A day with Daniel Sandler

Naomi Campbell.  Jade Jagger.  Yasmin le Bon. Kate Moss. Joanna Lumley.  Keira Knightly. And now ... Get Lippie.  Oh yes, Daniel Sandler has all the luck ...

Now, if you're a regular reader, then it should be fairly well known by now that I adore Daniel Sandler. Having met him a few times this year, I've found him to be funny, friendly, down-to-earth and I've always found that time spent in his company is great fun, so when he invited me for a personal introduction to his makeup range recently, I found it to be an offer I couldn't actually refuse ... well, could you?

Popping along to his studio on Harrod's fifth floor, I find that Daniel's Hollywood-style makeup counter looks amazing, all mirrors and spotlights, and it's a glamorous spot to sit a spell and have a natter about lipgloss with the man himself.  Initially there just to take a look at Daniel's new collection of waterproof eyeliners, it's a matter of mere moments before Daniel has decided that I'm to have a makeover.  Actually, I didn't think I looked that bad beforehand to be honest!  But hey, the man knows what he's doing, and I'm not one to turn down a makeover when one is offered, particularly when it's offered so politely!

Discovering that Daniel and I first got into makeup at around the same age, and discovering that we were both influenced by the New Romantics (yes, I'm showing my age again, I know) was hilarious.  I had a Girl's World when I was about ten, and the book was full of "piratical" makeup thanks to Adam and the Ants but I found it really difficult to re-create the looks with just a green and a blue crayon! Confessing this to Daniel, he told me that he spent a lot of time grinding down chalk to make pigments for the makeup for his school plays, and that this had given him a great lesson in how cosmetics are made, which he admits has given him a boost when it came time for him to create his own line.

I'd love to tell you more about what Daniel and I talked about, but alas, I'd made a fatal error on the day.  I took Mr Lippie along, and discovered that he and Daniel got along like a house on fire!  So much so, that I could barely get a word in edgeways between the two of them ...honestly, I'm banning MrL from makeup events now, he makes me look totally socially inept at times, bless 'im.

Daniel did make time to tell me a few snippets about Lulu, and he's one of the very, very few makeup artists who've actually noticed that my eyes are actually different colours, which just shows how much attention the man pays when he's doing your makeup!  He also mentioned that I have a similar complexion to Keira Knightly (yeah, right), and was very happy to discuss all his makeup inspirations - particularly when I pointed out that when you look at his collection, I personally found a few of the inspirations easy to spot - and it was refreshing to hear from him about the problems that go with trying to launch a makeup collection.  Particularly how frustrating it is when things don't come out precisely as you want them to.  All really fascinating to anyone with even a passing interest in the beauty industry, and as a control freak myself (no, really), I had severe sympathy!

So, I'm guessing you're wondering what a makeover with Daniel Sandler actually looks like, hmn?  Well, if you excuse the dopey looks on my face (sorry Daniel), here's the finished article:

I came away with a brown smokey eye (complete with at least two different shades of eyeliner) and berry-stained lips. I don't ordinarily use brown eyeshadow, for a variety of reasons, but I always like the effect when someone else picks it for me, and I adored the choice of berry lips to go with it.  I'd normally shy away from coloured lipstick with such a statement eye look but I thought this worked amazingly well. Maybe a little OTT for an evening spent on the sofa watching X Factor, but such is life ...

I'll be talking you through some of the range of products Daniel has tomorrow, but in the meantime, if you're interested in a makeup lesson from Daniel, you can find the details here: Makeup Lesson with Daniel Sandler

The Fine Print: I was just there to look at the eyeliner, honest! 

Clarisonic WINNER!

Oh, I'm so pleased!  The winner of my Clarisonic competition is ...


SIRVINYA!

Well done lovely, I'll get it in the post to you this week!  A massive thank you to all my entrants - apart from all of those I had to disqualify ...

Dolce & Gabanna Autumn Collection

I got a look at the autumn collection from D&G recently, and it's all about gothic lips, alongside some unusual eyeshadow shades this season.  Let's take a look:

These are the lipglosses in Amethyst and Vibrant.  Both have a very pretty blue micro shimmer, and apply very opaquely. Ironically, the one named Amethyst is the more brown-shade, and Vibrant is  the fuschia.

Both apply feel very moisturising on the lips, and, whilst they are a bit sticky, they're very nice to wear, non-drying, and good coverage.  Speaking of wear, they last about an hour, maybe two on the lips, depending on - of course - if you're eating or drinking whilst wearing them.

There are two lipsticks in the collection, Cosmopolitan, and Orchid.  Naturally, because I'm an idiot, I only have swatches of Cosmopolitan:

As you can see, this is a creme shade, which personally, I find shades a little towards the tangerine ... but it's pretty.  An odd choice for autumn, I think though, after all the coral shades of the summer.  Orchid is a beautiful shade too - a glorious PINK, and I'll bring you a face of the day with that one soon ... it ha disappeared when I was doing the swatches for this set. 

There are also two eyeshadow sets, one a duo, and one a quad.  They're a little unusual, as both contain a pink ... pink eyeshadow?  Hmn ...  First up is the duo: "Evocative", and following is the quad "Divine".

As always, the shadows are very smooth, and fairly pigmented, here's how they look on my fingers:

Most of these shades are matte, with the exception of the pink and blue from the Divine quad, which have a tiny amount of shimmer.  Pink is an unusual shade for eyeshadows, and I think it's even more unusual to release two in the same collection, here's how they compare:

On the left is the Divine pink, and on the left is the Evocative.  As you can see, the Divine is almost frosted, and it's very much on the cool side, whereas Evocative is warmer, almost coral-toned, and is matte.  I find that you can wear the Evocative shades layered over one another, for a wearable look.

No nail varnishes this time around, which is a shame as I still really adore Perfection from the summer collection, and I'd have liked to have seen some new shades.

What do you think?

The Fine Print: Samples were provided for review purposes, which is nice, after my last D&G cosmetic experience.

Clarisonic Giveaway!

Yes, I'm still giving one away, but this is just a little heads up that the competition ends tomorrow at noon.  If you haven't entered already (and if not, why not?), here's the link to find out how to enter.

Looking forward to hearing from you!  C'mon, it's pink, you know you want it ...

Products to make you feel great

I'm often asked why I like beauty products so much.  The very simple answer is that using them makes me feel good.  Sometimes, they even make me look better too, which is always a bonus.  A reader recently asked me to recommend some products that might help her feel better too, so here's a selection of things I like, that I always really enjoy using.

Lipstick.  There is simply nothing better - and easier to use - than a luxurious lipstick in your favourite colour, for cheering you up, the more expensive the better (for me at least!).  Applying lipstick is a ritual, and often one we neglect for a lipgloss, because gloss is quicker and easier, and harder to get wrong.  For me, what never fails is a bright, *bright* colour, or red.  Glorious, vampy red.  Current favourites include Guerlain Rouge G, in pink or red, there's a Lord and Berry red which is glorious, and you can't really go wrong with a Chanel Rouge Coco (I like Cambon, myself) either.

I also find that taking the time to give myself a mini-facial always makes me feel better too.  If my skin is looking good, I will automatically feel better about myself.  For my mini-home facials, I'm a big fan of Origins Modern Friction, it's a self-heating scrub that really leaves your skin soft and glowing after one use.  Then a mask, either something from Clarins, or the great lavender one from Alpha H.

I find that great-smelling products are always good for making you feel better, so I tend to pay more attention to my perfume when I'm feeling a bit down.  I mentioned the other week that I love Guerlain's Herba Fresca, which is a gloriously herbal scent, laden down with calming mint and hay.  But I find anything that has a hint of amber, or powder, can be wonderfully comforting too, scents like Climat by Lancome are great for making you feel like you've had a hug. A wonderful bath oil by Aromatherapy Associates - in Relax Deep - which is redolent of ginger and rosemary with a hint of lavender has been something I've been using as a body oil in the last few weeks to "take the edge off" a bit too.  It's actually a bath/shower oil, but the scent is so divine, I couldn't resist using it on my body too!

But most of all, I find that simply taking a little more time to apply my makeup in the first place can make a huge difference to how I feel before I face the day.  I know that if I've taken all possible care with my application, then I will feel better about how I look, and better about life in general.

Which products make you feel good?