Secret addresses 2: Queen, Dublin

When two beauty editors need to be primped and camera-ready for Ireland’s RTE Afternoon Show and Xposé (the must-watch cable network for the wannabe-stylish) to promote Beauty Bible Beauty Steals, where would they turn? To Queen, in the heart of Dublin town. Leonard Daly is the name you want in your Little Black Beauty Address Book: this catwalk and session make-up artist has opened his own fab beautique and hair salon, showcasing the hard-to-find Kevyn Aucoin make-up range (Queen is the only location you can now find it, on this side of the storm-whipped Atlantic) and Planet skincare, among other ranges. We especially fell in love with Bog Standard: the hilariously-named all-Irish capsule collection of fresh-scented hand washes and lotions, with fragrances like Irish Mist, Irish Linen and Irish Moss. And BIG thanks to Leonard and his ace stylists for coming in to primp us on their day off…! (That explains why Leonard’s in his tracksuit!)

Queen Beauty Emporium, 66-67 Aungier Street, Dublin/+353-(0)1478-9633
www.queenbe.ie

Secret Addresses: Kazumi, Dublin

Without a personal recommendation, finding a salon in a strange city can be like pinning a (pony)tail on a donkey. So Beauty Bible was grateful to a Dublin insider (the lovely Sophie Flynn-Rogers) for pointing us in the direction of this chic salon, in a bow-windowed townhouse just off Grafton Street. Stocking both Shu Uemura and (our favourite) Kérastase, the stylists are fast, the back-wash heavenly (we do love a vibrating reclining seat), and – like all hairstylists – they’re a fount of insider wisdom about where to go and what’s cool in their home town. (A great, shiny blow-dry, too, from Jacqui). And with Dublin suffering in the downtown, Kazumi some clever budget-friendly ideas, including an ‘In-Between Colour Check-Up’: a ‘colour boost’, hairline or parting touch-up, for 40-50 euros, to tide you over the next few weeks before a major colour splurge.

Kazumi, 36 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2/00-353-1678 5004
www.kazumihair.ie

Beauty treatments to try before you die No. 2: an Emma Hardie facial

Ever fancied getting your face ‘ironed’? Emma Hardie’s your woman. Now, this isn’t a facial if you like layers of masks and wafty aromatherapy oils: this is the real, re-sculpting deal (and as such, pretty flipping brilliant for this time of year, as the mistletoe season looms). Here’s Emma – a darned good advertisement for her own skills – at The Hale Clinic, in London (where she regularly practices when in London), and where she recently demo-ed her ‘Sculpting Face Lift’ massage technique to us. It’s not sensual. It’s not even pleasurable, at times, as she works her magic on the underlying muscles, but the results are next-best-thing-to-Botox that Beauty Bible’s tried. (And actually, we don’t do Botox. List of reasons too long to feature here.) If you can’t book in for a one-on-face-firming-one with Emma, might like to know she’s offering Face Facts Workshops at Space NK Apothecary (for a £20 fee redeemable against purchase from the Emma Hardie Amazing Face skincare range, now on sale there). Be there. Or be – well, droopy.

Emma Hardie at The Hale Clinic, 7 Park Crescent, London W1B 1PF/020-7497 7377
www.haleclinic.com
Emma Hardie Face Facts Workshops at Space NK/01923-839505

Clinique – in a New York minute

We’ve had ‘fast food’. Get ready for ‘fast beauty’. Beauty Bible was in New York recently, where any I-want-it-now beauty-hound can have her heart’s Clinique desires filled – in a New York minute. For instance: give your order to one of the assistants wearing a Madonna-style microphone, and your products will be in your hands within 60 seconds. (It’s a promise.) Use one of these ‘browsing baskets’, meanwhile (seen here with lovely Lynne Green, who heads Clinique worldwide), and the consultants will just plain leave you alone. (And don’t we all wish for that sometime…?) Clinique’s old-style ‘abacus’ is still around – but the technology’s been eclipsed with this real computer, which gives you a skincare prescription print-out. But most of all, we like the ‘Foundation bar’: foolproof display of shades, textures, coverage – all there, for simple at-a-glance selection. (Find something similar at Selfridges’ gleamingly gorgeous new Clinique counter, on this side of the pond. No walkie-talkies, though. Guess we’re still just too l-a-i-d b-a-c-k, compared to the average Manhattanite…

And the winners were…

Last night was a bit of a landmark for Beauty Bible. We hosted our first-ever Beauty Bible Awards, at One Alfred Place in London, recognising the brands who’ve put on stellar performances in our books The Green Beauty Bible (paperback) and Beauty Bible Beauty Steals, which is just hitting the bookstores now. There was no Rocky-style music, no flashing light show, no stage – and we didn’t allow the recipients of their award to make Gwyneth Paltrow-style thank-you speeches (or even open their mouths except to smile for the cameras, actually!) From now on, look out for Beauty Bible Award stickers on products, banners in-store and symbols appearing on websites for products that have put on stellar performances in our books, as judged by our diligent testers. (Congratulations to A’kin, who are first off the mark with Beauty Bible Awards stickers, which you can look for on their Unscented Hand, Nail & Cuticle Treatment.) And here we are with John Frieda, whose haircare brand won more awards than any other, in Beauty Steals… Congratulations to John, and all the other worthy award-winners. When our testers love your products, we know it really is something to shout about…

Soap scoop

Sabon is a New York beauty emporium with several ‘shabby chic’ branches (this one’s on Prince, in SoHo), where as a prelude to a mooch around you’re encouraged to wash your hands with a salty scrub in a beautiful multi-spigoted ‘font’. (Nice touch, in a grubby city like Manhattan.) A good place to shop for beauty presents that aren’t available in the UK, and we’re pleased (as wannabe-natural beauty babes ourselves) to discover their newest range is Ecocert-certified organic; the ultra-rich $15 foot cream is almost a must-have in a city where you can notch up miles and miles on your feet just getting from A to interesting B.

Sabon, 123 Prince St. @ corner of Wooster St., NY, 10012/212-982-0968
www.sabonnyc.com