Its back again this season…. as it was in 2009, we just can’t get enough of it!

GOLD GOLD GOLD

We all love glamour and gold optimises glamour, think to all those brands we love they generally have a GOLD collection or gold within their branding.. YSL, Chanel, Burberry and not forgetting gold reflects by the wonderful MAC, gold  just has to be once again make a key feature of your make up wardrobe.

I remember when a makeup artist friend of mine was so obsessed with putting gold eye shadow on me for a new look she was trying out, oh my days it was heavenly , I personally live in the traditional black only with occasion MAC reflects Smokey eye adore everything about the Smokey eye, those of you who know me will know my obsession with liner and mascara so adding in gold was like a complete no no for me personally but it was fabulous – she actually was the very makeup artist that inspired me to follow in her footsteps…. so if you have blue eyes, as I do,  it totally makes your eyes pop out and is a beautiful enhancement to the traditional Smokey eye, it adds drama and sophistication perfect for this seasons looks.

• Dior – Timeless Gold Nail Varnish, Gold Edition 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Set (new evening gold collection)
• Make Up Store (Westfield) – Gold Digger Eye Pencil, Gold Glow eye shadow
• MAC – Gorgeous Gold eye shadow, Reflects Gold
• Chanel - Gold (aptly named) eye shadow

Go gold crazy this season M&E xx

Xen Tan

So…as the clocks go back and with it, we banish our gladiator sandals to the deepest, darkest corners of our wardrobes, it would be easy to let ourselves slip into a state of un-trimmed, un-polished and un-groomed chaos. Thankfully, a small glimmer of hope landed on my desk in the form of Xen Tan (

First impression? I’ll be honest it looks rather alarming; think mushed green lentils and cabbage. However, it smells simply divine - like a particular brand of vanilla corner yoghurt – YUM! If I wasn’t on yet another diet, I’d have been tempted to spread this on a digestive biscuit  - despite its dubious colour!  It’s a surprisingly scrumptious change to the overpowering chemical smell, which all too frequently wafts past whilst out throwing shapes on a Saturday night (and sometimes when my colleagues walk past me in the office…no need to mention names, you know who you are!)

Tried and tested by my work peers, not to mention a firm favourite amongst Celebrity’s such as Gok Wan, we all agreed that the colour was even although not particularly dark, but then we don’t want to be walking round tanned up like Peter Andre in the “mysterious girl” days, do we?

Easy to apply (no Micky J gloves required) the tan went on smoothly and left my skin feeling moisturized and dewy. Although the bottle states 3-4 hours development time, I didn’t fully appreciate the colour until the next day so would recommend doing this the day before you wish to look bronzed! It lasted approximately 2-3 days before I returned to my normal – Mortitia like – complexion.

Overall…a delightfully fragranced tanner, which I would recommend to most skin types but particularly for pale to medium bodies.