The Holy Hair Grail

This summer, only your purse stands between you and perfectly glossy, sleek, healthy hair? Why, because Ojon has just launched a wonderful new elixir for the hair, Rare Blend Moisture-Rich Cleansing Conditioner (£18.50; www.ojon.co.uk) – and it really is the biz for anyone with damaged hair, breakage-prone hair or hair that is difficult to detangle when washing. I fall into that last category, especially since I began using dry shampoos and back-combing to beef up my fine, floppy hair for styling purposes…

A unique blend of oils known for their healing, conditioning, softening and reparative properties, the cleansing conditioner is designed to be generously applied from root to tip either by hand or with a wide-toothed comb, left to penetrate the hair for one to two minutes, then rinsed off. If you have dense hair that is prone to excessive drying, it could be used every day or every second day, and it’s gentle enough to be usable on normal hair two or three times a week or on alternate days.

It’s available online now, from the Ojon website or from Boots stores from August.

 

Summer Nails

There’s something for everyone in Chanel’s new quintet of summer nail colours – whether you fancy full-on orange nails or subtle pastel lilac talons. Or both at the same time!

The French beauty house is encouraging Chanel Le Vernis fans to embrace the trend of mixing,  matching and even mis-matching colours for strikingly different looks and effects.

The “Accent Nail” Manicure involves applying  a different colour on the index finger from the other fingers of the hand. Try pairing Eastern Light (a shimmering white) on the index finger nail and any of the other colours on the other fingers, or Pink Tonic on one nail, plus Mirabella on the other nails. Or Sweet Lilac on its own, and Tutti Frutti on the other nails.

Chanel suggests three twists on the traditional French manicure. The first variation on the “New French Manicure” involves applying Eastern Light to the entire nail and tracing a colour border on the tip of the nail. Or, you can apply colour to the entire nail and trace a white border on the tip with Eastern Light, for a demi-French manicure. Finally, for a reverse French manicure, apply colour to the whole nail and trace a white line on the bottom of the nail.

There are so many possibilities, in fact, that I reckon toe nails will need to be co-opted into the experiments …

* Chanel Le Vernis (£18 each). For stockists, call 020-7493 3836.