Daily Archives: November 17, 2011

Top tips for the party season

Party season is fast approaching – which means stress, beauty, fashion and a little more stress. We need to look our best don’t we?

We’ve enlisted the help of the Bic Soleil style team to give us their top tips, and according to research conducted by them, women spend more time getting ready for their work Christmas party than for other social events. So here’s how you can impress at yours.

The style team, made up of Andrew Barton, top celebrity hairdresser, Alana Phillips, renowned celebrity make-up artist and fashion stylis Hannah Hughes, have offered their top tips so you can look fabulous this festive season.
Alana Phillips, make up artist suggests:

· Skin is always drier in winter time so make sure you are ready for those Chrismas party dresses by moisturising your pins. After you have shaved rub in some body lotion so that your legs will feel smooth and look great.

· My top tip to keep your legs looking glowing, flawless and healthy in the cold weather is to mix some foundation with your moisturiser and smooth all over your legs before your Christmas party.

· If your legs are looking a little bit tired, a sneaky way brighten them up is to dust the front of your legs with a shimmer dust and shade the inside of your thighs with some darker bronzer. The result is legs that look more tanned, toned and party ready.

· To jazz up your Christmas make up, try a different coloured mascara to really bring out the colour of your eyes. If you have brown eyes, use purple mascara, of you have green eyes use a green mascara and if you have blue eyes, use a blue mascara. Brush over your regular mascara for just a hint of colour.

· Another hot look this Christmas is glitter eyeliner. To make your eyes look glamorous for the party season, use liquid eyeliner first and then go over this with a glittery eye liner to add some festive sparkle to your make up.

Andrew Barton, hairdresser to the stars, says:

· Hair for the Christmas party season is all about glamour. This season’s must have hair is a modern take on the beehive. It even has the nifty trick of making a girl look taller. Set hair first in heated rollers, then take out after 10 minutes, turn head upside down and back comb, stand in front of the mirror and grip into place using kirby grips and spray with hairspray.

· If you opt for sleek hair exaggerate the style with a low diagonal parting, spray hair spray close to the hair for a super glossy catwalk look.

· Have a colour to brighten up your hair for the party season it will add shine, banish any greys and totally transform your locks.

· When you spritz perfume over your body, spritz a little of your hair too.

· Triple Barrel Wavers are the coolest HOT tool to create gorgeous waves. Used similar to an iron the hair is waved to perfection.

Hannah Hughes, Fashion Stylist, advises:

· Invest in miracle underwear – it can shave inches off your waist and bum, andthe feeling of being sucked in will enhance your posture.

· Show off one asset at a time. Balance a micro mini and bare legs with long sleeves, or a midi length pencil skirt with a flash of cleavage.

· Invest in the right cover-up – a glam party look can be instantly ruined with the wrong coat. Chose a long length tux jacket, smart sixties style coat or a faux fur jacket.

· It’s all in the details. You can breathe new life into an old dress by layering under a sleeveless collared shirt, adding a new belt or adding in statement accessories.

· Don’t just stick to dresses. Separates can be just as glam, and you can experiment more with mixing texture and colour. They’re also more cost effective, as you can dress them up and down throughout the following year.

Today’s the Day: Versace for H&M

It’s the day that so many of us have been waiting for: The launch of Versace for H&M.

Actual Versace available at highstreet (ish) prices!

To celebrate this, I’ll chosen a couple of my favourite pieces for the collection. While I may not be brave enough to pull off the palm trees, there are some seriously timeless pieces, making this one of the best highstreet collaborations of all time.

Donatella, respect…

Biker chick:

Rock chic:

Lady of leather:

The bling ring:

Golden gurl:

Going Gaga?

Which is your favourite?

Jen.xox

Pomegranate, the elixir or youth

Pomegranates have been hailed as superfoods for years, promising to prevent heart disease, relieve stress and has even been shown to improve your sex life.

If there wasn’t enough plus points, it’s now been found to be the elixir of youth.

A recent £2 million study, funded by Pomegreat PurePlus, has discovered that a daily dose of pomegranate could slow down the ageing process of DNA.

Researchers at the ProbelteBio laboratory in Murcia, Spain, gave an extract of the whole fruit – including pith, peel and seeds – to 60 volunteers everyday for a month in the form of a capsule.

They monitored the activity of chemicals in their bodies compared with those who took a placebo.

They found a significant decrease in a marker associated with cell damage, which caused impaired brain, muscle, liver and kidney function as well as ageing effects on the skin.

Dr Sergio Streitenberger, who led the study, says: “We are very excited about this study which we believe demonstrates that regular consumption of this pomegranate extract can slow down the process of DNA oxidation.

“One way to look at ageing is to think of it as rusting, or oxidising, a damaging process. Being able to gaurd against this process would be a significant breakthrough.”

A study in Edinburgh recently revealed that drinking pomegranate juice reduces stress in the workplace.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Character Banners

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol looks set to be on of the biggest movies this Christmas as it hits the big screen on Boxing Day.

Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt for the fourth film in the franchise and is on a mission to clear his name as well as the agency.

An all star cast line up beside him as Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton are all along for the ride.

Blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates ‘Ghost Protocol’.

Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must find a way to clear his agency’s name and prevent another attack.

To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is released 26th December. Here are some new character posters.

More Snowtown Clips

The excitement surrounding Snowtown has been getting louder and louder in recent week and the movie hits the big screen in the UK tomorrow.

Australia have a habit of producing new and exciting acting talent and with this movie it looks like they have done it again as we are introduced to Lucas Pittaway and Daniel Henshall.

Witness the shocking true story that shook Australia. Sixteen-year-old Jamie longs for an escape from the violence and hopelessness that surrounds him in Adelaide’s disenfranchised northern suburbs, and his salvation arrives in the form of John, a charismatic man who unexpectedly comes to his aid.

Like a son mimicking his father, Jamie soon begins to take on some of John’s traits and beliefs as he spends more and more time with him and his select group of friends.

The protection and guidance that John presents to Jamie is initially welcomed however as events occur around him, including the disappearance of several people, Jamie begins to harbour deep suspicions about John and his motivations.

When the truth is finally revealed to Jamie his hopes of happiness are threatened by both his loyalty for, and fear of, his father-figure John Bunting, Australia’s most notorious serial killer.

An intense, highly acclaimed thriller, Snowtown marks the arrival of a major new filmmaking talent.

Snowtown is released 18th November