The Fashion & Beauty Boutique: MSN Life & Style Blog

It's that time again where we say thank you to everyone for all your comments on this here blog. And a special thanks to everyone who replied to the post WHO STOLE GRANDDAD'S PRESENT - it seems there are many people out there who have experienced things going missing in the post - and there really needs to be a clampdown on the few rogue posties out there who are giving the system a very bad name.

 

Eileen said: "I agree there are a few toerags out there who help themselves to the contents of the post, it has happened to me twice now and both times the Royal Mail has not been at all interested and more or less brushed my complaint under the carpet, no wonder they are having to close much needed post offices down and are being privatised."

 

While Cheesed-Off from Chichester added: "I buy a lot of things from Ebay and pay for recorded delivery which is money wasted when the postie doesn't bother to get me to sign for delivery.  I used to complain when things arrived damaged or unsigned-for and always got the same standard letter back saying they were terribly sorry and assuring me it wouldn't happen again. Now, every time I receive a parcel with a recorded delivery sticker on it which the postie hasn't bothered to get me to sign, I wait a few days, check the tracking number online, which always comes back as "untraceable" and then claim for the parcel.  They can't prove it's been delivered as they have no signature, so they have to pay up."

 

Hair straighteners became the other big issue of the month - and in particular, Remington's Wet2Straight hair straighteners, which cut out the middle man after the shower - that being the hairdryer.

 

"These straighteners are great!!!," commented one reader. "I have really frizzy thick kinda curlyish hair and they worked really well! Of course they work best with products such as heat protection sprays and stuff - and sometimes I need 'frizz serum' stuff as well, but still, they are amazing!!!"

 

But H had this sage advice for lovers of hair-straightening "The best way to use heated hair stylers is to use good quality shampoo, conditioner, serums, and thermal protection spray and most importantly DRY YOUR HAIR BEFORE STRAIGHTENING OR CURLING IT!"

 

It seems the jury's still out on the best way to straighten hair - and different types of hair may work better with different types of straighteners. Our best advice is to ask your hair dresser what kind of straightener would best suit your hair type as they are the experts!

 

Finally - thank you to everyone who replied to our Gorgeously grey eyes post. It's great to get advice from everyone on where we can find the little beauty products that can seem difficult to difficult to track down at first.

 

Bestest,

 

Nic x

 

Say it isn’t so…

Shock horror. Surely it can't be true! The death of the heel? But according to new research 95% of women questioned in the UK don’t wear heels and more than 3 in 5 do not know how to do their make-up! Is this end of femininity? Are the elegant days of Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe lost for ever?

Worryingly a further quarter of women admit to regularly leaving the house without brushing their teeth. Errrr dentist anyone? So has every lady turned to a ladette? Is elegance lost in the UK?

The research carried out by Bold 2in1 White Diamond & Lotus Flower suggests that women are blaming a lack of time and money, and a shocking third stating they ‘just can’t be bothered to try’. This may explain why a quarter of women do not remember the last time they felt elegant.

Despite this, 8 out of 10 women wish they could be more elegant in every day life. So in response, this summer the snappily titled Bold 2in1 White Diamond & Lotus Flower Elegance Boutique will be touring UK cities with a team of hair, make-up, wardrobe and perfume experts to help introduce a touch of elegance to women’s life and laundry.  For more information and advice, as well as the chance to win an exclusive limited edition ISSA wrap, visit www.indulgewithbold.com.

Loving high heels: Rachel Bilson

 

Is a question I’ve been asking myself since I posted an M&S card with £30 of vouchers on it to 82-year-old Bert.

You see, somewhere in between me posting granddad’s voucher card (which was inside an M&S card, inside a birthday card) and it reaching granddad’s mitts, SOMEONE decided to open the envelope, remove said vouchers, reseal the envelope and send it on.

Now this is not the first time this has happened to me – or undoubtedly anyone else. And it won’t be the last. Only last month I posted a parcel to my friend who is having a tough time working under lockdown conditions at the British Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. It was a simple parcel of fashion mags, books and a whopping great big bar of chocolate. It’s free to send stuff to British Embassies because of the great work people are doing out there in them. So, you wouldn’t normally send something registered delivery. But did it get there? Did it hell.

A few years ago my too-trusting Dad put some money in a birthday card for me and sent it via post. Of course it never arrived. And nowadays nobody would dream of doing such a thing. But the thing is, when I was little, I used to get sent fivers and tenners in the mail from my aunts and uncles for all my birthdays up until I was about fifteen. So why can’t we do it now?

The thing that really got me about Granddad’s present though, was that it said ‘Granddad’ on the card. And that someone dared to help themselves to a present that belonged to an elderly man. That stung.

Anyway, the point of this rant is this: I wrote to the postal service and they said that because Royal Mail has all been privatised etc, they can’t do anything about it. Instead we all have to pay through the nose for special delivery to stop people pilfering presents out of our letters or parcels. (And for the record, I know that 99.9 per cent of the people that deliver our post are wonderful honest and good people, it's just that a few scumbags are really badly letting the side down.)

But on mum’s advice, I also wrote to M&S, enclosing a receipt for said vouchers. Now it’s not M&S’s fault that someone stole them, but gawd bless that store, their people looked into the matter, saw that the vouchers hadn’t yet been used, cancelled them and sent me a replacement (recorded delivery, natch). Now how nice is that? What customer service! I was already a big fan of M&S (partly owing to the fact that our office is situated right over one) and always go there for lunch food. But I am so impressed, I’m going to make a concerted effort to think of them more when I need clothes/flowers/anything they sell. So thank you M&S. You are my new favourite store.

 

 

Toni & Guy’s label.m shampoo has been a favourite of mine for about four years. Ever since Catherine (my favourite colourist who has a magic way with highlights) recommended it to me, I’ve bought it as a special treat when my hair has been looking a bit lacklustre. (I use the Cleanse and Repair formula, which is great for anyone who has a partial addiction to hair straighteners, by the way.)

Now, since organic is becoming the way forward in the beauty industry, label.m has just launched its first ever certified organic range: label.m Organic. Featuring a moisturising lemongrass shampoo and conditioner which both smell deliciously citrus, this pair are also both free from artificial fragrances, sulphates, pigments, parabens and harsh surfactants such as SLS.

The shampoo costs £12.25 for 300ml and contains quince, oats and rice milk powder to deliver hydrating moisture, while soothing the scalp without surface build-up. The conditioner costs £16.75 and contains shea butter, rice bran and petigrain leaf oils to target dry/damaged areas.

Packaged in 100 per cent recyclable plastic, the range comes in minimally styled, neutral-toned, flip lid bottles and is available at all Toni & Guy and essensuals salons, or call 0870 770 8080 for stockists.