Clinique Deep Comfort Hand And Cuticle Cream

Apologises for my grim photo-taking abilities but I want to review this product for you before I leave to meet my bridesmaids for drinks!

I'm a complete sucker for hand creams - particularly at this time of year. I've tried them all - particular favourites include Jo Malone's Vitamin E, philosophy's lemon custard and Jurlique's rose - and now I've got another one to add to my collection.

Clinique's Deep Comfort Hand & Cuticle Cream is a treat to use and I have now installed one at my desk to help me through my day. It's not my favourite scented cream, but it's smooth and fluffy and sinks in quickly. Aside from Vitamin E and C, other ingredients include Barley Extract, Wheat Extract and Murumuru Butter which comes from Brazil and is said to help rebuild the skin's protective barrier. My hands feel and look moisturised and I don't suffer from that horrible tight feeling you can get from a combination of cold weather and central heating.

Quite delightful.

If I could I would shake your hand I would, just to prove my point.
£14
www.clinique.co.uk

Rouge G de Guerlain Jewel Lipstick Compact

Everything good in this life must come to an end and like every other fabulous beauty product out there my new favourite lipstick compact also falls into the 'limited edition' category. Aw, the pain!

Introducing Rouge G de Guerlain Jewel Lipstick Compact (£26.50) - isn't it scrumptious?

With packaging designed by acclaimed jeweller Lorenz Baumer, this little beauty of a product glides onto your lips with ease and leaves them sparkling (subtly) with gold flecks under which lies nude, rosewood tones - very understated but with a nod to the classier role models on the showbiz circuit, a la Charlize Theron and Diane Kruger.

Victoria Beckham On Harper's Bazaar

Here's my favourite Spice Girl-come-designer Victoria Beckham on the cover of December's Harper's Bazaar. As always, she looks immaculate and groomed to within an inch of her life. As regular readers of this blog know, I am a big VB fan - she's a legend in my eyes and has achieved her goal in life - "to be as big as Daz". Nice work, VB.

What did make me raise my eyebrow a touch was reading that she says she doesn't want to "rely on airbrushing" when posing for photo shoots and has instead taken to working out seven days a week. That is all well and good and makes me think I need to get my soon-to-walk-down-the-aisle bottom into the gym, but come on - EVERYONE is airbrushed and always will be. Publications simply wouldn't sell if they featured untouched stars on their covers (think glossy magazines like HB, Vogue, Tatler, Cosmo etc...) people buy magazines (OK, I do) for inspiration and aspiration and that is now simply a way of life in our perfection-rules society.

Sad but oh-so true.

A Collaboration Gone Good

I don't really go in for the whole 'TV presenter collaborates with high street chain' kind of beauty, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The darling of Saturday night TV, former model and wife to Vernon Kay, Tess Daly has teamed up with Marks & Spencer to produce a small line of cosmetics and bodycare items. She is quite a woman to admire - she has a busy schedule, two kids and a, by all accounts, full-time job (albeit quite a glamorous one) and she looks pretty damn perfect so I'll quite happily take tips from her beauty bag.

Although this collaboration is fairly old news in the beauty world I wanted to highlight the fact that less high-profile celebrity beauty collaborations can work if pitched correctly. OK, it's not in the league of Scarlett Johansson and D&G or Dame Edna and MAC (pah!) but it is one to be applauded and one to try. The products work, the packaging entices me and Tess is a good role model, so why not.

The product I'm loving at the moment is the Tess Daly Beauty Dewy-Glow Highlighter. Not only is the packaging pretty slick - one that you could definitely pull out of your cosmetics purse with pride - it's also a really nice product to use and gives you a lovely sheen without looking thick and overdone.

If only more brands would think before they team up with any showbiz Tom, Dick or Harry riding high on their fifteen minutes of fame and produce a product that is low quality, cheap and, quite frankly, unpalatable. Consumers aren't daft, you know - we may like value for money but we also want hard-working products that look nice and glossy too.

Rant over.

M&S Tess Daly Beauty Dewy-Glow Highlighter £9.50
http://www.marksandspencer.com/

LED Lashes - Whatever Next?

My friend, the Grumpy Innovator, alerted me to this amazing technological advancement in the eyelash department. Not content with regular stick-on falsies? Why not attach little lights to your peepers and glow in the dark?

The fascinating and slightly strange product was designed by Soomi Park who claims the extensions "satisfy Asian women's desire for bigger eyes". Seems a tad drastic but you've got to love a bit of innovation.

Not convinced? Check out the amazing video below. I kinda want a pair.

Beauty Scoop Gets Engaged

Yes, it is true! The Beauty Scoop is engaged and soon to be married to His Lordship - I am over la moon and already planning my hair and make-up, venue, guest list, invitations, food & drink and, most importantly, the dress. Current thinking is Jenny Packham or Amanda Wakeley (will have to start saving my pennies - or speaking very nicely to my parents!).

Weirdly, said engagement took place overlooking the Taj Mahal which was the last picture I posted before I went on my travels - I think it must be fate. As for the engagement ring I intend to have Katie Holmes' rock copied, but instead of the diamond I would like an aquamarine with little diamonds around it and down the band. Delicious.

Now, back to beauty blogging! x

Beauty Scoop Goes To India

Hello Scoopers,

Apologises for my lack of postings this week - it's been manic.

I'm heading off to India tomorrow for two weeks so the last seven days have consisted of me trying to sort out my visa, buying beauty essentials at Boots, helping His Lordship pack and general mayhem involving work and trying to catch up with friends - phew.

Anyway, I'll be back on Sat 24th October so I'll look forward to posting daily from then on.

Until then, stay beautiful.

The Beauty Scoop x

PS I'll try to Tweet daily from India but don't be mad if it just ain't possible.

Alberta Ferretti - The Fragrance

Today, the 1st of October, saw the launch of fashion designer Alberta Ferretti's signature scent (is anyone else seeing a designer/perfumer trend going on at the moment? Everywhere I turn...).

The scent is said to reflect and represent the woman who embodies the spirit of the brand - feminine, elegant and sensual.

The fragrance is made up of floral notes - freesia, sweet pea, ylang ylang and amber - think sophisticated and modern.

Claudia Schiffer is the face of the scent and said at the time: "It's an honour to be chosen as the face of the Alberta Ferretti fragrance. Alberta and I have worked together for many years and it’s wonderful to be able to collaborate on this exciting project together. Alberta’s designs always embody femininity and elegance which are reflected in this fragrance."

Alberta returned the compliment by saying: "Claudia is a beauty icon and a woman whose sensuality comes from her unique and inimitable personality. Possessing awareness and strength, she expresses the qualities that every woman desires. Claudia represents the woman for whom my fashion and fragrance is designed."

Prices start at £35 and is available from Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols.

Hello Cheryl

OK, I know the pics came out earlier this week but I just wanted to document the moment in history when Cheryl Cole became a "Because I'm Worth It" L'Oreal cover girl.

My, hasn't she come a long way...

L'Oreal's Elvive Full Restore 5 hair range is out now - perfect for those who crave luscious locks... er, don't we all?