Pearls of wisdom

'Be pretty if you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you.'
     A Beauty Bible 'Thought for the Day', from Elsie de Wolfe.
     A legendary interior designer/style icon.
     Dog-lover - it would appear.
     And definitely a follower of another favourite piece of advice of ours, about pearls.
     We just liked this, and hope you do too.

Germ warfare goes all fruity

Colds.  'Flu.  Germs.  Lurgies.
     Anyone can be forgiven for coming over all germ-phobic at this time of year.
     But hand sanitisers...?  Yawn.
     Until now.  Body Shop have freshened up the whole category with this fruity selection:  Coconut, Satsuma, Strawberry, Mango, Sweet Lemon and Pink Grapefruit.  (What, no Dewberry...?  There's a mercy, actually.)
     Neatly hand-bag-sized, from just £2.50 (so pocket-friendly in every way) - and free from Triclosan (an ingredient we just don't like.  Sorry, but we don't).
     Oh, if only Howard Hughes was still with us...

Click here to find them at www.thebodyshop.co.uk

Aloha Aloka!

'One-stop wellbeing destination'.  Don't we all need one of those in our lives...? Well, truth to tell, anyone within striking distance of Brighton has exactly that, in Aloka, which really is entitled to call itself a 'quality of life centre'...
     On the ground floor:  a truly mouthwateringly delicious veggie/vegan/raw food café.  (We'd eat there every darned day, if we could.)  Oh, and a shop selling natural wonders of the beauty and health world, such as AEOS:  Aura-Soma's organic skincare.  (We're liking.  Liking v-e-r-y much.)
     Upstairs:  an airy Studio, offering a range of Yoga and Pilates classes and workshops for mind/body/spirit.
     Plus:  a Day Spa with amazingly restful treatment rooms, offering therapies based on the Aura-Soma range.  You pick the coloured oils that seem to call your name (they really do) and then magically, somehow, don't ask us how, they translate into a treatment so relaxing and escapist that - well, Jo would report more if she could just remember what happened, but it's all a blissful blank.  (And isn't just the way a perfect spa treatment should be...?)
     We'll be back for seconds.  And thirds.  (And not just of the amazing lentil bake.)
    
Aloka - call 01273-823178 or click here
For more info about the Aura-Soma Colour-Care-System, click here.

Double (Friday) delight

No, this isn't Mariella Frostrup's bathroom:  if you remember, she got into a little trouble for placing two pampas grass plants on her balcony, allegedly - and unwittingly - an 'invitation to swingers...'!  (Who knew...?)
     In fact, we're generally a bit pampas-grass-phobic at Beauty Bible ourselves - but could just be converted by the pop of colour they deliver in this beautiful bathroom (which comes to us via A Punch of Color's blog - always visually inspiring...)
     Love the double basins, as always.  Those big baskets.
     So:  happy pampering, this weekend.  And pampas-ing, as it happens.

www.apunchofcolor.com

More Mary Greenwell marvellousness

You wouldn't be the first woman to look in the mirror in early 2012 and silently scream 'I need make-up H-E-L-P'.
     And it's certainly a great time to learn a few new tricks.  (Not least because if you're anything like us, it's all looking a bit 'blah' right now.)
     So we're pleased to be able to point you in the direction of expert advice, via the two latest how-to videos that Jo made with make-up guru Mary Greenwell for High50.
    There's one for eyes (the eternal bug-bear of the mid-aged woman), promising an 'instant lift' - and one on cheeks.  (Including the art of contouring.  Without looking like Pocohontas.)
    They follow the earlier videos on brows, and foundation.
    Almost as good as having Mary in your front room.

www.high50.com

    

Urban retreat at home

After yesterday's weather - seemingly courtesy of Noah - we can be forgiven for not wanting to poke our noses outside the door, today.
     Might just be the perfect moment to experience the new Urban Retreat at Home's menu of beauty services, actually.  Yes, brought to you by the same folk who have that swanky spot on the Fifth Floor of Harrods, in Knightsbridge.  And with Urban Retreat's reputation for excellence, you can be confident of  A-list treatment.
     Ferried via a sleek Urban Retreat-mobile, expert therapists will pitch up at your door and perform pampering miracles - facials, body treatments, waxing, hand and feet treats, self-tanning.  Hen parties catered to...?  Absolutely.
     Prices aren't over the top:  £55 an hour outside London (though not all regions are covered, yet), £70 within the M25 and £95 within Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and the City.  (Blame the parking.)
     And the bonus, always, with treatments at home:  you can roll right off the massage table and into bed.
     Where, at this rate, we may stay till February.
    
Urban Retreat at Home - book on 0844-793 8344
  
     

A happy, healthy (vitamin-powered) New Year!

As you may know, we're a pair of pill-poppers.
     Vitamin pill-poppers, that is.
     Our eternal conundrum?  Finding a container that's nice enough to produce at a swanky Claridges breakfast launch, so we can take our must-have Sun Chlorella, Femergy, Ideal Omega 3 et al.
     Just found one.  (Thanks to US Daily Candy.)  It's from a site over there called House & Hold.  Comes in white, too - though we love the cheery, fire-engine, find-it-easily-in-your-handbag scarlet, ourselves.
     They do ship internationally (and it clearly doesn't weigh a ton).
     2012 just got off to a rather healthy start, then.

www.houseandhold.com