' on 19th of this month. Just bring any lipgloss to the counter from 10am and they'll exchange it for a brand new 'Kitten' Lip Glaze.
  Interesting sidebar: Stila Lip Glaze is what I sold to my rudest customer ever when it was originally in Harvey Nichols in the late 90's. *waves at Naomi Campbell*
  
  

Frankly it's ABOUT TIME that Stila is back where it belongs. I could never get used to seeing it in Boots. Heartbreaking. It needs to be back in SpaceNK before I can sleep properly at night though.

Source

• Speaking of SpaceNK - lots of fabulous new ranges coming their way in the next couple of months - the most exciting for me being Kevyn Aucoin.
  It's 10 years this May since the unexpected death of one of the greatest MUA I have ever seen in action. I'm so glad his estate kept his new (at the time) range going. What better legacy? Look out for Celestial Powder and the Sensual Skin Enhancer. Hurry up and get here!