Naked body wash

About a month ago I ran out of my beloved REN Rose Otto body wash but, after booking flights to New York, was far too broke to splash out £16 on a replacement bottle. Instead I decided to investigate Naked, a range renowned for their paraben-free hair and body products.

Not only are their products void of parabens, they're also free of all manner of horrible foaming agents present in most shower gels. And, most importantly they smell delicious.

There's a huge range to choose from including Orange Blossom, Minty Menthol, White Ginger and Starflower. But, best of all is the divine smelling Rose which is also a dead ringer for REN's pricier wash. Definitely one I'll be buying again.

Frédéric Fekkai Protein RX

This is Frédéric Fekkai. Frédéric Fekkai is a trichological genius. He describes himself as 'an aesthete and tastemaker of the highest order', which is a frankly ridiculous statement but one that probably only he could get away with. Oh and, as this picture (and that quote) suggests, he is trés French. He is also the createur of a vast range of hair products that are all quite brilliant and almost all worth the ginormous price tags.

My hair has been pretty dry and fragile of late and nothing I had tried recently was helping. So it was lucky (for my hair, not my wallet) that I found myself with a spare half hour before a dentist appointment in John Lewis. A moment of weakness later and I came away with Fekkai's Protein RX shampoo, conditioner and PM Repair Strengthener.

They claim to help repair damage caused by colouring and styling with a potent mix of soy and wheat proteins, and after trying them for a month I am inclined to agree. My hair is very fine so I was pleased that the shampoo and conditioner managed to moisturise and control my hair without weighing it down. It's effective enough to notice a difference after you first use it but probably too strong for me to use daily. But as a once a week remedy, they're working out very well.

However, I think if you were to only go for one product from the range then I'd choose the PM Repair Strengthener. The bottle isn't huge but a couple of pumps of this delicious smelling serum leaves your hair feeling super soft and supple the next day. You do need to wash it out before facing the world, but the formula seems effective enough to still make an impact after washing with a totally different shampoo.

There is also a masque in the range which looks divine and might be next on the list of things to try. Has anyone tried it and been impressed?

Lucybloom's Top Tips: Eyelash Curlers

I make my make-up artist friend Lucy text me make-up top tips in exchange for basically being her on call tech advisor. Here is her latest:

If you're finding it difficult to get a prolonged curl with your lashes heat your eyelash curlers with a hairdryer before using them.

I kind of gave up on eyelash curlers years ago cos they always did a better job of bending my eyelashes into 90 degree angles rather than curling them. The thought of heated ones freak me out a bit... I don't really want to put anything hot near my eye! Lucy's Top Tip might be worth giving a go though.

Lately I've become obsessed with my Shu Uemuras. They're another beauty product that wins award after award and I never really believed they could be that good until I actually tried them. I ~might~ have bought myself some in a bit of a Liberty lunch-time visit *ahem* shopping spree. They are amazing... and they come with a spare set of replacement pads. If you're feeling particularly fancy you can get yourself some in gold. Yes Please.

Dermalogica Freebies

One of the great things about working near Westfield is the vast variety of shops to wander around on your lunch break. As well as being quite relaxing (when the snotty children are not on school holidays) it's also quite a dangerous activity. The shopping centre is open until 10pm some nights - that's a whole four hours of uninterrupted shopping/ eating/ cinema time in which to ignore any previous thoughts of self control and thriftiness.

As well as the usual range of shops there are lots of bizarre pop up stall things offering to sell to everything from a pretzel to a weird contraption that claims to massage your head. Among these bizarre and somewhat useless stalls is a Dermalogica stand which is filled with all their wonderful lotions and potions and manned by three very helpful and friendly skin therapists.

I've noticed that they often have deals on to try and entice the customers in past their ludicrously overpriced products but it was only yesterday that I took advantage of them. I finally decided to stop putting off buying my much beloved Daily Microfoliant and was pretty overexcited when they told me that I would also be getting a travel sized Special Cleansing Gel and Active Moist, and all for £35. Hurrah!

This offer is on for the rest of August and is so good that I might have to go back again.

Guess who's back, guess who's back...

So we may have taken a somewhat impromptu holiday from washing our hair (see what I did there?) and been distracted by holidays, festivals and new jobs... but have no fear, we are now back and filled with even more exciting info about all things beauty related.

Thanks for bearing with us!

John Frieda Root Awakening Strength Infusing products

A month or so ago John Frieda launched their newest range of hair products. The Root Awakening Strength Infusing range (it doesn't exactly slip off the tongue does it?) is packed full of eucalyptus and promises to nourish and strengthen your hair and make it bouncy and strong.

For the past couple of weeks I have been using the shampoo for normal hair and the conditioner for dry hair, and while I haven't noticed a difference in the strength of my hair it is looking very shiny and soft. I particularly like the conditioner, it's super moisturising and absorbs quickly - perfect for hair that feels a bit brittle.

The shampoo however is a bit average. It smells nice - the eucalyptus isn't overpowering and it wakes you up quite pleasantly - but it's just a bit blah. My hair doesn't look particularly awakened or strengthened, it just looks the same. Sadly there is no miraculous transformation, no singing pixies bringing me locks of joy, just clean hair, which I suppose is what you really want from a shampoo, even if it is a bit unremarkable.

Illamasqua Make Up Amnesty

Head along to Selfriges London, Birmingham, or Manchester Trafford between July 17th - July 31st and you can swap an old item of your own make-up to receive a 25% discount on anything from Illamasqua's range.

Have a rummage through your drawers. If you're anything like me you might realise that you have an eyeliner pencil that you've been using since the year 2000, or a handful of nail polish bottles that died a long time ago. I've been dying to try out Illamasqua's Liquid Metal so I might use this discount offer as an excuse to buy it for myself.

Check out Beaut.ie to see how you can redeem this offer if you're in Dublin or Belfast.

Palmer's Olive Butter Cream Oil

Palmer's range of lotions are brilliant. Their Cocoa Butter range is a godsend for dry skin and their Olive Butter Lotion is a lighter alternative that I think I am becoming a bit obsessed with.

It's cheap (£3.69 for 250ml), absorbs quickly and smells delicious. I do like the smell of cocoa butter but you can't use it after showering in the morning as you end up smelling like a delectable truffle and it clashes with every perfume under the sun. The olive lotion has a fresh but much more neutral scent that doesn't give your fellow commuters chocolate cravings.

Palmer's have recently added a Cream Oil to the range and I am HOOKED. It seems to be even more moisturising, absorbs even quicker and has given me the world's softest skin. All in all it's my new favourite thing.