Jo Loves... March
Jo loves... a soothing eye de-bagger, a gorgeous new lipstick, divine 'designer' fragrant body treats and a skintone-evening serum...
When I had lunch with the lovely PR for Marni's new fragrance, she told me that it had been a universal 'wow' with my fellow beauty editors - and I am seriously not surprised. Heavens, this is wearable! Soft, sensual, spicily woodsy, pulsing with 'black rose' and with a touch of incense in there. It's not girly-girly - in fact, I can imagine a man borrowing this (if only my husband wore fragrance, which he virtually never does... Sob.) It's a long, long while since I found myself 'layering' a fragrance with the matching shower products (used on a sponge in the bath, by me), and body lotion (see pix above). But these are accurate representations of the fragrance itself - that's not always the case - and are just excuses, really, for me to wallow in Marni bliss a little more. (My spraying's getting a little compulsive...!)
• Marni Body Lotion and Shower Gel/£36 and £43 at www.harrods.com - buy here
I've long been convinced that it's physical action - the tapping of teaspoons, the smoothing of a rollerball - which really work to banish fluid from the eye zone. And this is a great discovery: not new - but a recent reorganisation of my bathroom cabinet (which I can thoroughly recommend) put it on my radar. There are three little ball-bearing-y things at the top of the tube which, as you roll them over bags and puffiness, physically massage away fluids. I like the cooling texture, and while I can't tell if it's helping turn back the clock, it's certainly made me look less weary. LOVE the feeling, as it glides over skin...
• AD Skin Synergy Perfect Eyes/£28 for 15 ml at www.victoriahealth.com - buy here
The aforementioned, super-tidy cupboard has a whole section on serums I'm meant to be trying, but I just can't wean myself off this. (Hah! That's why Beauty Bible has all our lovely testers: so we don't have to try e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!) It's not so much a serum, more an (Asian-inspired) 'water', which I've been smoothing on before my moisturiser. You pat it into skin - and at the same time, I breathe deeply, to get the most out of the wonderful essential oils: lemon balm, orange peel, rose... I think - I THINK - it is having a skintone-evening effect, making my underlying colour slightly less red. But it's the pleasure factor which has me hooked, frankly.
• This Works No Wrinkles Wonder Essence/£30 for 60 ml atwww.victoriahealth.com -buy here
This just featured as a prize in our Chantecaille prize draw - and I think it deserves a wee prize of its own, in the lipstick stakes. I generally find lipsticks very drying, but this is packed, packed, packed with shea butter so it feels unbelievably comfortable on the lips. The shade I'm mad for is a deep, striking pink called Rose Délice, which actually glides on to leave lips comfortably slicked with a dark cherry sheery shiny finish.
• Chantecaille Lip Chic/£30 at www.uk.spacenk.com - buy here