Brightness while the dark nights drag

One look at LFW made me feel more warm and fuzzy than any other and that was the poppy lips at Temperley's London comeback show. Usually autumn/winter shows are plum pallette with a smattering of nude and scarlet when it comes to le pout. But the vibrant red at the English designer's show gave the more substantial designs of the colder season a lightness and youthful glamour that is sometimes absent in the a/w collections.

So, how do you get this look? Well, achieving a beautiful poppy pout in all in the prep. Exfoliate lips using a product like Daniel Sandler's lip exfoliator or if money's tight use a toothbrush to give lips a light scrub. The main thing before lipstick application to make sure kissers are as smooth as possible. Mr Sandler has also created a wonderful lip primer pencil which stops colour bleeding and makes lipstick smooth on like a dream.

If you don't have a primer, apply a quality, non-greasy lip balm like Lanolips ointment and leave this to soften the skin for a few minutes. And then, it's time for the main event: the wonderful poppy red.

I recommend Gay Geranium from Boots No. 7 range (see right). A designer friend - who knows a thing or two when it comes to fashion, rouge and style - bought it for me last year and wouldn't you know it? She predicted it would become a big deal round about now. It's matte, bright, long-lasting and easy to apply.
Like Temperley's beautiful models, keep the rest of your face fresh and don't overdo it with base, blusher or eye make-up. Primer is a must to achieve the enviable skin required to make this colour shine.
Then wrap up warm (because it's still chilly outside) and let your fashion-forward pout do the talking.
(Temperley London pics from www.elleuk.com)

The skinny on tea

Like anyone who doesn't have naturally beautiful skin, I'll try anything to achieve a blemish-free dewy glow. Moisturisers, serums, masks - even those gag-inducing teas promising health and vitality. They might smell slightly vomit-esque but who doesn't find the idea of a detox in a cup alluring? But here's the thing - it's absolute nonsense. When it comes to your health and beauty, says one tea expert, you are better off drinking a mug on plain old builders', because only black, green and white tea are proven to have antioxidants in them. And these are the little things that fight free radicals. Free radicals damage cells and lead to premature ageing.

Bill Gorman, chairman of the British Tea Council, says: “Herbal infusions don’t have the antioxidants a cup of green, black or white tea does. There's no proof they have any benefits apart from being hydrating and warming. Black tea comes from the same plant as green and white. They have the same level of antioxidants and operate in the same way.”

Since moving to Suffolk, I've swapped champagne for tea and am currently spending my evenings with a pot of cha' and Anna Karenina. I got my teapot from a Chinese market in New York last summer and recently spent a fortune in Whittard on loose tea green, white and black tea with jasmine, rose and pomegranate. I'm a sucker for accessories and the ritual of it all makes it feel special. I'm sure my perfect skin will show up any day now...

Ballerina beautiful

There is a performance venue in Ipswich called Dance East which has one of the most enchanting pieces of art I've seen in a while. It captures the delicacy, beauty and strength of dance and dazzles with colour and texture.

The light stretches from floor to ceiling and is constructed using real ballerina tutus sourced in Russia.

Dreamlike, inspired and completely functional in its simplicity, the sight of this piece on the town's waterfront made the rainy Suffolk day dissolve and my imagination come alive. Then, passing a newsagent's on the way home I saw this:

And this:

Both my stories, my face was a smug little picture all the way home.

Home sweet home

For the past seven weeks I've lived out of boxes as my boyfriend Simon and I waited to get the keys to our new flat. Initially we lived in his flat with his flatmate Luke, which was not so bad, but essentially a boys' abode and unfit for female habitation. Then we stayed at his mum and dad's house which was warm, had a full fridge and a cat called Cecil. All of these three things are incredibly desirable aspects of any living environment if you ask me. But, on February 13th we finally moved into our first place together in Churchman's Lofts, Ipswich. It turns out I really do have a lot of beauty products.

After unpacking we decided to make mussels. This is how it went.