Monochromatic make-up

This is not a paid post. Products are press samples.

Monochromatic make-up is on-trend and is quick to do. As the name suggests it is about wearing the same shade (even varying the texture slightly) on eyes, lips and cheeks.

While pink is pretty on lips and cheeks, wearing it on eyes can be difficult, especially on mature skins. For summer days when you use less make-up, try matching lips and cheeks. A lashing of mascara and a touch of eyeliner, if needed, and you are ready to go. If you want to use eye shadow, try peachy tones as this can be more flattering on the eyes and works on lips and cheeks as well.

Clinique Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balm in Amp'd Up Apple (£20), is a soft pink. It gives a lovely glow to the cheeks and can be used on the lips. I usually mix it with lip balm. 

Another good tip is to choose your favourite lipstick and use it on lips and cheeks. One I like is Plum Dandy by Mac (£17.50). It is a pretty plum laced with bronze frost. It gives a lovely lustre to the lips and cheeks without looking as if you have coated your face in shimmer.

By Daralyn Danns

Is your colourist over-processing your hair?

This is not a paid post.

When I first visited Tina at Sanrizz, Knightsbridge, she told me that my hair was over-processed. 

You think you go to good salons (I was going to a well-known salon in Covent Garden) so you can take the advice of the colourist and trust them. How wrong I was. It turned out that the colourists there were not putting the gloss on my ends for the time recommended by the manufacturer and, therefore, the colour was fading quickly. That meant I had to keep putting the gloss through the ends which had a devastating effect on my hair. It was dry and frizzy. I thought as I coloured my hair it was something I had to put up with. I was wrong.

What some colourists call glosses are, usually, demi-permanents which are ammonia-free but have a small amount of peroxide. Damage may be minimal when used correctly but as it opens up the cuticle it can leave hair with the dreaded frizzes and lacking in moisture.

Semi-permanents coat the hair but wash out quickly. Dark colours can run if you get caught in the rain or on a hot day if you perspire.

Tina uses a permanent colour on my roots. It is now over six months since she used a “gloss” on my ends. And, wow, are my locks in better condition. No longer does it turn to candy floss when I am in humidity. It still gets a little fluffy as this is my natural texture so there is nothing I can do about it.

I was tempted to buy the new ghd glide hot brush but I know the heat will kill my hair and having worked so hard to get it back on form, I resisted.

If you are getting problems with your hair after colouring, it may be time to get another opinion.

By Daralyn Danns