Perk up your complexion

Here are some products that have recently hit the counters which will give your skin the radiant boost that it needs at this time of year.

Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base, £26
Comes in three shades, Rose, Champagne and Peach
A winning combo of skin care and make-up, this wonder in a tube can be applied after your moisturiser or mixed with your regular foundation to even out skin tone to leave you looking radiant.

Bobbi Brown Brightening Finishing Powder, £40
Comes in Porcelain Pearl, Brightening Nudes and Bronze Glow
You can rely on make-up guru Bobbi Brown to know what will give skin the oomph it needs during the winter. Her new Nude Glow Collection has been created specifically to give skin a radiant boost that it cries out for now. Sweep the powder on to cheeks, forehead, nose and chin – blend well. Sets make-up beautifully.

Bobbi Brown Eye Palette, £35
Comes in Nude, Crystal and Bronze
These palettes comprise matte, shimmer and soft sparkling textures that are not too over the top. Perfect for day or night (layer for more depth), they brighten up the eyes. To make your eyes pop, add a touch of the palest shade to the inner corners.

YSL Rosy Blush Collector Palette, £42.50
Almost too beautiful to use. This chic compact weaves together two matte and iridescent shades of pink to create a stunning blusher/highlighter. The superb light texture adds a gorgeous glow to the cheeks.

MAC Huggable Lipcolour in Out For Passion, £17.50
A pretty, soft rose that has the conditioning benefits of a lip balm coupled with the high pigment of a long-lasting lipstick. A winning formula!

By Daralyn Danns

                                                           

Discovering Granada from London City Airport

When you go away for the weekend so much time can be taken up with travelling – often the best part of the day – leaving you not much time to enjoy your destination.

I had always wanted to go to the Moorish city of Granada (Spain) for a weekend to see the Alhambra, a great architectural sight that is the epitome of Andalusian history.

So, I was delighted to hear that British Airways, the biggest operator at London City, was operating a flight from here to Granada, Spain. If you can use this compact airport when you are flying out of the capital, you will be doing yourself a favour as you can travel in comfort and style so you arrive at your destination less stressed.

Granada

The BA check-in closes 15 minutes prior to departure, if you have hand luggage and, if you want to check in your bag, the latest time you can arrive is 20 minutes before your flight takes off. 

If you arrive earlier – you can’t check-in your bags until two hours before your flight – there are plenty of coffee shops where you can while away an hour or so. There is free Wi-Fi and, of course, duty-free shopping. Getting through security and customs doesn’t take long at all. The departure lounge is reminiscent of an intimate airline lounge, except you pay for drinks and food.

Getting to the airport is easy. Use the speedy Docklands Light Railway service which connects with the Tube and some of London’s railway stations. I like the fact that you can be there so quickly. It takes approximately 22 minutes into Bank (for the City of London) and, if you want to go to the West End, it will take you around 30 minutes. In fact, in the time it took me to collect my baggage at Heathrow, go through the UK Border Control, I was sitting at home having a cup of tea. Sheer bliss!

On route for Granada

For those of you who later need to fly out of Gatwick or Heathrow, you can use public transport to get there. BA recommends allowing yourself three hours to transfer between airports.

BA operates other destinations from this airport including New York, Florence and Nice – all great for a mini-break. Flights are usually operated by British Airways CityFlyer which tends to use the 98-seater Embraer and 76-seater Embraer aircraft, so boarding and disembarking seems to be really quick.

I have to say that you will be hard-pressed to beat BA’s service. At check-in, the staff is friendly and helpful, and on board, the crew's mission seems to be to ensure that everything is done so you have an enjoyable flight  – which is not what you find with a lot of in-flight service these days. All you have to do is sit back and relax with a drink and snack, courtesy of BA.

In my books, travelling with BA from London City Airport is how travelling should be.

By Daralyn Danns

Getting there

British Airways flies to Granada from London City Airport four times a week and costs from £59 one way. (Price includes free onboard food and bar service and 23kg of free checked baggage allowance.) For more information visit www.britishairways.com/travel/london-city-airport

I stayed at the Hotel Carmen (www.hotelcarmen.com). Rooms from €115 

For more information on Granada visit www.turgranada.es and www.spain.info

Considering a change of hair colour?

Leaving the salon with a colour we are pleased with that fades a couple of washes later is something that has happened to a great many of us.

When, a couple of months ago, I first met colourist Daisy Twyman at Daniel Galvin, I explained to her that I liked my hair when I left the salon, but after a few shampoos it was turning too yellow which made me look drained.

I told her that I wanted to go darker as the “7” that was being used on my hair, combined with the toner, was washing out too quickly. Daisy made me a darker brown with a tinge of black and, at my request, did not use the toner. The first time the yellow came through, but this time it wasn’t as bad.

“We need to make the ends richer,” she said. I also said I would be happy to be a bit darker than she thought I should be as I was travelling.

Having my hair back to my natural hue is far more flattering against my complexion and has also given me the freedom to wear a greater range of colours. I have also gone back to using blushers that match my skin tone rather than having to make them work with my hair.

If you are thinking about changing your hair colour for the new year, you may want to stop and consider a few things before you take the plunge. “Skin tone in January – unless you have jetted off to sunnier climes over the festive season – will be paler than in the summer,” says Daisy. “If you go even a shade lighter or darker or warmer or cooler, you may have to change your make-up and clothes. And, though it is tempting to have a whole new wardrobe, it can be expensive.”

Ending up too dark or too pale and you may find that you have to pile on the make-up to stop you looking ill. Also remember that some fake tans give your skin a yellowish hue, especially as it fades. So, if you can’t stop hitting the bottle, take this into consideration before going for a new look.

“Red is a difficult colour to pull off,” says Daisy. “You need to have a complexion that doesn’t have too much pink in it. It is also high maintenance as the hue won’t stay vibrant for long.”

For those with olive or golden skin, Daisy advises to stay clear of yellow tones as your face and hair will merge into one. “Going too dark can make your face look tired and drawn as well as ageing you,” she says. “If you want to go darker, avoid being one tone. The hair needs to be lighter around your face and through the ends.”

Why fix something that is working for you? “If your colour, be it natural or dyed flatters you, don’t change it for the sake of it,” cautions Daisy. “Don’t follow fashion! Instead ask your colourist to use new techniques to keep you on-trend. 

My hair was darker than last time and even my stylist, Stephenie Facer said: “Daisy did something different. It looks so much better. It brings out your eyes and works well with your skin.”

Could I at last be getting the perfect colour? 

By Daralyn Danns

Daniel Galvin (www.danielgalvin.com)