My Week in Beauty

MONDAY

Having spent some of Saturday and Sunday nights getting reacquainted with The Fabulous Baker Boys (on DVD), I went on to have a bit of a Suzy Diamond-inspired week. In case you don’t know the film, Suzy Diamond was the singer who’s drafted in to give the eponymous sibling lounge pianists a touch of glamour in their rather dated act.

I may not have writhed around on top of a grand piano (hey, there’s still time – that scene takes place at New Year’s), but I’ve been listening to the soundtrack and, more importantly, was inspired by the Suzy Diamond look throughout the week. Cue lots of playing about with nude eye shades and red lipstick…

TUESDAY

Getting my hair sorted out on Tuesday at James Dun’s House salon in Glasgow was the second step in my Suzy Diamond homage. Michelle Pfeiffer, who played Suzy and immediately became one of my favourite actresses when I first saw this film in 1989, is a California blonde, but for this part, her hair – appropriately for the floosie- turned-chantoosie – is a dirtier blonde than in her earlier movies.

James Dun’s House (0141 248 5864) is an elegant and very contemporary salon which opened a couple of years ago in the same building which now houses Jamie’s Italian. Not only does this salon offer a full range of Aveda spa treatments but its hairdressing is all done with Aveda too.

I was very impressed with my very natural-looking (I hate stripy hair!), born-again blonde locks – achieved by Christine using Aveda highlights – and, especially, by the attention to detail that this salon offers. While you have your colour done, you can select a complimentary mini-treatment from a little menu – a neck and shoulders massage, a hand treatment, or a colour consultation for a new lipstick..

I’ve not yet been asked to add glamour to a piano double act,  but within a couple of days of getting my hair done, I’d notched up a respectable number of compliments on the shine and colour..

WEDNESDAY

You can’t experiment with red lipsticks – or any other strong shade – unless you have a good cleanser to remove all traces of each tester. Luckily, on Wednesday, I received a parcel from Lancome – just in time for my trawl through the red lipsticks of the season…

Lancome Eau Micellaire Douceur (£20; www.lancome.co.uk) is a lovely cleansing water, and cleansing water is the quickest, most effective way to remove lipstick in a hurry. Apart from the texture and fragrance, this refreshing liquid is a hit because it has a pump so you don’t risk too much coming out by tipping it onto your cotton pad – as happens with normal bottles. Anyway, it’s now my default morning cleanser – for those days when washing the face is just too much effort.

THURSDAY

Over the last few years, the party season has started a little earlier than before for us Scottish beauty writers. Why? Because those lovely ladies at Clinique come up to Glasgow and treat us all to a fabulous festive dinner. This year’s dinner took place on Thursday and it seemed only good manners to wear as many of my favourite Clinique products as possible for the occasion.

The main one is my ever-reliable Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup (£20 ; www.clinique.co.uk), which – used over Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Protective Base SPF15 (£ 14) – keeps my face more shine-free and even-toned than any other combo I’ve tried.

On the eyes, Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner in True Black (£13) and Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow in Double Date (£18.50), a neutral palette, helped me create a fairly natural look so that the emphasis could be on my Suzy Diamond-esque red lips. Which I achieved not with the best current red that I could find –

My quest for a Suzy Diamond-esque red lipstick led me to Dior Rouge Dior Haute Couleur Voluptuous Care in Zinnia Red (£22), a gorgeous blue-toned red from the beautiful new Dior lipstick collection that launched in September. However, for the Clinique night, I went into my own personal archive and exhumed the very same shade of red from my favourite lipstick range  – Clinique Colour Surge Butter Shine Lipstick (£14.50). These lipsticks are very shiny and highly moisturising – and the most comfortable I’ve come across. A couple of years ago they had a limited edition shade called Parisian Red. It came out for Christmas, I fell in love with it and then they stopped making it. I must confess I felt like a naughty schoolgirl sneaking it into the proceedings on Thursday…

FRIDAY

Too late for my night-out, I was seduced by the newest acquisition in my mascara collection – Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Excess Mascara (£23). The name may sound more like the sort of product that Michelle Pfeiffer might have worn in Married to the Mob, but it provided dramatic lashes that were certainly worthy of Suzy Diamond.

Not only does this fat wanded mascara curl and lengthen the lashes, it makes them look as if they’ve multiplied. On the smudge-test results, the jury’s still out – I’ve had mixed results so am hanging fire with my final verdict. But put it this way: I’m happy to keep giving it the benefit of the doubt as long as it keeps giving me movie star lashes.

Top That!

I just got an invitation through the mails: “Your presence requested this evening – it’s formal. Top hat, white tie and tails …” Ah, it was so much easier for men like Irving Berlin, who wrote this, or Fred Astaire, who sang it. But for us gals, trying to decide what to wear on a night-out can be a nightmare – especially when there’s little to inspire in the shops.  Perhaps it’s time to take a leaf out of such style-leaders as Sarah Jessica Parker (above, in Dior Couture hat), and turn to men’s formal wear for inspiration. Of course, she wasn’t the first:

Marlene Dietrich sported top hat, white tie and tails (plus corsage) at a Hollywood ball in 1929, and often returned to the look – giving it a feminine twist in sparkly white, and investing it with even more sex appeal and glamour in Blonde Venus in 1933.  Just look at the effect on Cary Grant!

Dietrich was not the only 1930s style icon who cross-dressed in a memorable fashion.. Josephine Baker, the snake-hipped darling of La Revue Negre in Paris, may not have been French but she shared Dietrich’s continental sense of playing with expectations, and had a similarly daring fashion outlook:

One of the most stylish young women I’ve met is the wonderful jazz singer Melody Gardot who shares my passion for old movies . When she’s not channelling Lauren Bacall, Veronica Lake or another film noir heroine, she has something of a French look about her – check out the Breton stripes with the top hat:

By strange coincidence, Melody’s stablemate at Decca, Madeleine Peyroux (another old movie and old jazz fan) was photographed looking stunning in top hat and tails (like a sexy circus ringleader) for her last album, Bare Bones.

My Week in Beauty

MONDAY

There’s nothing like a bit of retro glamour to brighten up a dreary November day – at least that’s what I found when I gave myself the Revlon Fire & Ice treatment on Monday. This beautiful red lip and matching nail shade was introduced by the American company back in 1952 and has been revived just in time for Christmas.

If the photo shown left looks a vaguely familiar, it’s because it’s actress Jessica Biel and photographer Mario Testino’s recreation of the original 1952 ad, which featured one of the world’s prototype supermodels, Dorian Leigh, and was shot by the legendary Richard Avedon.

I love the Revlon Fire & Ice Lipstick (£7.29) and the All Fired Up Nail Enamel (£6.29) – both exclusively available from Boots, from December 1. The nail varnish is the first to tempt me away from shocking pink in ages, and I’m having fun trying to figure out the best eyeshadows to go with the lipstick. Mind you, I have to say: I much prefer Dorian’s Fire & Ice look to Jessica’s …

TUESDAY

Tuesday was an exciting day – it was the day I finally got to try out the new Spa at Blythswood Square in Glasgow. Housed in the vast (10,000 square feet) basement space in the new Blythswood Square hotel, this is the city’s first luxury spa – and it certainly looks the part. As the photo of the corridor (above) off which the nine treatment rooms run, it exudes five-star style.

In addition to the treatment rooms, there is a thermal suite with a spa pool, saunas, relaxation areas and a cafe in the spa. It’s easy to see how you could spend a day here, just devoting yourself to the art of relaxing. Anyone who’s booked in for a treatment can use the facilities before and/or after their appointment so make sure you allow plenty of time on either side of your booking.

I was booked in for an Anne Semonin Phyto Aromatic Facial (£80 for 55 minutes) which was indeed relaxing. The therapist tailored the treatment to my skin’s needs and used products designed for sensitive skin – yet my cheeks flared up not long afterwards and didn’t calm down for days. I think I’ll try something else next time: it’s not going to put me off indulging in such luxury, no sirree!

WEDNESDAY

Oh dear, on Wednesday I looked like I might be coming down with something – I was even paler than usual and my normal blusher didn’t seem to give me the lift I required. (Plus, with it being pink, it was a bit too close to the shade of my newly blotchy cheeks!) So I turned to a blusher which has saved me from looking like a ghoul (or, worse still, Gillian McKeith) in recent months: Guerlain 4 Eclats in Caresse de l’Aube (£31; www.johnlewis.com). I had thought this was part of the Guerlain Christmas collection but clearly I had mis-filed it: it came out with the autumn colours but was such a hit, it’s become a permanent part of the make-up range. Swirling the four shades together means you can add a natural colour all over the face, where required…

THURSDAY

On Thursday, I was thrilled to open my post and find Chanel’s spring 2011 colours there. It’s too early to write about them, save to report that they are absolutely stunning – and based on Coco Chanel’s favourite jewel, the pearl, and its luminous effects.

The spring 2011 collection has a bit of an edge to it, unlike the current Christmas collection, Les Tentations de Chanel (above and left) which is more classically beautiful in my view. Really, there’s something for everyone amongst the sumptuous pinks and golden browns – though, sadly for me, the gorgeous shocking pink blusher – Les Tissages de Chanel Blush Duo Effect Tweed in Tweed Fuschia (£31) was just a bit too strong a shade for me. Love, love, love the nail and lip shades, though – Chanel Le Vernis in Pulsion (£16.50) and Chanel Rouge Coco in Patchouli (£21.50), in particular.

 

FRIDAY

Lunch and a catch-up with my beauty therapist pal Margaret on Friday gave me a chance to hear her thoughts on the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex (£35; www.esteelauder.co.uk) I had asked her to test.

Here’s what she had to say about this new cream-gel which promises to reduce the look of every key sign of ageing around the eye area, thanks to its ability to support the natural synchronisation of the skin’s repair and protective mechanisms.

“I really enjoyed using this beautifully textured treatment, but wouldn’t recommend it to anyone with highly sensitive skin because it contains very active plant extracts. For the rest of us, it’s not going to ‘rock your world’,  but it is a good maintenance product and is a pleasure to use – oh, and it has all the latest beauty wonder ingredients, including hyaluronic acid.”

My Week in Beauty

MONDAY

My week started in a glamorous gothic fashion when I went to the opening night of The Rocky Horror Show in Glasgow. I may have been disappointed in the show but enjoyed the references to 1930s horror movies as I loved all those films – Bride of Frankenstein especially – when I was a teenager.

I’ve only met a handful of genuine stars among the many celebrities I’ve interviewed – and I’ve probably only interviewed one bona fide movie legend: Fay Wray (left), the actress who was dangled over the Empire State Building in King Kong back in 1933.

When I interviewed Miss Wray in 1998, she was already on the wrong side of 90 but before she would let me start firing questions, she insisted – in a distinctly non-diva-like way – on applying some lipstick. The still striking nonagenarian realised that she had no mirror and asked if I had one. I lent her my Bobbi Brown compact and she proceeded to apply a shocking pink lipstick.

A couple of weeks later, I spied a compact with two mirrors – one of them a magnifying one – in a shop near my office. I bought it and sent it to Miss Wray at her Trump Towers home. Imagine my surprise and delight when she wrote back to thank me … The power of lipstick and a compact – unites all women!

TUESDAY

And speaking of horror movie legends, that was one of the subjects of conversation over a dinner at the elegant Blythswood Square hotel in Glasgow on Tuesday. The occasion was to celebrate the arrival of Giorgio Armani Cosmetics at Frasers in Glasgow.

I was sitting next to Frederic Letailleur, who has the impressive title “international face designer”  for Giorgio Armani Cosmetics, and we discovered that we had much in common – notably a passion for old movies, and, especially, movie music. Frederic is also a fan of old horror movies and actually began his career doing the make-up for monsters and aliens on stage and screen. (Perhaps that should have rung an alarm bell when he offered to do my make-up, but he was so charming that it didn’t.)

We all had a great time – indeed, at one point there were so many animated conversations going on round the table of glamorous people that I felt I was in the party scene of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Right down to the fact that I was sitting next to a Fred. Luckily, nobody’s headgear caught fire.

After a considerable amount of champagne (bubbles like company, I find), I really could not be bothered with the palaver of washing my face with my usual rinse-off cream. Instead, I turned to what is currently my favourite beauty short-cut, Clarins Water Purify One-Step Cleanser (£17.50; www.clarins.com), pictured above. This gorgeous-smelling liquid cleanser removes all traces of make-up in one fell swipe, and leaves the skin feeling soft, smooth and refreshed. Hope they do a travel size…

WEDNESDAY

I was reunited with Fred on Wednesday for the promised makeover.  The new Giorgio Armani space in Frasers’ beauty hall is impressive – large and elegant – and I was able to have my make-up done fairly discreetly, which is always a good thing if you don’t want passers-by spying you with a naked face..

What was striking about the Armani makeover was how fast and effective it was. Fred used a wonder cream, called Crema Nera (£180) to prepare my skin. This luxurious moisturiser calms redness and evens the skin tone. Then, before it had completely sunk in, he was applying Fluid Master Primer (£32) to mattify and ready the skin for the utterly gorgeous foundation, Luminous Silk Foundation 2 (£32) which he brushed on. Of the various aspects of the makeover, I think it was the base which impressed me most – Fred gave me a glowing, healthy-looking complexion by using a dash of bronzing liquid.

He said: “I mixed Fluid Sheer 10 (£28) in to the foundation to give you an added touch of warmth, then I dabbed it with a blusher brush over the cheekbones and along the hairline. This builds the warmth on areas which would be exposed to the sun but in a more natural manner than any powder bronzer could achieve.”

On the eyes, Fred used two eyeshadows, 13 and 14 from the new Eyes to Kill collection, plus the vampish, Excess Mascara (£23)  fromthe same range.  The coppery colour palette matched my leopard print beret a treat!

THURSDAY

If you aspire to femme fatale eyes a la Joan Crawford (right) but can’t afford the Armani price tag, treat yourself to 17 Wild Curls Mascara (£5.99; www.boots.com) in Wildest Black, the latest budget wonder wand.

It certainly gives good lash – plenty of flappability and come-hither potential but, as with the last under-a-tenner mascara I tried out, it left me with smudges under the eyes. If you’re prone to panda eyes, avoid this mascara – but if not (lucky you!), I’d highly recommend it for the party season when black lashes are as essential the little black dress…

FRIDAY

Joan Crawford would probably have scratched my mascara’d eyes out to get her mitts on the lipstick in Clarins’s limited edition Christmas collection. Clarins Rouge Prodige in Barocco (£16) is a beautiful deep claret shade which is a terrific alternative to the dark purples that are around just now – especially if you fnd that that shade can drain you.

Not only does it look good on the lips – though those of us with dry lips may need to stick some balm on first – but it also looks drop dead fabulous in its rococo tube and would be a lovely present for anyone who loves old-fashioned Hollywood glamour…

My Week in Beauty

MONDAY

I love this 1960s picture of the great American actress Gena Rowlands. And I thought of it on Monday when, with no time to wash my hair, I had my first try-out of one of two dry shampoos I’d been sent by Ojon. The effect on my hair, which had been backcombed on Sunday, was very similar to Gena’s look.

Ojon Rub-Out Dry Cleansing Powder (£16.50; 0870 034 2454) is by far the best dry shampoo I’ve yet come across, and one of the reasons I fell instantly in love with it is the fact that you put its nozzle right up to the roots of your hair to dispense the powder: you don’t have to hold it 20cm away and risk spraying your walls and furniture. (I still have marks on my wardrobe from my last encounter with an aerosol version of the dry shampoo.)

I have a feeling I may have used too much of the powder but I used less the next time I didn’t have time to wash my hair – and it was just as effective. It soaks up the oil in the hair very quickly and doesn’t significantly dull the shine. Apart from the ease of use, the other reason I am now a convert to this dry shampoo is the fact that after using it, I didn’t once feel as if I hadn’t properly cleaned my hair (which I have felt after using other dry shampoos). And even on Tuesday, my hair still looked clean .. But I gave it a wash anyway!

TUESDAY

If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to update your make-up bag for the party season, I’d advise you to get down to your nearest Boots store and check out their 17 collection. Why? Because the 17 Starry Eyes eyeshadow trios (£4.99 each; www.boots.com) are absolutely fabulous – as I discovered when I dabbled with them on Tuesday.

There are four colour palettes to choose from, including the beautiful greens of the Galactic trio and the blues of Moondust. But my favourite is Neptune (pictured) which, once applied in a smoky style, could have passed for the Dior golds which I reviewed last week.

WEDNESDAY

And speaking of Dior golds, you should have seen my friends’ faces when I gave them a peak at the Dior limited edition for Christmas 2010. Dior Minaudiere (£59). This sleek purse-style clutch is the perfect accessory for the party season – as long as you’re with someone whose pockets you can stuff with such essentials as your mobile phone and keys. With its patent black leather exterior, embossed with the signature Dior houndstooth pattern, it could, conceivably, be carried as a particularly dinky mini evening bag – by a particularly dinky girl!

The Minaudiere comes in two colourways – Grey Golds and Pink Golds – and each contains a trio of eye shadows and two lip glosses.

THURSDAY

Thursday was a day to remember – though I did sleep through the high point … one of the new Clarins TriActive Facials (from £59) at the beautiful new Clarins Spa (pictured right) in the revamped beauty hall at Frasers in Glasgow.

Having finally shaken off a cough that plagued me for a few weeks, I was still feeling a bit wracked when I arrived for my facial but I was sure that being cossetted for 80 minutes would be just the tonic I needed. Oh, and my complexion might benefit too …

I wasn’t wrong. The TriActive Facials, the first facials to be introduced by Clarins in seven years, produce great results while giving clients a thoroughly relaxing and pampering experience. There are six variations on the TriActive Facial, each tailored to a specific skin concern.  After having a good look at my face and a chat about my main concerns, my therapist, Lorna, decided on the Moisture Replenisher for my dehydrated combination skin.

The facial unfolds in three stages. The first prepares the skin with a combination of cleansing, exfoliation and lymphatic drainage massage; the second comprises a deeper massage and a mask, and focuses on the absorption of the active ingredients prescribed for the skin; the third stage is about reinforcing or optimising the results with a skin supplement and day cream.

What help to make this treatment so special and so relaxing are the extras – the foot massage,  gentle leg massage that goes on throughout (the chair does it!), the attention to the arms and hands, and the lovely neck and shoulders massage.

I’ve probably missed out lots of details – but then I did snooze through quite a bit of it – always a good sign – and my skin looked and felt amazing afterwards..

* The TriActive Facials are available at Clarins Day Spas nationwide and selected Clarins Gold Salons.

FRIDAY

I don’t know if the mascara had anything to do with it, but I got one of the nicest compliments of the year (so far) on Friday – a couple of days after I started using L’Oreal Volume Million Lashes Extra Black (£10.99).

With its “millionizer brush” – which has long and short bristles – it thickens each lash and fans out what they call “the lash fringe” (yes, it was a new one on me, too). I found it took a bit of practice to master the technique of applying it to the best effect, but by Friday, by George, I’d got it! And my compliment just confirmed it..

My Week in Beauty

MONDAY

In these hard times, manicures can seem like an unnecessary expense – especially when there are so many fab products you can use at home, or even on the go.. My current nail colour addiction (and sadly I can’t find a picture of it) is Chanel Le Vernis in Rose Confidentiel (£17), a wonderful deep brick pink, the ideal autumn colour and the perfect pink until party season (with its hot pinks …) comes along.

Anyway, I’ve been testing some of the products on the market for nail and hand care this week to see if my favourite combination – Crabtree & Evelyn Cuticle Cream plus Clinique Deep Comfort Hand Cream – can be beaten, or at least rivalled.

TUESDAY

On Tuesday, I finally began treating my nails after a couple of weeks’ abuse by nail polish. Nail polish just doesn’t seem to agree with my nails so I try not to wear it too much and to always treat my nails to some TLC whenever possible.

Instead of turning to my usual treatment, however, I gave Rituals … Nail Cuticle Treatment (£6.25;  www.rituals.com) a whirl. What appealed to me when I requested this product to try was the fact that, although it’s oil-based, it’s not messy. The gel is released through a brush and you can either push it into the nail and nailbed with the brush or with your finger tips. It’s very easy to use and, because of its pen design, perfect for keeping in your handbag, ready to use whenever you find yourself with a spare few minutes.

Oh, and the other reason to love this treatment gel from the mid-priced Dutch company which uses natural gemstones in all its products? Well, it’s free from parabens. After a few days’ use, my nails are looking well on the way to recovery.

WEDNESDAY

Less successful was the hand cream I began testing on Wednesday. With the cold weather beginning to kick in, I was anxious to suss out my hand cream options. I know some of my friends are big fans of cult hand creams which I find too runny and lotion-like – I prefer my hand creams to be rich and creamy and to feel like they are going to be able to keep dry skin at bay.

Sadly, Jergens Naturals Ultra Hydrating Hand Moisturising Cream (£2.49; from Boots and supermarkets nationwide) didn’t meet my particular requirements. It’s really quite runny and although undoubtedly “ultra hydrating”, it didn’t make much impression on the driest bits of my hands. I won’t be giving up my Clinique any time soon, it seems …

THURSDAY

In recent months, I’ve been using a flesh-coloured eye shadow powder as the base for my eye make-up (a la Bobbi Brown). But it’s nearly finished, and I don’t have another one. Luckily I was given a new eye base a couple of weeks ago so, in order to have a full arsenal of secret make-up weapons ready for the party season, I thought it was time to check it out.

Cover FX Eye Prep Anti-Age Smoothing Primer (£41; selected House of Fraser stores and Harvey Nichols in London & Dublin) turned out to be a great base. It’s like a lotion so, unlike cream primers, you need to wait a few minutes before applying your eye make-up – until it has dried. Combining skincare and cosmetic benefits, it refreshes the eye area, blurs fine lines and provides an excellent foundation for eye make-up – mine didn’t shift at all. The only thing it didn’t do was disguise a burst  blood vessel which had – helpfully – appeared on Thursday morning …

FRIDAY

On Friday I had an appointment for a makeover at the Dior counter in Frasers, Glasgow. It was something of an emergency. Why? Because every single eyeshadow palette I’ve seen so far for Christmas 2010 has been based on a gold theme – and I have to confess that I’ve never been drawn to gold (or silver, for that matter) eyeshadow. It never struck me as a colour that would suit my Celtic complexion; sallow-skinned girls could carry off golds, bronzes and coppers, but not me. If I didn’t get help in learning how to work gold, I was going to be left behind this festive season..

Luckily, I was booked into the safe hands of Jamie Coombes, Dior’s National Make-up Artist and a member of the International Pro Artist Team. He was in Glasgow for a fashion show, but managed to squeeze in an appointment so that he could talk me through the Dior Christmas look.

“It’s all about luminosity,” he explained as he stripped off all my make-up, prepped my skin and beefed up my eyebrows using Dior Eyebrow Pencil (£16). Before he applied any foundation, he began work on my eyes, assuring me as he did so that “anyone can wear gold”. The first step was to apply the new limited edition Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen in Golden Glow (£24.50) as an eye base.

Using the Dior 5 Couleurs Iridescent Eyeshadow in Gold Edition (£39, pictured above), Jamie then applied the shimmering yellow-gold highlighter shade to my brow bone before “parking” some of the coppery, mustard-like shade (top right in the palette) at the outer corner of the eyes and drawing it up to the socket. So far, so pretty a look – and one which, with lashings of black mascara, would be perfect for daywear.

But I wanted to go all the way, and be shown how to create an evening look in the gold tones. To “ramp up the look” for a more dramatic effect, Jamie advised using the dark bronzey brown (bottom right shade) along the underside of the brow bone and into the socket to create a really smoky look. 

At this point, Jamie shared with me a tip which I’ve not come across in 15 years of writing about beauty. In order to make the eyes stand out even more, he lined my eyelids at the roots of my lashes using black mascara applied with a fine eyeliner brush. It produced a significant but fine line which didn’t get the way of the eyeshadow.

Once we were satisfied with the eye make-up, Jamie applied my foundation –  Dior Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Make-up (£29), which has a natural finish but provides great coverage – and a light pink, almost nude lipstick, Dior Serum de Rouge No.640 (£24.50), over Dior Contour Lipliner Pencil No.573 (£16). Finally, he swept Dior Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Sculpting Powder Make-up (£36) over the cheekbones and anywhere else he felt I needed a lift.

I was thrilled with the final results, shown here (left and below – though they look slightly less dramatic in the photo than they did in the flesh), and am now an absolute convert to the value of having some gold goodies in my make-up bag. I’ve always found that it’s worth asking for help when you’re stumped by a new look or product – in fact, I might even book Mr Coombes again almost immediately, as he returns to Glasgow’s Frasers on November 2 and is offering lessons until Friday 5. Call 0141 221 3880, ext 2099 to book a personal consultation, booking fee redeemable against any Dior purchase.