Hello Tom Ford Lipstick!

Blogs On A Budget

It is not easy being a beauty blogger on a budget, but the more I see of www.latestinbeauty.com, the more I think it is a brilliant idea for bloggers who want to try the newest beauty products, but finances say nah. As I understand it, you become a member (free), and receive a box of samples every month tailored to you. You do have to text in to receive your box and that costs £1 (to weed out those who try to order hundreds at a time!). I was given a sample box to have a look at (pictured above) and was actually pretty impressed. The contents are:

2 DKNY Delicious Night Body Lotion sachets
2 DKNY Delicious Night Perfume press and pop bubbles (no idea of technical term but think fragrance should be available anyway in these dinky little portions)
La Roche Posay Toleriane Riche 5ml (plus a voucher to receive a travel size product if you complete a La Roche questionnaire)
1 Vial of Prescences de Bach; the fragrances made by the same people that do Bach Flower Remedies.

Samples vary from month to month. Everyone wins - the brands get their samples out to people who really want them (plus there is the obvious added bonus of not having to BEG at counter), and consumers get to trial products without an initial hefty outlay. Nice.

www.latestinbeauty.com

Bobbi Brown Brow Pencil

I'm definitely a little lazy when it comes to my eyebrows - and break into a run at the sight of a brow bar (away from, not toward!), but one of my favourite products this year is this Bobbi Brow Pencil. It is soft, defines the brows, stays put all day, makes my brows look neater, darker and just, well, more groomed. Nothing more to say, but it ticks all the boxes. £13.50.

Le Metier Petit Poudrier Palettes

Unfortunately, these fabulous little limited edition credit card sized palettes, called Petit Poudrier from fab luxury brand Le Metier de Beaute are currently USA only as a Neiman Marcus exclusive: no idea why, but nonetheless, if you can bear the shipping or are planning a trip, they are definitely something to look out for - I love the idea that they're slender and teeny-weeny compact - perfect for evenings out when you can't fit your whole make up bag into a clutch. I love all the innovative ideas that are coming from this brand but don't love that they forgot us Brits want to buy them too! The Palettes shown are Cream Face Kit in Chic and Shimmer and Eye Tint Kit in Safari Chic , but among the ten palettes available there are Face Tint Palettes and Lip Tint Palettes.

Edward Bess Update

Ok, so Zu (www.zuneta.com) is in New York shooting two looks for her site and the forthcoming Edward Bess launch. She's sent this exclusive shot of EB and model Valiya taken in Bergdorf Goodman. Jealous doesn't cover it.

Now You See It...

A pretty obvious idea by Estee Lauder CEO, Fabrizio Freda, has caused something of a stir in prestige beauty circles. Showing prices at the counter has been an absolute no-no for years....now I think about it, I can't understand why it hasn't been questioned before. There are very few goods that one is expected to have to make contact with a sales member to find out the price...and of course, once that contact has been made, the sales talk can begin. But, at last, someone influential has finally, finally cottoned on to the fact that if a consumer can't see the price of something, they may make an assumption that it is too expensive for them and literally walk on by. In trial stores in the USA where prices on the Lauder counters were readily displayed, customers were surprised that it was all far more affordable that they'd been expecting. Fabrizio also says, 'Women want to play with products without being disturbed by a consultant.' Halleluja. Someone.Finally.Gets.It. We knew for years that we'd like to look at a lipgloss unmolested, know the price before we fall in love and not be embarrassed into buying something that's really too expensive because it all gets a bit too hard to say no. Of course, if Fabrizio's plans roll out everywhere, other beauty brands will fall into an agony of indecision about whether they too should do the unthinkable - inform their customers.

But before we all fall upon Fabrizio as a lone voice of common sense, he's also got plans to axe 2000 jobs. Ouch. With profits at $256.2 million, I think Mr Freda, you don't really need to do that.

Wakey, Wakey YSL! YSL Top Secrets FlashTouch Wake Up Eye Care

There's a bit of a trend for roller ball eye applicators right now but this one from YSL looks pretty good to me. Although I don't believe for a nano-second that using a metal ball has any effect other than a nice cooling feeling, the formula for this is said to increase hydration (15% after two hours, 40% after 8 hours), banish puffiness and reduce dark circles. Basically, the same deal as any of the other metal ball roller eye pens, but in way, way nicer packaging. More interesting to note though, is that it doesn't contain parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, pthalates, GMOs or Triclosan.