About two weeks ago Times Inc. announced that In Style UK is to shut its print edition after 15 years. After selling its last issue in November, the magazine is turning 'digital only' after sales dropped considerably at the beginning of this year and the cost of publishing has gone up after the Brexit vote. It's hard to survive for any print media these days, but if you look at the monthly circulation of the print copy (121,000) compared to their monthly online traffic (10 million), the changeover becomes instantly understandable. Audience demands have changed significantly in the past few years and the time has come for In Style to act on it. Focusing on one channel only would give them the chance of boosting their content that could push them to a more dominant position in the the digital fashion and beauty world. They couldn't achieve this by insisting on printing the magazine. They will save on the huge costs of printing and distribution that will allow them to invest in rich, varied, 24-hour content. The tragic side of all immense changes like these are the job losses. The number of 'casualties' have not been reported yet but hopefully, they can minimize the hit as much as possible and give employees adequate support to find new roles within the company.
This brand transformation and the ambitions for captivating fashion lovers through bringing new, exciting, up to date online content every day is expected to bring a huge growth for In Style UK in 2017.
I have to say, I was a bit sad and I'm sure I said 'Oh, no, they can't do this!' out loud when I read about this. I was sad but not surprised at the same time. Call me old-fashioned, but I still find something incredibly comforting about curling up on the sofa with a giant mug of coffee reading the latest fashion magazines. Poring over the editorial images showcasing the work of make-up legends is what sparked my imagination years ago and made me become a make-up artist. To me having the tactile experience vs staring at the screen of my laptop is incomparable. Despite me pouting and stomping my feet about the fact that the digital world is taking over, I do understand that we have to embrace it. In the past few years, the fashion and beauty world went through a fundamental change especially in its ways of interacting with its audience. Online magazines, blogs, Youtube channels have been popping up like mushrooms everywhere. This unlimited and continuous flow of content and the accessibility of content shook the industry to the core - it got out of the control of a privileged few and opened it up to a wider public. Giving way to the digital world has many exciting elements to it that can lead to new innovations so I tend to find that adapting is worth so much more than sitting in our snug comfort zone which will never push us forward.
As I am waving adieu to In Style UK print edition, I look at my collection of the magazine filled with nostalgia. Thank you for the memories, it's been emotional. See you online!
There's not a day going by without hearing about some new magical anti-aging wonder but there are ways of looking after your skin that prevail: cleanse properly, use SPF, cut down on sugar and booze, use acids (AHAs, BHAs) and the best of all: use retinol* (Vitamin A products). Retinol is an antioxidant that restores the skin, it stimulates the production of new skin cells and helps to fade marks, scars, signs of photoaging. Retinol was orignally used to help acne scarring but now it is basically the Holy Grail of anti-aging, a powerful beauty tool for the skincare savvy. Retinol products are powerful enough to reverse some of the signs of ageing of the skin, they brighten, tighten, even out the skin tone and reduce the look of fine lines. They come in all shapes and sizes: there are different strengths available and you can use it many different ways ,in many different forms (creams, serums, boosters, treatments etc.).
I went for a trial size (5ml seems a small amount, but lasts well) Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment from Paula's Choice. I haven't changed anything else in my routine apart from being more particular about using SPF because you definitely would want to preserve the results and not cause further damage to your skin. I still kept my Alpha-H Liquid Gold (glycolic acid) in my routine - the effects of retinols may be boosted with AHAs and BHAs. I used the treatment twice a week after cleansing and toning followed by a serum, a cream or an oil, depending on the day.
Paula's Choice has a wide range of retinol products with varying strengths, I suggest to have a good read on the website before you start. They are doing sample size too which is a clever idea, so you don't have to commit to a full size before you even tried it.
Apart from a very small amount of skin peeling that I experienced after the first couple of uses, my skin loved it. The lightweight formula was very easy to handle, felt comfortable on my skin and I am already seeing results. This is a definite keeper. I admit, it is not the cheapest option out there, but Paula's Choice products come with guaranteed high quality and it is a great investment.
When you start using retinols make sure everything you use on your skin is gentle and good quality (so please don't cleanse with a wipe and then use a retinol product, there's no point in doing that) and pay attention to give your skin nourishment too, not just retinol. Do your research before starting to use it, follow the instructions and stick to them. You can build up your tolerance to retinol slowly, but don't overdo it, this might not be a product for every day unless your tolerance is high.
Paula's Choice Retinol Treatment 1% is available for £53.00 (30ml) here.
I am not picky when it comes to hair products. I'm trying different ones all the time, I don't have particular favourites but sometimes when I feel that my hair needs a boost I pay more attention. Luckily there's a Sally's shop just on my way home from the train station so I had a good look around there the other week in the hope of finding something new. Scanning through millions of products (okay not millions, my highly sensitive mind tends to exaggerate a tad bit sometimes, it was hundreds more like) sitting on the shelves looking pretty and inviting my attention kept reverting back to L'oreal Professional. I always like a product that takes me back in time to a good memory and L'oreal hair care is one of them. It is what we used way back when I was doing a two-year hairdressing course at college. As I was pondering which one of the shampoos to get, I could already hear my coolest college teacher Helen Patel's voice 'Don't let Judith fold the aprons! She can't fold them to save her life!' And she was right. Yes, dear readers, I can't/have no patience to fold aprons properly to this day. I can, however, make a great omelette and arrange my DVDs into a fabulous colour coded systems if that's a consolation. However, instead of further boring you with my college shenanigans, I will get straight to the point and show you what I bought.
Vitamino Colour A OX CC Cream for Blondes
I've been colouring my hair with Majirel dye since my college days, my perfect shade is still 9.1 (ash blond) that Helen Patel and I have chosen after a fair bit of experimentation. I have a red undertone to my hair naturally and my blonde turns yellow quite quickly so I need the odd silver shampoo or conditioner every so often to eliminate those warm brassy tones. To spice things up a bit I decided to try this colour corrector and after only a few uses I love it already. Not just because it's dark blue and my bath looks like a prop from Avatar after using it but it makes my shade much more neutral, crisp and fresh. This will definitely be a keeper.
Vitamino Colour is easy to use: apply to washed and towel-dried hair for 5 to 10 minutes, rinse thoroughly and ensure the product is fully removed. Oh, and get everything you don't want stained blue away from you when applying it.
Possible concern: contains Sulphates
Available here
LISS UNLIMITED Liss Unlimited Shampoo
My hair is naturally frizzy, fluffy, so smoothing products are a must in my beauty arsenal. This shampoo gets all those annoying problems under control and makes it feel soft with a touch of glow. This shampoo is enriched with Pro-Keratin, Kukui and Evening Primrose Oil. I really enjoy using this range again, I forgot how good they were.
Warning: use only a little at a time and you have to have pretty thick and unruly hair for this. It's quite heavy, so I can't see it working for oily or fine hair.
Available here.
Okay, this is a tough one. There were so many candidates for this list I could barely make myself decide which ones to go for. Highlighting has got to be one of my favourite steps when doing make-up because I feel it brings light to the face, and adds a polished finish to the skin. The best thing is, with so many amazing formulations on the market these days that you can easily opt out from looking like a disco ball if you wish and go for a really natural glow with no sparkle whatsoever. I usually gravitate towards the liquid and cream formulations with hardly any sparkle - they do tend to look more natural on the skin but I occasionally reach for the powders too.
Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate
The Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate palette is a long time favourite of mine though it is not mentioned too often these days since Charlotte Tilbury, Becca and Hourglass have taken over most of the social media recently. It does still deserve a place in my top 5.
The lightweight cream gives a very sheer, soft glow and it is easy to blend it into a subtle, chic highlight without shimmer or sparkle. Dab it along the cheekbones with fingers or use a buffing brush to apply, make sure you blend the edges really well. Bonus feature: as I mentioned in my Top 5 Bronzers post, I'm a sucker for nice packaging and this one is luxurious through and through so is the price, unfortunately.
Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate is available for £56.00 here.
Mac Cream Colour Base
Why don't people talk about the Cream Colour Base more? It is the highlighting product that I've used the longest and to this day I always have more than one colour on the go both in my pro and private make-up kit. It is basically a multitasking product and with a bit of creativity, you can use it many ways. CCB can be an eyeshadow, an eye base, a brow or cheek highlighter, blusher or even bronzer. The concentrated solid cream melts with the warmth of your hands so it is easy to blend and buff it over the required area. There are 18 shades available on the Mac website from white to the brightest of magenta and red. The ones I tend to use most is Pearl(champaign colour), Luna(white) and Hush (salmon colour).
CCB is very affordable and lasts a long time.
Mac Cream Colour Base is available for £17.00 here.
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector
I cannot rave about this enough! The Shimmering Skin Perfector has been around for years but really only took off when the whole blogging/Youtube-ing world exploded. Now it exists in liquid, cream and powder form but I still prefer the classic liquid in a pump bottle just because it is more hygienic in a makeup kit. It comes in 5 shades, but the one I use the most is Pearl.
As you buff this into the skin you get the sheerest, most natural looking and juiciest highlight of them all. The effect is very refined and polished. It also has a prismatic effect, that allows the product to adjust to lighting so your highlight is nice and visible all the time so it photographs beautifully too. For £34.00 you get 30ml which is a huge amount.
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector is available here.
Rimmel Sculpting palette
This is one of my recent discoveries, it also features on my Top 5 Bronzers list. It is a very handy little compact, excellent on the go. The golden toned highlighting powder has a very light texture, sheer coverage and it works really well with the other colours in the palette.
This is a quick and easy option, you can even use only one brush to apply all the colours starting with the lightest. Bonus feature: the price. This is an excellent option for the ones on a budget.
Rimmel Sculping palette available for £6.99 here
Ben Nye Lumiere Lux powder
This is a really fun product and had this sitting at the bottom of my pro kit for a long time. This super fine powder filled with sparkle diffused over the cheeks with a fan brush you can achieve an extreme high shine effect.
I would probably use this for editorial or fun fantasy looks (Halloween, anyone?)rather than a daytime look for the office. It shows up in photographs beautifully, so why not using it for your next Instagram make-up selfie too? The loose powder can be mixed into sealers to make it more durable or use makeup mixer to turn it into an eye gloss. This product is pure fun and for £15.99 (8g), it's an absolute steal.
Ben Nye Lumiere Lux Powder is available here.
