Vote for a brighter future! For the country - and your skin!

The Poodle must make an important decision.

There's an election on, and all across England men and women are talking about what they believe in, which policies they agree with and who they'll be voting for. Little known parties have started posting leaflets through letterboxes with programs and manifestos whilst the men in white shirts all promise results that will change the face of the country.

Call me hopeless, but as I have been researching the different policies and listening to the various election arguments, I couldn't help but draw a similarity between this, and the way in which women choose their cosmetics.

Each beauty brand has a different perspective and philosophy whether it is a dedication to ethical, animal friendly products (Body Shop), a dislike of all things preservative (The Organic Pharmacy) or a passion for science (Skinceuticals). Each one promises radical results and change (Botox), or promises to make you feel differently (Aromatherapy Associates). They are all campaigning against each other, promoting their ingredients policies as the most failsafe (Liz Earle) or their figures the most reliable (Boots Protect and Perfect anyone?). But who are we to believe when it comes to the state of our skin?


There are so many conflicting points of view, whether you believe in the power of plant oils, or prefer results proven formulas developed in the lab. Whether you prefer your skincare to be straightforward or fancy or expensive or cheap. Some women believe that, like the 3 main parties in England, that all the skincare creams and brands are practically the same thing, just in different packaging. It's no wonder we spend so long trying to figure out what makes one bottle of serum better than another. They all promise to fight against the signs of aging, free radicals and fine lines (which are probably all caused by high taxes, pollution and not enough holidays), and equip themselves with the tools required for the job - antioxidants, dermatologist jargon and celebrity supporters.

Of course, the only way to find out what works best, is to try. Which is where choosing a skincare system becomes a lot easier. Unlike political elections, when you choose a certain skincare brand over another, you don't run the risk of having to commit to it for 5 years to see if anything will really change. You can simply keep trying different products until you find your winner who you can stand behind with confidence, knowing that your chosen brand perfectly delivers the results you are looking for. Here's a hint - it's probably Botox!

As for the Poodle, I am still looking for my perfect match in skincare, but aside from that, I know who I'm voting for come May 6th. Do you?

Who would you vote for when it comes to your skin? Tell the Poodle!

Images from www.moneytothemasses.com, http://coolrain44.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/poodle.jpg, www.corbisimages.com - Jutta Klee

Happy Hands

Don't hide your hands like Hepburn!

Since being in Paris, I wash up a lot more often. Not only because eating is such a ritual at any meal in France, and inevitably involves endless cutlery and crockery, but also because washing up is the nearest I can get to having a bubble bath. I only know a tiny handful of people who have the luxury of a proper bath. The Poodle dreams of laying in a Jo Malone Dark Amber scented bath, all warm and toasty until my skin is irresistibly soft and smooth.

All of this washing up, and with the cold winter air outside has somewhat made me develop a hand cream obsession. The slightest dryness or discomfort is enough to send me into a frenzy of moisturiser hunting! If I see one, I buy it, and if I don't buy it, I at least try it! And now I'm going to blog about it! But it's all for a good cause. If hands are the first thing to give away your age, then this Poodle is a good 10 years older according to mes mains!

So what can I recommend for perfect paws? I have recently developed a penchant for bergamot which is widely used in aromatherapy to relieve stress, insomnia and depression - the ideal uplifting ingredient for these dark and dreary January days. Any cream that contains this delicious ingredient is sure to get both me and my hands happy...



Liz Earle Hand Repair
This one is a good old favourite of mine - mostly because of its bergamot, neroli and lavender fragrance but also for its super skin friendly ingredients -beta carotene and a healthy dose of vitamin E - both rich in antioxidants - the magic ingredient for skin repairing - much needed at this time of year! From £8.25 for a 50ml tube, the ideal handbag size.




L'Occitane Bergamot Tea Hand Cream
This shea butter enriched hand cream from French Provence is £12.50 for 75ml and is delicately fragranced with Bergamot. Sinking in rapidly it instantly makes hands softer and smoother and also does wonders for your cuticles.





Neal's Yard Remedies - Garden Mint & Bergamot Hand Lotion
Harder to come by in Paris, but one of the most beautifully fragranced, natural hand creams known to ladies is Neal's Yard Garden Mint & Bergamot Hand Lotion which is in a 200ml pump - (and only £10.50 at that)! An added bonus is that you can keep this one in the kitchen in between rounds of washing up and pump natural goodness back into your skin as soon as the dishes are out of the sink. This light lotion also has jojoba, shea and evening primrose and leaves hands looking lovely and smelling delicious.



Ortigia Bergamot Hand Cream
This Sicilian brand has great taste in packaging and ingredients! Their Bergamot Hand Cream is very dense, rich and nourishing and is perfect for heavy duty washer uppers in Paris and beyond! With a fine uplifting fragrance, and of course plenty of olive oil (it is Sicilian after all) it is a reliable hand helper at 19€ although one word of advice is use a small amount because it can be a trifle greasy. Available from http://www.ortigia-srl.com/

Limited Edition Lust List

Although there are still 8 weeks til Christmas I have started to think about which gorgeous gifts my glam girlfriends might like to receive... for the Paris Poodle’s pals’ there is nothing better than a unique, thoughtful, original gift that is cutesy, glamorous and beautifying.
Here’s the top 3 of the Paris Poodle’s Limited Edition Lust List...

Bourjois Limited Edition Paris Collection
Perfect for gifting to Francophiles (it sounds like such a dirty word doesn’t it) these Bourjois Eye Shadows and blushers are part of the ‘Rendez-Vous A Paris’ collection where French artiste Nathalie Lete has decorated the packaging with the most cutesy images of Paris living. Just having these in your make up bag makes you instantly more chic! With the iridescent eyeshadows and cheek colours they are a quick route to looking ravishingly radiant! Available from www.asos.com in mid November...

Elizabeth Arden’s Limited Edition Eight Hour Cream
This fluro –fabulous limited edition 80’s inspired packaging is toooo hideous not to love! Its clashing neon colours are outrageously outlandish! It’s great to see Elizabeth Arden have some fun with their packaging – and this colourful recreation has taken its inspiration from Versace, Gucci and Marc Jacobs AW shows. The magic of the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream always works wonders in winter and with this new limited edition look you’ll find it hard not to make it to House of Fraser (from 16th November) to get yours before they go go go!

Liz Earle Limited Edition Cleanse & Polish
From one Liz to another....Paris Poodle Readers will know that I love a Liz Earle product or two and this Holiday season they have excelled themselves making THE most glamorous packaging for their multi purpose cream cleanser – Cleanse & Polish. With its winter wonderful white and silver swirling design, it’s new design ideas like these which make Christmas shopping all the more exciting. With 150ml’s of the worlds best make up remover/skin cleanser/miracle worker in a pump to be proud of, for only £16.00, this one’s a definitely a Poodle lust have!

Make it a nice November

Being November and all, I imagine lots of other Poodle pups are also feeling somewhat forlorn and depressed. The relentless Paris rain we had over the weekend meant I couldn’t even go walkies – that meant no lingerie lusting, hot chocolate sampling or jardin de plantes exploring. No ‘ing’s at all. I spent all weekend and most of this week just vegging which out of all the ‘ings’ is not really that exciting....

It’s a difficult month to get through – and inevitably November means you find yourself going into hibernation mode. For the Paris Poodle that means home comforts – endless cups of tea, cosy slippers and boxes of chocolates to pick your way through whilst reading Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In November you say no to going out and oui to staying in and watching French X Factor – (which really doesn’t have the right to use the X Factor name because it is SOOO pallid in comparison).

However, rather than having a typical November of retreating into comfort food and counting down til the Xmas lights go on, I have decided to turn November around – and you can too! It is a nothing month, and as the nights are so long, there is plenty of time to use the extra dark hours to your advantage. As far as poodling to perfection goes, it’s a great opportunity for some hibernation beautification.

With December the only month of the year where it’s bad form to be anything other than perfectly glamorous it’s November that counts – the beauty bother taken now, will all be worth it when you are the most radiant of them all throughout Decembers demanding social calendar.
So prepare for party season, treat yourself, relax at home with hair masks and intensive treatments, foot baths and brightening creams, lotions and potions, cosy and smug in the knowledge that your indulgent November pampering is the prerequisite for a partytastic, glamourgorgeous, mistletoemagical, snowsparkle perfect Christmas!

To begin this month of at home self petpampering I suggest....

Mizani H20 Intense Night Time Treat by L’Oreal
Perfect for proper Poodles with curly locks the Mizani H20 Intense Night Time Treat by L’Oreal (20 euros) is a very effective overnight treatment for hair that is course or rebellious. Although I would say this doesn’t describe my hair, I tried this in a small quantity to restrenghten the ends of my hair which were becoming a little wayward. After massaging the somewhat gloopy liquid through your hair you leave this on all night and by morning your hair will feel soft, smell divine and will look a lot less frazzled. It really is a miracle as your hair feels like liquid silk when you wash it out in the shower. It’s actually formulated for Afro hair but it happily works a treat on Caucasian hairs as well – an all round must have for extra beautiful, well conditioned hair. L’Oreal claim that the shea butter and vitamin rich formula with its ceramide hair strengthening technology can improve the strength of your hair- you can use this several times a week to tame your hair in party perfect condition.

Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Extreme Foot Therapy Cream
I love Crabtree & Evelyn – their stores are just so full of intoxicating fragrances and smells and their many beauty sets are little oeuvres d’art – all matchy matchy in quintessentially English packaging (even if it is traditionally a US company, it’s English inspired creations are spot on). It’s a haven of sweet smelling creams, soaps and delicious room sprays, twee draw liners and candles – the perfect ingredients to create a cosy environment for your November pampreening!

Il faut aller – you must go – if it’s the one outing you have all November there are enough lovelies to buy in this one shop to last you all month – if nothing else make sure you buy their La Source Extreme Foot Therapy Cream to prepare your tootsies for your winter high heels. With its softening seaweed extract and its light matt texture your feet are left moisturised but not greasy, leaving them smooth and soft. Having your feet massaged is one of the best ways to bliss so idealement get someone to massage this in for you! And if you are in Crabtree & Evelyn buy their Organic English Country Lemon Curd at your own risk – it’s ADDICTIVE! I am also relying heavily upon their Earl Grey Tea Caddy and their English Breakfast Cookies whilst in Paris when the urge for a ‘nice cuppa’ exceeds the need for ‘cafe au lait’. http://www.crabtree-evelyn.co.uk/

Montagne Jeuness Green Tea Peel Off Masque
This one use mask is 97p. So, its budget, but it does work! A cheap pick me up this mask is actually made with some good quality natural ingredients and as a BUAV and Peta Proggy Award Winner this one’s also very animal friendly – great news for the Paris Poodle! With green tea and root ginger extract and a refreshing squeeze of lemon this peel off mask deep cleanses and refreshes the skin leaving pores cleansed and your complexion feeling zingy, fresh and radiant. Plus the packaging is super kitsch – aka irresistible!! http://www.montagnejeunesse.com/

Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment
I use this a lot during the winter – when my skin is drier than normal – this is a great one to whack on at home and get on with things (Telly watching, reading, learning the subjunctive) – its highly nourishing and hydrating and sinks right into your skin – you will need to wash this one off though but you can immediately see a difference – your skin is softer, any lines are less defined and you feel as though you have done your skin a good deed. With its natural formula of borage, shea butter and St John’s Wart extracts your sad winter skin will soon be smiling once again! http://www.lizearle.com/

Addicted to chocolate in more ways than one!

Food, taste, pleasure. These are, in the correct order I believe, the 3 most important preoccupations of the French nation. I found these three vital elements deliciously combined at the Salon du Chocolate exhibition in Porte Versailles last week. This annual event has become somewhat of an obsession for the chocolate lovers of the world, and as a fellow chocoholic it was only fitting that I went along to discover more.
I had rather hoped that the Salon du Chocolate would have its own Hansel and Gretel style house of chocolate, cake and ginger bread, but sadly no.

However, the Salon du Chocolate was deliciously like entering a small chocolate shopping centre where all the vendors are keen to give you free samples of their sugary creations. Along with demonstrations of how to make chocolate cakes, macaroons and the like, there was also a chocolate fashion show where models (who clearly never touch the stuff) were wearing outfits created by renowned chocolatiers in collaboration with French fashion designers (including Thierry Muglar, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and Jean Doucet). This delicious défilé was held in aid of the charity ‘La Voix de l’Enfant” to raise chocolate supplies and funds for under-privileged children (http://www.lavoixdelenfant.org/).

As well as the fashion show there were stands upon stands of chocolates all beautifully presented! At times I couldn’t tell if the chocolates were too perfect delicacies or lip glosses, eye shadows or compacts, either way they were too beautiful to eat!

The chocs and macaroons at Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki looked beautifully delicious!

The Salon du Chocolat also had a small section for makeovers by professional makeup artists along with a small stand from Palmers cosmetics which had joined in on the chocolate affair because of its cocoa butter content! This got me to thinking about how chocolate can be pleasurable in multiple ways...

Aside from being rich in antioxidants, highly addictive caffeine and sugar, cocoa butter has great skin softening properties hence its explosion into the cosmetics industry. I have to confess however, that previously I have found chocolate inspired beauty products disappointing – for me they smell too much like the real thing, your taste buds get overexcited, your mouth waters, only to be disappointed when the chocolaty substance ends up being used as a shampoo/moisturiser/face mask!

However, amongst my beautification adventures I have found some delightful chocolate inspired products which have a whiff of creamy deliciousness but remain firmly in the cosmetics side of aromas. Mixing food and beauty products to the degree that you can’t tell which is which is never a good idea! Take LUSH for example – are you supposed to eat their Heavenly Buttercream (£3.87) with chocolate flakes and cocoa absolute or use it in the shower for soft and silky skin?? LUSH say that with its cocoa and vanilla absolute and sweet orange essential oils it will make your “skin detox feel like a wash with a chocolate orange cheesecake” – eurgh! The Poodle apologises but I would rather eat a cheese cake and wash with shower gel! But no, there are some choctastic creams and lotions and potions that do the chocolate theme with a bit more cleverness and a bit more class.

Take Palmers Cocoa Butter Body Lotion for example. A classic well priced moisturiser which not only blends cocoa butter to a sexy smooth aroma but also smoothes away stretch marks and tones the skin. Any pregnant woman I know is always equipped with 2 bottles of this in the cupboard (along with much Bio-Oil) to prepare for the baby bulge! And at from only £3.50 it would be rude not to try it hein?

Another Palmers must have is something I discovered at the Salon du Chocolat itself –Palmers Dark Chocolate and Mint Lip Butter (£2.75). Rather than being buttery as the name suggests, this tube of gloss makes your lips feel silky smooth and the fresh smell tricks you into thinking that you have just enjoyed several boxes of After Eight Mints! It is destined to make men’s heads turn as you waft past and will give you just THE sweetest kisses!

As previously discussed this Paris Poodle has tried practically all of the fake tan options available to pale skinned beings and Diana B’s Miracle Tan from the states has not escaped my realm. Scented with chocolate truffle (better than the usual biscuit scent!) and the same colour too, this fake tan promises to tan you in 1 minute! The colour it gives you is subtle and natural looking but the way to achieve this colour is somewhat unusual, but ultimately practical. You apply it when you are in the shower, rubbing the foam onto your wet skin which activates the ‘sugar protein’ that gives you a ‘sunless tan’. Cover yourself in the chocolaty foam and wait 60 seconds until you rinse off. It is suitable for all skin types too but it’s MESSY! Really MESSY! The Poodle recommends emptying the shower room of all towels/clothes/dressing gowns as this stuff really does go everywhere – which means that once you have used it you can also give the bathroom a thorough clean too – that’s what I call multi tasking beauty!

Last but not least Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare for Men has also used cocoa butter in their range – perhaps that’s why the range is a nice shade of truffle! The Men’s Cleanse & Polish as well as the Men’s Face Scrub both contain cocoa butter, the scrub is also contains pumice for extra gritty exfoliation – the perfect natural scrub for really manly metrosexuals who prefer to exfoliate with the hard stuff to have baby soft skin! All thanks to cocoa butter!

British Beauty for a Paris Poodle

The Paris Poodle is on location! Ruff! And to keep this pup from looking far from rough I can divulge my must have best British beauty buys which have made it to Paris in my cosmetics bag...

First and foremost my trusted Liz Earle favourites www.lizearle.com – this British beauty brand has only been around 15 years but is already a landmark natural skincare brand set to become an English version of the US Esteé Lauder Empire. Their Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser is an instant reviver at the end of a day’s travelling on Eurostar. This is the best cleanser ever invented which allows one to remove any trace of the most minute imperfection- daily grime, old makeup and even extra waterproof mascara (which should always be worn for teary goodbyes). As well as this wonder product which this Paris Poodle has used morning and night for many years, I have also brought my Liz Earle Superbalm, which has the added advantage that I can say it with a fabulous French accent; Sup –er Balm! And it really is super! This multi purpose wonder balm is made entirely with plant waxes and oils and not only makes my lips silky smooth and kissable but also works its powers to repair dry cuticles and dry skin, nourish nails and groom fly away hair. With an addictive aroma of lavender, neroli and rosehip this is surely one of Britain’s finest exports.

Aside from the British born Liz Earle, this Paris Poodle had to have one last nose about in that good old reliable British institution, Boots. The Poodle pickings here could be endless but I will for now share just 2... at the top of the list – I made sure I walked away from Boots equipped with No.7’s Perfect and Protect Beauty Serum; the must have prolonger of perfection. Proven to work because of its active pentapeptides this is my bedtime, travel time, morning and night time emergency skin smoother – a short few moments away from beautiful skin.

Also in my basket from Boots was Natural Collection lip-gloss in Turkish Delight – very pleasing against an ivory skin tone. I truly believe that lip-gloss is one of life’s most satisfying oral pleasures and at only £1.99 Natural Collection at Boots really gets my tail wagging. It smells delightfully fruity, gives gloss, colour and sparkle and at such a price you can’t go wrong! After all as soon as you gloss up you are either eating, drinking or French kissing again – mwah mwah – better get the gloss out again!


For glam parties alongside the Seine, I also bought some Biradari Shimmering Body Oil from Covent Garden’s The Sanctuary www.thesanctuary.co.uk . This gives skin an irresistible shimmer and intense hydration as it is rich in Sweet Almond Oil and vitamin E. Apparently based on an Indonesian cleansing ritual with Jasmine and Ylang Ylang, this is still most definitely one of my favourite British beauty buys and at just £9.99 it’s a bargain buy for a gorgeous glow! You must buy this for those that you love because they will certainly love you more after this!
And there you have it – a small cross section of my pampering favourites from Grande Bretagne – GRAND!