More big ideas for the small room

We'd love to open a loo door and find this (which comes to you via
A Punch of Color, one of our fave interiors blogs).
      Geometric-print gilded paper, and an etched Venetian mirror.  A Chinese desk that's been converted into a basin.  (A good plumber/
carpenter can insert pipework and sanitaryware into all manner of furniture finds, if you just ask.)
     Liking the Chinoiserie embroidery on the hand towels, too.
     The flowers.  We adore flowers in a loo.
     And oh, that jaunty horse...!
     Beauty Bible would simply add a divine soap and hand cream, for the perfect powder room.
     So, could this be the weekend you ditch the pile of old Grazias, the Giles Annuals and the wellies from your downstairs lav, and go
glam, too...?
    
    

Meet Bloggy Brown!

We’re sure you can imagine how much we’re looking forward to having breakfast tomorrow with one of our all-time make-up heroes, 

Bobbi Brown, on a rare visit to the UK.

     But as a consolation for the fact that sightings of Bobbi on these fair shores are so infrequent, we’ve basically been stalking her every move on her new blog, Everything Bobbi (which we’ve also added to our ‘blogroll’ of fave sites, right).

     It has tips.  And wisdom.  (Which Bobbi has in spades.)  And showcases real, inspiring women that Bobbi encounters;  Bobbi shares our philosophy that you don’t have to be a supermodel to be 

fah-bu-lous.  So we especially love her inspiring ‘Diverse Beauty’ section, spotlighting women of all shapes/sizes/races/ages.
(Because my, do we wish there was more of that around...)  

     She calls it:  'A blog based on truth, beauty and being amazing' - and it feels almost like sitting next to her over a latte and a muffin. 
     Though we’ll report back after tomorrow when we’ve done just that, of course...

www.everythingbobbi.com

A Pukka way to massage your face

Yesterday, we told you about a rather fab festival of facials.
     But if you're anything like us, with a too-busy life, a salon facial is generally relegated to the realms of:  Dream.  On.  Darling.
     But to celebrate the launch of their rather fab, chic-packaged skincare, Pukka Ayurveda (famed for their herbal remedies and delicious teas) told us about a super-effective facial massage that's easy to do.  Right now.  At your desk.
     Click here and you'll be taken to the page with full instructions on how massaging different points on the face can have a (trust us) near-miraculous effect at restoring vibrancy and glow, relieving stress or getting you back into balance when life feels out of whack.
     We've said this before - and we'll say it again - but facial massage really is a key anti-ageing secret, too.  (Probably our No. 1 age-defying beauty tip, actually.)  And this is as clear a guide as we've ever seen.
     Meanwhile, do click around to check out the skincare, while you're there.
     You can get to the home page, here, too.
     (Only shouldn't that be the 'Om' page...?)

For Pukka Herbs skincare, click here

It's a Festival of Facials!

We love a good facial.
     Note:  we love a good facial.
     What we at Beauty Bible don't love at all are superficial facials (where the therapist's hands do little more than tickle the skin), which have us wanting to leap off the couch, throw off our origami-ed towels and head screaming for the door.
     So, the challenge:  how to find a good facialist...?
     You could go by word of mouth.
     Or you could go by the rollcall of fabulous therapists currently starring in Urban Retreat's Festival of Facials, on the 5th Floor at Harrods.
     There are treatments from NuBo, Carol Joy, Beauty Lab and Omorovicza all taking place over various weeks up to 24th December. (Hmmm:  quite who has time for a facial on 24th December, we're not sure;  we're rather more likely to be steaming our faces over pans of red cabbage, as per usual.)
     But perhaps the cameo appearance on the facialist roster that we're most excited about is the uber-gifted Antonia Burrell (you can read about Jo's facial with her here), who'll be in residence from 21st - 28th November.
     To book, call below.
     And maybe this will the year you arrive at the office party looking radiant and glowing, rather than ravaged and washed out...

To book, call 020-7893 8333 or visit www.urbanretreat.co.uk

Make-up’s last chance saloon

Longing for a lost Lauder lipstick…?  Sobbing over a discontinued shade from Estée’s signature brand…?  Thinking wistfully of a foundation from the aforementioned make-up line that you basically can’t live without…?  Or wondering what on earth you’re going to do now that the skincare you’ve relied on has been trumped by a new ‘improved’ version…?

     Well, before you go into a total decline, we’ve one last suggestion that might just help you track down a much-loved product/shade/skin treat that’s disappeared into the ether.  Don’t tell a soul, but Estée Lauder has a Gone But Not Forgotten service, which scours their warehouses for Lauder stock. 

     Just call, and the Estée elves get busy sleuthing down any remaining items they may have tucked away after a product’s been withdrawn.

     We’re not making any promises.  And we’d hate you to be disappointed.  Plus:  the chances are obviously higher with products that have only recently disappeared from the Lauder counter, rather than those from dim and distant make-up history.

     But really, what have you got to lose by calling them – except your pallor/stubby lashes/fine lines…?

Estée Lauder Gone But Not Forgotten – call Customer Service on 0800-074 6905

A warming winter wallow

We actually know someone with a bath like this, in a painstakingly-restored and decidedly wonky 14th century house.  (He's a stylist, FYI.) He has discreet taps that fill the metal tub - although even so, we're not sure how comfy a soak it offers.  (Found this on Slices of Beauty, meanwhile.)
     What we do like here, though - our latest BF (Bathroom Friday) offering to you - is the crackling log fire.  Long for one of those, to keep us all toasty, post-bathing.
     And the stool.  Ideal to keep a book, a tub of scrub, even a glass of wine within reach.
     Something to plan, for the weekend?
     Have a lovely one...

To visit Slices of Beauty, click here

Did you oversleep this morning...?

Well, if you overslept on Monday, you had a great excuse:  it was National Sleep-in Day.  (Who knew...?)  But with the clocks going back, there's really no excuse not to be a little brighter and chirpier in the a.m., at the moment.
     However, a good night's sleep always helps.  In fact, there is, as we constantly witter on, no better beauty aid than shut-eye - so we are indebted to our mate Kathy Phillips (Vogue beauty guru extraordinaire) for making it just a little easier to catch those zzzzzs with her new This Works Sleep range.
     Infused with aromatherapeutic lavender - the classic waft-you-sleepwards herb - and vetiver (a wonderfully grounding essential oil, a.k.a. 'oil of tranquility') - there are four slumber-inducing products: Deep Sleep Bath Soak, a Sleep Balm, Pillow Spray and the beyond-divine Deep Sleep Heavenly Candle.
     What price a good night's sleep?  Beyond pearls, naturally, but since there's nothing over £22, we think it's pretty dreamily-priced.
     In fact - sorry, were we yawning there...? -  we simply can't wait for bedtime, ourselves.

www.thisworks.com