First of all, no matter how much of a rush you’re in to get to a class, you must remove your base. Eye and lip makeup is fine to stay on. But if you leave your foundation on, sweat could get clogged in pores, leading to breakouts. The easiest strategy is to stash some cleansing wipes in your gym bag.

After class, you’ll need to lightly cleanse away perspiration. You could use another wipe or else your regular cleanser (just squeeze some into a small travel tube for your gym bag), as long as it’s not too stripping. If you’re very prone to breakouts, I’d suggest you go for a salicylic-acid-based cleanser, to help keep those pores clean. Try Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Cleansing Foam ($36, from department stores) or Neutrogena Deep Clean Foaming Cleansing ($13.89, from pharmacies). (more…)

It’s always a happy day when Lancôme launches a new lip gloss or mascara. After all, Lancôme’s Juicy Tubes gloss and range of mascaras are not only its best-selling buys - but pretty much the best in the biz. So you know that any new additions are probably going to be brilliant. Which these latest offerings most definitely are…

First up, the Juicy Tubes tunes collection. It features a new longer-lasting formula, a sleek ipod-inspired design, and seven pretty poppy shades, such as the luscious Hip Hop Apricot or Strawberry Funk. Plus, for a limited time, Marshmallow Electro comes in packaging customised by super-cool English graphic artist Julie Verhoeven. $44 each.

Then there’s Virtuose. After extensive research into lashes (2280 women across the world and across various ethic groups, as a matter of fact), Lancôme set to work on creating a mascara that would curl well enough without the initial lash-curling-tool step. The result? Ten out of ten. Virtuose, with its curl-enhancing brush and polymer-packed formula, gives you the perfect flick of lashes that stays put pretty much all day. It comes in black and brown, but for an even more eye-opening effect, check out the blue, purple and green shades. $50.

If you love the way mineral makeup makes your less-than-perfect skin look flawless, you’ll also love what it can do for the back of the hands - a notorious hot-spot when it comes to tell-tale signs of skin ageing. Try it for yourself. Use a firm-bristled rounded brush to buff minerals into place and watch blotchy, uneven skin suddenly appear smooth and a whole lot younger.

Pictured: i.d Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals ($65, see True Solutions for more information).

A lot can go wrong with fake tan. And when fake tan does go wrong, it’s very very wrong. So it’s always worth a refresher course - like this one …

First Step: Always exfoliate before applying a tan. Pay particular care to smoothing out any rough patches (elbows, knees, feet, etc) - as dry skin can catch excess colour. Once you have towel-dried off, you may need to further soften the skin here by working in a little body cream.

FYI: Never shave immediately prior to self-tanning. This can leave skin sensitive and prone to reaction. Ideally, de-fuzz the day before. You don’t want to have to shave too soon after tanning, as this can have an exfoliating action and undo your hard work. (more…)

I’m addicted to Law & Order. I don’t know why, because I’m normally extremely queasy. But there’s something about it I find fascinating, in a train-wreck kind of way. I especially loved it when I lived in New York. Even though the street names started sounding a bit too real. My Lower East Side address was a particularly popular spot with L&O hoodlums and villains. But, as a blonde who once had aspirations to be a lawyer (before I went to uni and realised how un-LA-Law-like a career it would give me), I have to ask: have you noticed the brunette bias going on in this show? First there was Jill Hennessy, Angie Harmon and Cary Lowell. And, of course, there’s the kick-assly cool Mariska Hargitay. And now, there’s Alana de la Garza, who plays the new DA, Connie Rubirosa, she of the perfectly arched eyebrows. The casting directors obviously love a chic, chiseled brunette. Okay, sure there was Stephanie March, but she was really just a token ice-maiden. I’m trying not to be an extra-sensitive blonde here, but it does often seem that people assume brunettes are not only more sophisticated (the Audrey Hepburn thing), but smarter. Really, couldn’t brunettes be happy with just being shinier? It’s quite greedy really.