The beauty barometer

Cleansing ritual: the new mitt that removes make-up with tap water

When I was sent a cleansing mitt that promised to remove make-up with tap water alone, I’ll admit I was very sceptical. But after using Poreclens last night to remove several layers of liquid foundation, concealer, powder foundation, blusher and mascara, I’m happy to report that it took the lot off (I even swiped my face with toner afterwards and there were mere traces left).

Designed by two independent beauty experts, the mitt is made with a special micro-fibre that breaks down the surface tension of oils that bond make-up onto the skin. You simply run it under a warm tap and use it like a face cloth to remove all your make-up – then finish the job off with your usual moisturiser.

I have to say I’m a little unsure about using this to replace an everyday cleanser, but for festivals, weekends away, and those evenings when you just can’t be bothered – I think it's a winner.  

The Poreclens costs £9.99 – buy it Departmentstoreonline.co.uk

Affordable summertime skin treats

The sun is out and I’m loving these new purse-friendly skin treats from Beautifully Delicious. The Honey and Almond body scrub is infused with grains of walnut shell – unlike many plastic-riddled exfoliators - that won’t harm tiny sea creatures when they’re washed down the plug hole and eventually end up in the sea. Meanwhile, the Coconut and Shea body butter is richer than many products I’ve tried that cost triple the price and it smells that Malibu in tub. All I need now is a cocktail…     

From £3.98 at Beautifullydelicious.co.uk

Bored games

A new survey has claimed that two thirds of British women are ‘completely bored’ with their lives. And, out of all the changes they could make, the 3,000 women questioned ranked ‘getting a dramatic hair cut’ as number five in their top 10 list of ‘things they wish they could do’.

Now, as someone who is always thinking about which hairstyle I’m going to ask my hairdresser for next, I urge these women to book an appointment with the best stylist they can afford. Pronto.   

The survey, conducted by salad firm Florette, found that many women get fed up with the monotonous cycle of everyday life, have a inadequate social life, wish they could take more holidays, dream of packing their bags and emigrating – or all of the above.

Take it from me: a dramatic new hairstyle is a relatively cheap and very effective pathway to instant gratification. And if you find the right stylist, it can be an ongoing route to an empire state of mind. 

Sneak peek: P&G’s forthcoming hair launches

Some of the country’s top hairdressers were on the top floor of Centre Point today for Proctor and Gamble’s summer open day event.

The company owns a barrage of well-known brands from Wella Professionals to Shockwaves – making it the ideal place to discover some of the industry’s best forthcoming launches all under one roof…

Fashionistas keep your eyes peeled next month for Sebastian’s product collaboration with the House of Holland. Largely thanks to session hairstylist Dom Capel (pictured above, centre), the hair care brand has been a firm favourite of designer Henry Holland’s for the past few seasons. Now it has packaged three of its hero products – Potion 9 Lite, Shine Define Spray and Volupt Spray –in cool limited edition HoH bottles. (Prices from £17.25, available July 5 from salons only).  

For those who want big bouncy hair without a hard hairspray finish, SP has created two products in conjunction with hairstylist Simon Bryer (pictured, top right). The hairdresser, who is a lead stylist for Wella Professionals and also international styling director at Michael Van Clarke, was inspired by 60s sex kitten styles. His products - Delicate Volume volumising foam and Perfect Hair finishing cream - can be mixed together to create a bespoke formula before styling the hair. The results are run-your-fingers-through soft locks that last all day long. (Prices TBC, available from October).

Lastly, high-flying colourist Josh Wood (pictured, bottom left) also told me about a new Wella colour range he’s co-created with session superstar Euugene Souleiman. The salon-only colours offer a series of multi-faceted tones inspired by catwalk trends and the duo has created a beautiful image collection which will be unveiled as part of its advertising campaign this autumn. 

BB exclusive: hot gossip from hairdresser Rachel White's boss

Those of you who share one of my many guilty pleasures – Big Brother – will be well acquainted with Beyoncé’s uncanny doppelgänger, Rachael White. Being a hairdresser, I naturally wanted to find out more about her, so I tracked down her boss this morning to try to get some gossip.

Rachel has worked at Derby’s Bonds Hair since June 2006 for owner Barry Yoemans. She’s apparently one of the salon’s most successful stylists, and told her employer she was off to Ibiza for the summer instead of joining the final 80 contestants battling for a place in the house. “Many of her clients have been quite surprised to see her on the show – including us,” says Barry. “But many have posted good luck wishes on our Facebook page and are also telling friends that their hairdresser is on BB. It’s quite a talking point on Facebook and in the salon.”

Barry is predicting that Rachel will be a popular housemate thanks to her bubbly – although sometimes fiery – personality. “Her training as a hairdresser with serve her well with people skills in the house,” he says. “She’s used to dealing with all sorts of people; as a hairdresser, you have to know your client and sometimes listen to their life story while you’re doing their hair. These skills are very valuable and will hopefully make Rachael very popular in the house.”

Meanwhile Rachel enlisted the hair extensions skills of her colleague, Jasmine Brown, last week to ensure she had the perfect ‘Beyoncé bounce’. “Rachel has a mixture of dark and mid brown hair extensions and wears 50cm length hair because she likes it longer,” says Jasmine. “She loves Great Lengths because they are superior and versatile, allowing her to change her style form wavy to straight when she wants.’ 

From Russia with love...

I was lucky enough to bag an appointment recently with the exceptionally talented manicurist, Tanya Grach. Now based in St John’s Wood, the award-winning tech underwent extensive beauty training in her native country of Russia before moving to Manhattan and servicing the notoriously hard to please women of New York.

Now, with over twenty years’ experience, her nail skills are quite phenomenal. 

Don’t let the ordinary-looking salon she works from fool you – Tanya meticulously trims away excess skin at the cuticles, files the nails into a natural shape and paints each one so perfectly close to the cuticle I found it quite hard to believe.

Her manicures are a steal at £30 while she charges £40 for pedicures. Go and see her now before she moves to a high-end salon and doubles her prices.

Tanya Grach is at Body and Soul, Cochrane Street, St John’s Wood Tel: 0207 722 8086 

Tanyagrach.com

Why every girl needs the big 'O'

I was invited to the Pavilion suite at the Dorchester hotel this morning for a top-secret product launch from hair tools newbie Cloud Nine. And after meeting the brains behind the brand (who incidentally also invented the original ghd iron 13 years' ago), I soon discovered that the company has single-handedly revolutionised heated rollers. Forever.

Everyone loves a gadget and Cloud Nine's The O is essentially the iPhone of the hair world. Its small bucket-shaped pod heats up individual rollers to 130 degrees in under four seconds. You simply switch the device on, drop one roller in and wait until it beeps. 

Because of new technology that heats them from the inside, the rollers won’t burn your fingers or head. And if you put your hand inside the pod, it isn't hot either - making it incredibly safe. Even better, each roller is covered in soft grip material - a step on from velcro - so it can sit in the hair comfortably without any pins. But best of all, using them on your own hair is incredibly easy.

Although we've all come around to the fact that you can create curls and waves with irons, there's no way of copying Bridget Bardot with a pair of ghds, no matter how hard you try. And that's where The O comes in. It is a must-have grooming gadget for anyone that loves big, bouncy hair or wants to recreate a professional blow-dry at home.

Rollers for The O are sold separately and are available in five sizes so you can create any look - from volume to waves and curls – that your heart desires.

I think I’m in love.

The O costs £149 and packs of four rollers start from £16.99 

www.cloudninehair.com

Shower heaven

I'm already a fan of Elemis, so when the company announced it was launching a shower cream based on its best-selling Skin Nourishing Bath Milk, I couldn't wait to try it out. Containing camellia, macadamia and jojoba oils, its formula doesn't strip the skin like shower gel can, but leaves it feeling satin smooth. It's my new favourite thing to take in the shower. 

£20, available soon from Timetospa.co.uk

Aveda's new firm favourite hairspray

I’ve just finished sipping Aveda tea at the company’s Holborn HQ where I met up with vice president and creative director, Antoinette Beenders. The world-renowned hairstylist is in town for a flying visit as she juggles her mammoth job role (which includes overseeing the brand’s global creative direction and product development) to launch new hairspray, Controlforce.

Having been in the making for five years, the spray offers firm hold performance with net-zero impact on the environment, thanks to Aveda’s funding of renewable energy. And judging by the popularity of its sister spray - Airforce - it's set to become a firm favourite (pun intended) with session teams, salon professionals and consumers across the globe. 

Antoinette is predicting big hair will be quite literally huge this autumn and has used Controlforce to shape various voluminous looks on models in a US shoot set to be released this August.