#MakeoverTheWorld: cruelty free beauty for super sensitive skin

Now, let's get something straight here: I'm no beauty blogger.

I don't have the knowledge to write with any authority whatsoever on cosmetic products and, frankly, I'm not interested enough in them to care.

I am interested in animal welfare though and Makeover The World - a fantastic campaign that my ridiculously talented colleagues at the RSPCA have been working on - has made me pay a bit more attention to the products I'm using.

The aim of the campaign is to end the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients on animals worldwide (extending the ban that was introduced in the EU in 2009). I have to be honest, before I started work at the RSPCA I thought cosmetics testing on animals was dead, full stop. And I think a lot of other people think that too. Sadly not. Around 27,000 animals still suffer in the name of our beauty every year. In some countries - China, I'm looking at you - it's actually illegal to sell cosmetics that haven't been tested on animals. Which is all kinds of unnecessary and cruel.

I don't want to use products from companies that test on animals. I don't want to add to their suffering.

I have a problem though - my horrible, prone-to-bad-eczema skin. I'll spare you the itchy, scabby details but I am so allergic to so many things. It's taken me more than 10 years to find a foundation I'm not allergic to (MAC, not cruelty free). There's only one moisturiser I can use on the most badly affected part of my body, my hands (Aveeno, owned by Johnson and Johnson, not cruelty free). If I so much as think about using a (cruelty free) Lush product my skin starts to peel from my body. It sucks, basically.

That said, I still want to do my bit. It's taken some hunting but I've found some cruelty free products that I'm not allergic too - and some that don't go on my skin. They're all purse friendly too as they're from high street favourites Superdrug and M&S, both of whom have cheap, cruelty free own brand ranges.

Here are my favourites:

M&S Limited Collection quick dry nail polish in mauve

Apologies for the terrible finish on this mani - I applied it at night and fell asleep before the topcoat was dry! Anyway, this is a lovely, bright, summery purple. The polish is quite thin so you can build up layers to make it as opaque as you like. It's really hard wearing too - mine lasted a week before the first chip appeared. And it cost the grand sum of £3.50. I also bought it in aqua marine, a lovely dark turqiosy-green which I haven't really tried yet but looks lovely in the bottle.

Superdrug B. First base coat

I'm a recent but passionate convert to Superdrug's premium own brand, B. This base coat is fab - long wearing, nice consistency, easy to apply. I use it as a top coat too (see, told you I'm not a beauty blogger) and it gives a lovely high gloss finish, assuming you can stay awake long enough for it to dry. It's a steal at £4.99.

M&S Limited Collection Holly Sharpe blusher brush

I hate buying makeup brushes and really resent spending money on them. M&S ones are great though and this one is considerably more fun - and orange - than the average. The angled bristles are great for applying blusher evenly and are lovely and soft. It'll set you back £5.

Superdrug Tea Tree spot stick

I've always had a tea tree spot stick in my skin care inventory and this one is lovely. At £2.99 it's also one of the cheapest. It comes with a little foam applicator stick and is a nice consistency (ie not too sticky). It doesn't smell as horrifically strong as some brands either.

 

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Weekend Wishlist

Just the one piece on my wishlist this weekend, but boy is it a beaut...

Oscar De La Renta Embroidered tulle and silk-faille gown

Isn't this spectacular? I'm obsessed with this gown. It's princess, it's punk, it's YELLOW. Not yellow, YELLOW. I love the combination of YELLOW and black; when it's done right it's just show stopping (admittedly when it's not done right it looks like a bee). The pinned at the waist tulle creates a gorgeous shape and some extra drama. Stunning

Unsurprisingly it's currently sold out, but should you have occasion to need a YELLOW ball gown at some point in the future - and I like to think everyone will, one day - and are as in love with this one as I am it'll set you back £9,360 from Net-a-Porter.

 

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Weekend Wishlist

Spring has finally sprung in West Sussex and I'm lusting after bright colours and summery cuts.

This is the first time I've created an outfit for my Wishlist and I think it's a corker...

Preen by Thornton Bregazzi Issy printed stretch-crepe dress

I love how clean and fresh this dress looks. The funky geometric print is so fun. It's a perfect desk-to-dinner dress as well and I love fashion that's hard working.

Want it? It's £725 from my beloved Net-a-Porter.


Roland Mouret leather and suede pumps

Bright pink and white is one of my favourite colour combinations - it stops the pink looking too Barbie and the white looking too boring. Loving the gold detail on the heel too.

Another for the Net-a-Porter wishlist, these babies are £495.

Victoria Beckham textured leather mini satchel

Another amazing VB pink bag. Love the slightly contrasting coloured strap and the silver hardware. Adjustable straps always score bonus points from me too. 

Get ye to NaP again, this one's £825.

Weekend Wishlist

This week I'm all about fun and quirky pieces.

Charlotte Olympia Flashback brass and textured leather clutch

Just so cute. It's the tiny details as well as the overall glorious kitchness of this piece that I love - the Swarovski crystal flash, the 'smile!' inscription over the lense, the little heart shaped view finder. Adorbs.

Want it? It's from Net-a-Porter and £1395.

Anya Hindmarch Crisp Packet gold-tone clutch

Oh god I love this. Quirky as it may be, it still feels more like a piece of art than a bag. It also somehow manages to be understated, which shouldn't be possible for what is essentially a gold crisp packet.

It's sold out basically everywhere, but you can theoretically get it a NaP for £995.

Markus Lupfer Meow printed cotton-jersey sweatshirt

Markus Lupfer always does amazing, fun knitwear and this, well, this is a jumper covered in cats. What more do you need to know?

Get it at NaP for £170.

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Oscars: Best Dressed

I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit disappointed with the Oscars red carpet fashion. I mean it wasn't a car crash like the Grammys or the Brits, but it was all just a bit safe.

Don't get me wrong, basically everyone looked really pretty. There wasn't anyone who got it really wrong, but there weren't many people who got it breathtakingly right either. Even Lupita Nyong'o wasn't doing it for me - her ice blue Prada gown was lovely and she looked beautiful, but it wasn't an 'ohmigod wow' moment for me like her other awards season gowns were. (I was super chuffed to see her walk away with her Oscar though, so deserved.)

Anyway, my favourites...

Kate Hudson in Atelier Versace

This was the one serious wow moment for me. I love the cape detail and the shoulder pads - it's 80s but good 80s. The perfect plunge neck, lovely draping around the waist and impeccable styling lift this look above everyone else.

Sandra Bullock in Alexander McQueen

I think I've mentioned my love of navy blue before on this blog and this look is a great example of why I love it. This is old Hollywood glamour at it's very best. A relatively simple but luxe gown, perfectly cut and expertly styled. Lovely stuff.

 

Amy Adams in Gucci Première

Another fantastic navy look. I love the simplicity here - no fuss, just a perfectly cut gown on a beautiful woman. The minimal detailing on the bust proves that less is very often more when it comes to draping too.

 

Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé

Blanchett and Armani Privé is the sort of celeb-designer red carpet pairing that makes J-Law and Dior Couture even more depressing (though I thought last night's offering was one of the more successful examples of that relationship). I love the delicate embellishment and the just-the-right-amount sheerness of this gown. Stunning jewels too.

 

Naomi Watts in Calvin Klein Collection

A masterclass in subtle embellishment. A beautiful, elegant gown expertly styled. I adore the clutch too.

 

All images here.

 

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Review: Brendan Cole - Licence to Thrill

Up close, Brendan Cole has a really nice arse.

I know this because, apparently, in Croydon row C of a theatre is the front row and so it was that I found myself getting an excellent view of Mr Cole and all of his appealing features when I saw his tour Licence to Thrill last week.

Now, I’m going to try really hard to not make this post a straight up Brendan’s tour vs Anton’s tour post but – having seen all six of Anton’s tours and being a devoted Antonette – there’s a certain inevitability that that’s what it will become.

So let’s get one thing out of the way first: I preferred and will always prefer Anton’s 100% ballroom tours. Brendan’s tours incorporate Latin and ballroom dances, with an emphasis on the former, and I just don’t like the Latin as much. It doesn’t matter how well they’re danced or who is dancing them, they just don’t do it for me.

That said, if you do want to see a show that incorporates the full range of the dances you see on Strictly then you could certainly do far worse than checking out LTT. It’s a really fun show with a great party atmosphere and some stand out numbers. You have to wait until Act 2 for all of them, but the cape dance (basically a man only paso doble; much like most of the sports in the winter Olympics, I don’t understand the point but man was it fun to watch), the Dirty Dancing tribute number complete with iconic lift and the mind bendingly fast jive to Footloose that closes the show are all fantastic.

Brendan is a great dancer too and you certainly get more of a sense of his personality – and that he’s enjoying himself – in his dances than you do in Anton’s. My dislike of the genre aside, I love watching his fast Latin on Strictly and it’s even better up close and personal. The ballroom numbers were lovely too, especially the simple and romantic waltz.

His supporting cast, including fellow Strictly pro Aliona Vilani (who I was amazingly un-annoyed by) and Brendan’s older brother Scott amongst others – are generally pretty good too. Music is provided by two singers (female good, male a slightly cringey amalgamation of every Heart FM DJ ever who carries a tune quite nicely) and a decent band, under the direction of a delightfully deadpan musical director/pianist/MC.  

For all the fun of the show, it’s definitely not as polished as Anton’s (sorry, I am trying). There were a number of quite noticeable mistakes in the dancing, my favourite being Scott Cole coming very close to dropping his partner at one point, and the music. It’s always awkward when a trumpeter splits a note so badly during a solo that the sharp intake of breath from the audience is audible. There are also, for my money, a couple of pretty ropey routines. The ‘girls vs boys’ section springs to mind, especially the ‘girls’ portion which consisted of a weird burlesque routine, to the strains of a slowed down version of The Locomotion, with a dollop of lipstick lesbianism thrown in for good measure. I didn’t get it and I never want to see it again. I did want to see more of Brendan though – it felt like there was a lot of reliance on the backing dancers to pad out the show and mask costume changes and if I was a diehard Brendan fan I would probably have been a bit pissed off.

The night I saw the show, though, all of my nitpicking was put to one side as we got a massive treat. Sophie Ellis Bextor was in the audience and turned up in the second act Q&A to dance her amazing Charleston with Brendan. If you thought this was a great routine on TV, it was magical in the flesh. I genuinely feel incredibly lucky to have seen it, and it was lovely to see all of the other dancers watching from the wings with proud big brother Scott recording it on his ipad. It may have only been a few minutes in a two hour show, but it was worth the price of the ticket all on its own.

Licence to Thrill is touring the UK throughout February and March and is certainly worth a look. Try and get front row seats if you appreciate a nice arse. 

Weekend Wishlist

I'm all about the accessories this week...

 

Givenchy Obsedia tote

Givenchy's bags are to die for at the moment. I love the beautiful detail on the silver catch. The satchel sharp and clean lines make this an object of serious lust for me.

Want? It's from Net-a-Porter for £1650.

 

Amedeo rose gold-plated, sardonyx shell and diamond monkey cameo ring

I mean it's a monkey in a crown and a ruff. What more do you need to know?! I love the chunky rose gold setting too.

Does this drive you bananas (sorry)? It's Net-a-Porter again and will set you back £1260.

 

PB0110 leather backpack

I'm a sucker for a good backpack and this cyan leather beauty is just great. The colour and clean lines do it for me, plus the hardy leather would make it an excellent investment piece.

Want it? It's from Selfridges and a relative snip at £340. (My birthday's coming up, by the way.)

 

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