The New Year Beauty and Style Honours

If you're anything like me, you're probably contemplating your new year's resolutions whilst surrounded by empty chocolate boxes and a half drunk glass of champagne. It's always so easy to decide these things when you have a good supply of sugar and alcohol on hand! The effort comes when we all go cold turkey on the 1st Jan! Ugh, don't mention turkey...

Anyway, I'm not talking about vowing to lose seven pounds, giving up chocolate forever and going to the gym nine times a week, but instead, those nice, achievable resolutions. The ones that involve nothing more taxing than, say, buying some fabulous new beauty products and letting them do all the hard work for you. So grab another box of chocolates, top up your wine glass, and make some simple resolutions with the help of my top picks from 2010.

If 2011 is your year for clear skin...

...then head over to Liz Earle. The fact that this brand is by far the most reviewed on my blog should give you an indication of just how much I love the range, and the skincare is without doubt best that I've ever used. Whether you have dry, oily or combination skin, Cleanse & Polish takes care all of your makeup removal and skin clearing needs, and the toner keeps everything perfectly balanced. I can't imagine my routine without C&P, and its my number one recommendation.

If 2011 is your year for fabulous hair....

...then hair oil is what you need. Shu Uemura Nourishing Hair Oil and Phyto Nectar are firm favourites, and MoroccanOil gets fantastic write ups, too. If you're on a budget, you can do a lot worse than a weekly treatment with good old olive oil, so there's really no excuse for dry tresses next year!

If 2011 is your year for style...

....then check out The Blonde Salad, Fashion Toast, Style Bubble and Park & Cube. Chiara, Rumi, Susie and Shini are by far the most stylish ladies on the blogging block, and there is always something inspirational on their regularly updated sites. The photography is fantastic, and their stunning styling is the perfect fashion fix for those of us who get a little tired of the same old images in the same old magazines.

If 2011 is your year for getting body beautiful...

...then Tracy Anderson is your girl. Her DVD is both utterly mind-boggling in its lack of explanation yet completely effective when you finally memorise it! Tracy's approach works your accessory muscles to pull everything nice and tight, leaving your muscles long, lean and feminine. Ignore the negative reviews (and subsequently, the burning in your thighs), and embrace her mat workout to get the beach body you've always wanted!

Hope that helps. What are your resolutions?

Image courtesy of solariasun.com

Loves and Loathes: October

I start my new job a week tomorrow and it's made me realise that I really need to get better organised when it comes to writing blog posts. At the moment, I am a freelance consultant, who works from home, which means that it's not difficult for me to spend an hour here and there writing whenever the mood takes me. But next week sees me return to office life full time, so it won't be quite as practical for me to spend a lunch hour photographing my latest beauty buys! For that reason, I'm going to try and get some regular themed posts, like this one: Loves and Loathes.

Loves

Shu Uemura Nourishing Hair Oil - I have never had a product that is more 'in' than this one, and I can honestly say I'd give up every single thing in my hair and beauty product collection to keep hold of this little beauty: it's THAT good. In the 6 weeks I've been using it, my hair has gone from quite dry, occasionally dull and unruly, to shiny, silky gorgeousness. Despite using it 3 times a week, I have used about a tenth of the bottle, making the £32.50 spent on it pretty good value.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Recovery Complex - I have a love/hate relationship with eye creams. I have invested so much money in creams, gels and lotions that have done absolutely nothing to moisturise or brighten my under eye area and was starting to lose faith in ever finding anything that works. Then in steps this little miracle. I managed to get my hands on a month's supply of this product when it came out and it's done everything that I always hope an eye cream will do. Dark circles have been reduced, and my under eye skin looks radiant and plump with health. I will definitely be buying this when my supply runs out.

Lookbook.nu - I could quite easily lose myself in this website. I absolutely love style blogs and this website is almost like a speed style blogging experience! I have found so many fabulous bloggers since coming across this site, so to ensure my reading list doesn't expand to the realms of the ridiculous, I am really restricting the number of times I'm allowed to look at it!!

Loathes

Chipped nail varnish - I ran out of my beloved Barry M 3 in 1 basecoat last week and haven't been able to get my hands on a replacement bottle yet. In the few days since it ran out, I have worn two different nail polishes, both of which have chipped within a day! I quite enjoy painting my nails, but having to touch them up every 24 hours is slightly ridiculous. I'm really lucky to have naturally strong nails that grow to a nice, elegant length, but I so often find myself wishing I had an excuse to get gel nails! The thought of ruining my natural nails really bothers me, so maybe I will look into having my nails Minxed to cut down on my home manicures. Either that or I'll just go and buy the Barry M basecoat!

Sugar - You may have read my post about cutting sugar out of my diet. I've managed to eliminate the vast majority of refined sugar from my diet and, although it's been tough, I'm really happy that I've made the decision to avoid it. Over the past 7 days, I've felt healthier and had more energy which has really boosted my commitment to stay away from it long term, so I hope I the resolve stays! I can't promise that as the night's draw in, I will be able to say no to the occasional hot chocolate, but the long term impacts of a sugary diet will hopefully be enough to help me resist temptation!

My hair is finally off the shelf!

It started like so many hair love stories. They met in a glossy salon, each having heard a little about the other, and keen to know more, they arranged a date in the bathroom. My hair told all about her past as an experimental teen who made some decisions she's lived to regret, but promised she'd turned over a new leaf and wanted commitment and most of all, love and care. She confessed to her long list of ex lovers, all of whom had eventually disappointed her, worrying that this would turn him off. Instead, Shu Uemura Nourishing Hair Oil enveloped her in his camelia bouquet and told her he wanted to look after her for the rest of her days. She said she wanted to take it slow as she's been deceived by wild promises too often in the past: Shu asked her to trust him, and he'd prove his worth. Three weeks later, Shu has shown that there's nothing quite like him in the world, and my hair has declared herself well and truly off the market.

Ladies, let me tell you: my hair looks good in love.

I'm yet to try Moroccan Oil or Rahua, but if things continue like this, I won't be bothering, as my hair hasn't looked this good in ten years. We all know that hair is dead but this is making my hair softer and softer with every use, and I can't quite believe how great it feels: I can't stop playing with it! The oil can be used as a pre-wash treatment and before styling - with only a single pump required to impart shine, softness and unbeatable gloss to even the most stressed out hair. I have been searching for a product like this for a long time, and have invested more money in the search than I care to admit to. I'd rather given up hope that I'd ever find it, but I suppose, like love, these things come along when you least expect them.

In terms of the product, the oil is incredibly light and although I have thick hair, I can see this working for fine hair as it leaves absolutely zero residue. At £32.50, it isn't cheap, but it is definitely a fantastic investment. As anyone needing to justify a purchase will tell you, the cost of a product is directly linked to its value: if you use something often, love it, and even better, see great results from using it, then that's the kind of thing you want to spend your money on! It's probably not for everyone: if your hair is naturally healthy, it may not make the kind of difference I'm talking about, but if your hair is dry and in need of a treat, I cannot recommend this oil more highly.

Given my recent hair-related virtuous behaviour, I can't say that this oil is the only thing that's different in my routine. I should remind you that I haven't coloured my hair for several months, and that I have completely stopped using straighteners and tongs, restricted blow dries to 3 weeks, use SLS free shampoo and am onto my fourth Brazilian blow dry in a year (they last for 3 months). My hair had been showing steady signs of improvement, but I have seen a significant difference since introducing this oil into my routine. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think there are any miracle products out there, but with good behaviour, this comes pretty close!

Are you using a hair oil at the moment, or is it something you're considering trying?

New Hair, New Products!

Last night I had my hair tidied up by Adam at Trevor Sorbie in Covent Garden. It's the first time I've been to the London salon, as I normally head back to their Manchester outpost when I'm visiting my parents. With this swishy new do, I think I'll be staying in London for future cuts! Adam explained that he is a third generation hairdresser (following both his father and grandfather before him) and his technique is so thorough and precise, it's almost hypnotic! The style is amazing and the dryness that had been creeping in has all gone. Ladies and Gentleman, I have a new favourite hairdresser.

So onto my purchase: Shu Uemura Art of Hair Nourishing Protective Oil. I have lusted after this for months but already had far too many products to justify its purchase. Since then, my haircare routine has been edited down to a select few items and I am so excited to see if regular use of this oil will help my hair on it's way to a glossy future!

It cost £32.50 for 150ml, but you only use one pump at a time, so I was advised that this bottle will last a long time. I will of course be enjoying my lovely salon blow dry for a little longer, but I will report back as soon as I use this.

I'll also be writing a more general hair health post soon, as I am astonished that I somehow managed to go 8 weeks before thinking I needed to have my hair trimmed. Ordinarily, I would be cursing my split ends at week 5, so I really think that my haircare routine is having an effect. To read up on my routine, click here, and for my advice on looking after you hair, click here.

Trevor Sorbie London can be found at 27 Floral Street in Covent Garden. For prices and appointments, go to www.trevorsorbie.com.