When I hear the word ‘apothecary’, I think of medieval alchemists pouring smoking potions into decanters, or dark, dusty shelves stacked with spell books. A far cry, then, from the sleek, modern, multi-billion-dollar beauty industry of the 21st century.

…Or is it?

We recently reported news of House of Fraser’s exclusive Biba Zamac ring-

a handy lipgloss hidden inside a statement ring. Now the high street chain has gone one step further and hidden a full (and rather generous) make-up range inside… a book.

Introducing the Apothecary Essentials Kit, exclusive to House of Fraser. This generous make-up collection includes:

• An exclusive eye palate with a spread of 12 smoky shades
• A liquid lipstick in a vampy red
• A shiny lipgloss in rustic rose
• An oyster pink highlighter for that glowing renaissance skin
• A black eye pencil for gothic-style eyes
• Luscious false lashes

All of this, hidden inside an antique-style apothecary’s potion book. It’s the stuff of gothic romance.

Inside the ‘book’ you’ll find the make-up kit hidden beneath authentic pages covered in hand-written notes and pencil sketches – a quirky touch to a very quirky product. In terms of practicality, the make-up trays slide out smoothly to allow for easy access, with no fumbling round in make-up bags. Everything you need is laid out before you.

You can either leave the ‘book’ open on your dressing table, or tucked away in your library! It looks good either way.

The Apothecary Essentials Kit would make a fantastic Christmas present for anyone who wants to add a touch of gothic glamour to their dressing table this season.

You can buy the Apothecary Essentials Kit exclusively at House of Fraser for £26.00

Come December and many of the big names in beauty are releasing their holiday collections ready for the Christmas shopping period. Sometimes they hit the spot – and sometimes they really don’t.

Generally when I am perusing Christmas beauty products I shop by the manta ‘beauty products are for life, not just for Christmas’ – meaning that anything that myself or the giftee wouldn’t use past Christmas is a definite no no.

This year I am particularly impressed by the seasonal collection from NARS, which has taken inspiration from Asia and the beautiful Japanese geisha’s.

The colourings are subtle and sultry and are inspired by traditional kimonos and kabuki theratres – reds, neutrals, black, gold, plum and ice white.

The shining star of the collection has to be the Nagauta Kabuki Brush Set. This five-piece brush set is encased in a keepsake wooden bento box with red lacquer interior. The brushes themselves have been exquisitely designed and manage to look authentically Japanese. There are also two new brushes that are exclusive to the set – the Kabuki Eye Brush and the Kabuki Lip brush. The set comes in at £160 which is a small fortune, but as most make-up lovers will know a good quality brush can go the distance if well looked after. A bog standard MAC brush can set you back £30 and coming in at around £32 each these NARS brushes actually have something a bit different to offer and will be money well spent.

The Naguta Kabuki brush set is exclusive to Selfridges and can be purchased online.

The second stand out product for me is the Kudoki Kabuki Mini Lip Coffret. Again, the packaging is exquisite whilst also remaining very simple and stripped down. Presentation is in another red lacquered wooden box and inside are three vibrant limited edition lip shades which have been poured into black ceramic cups. The set also comes with a Kabuki Lip Brush. Again the price is quite high at £90 but the shades are all very wearable (deep red, deep pink and a neutral) and the quality of the products you are receiving for the price makes this a truly great investment which is well worth the money.

The Kudoki Kabuki Mini Lip Coffret is available from the NARS website.

If the above are both out of your price range then there are plenty of other great gifts to explore. The mini nail polish coffret is a steal at £22 and the scented candles featuring traditional Japenese scents would also make for wonderful gifts which are far from being tacky and too seasonal to use past January. To view the full Modern Kabuki collection from NARS please visit the website for further details.

Anatomicals – No Old Bags Allowed Eye Gel £3
This soothing and uplifting eye gel containing arnica and orange flower water is sure to give friends a laugh with its quirky name and packaging.

Visit very.co.uk to take advantage of the 3 for 2 offer they currently have on the Anatomicals gift sets.

Lush – Gingerbread House Bubble Bar £2.45
This sweetly spiced bubble bar contains dried ginger, ground rhizome, distilled citrus oils and hints of blackcurrant to stimulate, warm and cleanse the body as you soak, oh and don’t worry, there’s not a witch in sight!

Soap & Glory – Easy Glistening® Dry Oil Body Gloss £5
This Soap & Glory best seller is great for the festive party season. Spritz on the sweet almond scented body gloss for a subtle glimmer and long lasting shimmer.

Jelly Belly – Mini Treat Set £5.00
For friends who have vowed to lay off the Christmas sweeties in a bid to avoid an expanding waistline to rival Santa’s then why not treat them to this delectable bath set instead? Featuring shower gel, bath salts, body cream, body scrub and soap all scented with our favourite Jelly Bean flavour fragrances.

Refreshers Lip Balm £2.99
Now one of the reasons we all love Christmas is because it lets us release our inner child…so what could be better than a stocking filler that takes us back to the days of the penny sweet and tuck shops? This Refreshers lip balm is the perfect stocking filler for old school friends and sweet tooth’s alike.

Beauty Lovers – 24 Days of Luxuries Exclusive Beauty Advent Calendar £60

With this advent calender you are going to think Christmas has come everyday (well at least for 24 days). Behind each window hides an exclusive beauty treat, from miniature YSL perfumes, lippies and mascaras through to a hand bag sized Kiehls Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. The only problem is that by the time you reach Christmas day, all the pressies under the tree are going to pale in comparison to your sack of treats, oh and it will set you back £60!

Chocolate Lovers – Hotel Chocolate Luxury Truffles to Share Advent Calendar

If you have ever raced to your advent calender at the sound of your wake up alarm only to find that someone else got there first, then this is the calender for you. Not only are the chocolate truffles behind each window divine, there are also two of them so you and your loved can share in a little luxury every day.

For boys who love toys – 2010 LEGO City Advent Calendar £24.95

This advent calender may be designed for anyone over the age of five, but as many women know all too well, boys never outgrow toys. If the recent release of Call of Duty: Black Ops means you’ve been ousted away from the 32” flat screen and have to settle for watching X-Factor on the hand-me-down number which is fuzzy and half the size then why not give him something else to play with? The ridiculously brilliant Lego City Advent Calendar counts down to the holidays with 24 days of building fun! With 9 miniature figures and a whole host of other accessories this calender will inject a bit of playful fun into this Christmas.

Beauty lovers everywhere are queuing up to ‘liberate’ their make up bags with MACs latest collaboration with Liberty of London.

The collection, which launched on April 1st , combines the always fabulous product shades and formulations that we have come to expect from MAC, with beautiful packaging inspired by designs from deep down inside the Liberty archives.

MAC Senior Vice President and Creative Director James Gager explained how he had been interested in the Liberty brand for many years, admiring their quirky collaborations with the likes of Comme de Garcons and seeing the absence of their own beauty line as a fantastic opportunity to combine forces.

The new limited edition collection has moved away from the traditional black packaging in favour of a more spring/summer glossy white look printed with bright floral motifs inspired by William Morris’s Strawberry Thief print from 1883.

The collection offers a broad range of products including lipstick, eyeshadow, blusher and nail polish to name a few. The collection is available to purchase from MAC stores, the website and stockists but will not be available in Liberty. Prices start at £8.

Body Shops new collection of spring make-up incorporates three key products, eyeshadow, lipgloss and blusher and we have to say that they are all bang on trend.

The Shimmer Shadows £16 come in the same format as our ever faithful shimmer cubes. This time however they are not four colours from the same palette, but a gentle contrast of hazy shades and vibrants blues, greens and lilacs.

Body Shop suggest that you snap up one of their fantastic Angled Brushes £8.50 and dampen the tip before applying a little Sparkling Sky along the upper lash line. Apply dry to the outer corner of the eye and then dampen their Eyeshadow Brush £8.50 to apply Emerald Sea along the lower lash line before applying heaps of mascara!

For killer cheekbones use a little of their great new Kiss of Colour Cheek Blush £10 in whatever shade suits your skin tone best. Then, using your finger tips to apply a little Shimmer Cube Shade, Sea Shell which is great as a highlighter.

Lastly, give your pout perfection by dabbing on some Love Gloss £9.50 (with an adorable heart shaped applicator). We love Raspberry Pink, but there is a shade to suit everyone.

You can purchase all of the products mentioned in this article from Body Shop online, alternatively you could visit your local store and pick them up from there.

The imminent release of Tim Burtons Alice in Wonderland seems to have got people all a frenzy.

With heated discussions afoot between the big cheeses at Disney and a few of the big players in cinema over the release window, there is concern that some of us might not even get to see the film!

This would be a travesty indeed but to ensure you get your piece of wonderland no matter what we suggest you invest in these delightful O.P.I nail polishes, or one of them at least.

OPI has created these four limited edition shades to tie in with the release of one of the most anticipated films of the year (which hopefully we will get to see!).

The first of the fantastic four is Absolutely Alice- An absolutely amazing blue glitter. The second is named Thanks So Muchness! and is a fantastic shimmering red. For a more sophisticated and powerful look then why not go for the Queen of Hearts favourite shade Off with Her Red! Or alternatively you could get in touch with your crazy side with a coat of Mad as a Hatter- A madly marvelous black-multi glitter.

You can purchase these colours as a mini set for a very reasonable £12.15 or if one particularly tickles your fancy then why not get the full size version for £9.95, both available from ASOS.

Asos have some great beauty products on site at the moment, but our favourite by far is the new Paul & Joe Limited Edition Spring MakeUp Collection. These products are exclusive to Asos and you won’t be able to find them in your local cosmetics store.

The lip gloss lacquers £18 are great for some spring time shimmer. You can choose from three different colour palettes, all of which come in the best packaging we’ve seen in a long time. These will give your lips natural moisture all day with the addition of a clear bright colour of your choice.

The other online exclusive is the Limited Edition Sparkles Face and Eye Colour £14. There are three fabulous palettes to choose from, from every day nudes to the very on trend pastels, you can create a huge variety of versatile looks for spring. The palettes create a translucent shimmer for the face and eyes so could be used as a highlighter to bring out your features or as an eyeshadow.

Both of these are a must for any hardcore make up fans! Snap yours up from Asos now before they all disappear.

Tim Burton films have always been renowned for their gloriously colourful palette and outlandish yet beautiful costumes. Make-up plays a huge role in the upcoming Alice in Wonderland remake, with Alice’s fragile and natural beauty juxtaposed against the heavily and theatrically painted face of Helena Bonham Carter’s The Red Queen it is a beauty lovers dream.

Urban Decay’s Alice in Wonderland themed Book of Shadows is a charming compact featuring a 16 shade eyeshadow colour palette, 2 24/7 eyeliners and an eyeshadow primer potion. Most of the shadows are ether best selling shades or inspired by the films palette and have been renamed in homage to Alice and the original fairytale naming a sparkling white shade White Rabbit and labelling a deep cocoa brown The Mad Hatter.

The collection, which is already available in the US comes in beautifully crafted 3D pop up packaging which depicts Alice’s journey through the mushroom forest. A must have for any Alice or beauty lover, however when it comes to the U.K in March there will be a limited release of only 2000. Better sign up to the waiting list now girls!

Each Christmas Lush make it their mission to bring us a plethora of new and exciting seasonal Christmas products. In their own words they have put on their explorer hats and scoured the globe for Yuletide myths and fairy tales in order to come up with their 2009 Christmas collection. Here are a few favourites:

Santa’s Rice Porridge £6.45 is a gentle face mask which revives tired and stressed skin during the run up to Christmas. As usual it is made with totally natural and organic ingredients and it smells so good you will want to eat it.

Sexy Boy £4.95 is a deliciously melty massage bar just for Christmas. It is in the festive shape of a gingerbread man but unfortunately you can’t dunk this one in your tea. Feel comforted by the scent of lime oil and the deep scent of cocoa.

Strawberry Santa £2.95 is an jolly upgrade of the popular Lush bath jelly. The jellies are particularly refreshing if chilled in the freezer and Lush recommend that you chill your strawberry Santa till it is as cold as the North pole before you use him.

You can find the rest of Lush’s seasonal delights instore or online.