REVIEW - Champneys Thai Royale Body Polish

Last week I was kindly given a tub of the new Champneys Thai Royale Body Polish and today I gave it a whirl. Funnily enough, body scrub was on my shopping list anyway, I just hadn't got round to buying one yet. I love the smooth skin feeling that you get after you've just used a scrub because it makes you feel that bit more alive and invigorated. I don't enjoy that gritty feeling that seems to stay in the bath no matter how many times you rinse it, but it's a small price to pay for radiant skin.

The Thai Royale Body Polish smells delightful and feels gorgeous on the skin. Instead of sugar or salt it contains ground rice particles for gentle but effective exfoliation. The pot costs £10 but will last you a little while so makes for a guilt-free treat now and again. Other products in the range include a body cream, shower cream, bubble float and beauty oil and I'd definitely consider trying some of them or buying them as a gift for mum this Mother's Day.

I also had one of the manicurists give me a Champneys manicure which 1 week later is only just starting to chip, very impressed with that! I chose a nail polish in Damson which coincidentally almost matched the Thai Royale product range's packaging perfectly. The nail polish is durable and glossy and it lasted well even though I gave my nails no special attention. They sell at £5 which isn't too steep in my opinion. My nails weren't in great condition just due to winter weather but I'll be making sure I carry my cuticle oil around with me to combat dryness and flaking.

Champneys home nail polish tips:

• For salon-perfect nails ensure nail tips are smooth, even and nails are clean.
• First apply a base coat to the nail and allow to dry. This will prevent your nails from yellowing and make your nail colour last longer.
• For best results apply two thin coats of colour over the base coat. The first coat of lacquer instantly bonds to the nails and the second coat fuses with the first to create a flexible web of colour that resists brittleness and chipping.
• Ideally, finish with a single layer of clear top coat to help seal the colour and extend the life of your nail colour.

Visit the Champneys website for more info on treatments and products.

MAKE-UP - Lauren Luke Creates Sienna's Look

Re-create Sienna Miller’s glamorous red carpet look with the help of You Tube make-up phenomenon Lauren Luke.

This year's Orange Rising Star Award nominees are Jesse Eisenberg, Nicholas Hoult, Carey Mulligan, Tahar Rahim and Kristen Stewart. Orange’s accolade for up and coming talent is the only award at the Orange British Academy Film Awards to be voted for by the public, that's us! To vote for your favourite nominee to win visit orange.co.uk/bafta. The 2010 Orange Rising Star Winner will be unveiled on Sunday 21 February 2010 at the Orange British Academy Film Awards.

I've followed Lauren's story since seeing her appear on TV earlier on in her 'Youtube' journey and you can see the other 4 Red Carpet looksshe created for Orange over here.

A single mum from South Shields, she's rapidly become an internet sensation. Lauren is now the most subscribed YouTube member in the UK, her YouTube channel panacea81 has received more than 68 million hits from across the world. Since she began uploading her make up tutorials in 2007 Lauren has amassed a loyal following of 300,000 fans.

Lauren Luke says: “I really enjoyed re-creating these five Orange Rising Star make up looks. Each look is really different and great fun to copy, get your make-up brushes at the ready and follow my tips to look like a star.”

CONTEST - Win a Pair of Louboutins

Here's a little something for shoe lovers. Each Tuesday from midnight to midnight, throughout February, Galaxy FM will be giving away a pair of high end shoes as part of their Shoesday contest, this week it's a pair of Christian Louboutins.

In order to enter the draw they are asking participants to upload a picture of the shoes they're wearing on Tuesday to the Galaxy Facebook fan page -www.facebook.com/galaxyfm.  10 pictures will then be picked at random and users are asked to vote for their favourite pair on the Galaxy site from Wednesday through to Sunday.  The winner each week will be announced the following Monday.

Good luck!

STYLE - Dressing for a Valentine's Date

You could be going somewhere a bit fancy or just heading to the cinema, but either way, it's good to plan out a nice outfit. I've come up with two looks, one for dressing things up and the other to keep it casual... I tried to get some on-trend nude and natural shades in there to give people an idea on how they might wear them this season. It's not the easiest of palettes to wear.

Dressed-down date by The Style PA 

A pair of skinny jeans can be a life saver so always have a pair to hand. Long line tops and layering gives the illusion of effortless dressing but is both flattering and fashionable. Mixing nudes, with pink and taupe shades is a big trend right now and you just need to have  few options in your wardrobe to mix and match them.

Dressed-up date by The Style PA featuring Miu Miu shoes

A classic black dress in a feminine shape is always ideal for dinner in a fancy restaurant. Wearing such a statement jacket means that jewellery needs to be kept fairly simple which is why I chose elegant silver pieces. I really, really love that dress by the way... one day I will wear McQueen!

Which look is your favourite? What would your dream date outfit look like?

VIDEO - Principles by Ben de Lisi Catwalk Presentation

I was lucky enough to be at the recent Principles by Ben de Lisi catwalk presentation. It's a totally classy collection of modern daywear that Ben de Lisi has put his own stamp on. There were so many pieces that I would buy tomorrow - look out for the little black shift dress with shoulder detailing, the blue slinky jersey dress and a divine tipped, belted mac. Best of all (for short people like me) there's an extensive range for petites too. Oh and in the video you'll spot a couple of famous faces, Alan Carr and Graham Norton.

I used to buy clothes from the original Principles, even though it wasn't really aimed at my age group. Anyone can appreciate well designed clothes that are cut to flatter so as soon as it arrives I'm hitting the shops.

To find out where Principles will be stocked and when view the stockist info.

CAMPAIGN - Armani Exchange SS10

 

Our mags are beginning to be filled with visions of summer and I got an email about Armani Exchange's SS10 campaign featuring some rather impressive abs - they are surely painted on?! The theme has a real 'Lost' feel about it except these models don't look shipwrecked, more like they've ventured off for some rough and tumble in the LA waves. I'm loving the almost white-washed denim teamed with casual vests and shirts. Get ready for more beach scenes, bikinis and micro-mini skirts in your mags very soon. This brand isn't exactly featuring trends, it's more about the style essentials that will see you through summer.

The models are Irina Shayk, Marlon Teixeira, Tamiris Souza Freitas, Clint Mauro, and Tomas Skoloudik . The campaign was styled by Priscilla Polley, hair by Neil Moodie, and make-up by Virginia Young.

  

 

GADGET - Testing Out The Nokia N97 Mini

I've been giving the Nokia N97 Mini a try this week, so it's about time I let you guys know what I thought of it. And just to clarify, this isn't a techie, spec based review. It's my perspective on the usability and features of the phone... there are plenty of technology blogs that can do the tech talk better than I can.

As a blogger on the go, I can't live without internet access on my phone now. Twitter, Google maps and search engines are all invaluable tools for my everyday life and I need access to them whenever the situation arises. There are many phones that can do all of these things - my current phone is the G1 Android - so I was interested to see how the Nokia N97 Mini compared.

The phone feels really solid and well made with a sturdy sliding screen which reveals a mini keyboard - handy for texting, twitter and the like. It's also got touch screen functionality so you can still use the phone with the keyboard panel hidden away.The touch screen is pretty easy to use but sometimes there was a slight delay after touching something before it opened, but perhaps that's just me being very impatient. I really am dreadfully impatient!

The start page is customisable and allows you to keep track of things like Facebook with ease. I much prefer scrolling through the application icons than using the start page just because there are too many applications that I use regularly to fit on the front page - I'd rather keep it quite clutter-free. But it is handy to be able to put your most dialled contacts right there on the front page for ease of access.

Web access was fairly fast and you can copy and paste text quite easily which is a plus, especially for avid social media fans. I was also really impressed with the phone's battery life which far exceeded my current phone so it would last a busy day commenting on Fashion week without a hitch. The number of applications that the phone comes with is impressive, everything from Youtube, Amazon, Myspace and Facebook to a handy podcasts area. A maps feature is definitely a must-have and this phone's got Ovi maps all built in so you won't get lost with your Nokia sidekick in hand.

The camera on the phone is fab and has a good flash, something which a lot of competing phones have not been able to offer, my own included. This is perfect for snapping and sending images straight up to Twitter even in poor light. Think of all those boozy nights out that could be instantly immortalised forever on the web, no wait... that might not be so good.

Overall I like the look of the phone and it's definitely pretty small and neat for what it can do. I wouldn't say it has won me over in terms of switching from my current phone though, but then it also depends on what kind of deals there are. I liked that there are so many applications already set-up for you to make it easy to maximise use of the phone. Just make sure your contract allows lots of internet access as almost everything this phone does will require it.

For all the buzz on Nokia gadgets visit WOMWorld.com/Nokia

SHOPPING - Top of The Playsuits

Black one shoulder playsuit - Red Herring (Special Edition) at Debenhams - £32

On Monday I bought this black playsuit from Red Herring at Debenhams. I wore it last night to the Aussie Australia Day party along with bright blue tights with black lace tights over the top, black strappy shoes and a black blazer. The cut seemed to flatter but I don't think I'll be wearing it without tights... it would show a vast expanse of my upper thigh and that just wouldn't be good. While shopping around I tried on a few other playsuits too including the two below...

Grey embellished neck playsuit - Miss Selfridge - £38

I loved this one from Miss Selfridge too, but the last one in my size had a broken zip and I knew I wanted to wear it for the Aussie party so I didn't really have time to try and find another. I may still get this one if funds allow.

 Blue smudge printed playsuit - Miss Selfridge - £38

This one veered dangerously into frump land. The length of the shorts was just too long to look cute and fun and it wasn't as flattering as the other two I tried. It also doesn't help that the neckline is high - just adds to the old-fashioned appearance when on.

Have you spotted any nice playsuits on the high street?

PARTY - Celebrating Australia Day with Aussie

 

The lovely people at Aussie decided to give me, Amy from Lipgloss 86 and Hannah from London Rose the chance to help organise a party to celebrate Australia day. It all took place at the Rainforest Cafe last night and I've explained what went on in the video above, along with what we took home in our goodie bags. Check out some of the photos from the night below...

STYLE - Would You Drive a Pink Car?

I asked this question on Twitter yesterday and most people said no they wouldn't drive a pink car. I'm the same, I would drive any other colour before pink but pink is the colour of the new Fiat 500. I got sent a little package with some photos and although, yes it looks like there has been real thought and attention to detail in the creation of the new car, it just isn't for me. If they said, we've made a black car, with coloured glittery bits (like Mariah's worktops) then I'd be queuing for a test-drive straight away.

Anyway, I don't like pink cars, but I'm sure plenty of girls would love one so I'll let you make up your own mind. If you decide it has to be yours, Fiat are taking preview orders online. If you are quick you can also watch the live streaming of David Sheath painting an entire Fiat 500 with nail varnish - www.pinkmyride.tv