Jack & Hill: A Beauty Blog - make-up, cosmetics, perfume, and the substance of style

The not-so-secret garden

Oh, what a small world: I do a Google search for my favourite new cleanser, Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser, and the first result is from the Garden Pharmacy, which is located a few doors down from my new office. (I'm also a fan of Avene Thermal Spring Water, for spraying on my face if it's a bit irritated. I don't know that the water is all that special, but my skin has been quite good lately.)

The Garden Pharmacy is a fab little place in Long Acre, Covent Garden. I had to rush in - to pick up some contact lens solution - and out the other day, and wished I didn't have something stuck in my eye, as it would have been nice to have a long browse (and not to have something stuck in my eye). At the moment, they've got a sale on Clarins products: buy two, get three large sized products free. (This is in the shop; their excellent website doesn't seem to reflect this special offer, though there are loads of others on there.) While the jury may still be out on Clarins skincare, this is worth a look in if you're a fan. (Another parenthetical aside: My boyfriend has an apartment in a Parisian suburb, and apparently the Clarins HQ is just across the road. They actually drop samples off with the local women! We are so moving there.)

Clarins: Hero or zero?

The Sunday Times (London) Style Beauty Awards winners have been announced in today's issue. The winners are chosen by Sunday Times Style magazine readers and, this year, Clarins was the most voted for brand. As the newspaper puts it:

To be honest, you don’t look to Clarins first for make-up and you don’t look to Clarins first for perfume. But skincare, now that’s another matter.

Interesting - and worth keeping in mind the next time you're out shopping, know that you need a reliable cleanser (or whatever) but haven't done any recent research into what's worth buying: It seems that it would be difficult to go very wrong with Clarins.

That said, I remain unconvinced about the benefits of Clarins Flash Beauty Balm, which was very popular with Sunday Times readers in this poll. One does start to wonder, after years of reading the raves from beauty editors, if this product doesn't have a bit of the emperor's new clothes to it. I was using mine faithfully, every morning, for a few months, but it's had to take a backseat to the fifteen other products I've switched in and out of my routine since then. I can't say I miss it. What say you who have tried it?

Aeroplane beauty

I've been flying a lot lately - to the US and back, then to Spain (for a work event in Gibraltar) and back - and I really cannot take two consecutive flights without buying some beauty products. The lure of duty free shopping is just too great. (And yes, I did take that photo at right: Not perfect, but good enough for me.)

My most recent booty is a trio of old favourites:

1) On the flight home to London from the US, I bought a twin pack of Lancome mascaras: Flextencils and Amplicils. Définicils was my stand-by since high school, but in recent months I played around with Hypnose and was not bowled over. Still, I play it safe with Lancome mascaras: They don't smear too much on my eyelids, like Maybelline Great Lash, Marks & Spencer Just Perfect Lash Lengthening, and so many others do. I'm blessed with lashes that are very long and curly, so the smudge-free thing is pretty much all it takes to make me happy.

2) and 3) On the flight to Málaga from London, I picked up both a Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat and Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. I used these both a few years ago, and didn't think they were the miracle workers that everyone else seemed to. Still, hope lives on! Actually, I knew that I would not be getting much sleep on that particular work trip, and so figured I could use all the help I could get. Plus, my diet and overall lifestyle is much better than it was a few years ago, and I calculated that I'd see more improvement now than I did back then.

I'm loving the Beauty Flash Balm. It may be all in my head, but my skin does seem to be glowing lately - especially after playing beauty shop on a Sunday evening, letting my Prada Exfoliate Concentrate mask do its thing and then following up with some Sebamed moisturiser. (And before you ask: Hell no, I did not pay $130 for ten little doses of the Prada stuff. They were a gift from a friend who knows me so well.) The Pout Flush Blush certainly adds to the glow element, too. The Beauty Flash Balm can't hurt.

As for the Touche Eclat, well, it's not really working for me right now. I guess I've actually grown so pale that it just blends into my natural skin colour, making all hopes of highlighting anything quite futile.

Right now, I am in full spendthrift mode. This can only benefit Jack & Hill. More updates soon.

Rubber ducky, joy of joys

Yeah, that title is a Sesame Street shout-out. And, heaven help me, I don't even have kids.

As my boyfriend and I prepare to move out of the flat where we currently live, I'm taking as many opportunities as possible to enjoy our delightfully retro (now that I've stopped thinking of it as shamefully dated) bathroom and its avocado green sink and bath. I've spent hours on end in that bathroom - most of them in the bath itself.

I know full well that taking baths in scalding hot water depletes skin's moisture and is just an all around bad idea. But as with tanning and wearing 28-year-old eye shadow, sometimes one feels the risk is worth taking. I get more pleasure out of a boiling bath on a frigid winter's evening than I could ever get out of having skin that didn't need moisturiser. Indeed, a life without hot baths is no life at all.