Get your mitts on the latest development in self-tanning, the Velvotan Mitt in three brand new colours. 

Velvotan is the original creator of the tanning mitt concept – a silky smooth application device you slip over your hand for smooth, streak-free self-tanning.

Once upon a time, suspiciously orange palms would have given the game away for fake-tanners everywhere. Now, thanks to the tanning mitt, it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between a salon and a DIY job.

The SS12 catwalks showcased deep, tanned skin tones with plenty of bronzer and burnt sienna blusher. We recommend you get the look by heading down to the salon for an all-over spray tan in a deep shade, before topping up regularly with your Velvotan mitt to ensure that sun-kissed bronze lasts the whole season.

The Velvotan mitt claims to deliver a flawless finish with its patented lotion-proof barrier, which can be used again and again after a quick cycle in the washing machine.

It’s often the simplest products that work the best, so for smooth, radiant, even-toned skin, head down to Tesco and pharmacies nationwide to bag your mitt for £2.99.

As Brits, we’ve probably spent the last eight months of winter hiding behind big comfy jumpers and jeans, enduring those dark evenings cuddled up on the sofa with snacks. The prospect of suddenly stripping off on the beach for all to see is pretty horrific.

This is why we need time to prepare. Luckily, this month has been dubbed ‘Monsoon May’, so use this as your last chance to prepare before the hot weather comes in summer (here’s hoping). We suggest setting aside an evening every week to pamper yourself properly.

Run a steaming bath full of fragrant bath oils, light some candles and relax for a few minutes before getting down to the admin. Being ‘bikini ready’ means no stubbly legs and no embarrassing stray hairs, so after exfoliating with a mitt, have a thorough shave and finish off with some thick, moisturising shower cream. Exfoliating can help boost circulation and reduce cellulite, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about parading around in those bikini bottoms.

Once you’ve dried off, moisturise thoroughly then apply a gradually building fake tan all over. Make sure you are completely dry though, as wet patches can lead to streaking. If you start applying the cream now, by June you should have a bronzed, glowing, evenly coloured tan that will help hide any lumps, bumps, blemishes and wobbly bits.

But to achieve beautiful, shimmering, sun-kissed skin, you’ll need something more than fake tan. This is where Naked Rose With No Clothes Shimmering Body Cream comes in. This cool, delicious, rose-scented shimmer cream is made from cold pressed Turkish Damask roses and will leave your skin looking fresh, youthful and beach-ready. Pearlescent particles work to add a subtle rosy shimmer to make your skin glimmer in the sunlight.

This product is available at large Boots stores across the UK and comes at a very decent £9.99 per tub. Find out more at Naked.

See you on the beach!

This summer is all about shimmering golden skin, lips and eyes. Think Goldfinger from James Bond and Dior’s gold campaign with Charlize Theron.

The catwalks this season were drenched in dazzling bling, with Michael Kors and MaxMara showcasing desert tans with heavy burnt-sienna bronzer streaked across cheeks, jawlines and temples to add structure to the face. Here in London, make-up artist Kay Montano adorned her models with the ‘sunburn in Rio’ look – super dark tans with pink cheeks and glossy hair.

Now you can create the illusion of being a regular jet-setter yourself by building your own collection of glittering new products.

Skin

Ever wished you had the high cheekbones and chiselled jawline of a super-model? Well now you can with NEW! Revlon Photoready Bronzer – perfect for adding definition and structure to the face. This four-tone bronzer is great fun for experimenting with different looks. Layer on the darker shades for a sun-kissed holiday illusion and blend for an even, natural finish.

Head over to Revlon now for more information.

Lips

If you thought wearing gold lipstick was one step too far into Bowie nostalgia, think again. You’ll be right on trend with shimmery space-age lips this summer, so be brave and step out in a glittering shade of gold. We recommend Avon Ultra Colour Rich 24K Gold lipstick, a smooth creamy stick infused with real 24K gold particles for a luxury shimmer. This luxury lipstick comes at an impressively low price too, at £8.50 per pot.

Visit Avon for more information

Nails

Another rising trend this season is matching lips and nails. So why not team your golden pout with golden talons? The brand making headlines in the beauty industry this week is Rococo Gold Leaf Nail Varnish. Taking inspiration from the ‘elegant splendour of 18th century Versailles, Rococo Nail Apparel’s new varnish contains big flecks of 24K gold leaf for a shimmering, sophisticated look.

Visit CultBeauty to read more about this product. 

There’s no denying it, the perfume counter has become an art gallery. A place where each uniquely shaped bottle is displayed on top of a glittering glass plinth beneath perfectly positioned spot lighting. A place where you can’t buy 250ml of liquid for less than £30.

The fact is – perfume isn’t about smell anymore. It’s about theatre, it’s about show – it’s about the 10 minute long feature-film starring Kiera Knightly and the bottle that contains more glass than liquid.

With every A list and Z list celebrity and every fashion house launching its own signature scent, the competition seems to  have developed into a game of who can produce the wackiest bottle. And designs are only going to get weirder as labels jostle and vie for our attention.

So what’s on offer this summer in the way of peculiar packaging?

Marc Jacobs ‘Dot’

How about a perfume bottle inspired by a ladybird? Yes, the latest edition to Marc Jacobs’ perfume collection is a little red and black affair named ‘Dot’, designed to look like a ladybird nestling in a flower.

Although the fragrance sounds delicious – berries, coconut water, jasmine, orange blossom and vanilla – the bottle looks like a night out with the TOWIE cast. All acrylic and no class.

Dot is due to launch in the UK in July.

Visit the Marc Jacobs site to learn more.

Viktor and Rolf ‘Flowerbomb’

This is by far the best idea for a novelty perfume bottle so far. Shaped to look like a grenade, this relatively bottle-shaped bottle has just the right amount of quirk to stand out from the shelf without looking ridiculous. The scent is reputed to be light and sweet with a ‘delicious floral addiction’.

Buy Flowerbomb at boots for £55.

Nina Ricci ‘Nina Fantasy’

Nina Ricci is all about cute and kitsch with a promiscuous edge. The new Nina Fantasy fragrance comes in a white porcelain bottle adorned with apples, butterflies… and a standing lamp. Certainly a little more expensive-looking than Marc Jacob’s ‘Dot’, but without the esteemed label and good publicity, this bottle could easily be straight out of the Hello Kitty merchandise catalogue.

Head over to Nina Ricci for more info.

There’s a whole range of male-marketed beauty products and treatments out there, from ‘man-scara’ and ‘guy-liner’, to ‘energising’ moisturisers and very manly manicures.

And why not? If women can fight spots, blemishes, eye-bags and wrinkles with all the fantastic products on offer today, why can’t men?

According to The Harley Medical Group, modern men aren’t ashamed of looking after themselves anymore, and they’re not even stopping at makeup in their efforts to remain eternally youthful.

Today one in five Botox patients is a man. Skin Director Dr Aamer Khan of the Harley Street Clinic said: “Botox for men is a growing market. It is becoming more and more acceptable.”

Botox is a very popular and effective treatment for smoothing out wrinkles and is thought to be used by a huge number of female celebrities including Madonna, Katie Price and Kylie Minogue.

Research shows that men are more likely to opt for the treatment if their partners have too. However, men tend to start their treatment about 10 years later than women, during their late thirties.

Simon Cowell has recently admitted to using Botox twice this year, and Gordon Ramsey’s famously wrinkly forehead has mysteriously ironed itself out, prompting speculations that he’s a regular Harley Street client.

What do you think of men who use Botox? Are they vain/ high-maintenance? Would you rather they leave you to the beauty treatments and allow themselves to age naturally? Leave your comments below!

Please visit our page to find out more about Botox treatment and read the original Sun article here.  

Excuse the pun in the title but don’t you just love it when high-end beauty looks eventually drip their way down to the high street? We do too because for us it means we get the opportunity to sample some great looks but minus the bank breaking price tag.

Duo-chrome polishes have been around for a while now, but offerings were mainly coming from the more expensive and luxury nail brands such as OPI, Orly, Zoya, MAC and Nubar. However, as the saying goes ‘good things come to those who wait’, and thus we have started to see the shelves of high street drug stores gradually filling up with duo-chrome polishes.

Below are our top 3 duo-chrome polish picks, all of which come in at £5 or under…enjoy!

Barry M Nail Paint in Silvery Lilac £2.99

Barry M never fails to disappoint and they are always one of the first high street brands to dupe a high end concept. Remember when women were falling over themselves to get hold of Chanel’s Paradoxal for a whopping £16? Well Barry M came running in like a well oiled hero to release their version at below a quarter of the price.Well it seems the Barry brains have heard our cries once again, and have released this whimsical silver and lilac duo-chrome to keep us quiet. This polish is a silver grey shade in one light, and a lilac and green shimmering shade in another, its really quite beautiful. What’s more, is that it is almost the twin sister of OPIs ‘Not Like the Movies’, but is obviously much more affordable.

Pick yours up from the Barry M website now.

Models Own Nail Polish in Aqua Violet £5

This polish is from a collection of duo-chrome polishes from Model’s Own (Beetle Juice Collection), but this shade in particular is our favourite by a mile. It’s a far cry from the dainty girly Silvery Lilac from Barry M, instead channelling images of dark potions and scuttling insects.You may or may not remember a while back when MAC teamed up with Disney to release the Venomous Villians collection. This limited edition collection featured a number of beautiful duo-chrome polishes which of course sold out in a flash. If you’re still smarting from being unable to pick one up then try this Model’s Own version to unleash your inner villain.

Take a look at this shade and the rest of the Beetle Juice collection on the Models Own website.

Accessorize Illusion Nail Polish in bronze £4

This is a stunning polish which when applied gives the appearance of liquid copper on your nails. From one angle a shimmering bronzed copper shade and from another a pinky rose gold. This is a great alternative to the ‘nude’ nail for everyday. Eyecatching but understated at the same time.

Head on over to the Accessorize website to pick up yours up now. 

When the band first spawned from talent show ‘Pop Stars the Rivals’, she was cruelly dubbed the ‘unattractive one’ and never seemed to quite fit the preened, bronzed, big-haired look Cheryl Cole and co were famed for.

After years of criticism and attempts to dye her hair a number of colours other than red, Nicola (or her stylists) finally made the executive decision to revamp her image and scrap the bronzer altogether.

The idea was to go for a natural, ethereal look with pale rose colours, porcelain skin and renaissance-red hair. At the time, the singer said:

“I was aware that there weren’t many makeup brands that catered for women with extra pale skin.”

So, in 2008, as part of the ITV2 programme The Passions of Girls Aloud, Nicola launched her first make up brand aimed specifically at women with extremely fair skin.

Dainty Doll has since gone from strength to strength by becoming many a red-head’s first port of call for perfectly matched makeup.

Now Dainty Doll shows that pale doesn’t have to be subtle by launching four neon eye-shadows as part of the new Spring/Summer 2012 collection:

Lollipops & Roses – hot pink

Purple Hills – violent violet

Kingston Town – sunshine yellow

Jungle – emerald green

Right on trend, Nicola’s new collection echoes the pop art inspired colours of this season’s catwalks and promises pale girls everywhere the chance to be bold and stand out this summer (just don’t forget the sun-cream!)

Take a look at Dainty Doll’s SS12 collection (eye shadows £11.50 each, blushers £13.50 each, lipsticks £12.50 each.)

Usually we rely on accents to give us a clue about where people are from, but a recent study has discovered that the make-up we wear can be just as revealing; giving vital clues as to where we reside (don’t worry! not our street name and door number, just the county).

According to new research, the make-up women spend their money on is largely dependent on where they live. So lets have a look and see what our make-up bags tell us about our home towns:

If you fancy trying out some of the nations favourite looks, check out our top picks below.

• Get the Cardiff look – Bobbi Brown blush £18

This silky glide on formula comes in variety of shades, one to suit everyone. We love peony, a striking bright prink for a pop of colour on the cheeks.

• Get the Essex look – Eyelure Naturalites Double False Eyelashes £7.10

These lashes have been layered for ultra thickness and length and will save you having to apply two individual sets. Perfect for an ultra-glam evening look.

• Get the Liverpool look – Xen-Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe £39.99

This product is new to the range and although it comes with a hefty price tag it is the ‘go to’ product for a dark tan that Liverpudlians would be proud of.

View the original Daily Mail article for full details about the included statistics.

It’s official: London is in vogue.

Paris and New York were so last year, dahling. It’s goodbye to the iconic Eiffel tower and the metropolitan skyline of New York City, and hello to Big Ben, the Gherkin and the London Eye.

You might not think there’s anything particularly  glamorous about a giant Gothic clock and a skyscraper shaped like a pickled vegetable, but it seems Paperself (the false lash brand making headlines) doesn’t agree.

These popular paper lashes with their sweet and intricate designs have never been shy of the spotlight. Last year they appeared in the UK X-Factor and this year they made their Hollywood debut in the Hunger Games.

This month, Paperself is celebrating all things British by launching a new London-themed lash (pictured) in time for the much-anticipated Diamond Jubilee and 2012 Olympics.

Has Britain, with our drizzly afternoons, relentless love of tea and endearingly terrible rail service finally gained credence as an icon of glamour?

If you want a classy way of expressing your love for our country this summer (and you don’t want to plaster yourself in Union Jacks), head over to Paperself and purchase yourself a pair of these sweet and quirky London-themed falsies.

After living in the shadows of the lipstick for a while, it is the glosses time to shine once again

Poor lip gloss seems to have got itself a bit of a reputation for being somewhat irritating.

All women have had a lip gloss casualty at one point or another. They look so appealing sitting there on the shelf in all their glittering, shiny, fruity smelling glory – but on the lips they equal a sticky hair, sticky face, lip injection gone wrong looking disaster – not to mention often being extremely high maintenance when it comes to longevity and reapplication.

However, lip-gloss-phobes out there need to put down their creamy lipstick and get reacquainted with the gloss once again because it is back with a vengeance.

This summer, matte is out and shine is in. Thankfully, lots of new and exciting technology means that many lip glosses have undergone a formula revamp; and whilst our sticky friends do still exist, many lip glosses are now long-lasting, moisturising and an absolute dream to wear.

If you are new to the world of gloss we recommend that you wean yourself in with a subtle pastel shade or a glossy nude. Below are our top picks for this Spring/Summer period:

1. Chanel Levres Scintillantes £21
   Pricey indeed but this long-lasting ultra glossy formula offers intense colour and a perfect finish…worth every penny. Bon Bon and Sweet Beige are perfect starter shades great for everyday work wear or for a natural evening look.
2. NARS Larger Than Life Lipgloss £19
   This gloss from Nars offers extremely long lasting intense colour in addition to protection and nourishment for the lips. The gloss also have a nifty shorter brush for easy and more precise application. Rosy Pink is a gorgeous subtle shade for ladies who are looking for a understated pop of colour.
3. Maybelline Super Stay 10H Tint Gloss, £6.99
   This is a relatively new offering from Maybelline and is a hybrid of a gloss and a tint. The range of colours is relatively limited standing at just five. However, the formula claims to be non-fading, non-drying and non-smudging whilst still offering high shine. All of the shades are relatively deep with Forever Coral being the most wearable for everyday.