So here’s my day: I’m just out of two meetings, I have two stories to finish and file, two phone interviews to prepare for, and a Powerpoint presentation to put together for my French class … Upshot is, I’m a little bit stressed! I don’t have much time or headspace to write anything amazing for you today, but I do have a nifty little tip for you, to file away for the next time you find yourself staring at your computer and down the barrel of a stressful day: Stick a little sticky tape between your brows. Yes, you read right. Every time your forehead starts to frown, you’ll feel the tape crinkle up, which will remind you to de-crinkle your brow. Best way to ensure you end the day not looking ten years older than you did in the morning.

My frangipani tree started flowering yesterday. Yes, it was a moment. I’m just a little obsessed with frangipanis. But it’s one of the trickiest scents to translate to beauty. Most frangipani fragrances I’ve come across are about as close to the real thing as strawberry Big M. Exception to the rule: the frangipani candle by The Grove Perfumery. It’s just happiness for the nose. Makes your home smell like a tropical resort. And it burns for 60 hours, so it’s great value. Other scents include Clean Cotton, Caramel and Eucalyptus. FYI, they’re $22 each from Peter’s of Kensington.

I worked on a beauty shoot yesterday with what I call my Dream Team - hairstylist Michael Brennan and makeup artist Elsa Morgan, pictured here with me and Daisy. (Boy we look insanely happy about life, don’t we?). We were shooting a winter beauty story - I’ll tell you more about it all when the issue hits stands in February.

But what I have to say now is how excited I think I might be in a few months’ time to revisit matt. And I don’t mean the toxic ex-boyfriend kind of matt. I’m talking the kind of matt makeup I haven’t worn since the early 1990s, when grunge and long velvet dresses were also having a moment.

Elsa, who happens to be the most gorgeous and glowy mum-to-be in the history of mums-to-be, made magic with matt foundation and powder, setting it off with glimmery burnished bronze eyes. While Michael added extra contrast by sweeping a golden shimmer dust all over the model’s hair, particularly around the face.

Matt skin and glossy hair makes sense when you think of it as the opposite of summer’s glowy skin and beachy hair. Although you may want to file the thought away for a rainy day. For now, let’s just enjoy our glowy skin and beachy skin. It’s a little bit too depressing to think about winter, even if it’s beauty-related, when summer hasn’t even really started, huh?

PS - don’t forget, you can also get more of a beauty hit from my blog at Madison

You know me, I’m a good girl. I wouldn’t normally think to give advice like, say, how to hide a hickie, because I’ve never needed to do that particular beauty manoeuvre myself. But in case you aren’t so good/prim & proper/whatever you choose to call it – I found the answer in a new book you may just like: The Naughty Girl’s Guide to Life ($24.95, out now) by English it-girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and journalist Sharon Marshall:

“One of the downsides of being a naughty girl and having men constantly kissing your neck is that some of them are overcome with the urge to brand you by leaving toothmarks. Don’t ask us why they do it – perhaps it’s like dogs with trees. All sorts of men are prone to leaving them. It wasn’t long ago that Tara was smooching a very famous artist. He left his masterpiece on her neck the day before she was due on live TV. The quickest way to heal them – and carpet burns on your chin, incidentally – is to apply calamine lotion. This won’t conceal it completely, the only way to do that is with a polo neck or a fashionable scarf. Tara selected a fine Hermès square in the end. And insisted on a sizeable discount on a rather nice piece of art for her flat.”

Red lipstick is beauty for sexy. Two words: Marilyn Monroe. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the trickiest beauty moves to make. Until you read the following, that is …

The You Hue: The traditional rule of thumb is that cool shades of red (think roses and true reds) suit paler skins and features, while warmer reds (orange- and brown-infused hues) complement darker complexions. But makeup artists seem to increasingly be recommending orange-reds as the most modern universal choice - they not only set off warm skintones, but also add vibrancy to fairer-featured women. Two great buys: Revlon Living Lipstick in Revlon Red ($19.95, from department stores, pharmacies and variety stores) and Nars Lipstick in Heatwave ($49 from Mecca Cosmetica).

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