Bobbi Dazzler

Katie Holmes modelling the Bobbi Brown Spring Summer 13 look – smoky eyes & sheer lips

Any time I hear about a new lipstick which is glossy and moisturising, you can bet I’ll be first in line to try it out. I’ll also be first to abandon the notion if the colour is too faint or the texture too much like a balm. Fussy? Moi? Well, yes. After all, this beauty malarkey does not come cheap – we need to be confident in our purchases, and not feel we’ve wasted our hard-earned.

Which is why it’s always worth asking for a make-over or a make-up lesson involving the product you’re interested in. Try before you buy and all that. I’m amazed that most women I speak to wouldn’t dream of asking for a make-over at counter; they tend to wait until they’re invited. Of course, not all beauty brands offer free make-overs, with no obligation to make a purchase, but many do – and one of those is Bobbi Brown where their “make-up lessons” are indeed very educational and enlightening.

I may have gone in to Frasers in Glasgow to find the ideal Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Color (£19; www.bobbibrown.co.uk)- as it turned out, I found three – but I emerged armed with the knowledge that I had also inadvertently stumbled across my ideal nude, matte eyeshadow shades – plus the first eyeliner pencil that has ever stayed put on me…

Make-up artist Rhona offered to “do” my eyes and we settled on a natural eye look, to complement the bright shade of Sheer Lip Color I expected to choose. Everything I’ve used on my eyes in recent months has been shimmery and I’ve been longing to find a matte eyeshadow that could give me a subtle nude look; considerably more subtle than the shimmery versions I’ve been creating..

To my amazement I happened across the Holy Grail of easy-to-use matte eyeshadows in the form of the recently launched Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Sticks (£20 each) in Sand Dune and Vanilla, which Rhona applied in a sort of reverse smoky eye: she used the darker shade, the tan-toned Sand Dune, across the lid before highlighting with the creamy Vanilla colour.

I doubted the wisdom of using a pencil eye liner since I have never yet found one which didn’t smudge or slip. But I have to bow to Rhona’s superior knowledge of – and faith in – Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil (£17.50) which not only glided on in the manner of a crayon, but lasted right through to bedtime when I reluctantly removed it. One tip she gave me about this pencil is that you have a few seconds in which to play with it (if you want to make it look smudgy or smoky) before it sets.

And the lipstick? Well, I loved the texture and the glossy shine but was torn when it came to narrowing down the shades. There are 14 shades of the Sheer Lip Color, and I loved all of the trio that I tried: the bright, reddish Pink Blossom for when I need an injection of old-fashioned glamour; Tutu for some natural-looking bright pink, and Nude Beige for a chic nude lip.

With every purchase of Sheer Lip Color at www.bobbibrown.co.uk, customers will receive a deluxe sample of High Shimmer Lip Gloss (2.4ml) by simply entering the code SHEERLIP at the checkout. Expires 30/05/13 or while stocks last.

Go Gatsby

Well, it’s finally here. The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann-style, has arrived and with it a frenzy for the flapper look – from the fringed frocks to the deco jewels.

We can’t all afford Prada gowns or Tiffany rocks, but those of us with short  hair can have a bash at creating the archetypal 1920s “do” – the bob.

TRESemme’s lead UK stylist Matthew Curtis has come up with a foolproof method to create the hair style sported by Carey Mulligan (as Daisy) in The Great Gatsby. Here’s his step-by-step guide:

1. Start off with freshly washed hair and apply  TRESemmé 24hour Body Amplifying Mousse to roots and ends. For that extra healthy look, also add 3 drops of TRESemmé Liquid Gold to the hair to make it feel luxurious.

2. Using a medium sized round brush, blow dry your hair in sections, starting at the nape of the neck and working your way to the top.

3. The final section you should blow dry is the hair that falls around your face, this section should be blow-dried coming in towards the face.

4. To get that rounded look at the ends, repeatedly turn the brush in at the ends. A top tip to help the hair stay curled in and looking shiny is to use the cool setting on your hairdryer, just for the last turn of your brush.

5. Finally to keep your hair in place and looking gorgeous for longer, spray TRESemmé Extra Firm Holding Spray from a distance all over your hair to keep it in place.

Summer Loving, Tom Ford Style

The “natural” beauty look is all the rage this year – we already knew this but if anyone was in any doubt then make-up maestro Tom Ford’s endorsement of the look should make them think twice.

With his new season colours,  Ford has given the nude look a beautiful, bathed-in-light glow. Whereas most summer-specific make-up collections make a big thing out of bronzes, golds and copper tones (in other words, they’re one big yawn to pale-faces like me!) what’s great about the Tom Ford Summer 2013 Collection is the fact that it is suitable for all skin tones. Indeed, as I discovered when I got my hands on the products last week, it’s one of the few sun-inspired make-up collections that enhances naturally pale skin – rather than shaming it into being bronzed.

The rose gold theme that runs through the collection is gorgeous against a pale skin, which is precisely why I got very excited when I tried the Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Pink Haze and Tom Ford Skin Illuminator in Fire Lust on my hands during a press briefing last week. And why I immediately asked to be booked in to the Tom Ford Beauty counter in Frasers, Glasgow, for a professional make0ver with the new range.

Charlie Ross, make-up artist for Tom Ford Beauty by day (and burlesque queen by night), may be the living embodiment of Mr Ford’s fetish for 1940s-inspired glamour, but she did a great job of creating a pretty, delicate and – yup –  natural look for me, using mostly the new summer shades along with my new favourite Tom Ford Lip Color in Indian Rose (I don’t do lip glosses – which is what the lip item in the new collection is).

Charlie used both of the new shimmering Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes on my lids – the afore-mentioned pearlescent Pink Haze and the pale peachy Escapade – to create a warm, subtly sun-kissed effect very reminiscent of the fleshy look that Marilyn Monroe was famous for.  With just black mascara and  Tom Ford Illuminating Cheek Color in Blush Guilt on my cheeks, plus the lipstick referred to above, the results were very different from my usual liquid eyeliner plus bright lips combo.

And in response to my request for tips on how to ramp it up to an evening look, she produced this (see below, left), by adding a thick, flick of eyeliner plus some smokier powder eyeshadows to the mix .. If you fancy having a complimentary makeover at the Tom Ford Beauty counter in Frasers, call 0141 221 3880  – best to phone a week in advance for Friday and Saturday appointments. Other Tom Ford Beauty counters (call 0870 034 2566 for details) offer the same service – but you’re not guaranteed a burlesque dancer wielding the make-up brushes…