Going for Gold: Omorovicza Skin Care on Trial

Who knew Cleopatra's beauty trailblazing extended beyond the milk bath biz? Yep, in order to maintain her emperor-slaying complexion, she apparently wore a gold mask to bed. Thankfully, skincare science has moved on a bit over the last couple of millennia and, thanks to the lovely people at Omorovicza, I've spent the past couple of months trialling the 21st century method.

Omorovicza's award-winning skincare range uses Nobel Prize winning science to harness the natural healing properties of Budapest's thermal waters (CliffsNotes: the earth's crust is thinner here, so more minerals make it to the surface).

They claim that, in combination with the other vitamins, essential oils and natural elements (including, yes, gold) which make up their products, this magic water can tackle just about any skincare woe you care to throw it at. Could it tame my sensitive, redness-prone complexion?

Well, if you can't quite stretch to a trip to the Omorovicza spa in Hungary, a swipe of the Cleansing Milk is almost enough to take you there (if you close your eyes, at least) - the nourishing, anti-inflammatory combination of jojoba, calendula and shea smells so good that the results are almost beside the point! The knowledge that its trademarked Hydro Mineral Transference system is delivering minerals directly into my skin obvs makes the most luxurious make-up removal experience I've ever known even better, though.

But what you really want to know is whether it's worth Going for (Going for) Gold, right? [Anyone else watch that in the '90s? I don't think I'll ever forget the theme tune. Anyway.] I trialled the Gold Flash Firming Serum and, firstly and arguably most importantly for a £100+ investment, it lasts ages - two months of decidedly immoderate twice-daily application in my case. Does it do what it says on the tin posh glass bottle? Bearing its claim to "heal micro-damage and strengthen skin" in mind, I kept a close eye on my pesky broken capillaries... and... as if by magic, a few days in, they actually started to disappear!

It wasn't quite powerful enough to completely negate the effects of frosty temperatures and central heating on my impish complexion during the tricksy trans-seasonal period we've been 'enjoying' recently, though (although, admittedly, weather which can actually be classified as seasonal is about as common in the UK as flying pigs). Maybe, in combination with some of the other products in the Gold Collection, it would have worked even better. Notwithstanding, it turned out to be a great instant brightening fix for the effects of a sleepless night (or two) and really began to even out my skin tone over time.

Looks like Cleo might have been onto something after all. If you can't fit a Budapest stopover into your schedule, you can check out the full range and read more on the Omorovicza website.

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The Alice Look

An Aladdin's cave of antique dollhouses and Alice in Wonderland memorabilia - probably not on your list of "things you might expect to see in Bethnal Green" - unless you've stumbled across the hidden gem that is the V&A Museum of Childhood. Perfect for big and little kids alike - and by big, I do mean over 25 - it really is a treasure trove of a place to visit... Unfortunately, I didn't have time to scope it out fully, but I had to catch their (free) exhibition on "The Alice Look".

When it comes to literary characters, few have proven as influential as Lewis Carroll's 150-year-old creation - and, from Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For" video to the awe-inspiring dance-based reinterpretations by the Royal Ballet and hip-hop supremos ZooNation which ran concurrently at the Royal Opera House over the Christmas period, the Alice effect shows little sign of letting up - I even got the chance to try her band for size myself in my theatre company's own physical theatre-based interpretation last year.

So just what is it about Alice? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's probably not the timelessness of white pinnies and universally-flattering nature of horizontally-striped socks - it's down to the unceasing human desire to believe in magic and possibility (or impossibility) - a desire that, as this exhibition illustrates - seems to transcend time and place. From 19th century English schoolgirls to 21st century Harajuku girls, the world has spent a century and a half hoping to stumble across its very own rabbit holes...

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Blonde Ambition: The Saga Continues

So I got a pretty nice "bronde" result just from using Scott Cornwall's Decolour Hair Colour Remover on my leftover ginge (in fact, my modelling agent assumed I'd been to the salon!) but after 3 months of bleach bottle cold turkey, I was dy(e)ing to go blonder still... When I had longer locks, I prided myself on achieving the most natural-looking shade possible (so successfully that someone I'd spent at least 2 days a week with for 18 months once asked me if I'd "ever tried dyeing my hair" - result!) but I love brighter tones on shorter styles, so decided to take it to the max and leave "natural" at the door for the time being!



The (non-bleach-based) Decolour Hair Colour Remover did a grand job of nixing my red tones (read the full review here), but left my chocolate-dyed roots and underlayers fairly dark so, prior to recolouring, I decided to use the (bleach-based) Decolour Hair Colour Stripper (bonus: this one doesn't smell!), concentrating on the darker areas. One application did pretty much exactly what it said on the box, stripping the lighter areas to a very light yellowy blonde, and the darker areas to an orangey medium blonde.

I think a second application would have taken me down to a uniform pale yellow, but I opted to recolour immediately with a Nice 'n Easy "box" colour (their lightest option - SB2: Ultra Light Cool Summer Blonde). This did tone down the yellow/orange factor and smooth out some of the residual "patchiness", but the result was still too warm for my liking...

So it was back to Boots to grab some Colour Restore Toner in Iced Platinum. Scott recommends toning immediately after stripping (preferably following two applications of Stripper for a "pure" platinum tone), whilst the cuticles are still open, and not after applying a "box" colour, since silicones and waterproofing agents tend to seal the cuticles off once colouring is complete, so I knew I couldn't expect miracles, but, armed with a bottle of clarifying shampoo with which to prise open my cuticles as best I could, I decided to give it a shot anyway.

Although I didn't end up Stefani blonde, it definitely turned up the "cool" factor another notch or two, and, although my hair still retains all the variation in tone put in for the Essential Looks shows (underneath all that red), casual observers seem to assume I've paid a fortune for my "multi-tonal" blonde, so I guess I shouldn't complain!

Overall, although the journey from red to platinum(ish) has taken a little while, I'm really glad I decided to take it in stages - I've seen hair go from dark brown to white in less than 40 minutes at hair shows... and then proceed to snap in less than 2 minutes (eek!) so I'm pretty impressed (and relieved) to have discovered an option that's caused virtually no damage. Thumbs up to Mr Cornwall!

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Review: Scott Cornwall Decolour Hair Colour Remover

As much as I enjoyed toying with titian temptress tresses, I've never stopped thinking of myself as a blonde, so, once my obligation to submit to crazy colour mousse as and when required expired with my final SS15 hair show, it felt like time to go back...

But, with chocolate-dyed roots and underlayers mingling with orange-toned coppers, all layered over yet more layers of bright reds, getting back to blonde seemed like a tough ask... Before I resorted to salon-strength bleach, I decided to try the DIY route... enter Scott Cornwall Decolour Hair Colour Remover.

As a result of my extensive online review-based research on the various home colour removal products available, I knew I had to prepare myself for three things, no matter which I ended up choosing:

1. The stench of rotting eggs
2. Very little idea of which colours might be lurking under all those layers of dye, ready to reveal themselves in all their glory (or horror)
3. A high probability of ending up ginger 

Filled with equal parts excitement and trepidation, then, I mixed up my magic potion, followed the instructions for dark colours/colour build-up to the letter, and...

1. The smell was pretty rank, yes - more like drains than rotting eggs, I'd say... but bearable (forewarned is - mentally - forearmed), and fairly quick to dissipate once I'd finished.
2. It went blonde - hooray! The darker roots and underlayers stayed darker, but this could be my natural hair colour, grown out in the time since I first hit the red.
3. A pretty gingery blonde, to be sure, but still a lot less ginger than I was when I started! I popped a semi-permanent ash blonde colour containing very low bleach levels (Boots Botanics Hair Colour in Light Ash Blonde) on to correct the tone, which helped, although the colour is still slightly warmer and darker than I'd ideally like (for some reason, the above photos don't really show a difference pre- and post-colour application - bottom right was taken before applying, and bottom left after).

Overall, I'm really pleased with the results, which are better than I dared to hope for (- and, amazingly, my hair didn't seem to incur any damage during the process - in fact, even before applying the conditioning treatment, it felt great). In a week or so (unless I nab another hair job and end up with another entirely new look, that is!), I'll recolour using a lighter, permanent colour, which was always part of the plan, but that's purely down to personal whim, and, until then, I certainly won't be reluctant to leave the house (or go to the two job interviews I've got lined up... well, maybe I will, but not because of the hair!).

Do you dare to DIY..?

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Degree Show Report 3: Central Saint Martins (Fashion & Jewellery Design)

And so to our final UAL Summer Show, at Central Saint Martins... Revived by a quick coffee on the train over from Chelsea (well, Vauxhall), we arrived with just enough time to spare to elbow our way through, seemingly, the entire population of North London, whilst checking out the fruits of the fashion and jewellery design grads' labour before the exhibition closed.

Fashion: Womenswear

The womenswear display was pretty epic, no way round it. Structure (well, perhaps "scaffolding" might be a more fitting term), layering and deconstruction were the watchwords of the collections, and, whilst I couldn't help but adore the drama (teetering on that borderline with the theatrical to which I am such a recurrent visitor myself) of standout pieces such as that red dress a couple of shots down, I also fell for the quieter charms of the - equally innovative - deconstructed pieces (beige can never again be accused of blandness), given added impact by some very canny layering with contrasting pieces.

Fashion: Menswear

In terms of the pieces themselves, I was equally impressed by the menswear collections - lots of exciting boundary-pushing going on, whilst the temptation to simply "run riot" without due thought and attention was skilfully avoided. However, I was a little saddened that they were given so much less "airtime" than the womenswear collections - no mannequins or complete looks on show, just lots of rails... Which made photography, as well as gaining a full appreciation of each student's collection, pretty tricky...

Fashion: Graduate Diploma

Although this was a much smaller showcase than that of the BA students, some of my favourite pieces were tucked away in this little collection... So innovative... well, would you have thought of doing that with a silver pipe?

Jewellery Design

This was a real treat. I am a sucker for a statement accessory, and you'd be hard pressed to find a bigger statement than the ones made in this room... headdresses, harnesses, full-face pieces, even full-body pieces... #betterthanTiffany.

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