Beauty Buzz

Take a leaf

Reading about perfume notes can be a bit of an academic exercise but all dedicated would-be noses need to get a copy of new book, The Perfume Lover by Denyse Beaulieu, €19.80. Part memoir and part heady whirlwind trip through the realities of the modern fragrance industry, the book also charts the development of Denyse’s own fragrance, Séville à l’Aube. Created by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour for L’Artisan Parfumeur, it will land later this year — but deliciously, you can read all about the journey to the final scent now.

Brush up

The bloggers’ best kept secret, expect Sigma brushes to gain cult status here in Ireland now that excellent online Irish retailer Cloud10beauty.com is stocking them. The Premium Professional Kit, €145, is a great investment step up for anyone who’s been using a mish-mash of brushes and wants to move a streamlined kit. Containing 15 tools, you’ll get seven face brushes, seven eye brushes, plus a lip brush in a hard zippered case.

Bubble up

We’ve had crackle, we’ve had crocodile, iridescent, matte and rubberised finishes, nail art and more: the craze for lacquer just isn’t going away. Brit brand Ciaté has upped the ante once again with the mid-April launching Caviar Manicure, €23. In Rainbow, Black Pearls and Mother of Pearls, it’s designed to add texture to talons thanks to thousands of tiny three-dimensional spheres. Fashion forward, fun and totally covetable, this will sell out in seconds.

Oil be Back

Nivea’s new Firming Body Oil With Q10 Plus, €9.99, is great: non-sticky, it sinks in quickly so it passes the morning no-stress dress test. Promising a firming effect in two weeks, the jury’s out on that aspect but this does soften skin, hydrates effectively and has a pleasant, light scent.

Friends with Benefit

Like glowy, dewy foundation that doesn’t look caked, unnatural or hide your real skin? Head to a counter this month to check out Benefit’s brand new liquid base, Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow, €35. Yep, a bit of a mouthful, but one pump of this dreamy stuff evens out skintone and delivers sheer-to-medium coverage with glow. In nine shades, you even get a little sample of Porefessional, the brand’s best-selling primer, inside the box.

Line up

I love gel liners but sometimes the faff with brushes is a hassle too far, and that, ladies, is when I reach for a pencil. But it can’t be any old pencil. Happily, these new ones from Bobbi Brown, Long Wear Eye Pencil, €23, are great. In six shades, they’re densely pigmented, smooth to apply and last and last.

Q.My nails are incredibly prone to splitting, peeling and flaking. Is there anything I can do to stop this happening?

A. Avon’s celebrity makeup artist Jackie Tyson was in town recently and in between revealing that she’ll be doing the makeup on the forthcoming Steps tour, she had some advice to impart on tattered talons.

“Use a cuticle cream or oil daily as this’ll help strengthen the nail bed and make nails stronger from the base as they grow,” she advises. “If nails are particularly prone to splitting at the tips, keep them short and square.”

Anything else?

“Don’t pick your polish off,” she warns. This can peel the top layer of the nail off, weakening its whole structure.

Stockists

Benefit at department stores; Bobbi Brown at Brown Thomas, Arnotts and House of Fraser, Dundrum; Ciaté www.ciate.ie; Nivea at supermarkets; Sigma at www.cloud10beauty.com