When Winter comes to visit, dry skin comes out.  We have the heating on higher, and our skin dries out.  The wind blows in our faces, and our skin dries out. Kiddies who are prone to eczema end up with itchier skin than normal.  But what do we put on our skin and bodies?  Most usually, it’s a steroid based product, usually an emolient of some sort, and often quite a greasy feeling product. For... 

The next part to our Alphabet Game series is focusing on all things body beautiful. We’ve tried and tested body lotions, bathing products, body creams, body exfoliators, stretch mark creams, contouring products, tints and tans! You may well recognise some of the names of our testers, they featured in our A is for Anti-Ageing article, and are featuring here again, with a few new names to the group! As... 

Woo Hoo, I love Oskia. I’m really rather in love with the Renaissance Mask, and lighting the massage candle has become a nightly ritual! They have the most incredible products, I’ve talked about them before and the background to the brand, and now, for you lucky readers, we have been given an exclusive discount for 20% off any order! That’s huge! So, if you’re stopping off at... 

Time is very much of the essence here. I work 3 ‘shifts’ per day in order to juggle motherhood and MAF. I work when my children are at school and the baby is asleep. My husband works silly hours, he leaves for work hours before anyone else is out of bed, and gets home after the children are asleep. Or if he’s on night duty, leaves as we’re sitting down for our evening meal,... 

Oskia, the skincare brand taking the world by storm.  With far too many awards to mention, this brand, the result of a remarkable amount of hardwork by former skin therapist and food editor Georgie Cleeve, has taken skincare as we used to know it, and turned it right on it’s head. Using a real ‘beauty mineral’ in all their products, the use of MSM (Methyl Sulphonyl Methane) delivers... 

Anti Ageing is something that all of us are going to think about at some point in time. We’re either forward thinking and will plan ahead, we’re maintaining our skincare, or we’re desperately trying to turn back time.  No matter where you go, there’s a phenomenal amount of information out there, the beauty counters are overflowing with products and information, and the science... 

Sometimes, a product wanders onto your radar and you think “where have you been all my life?” And that is exactly how I feel about Collin Regenerating Collagen Gel. I’m actually quite happy with the lines and wrinkles on my face.  Okay, I would rather they weren’t there, however, they don’t add any years to my face, in fact, I feel I look pretty good for my age.  I don’t... 

Surely there’s only a limited amount that one can say about a bar of soap isn’t there?  You wet it, rub it between your hands, rub the lather on your face and rinse off.  Simple? Well yes, it is that simple, but deep inside Cor’s little ball of Silver Soap is a wealth of technology that will make your face sing for joy, and leaving you feeling clean and fresh, without that tight... 

This week has been all about the children.  With 4 sons aged 8, 6, 3 and not-quite-6-months, there’s always something going on, someone with an injury, or generally just a boy being a bit too inquisitive. The week started out well, but went rapidly downhill after a freak accident with a freshly poured black tea and an inquisitive baby.  I want to say a massive thank you to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd (Ysbyty... 

Its a golden day when you can break out a gold shadow or polish and not look like you’re about to hit the dance floor.  Gold isn’t as hard to wear as you may imagine, and because there are so many golds; rose gold, honey gold, white gold, there is one for everyone. It doesn’t only have to be kept to the editorial or fashion pages, it is wearable… But I love gold, and used... 

Over the weekend, cult product STEAMCREAM launched exclusively in Boots with stunningly illustrated packaging from Japanese designer and poet Mako Kikkawa. She has designed each tin based around her life, friends and travels, but which little tin of nourishing, soothing cream will you choose, or will you choose them all? And will you be buying for the packaging to have a cute tin on your dresser, or... 

Silver isn’t as simple as just being silver.  It could be a chromatic version, or a shimmer wash, a sheer wash of colour, or a wet-look metal.  Wear it all over your mobile lid for a wow impact of colour, as seen here, created by Ellis Faas using her Lights shadow, or just a flash of colour across the inner half of your lash line.  Add it to a lipstick to give that a hidden inner glow, or... 

Black, White, Grey.  Potentially the hardest colours to work with, possibly the most basic colours to start a kit with, definitely the most versatile colours in a kit… International Makeup Artist Kenneth Soh has given MAF exclusively, some suggestions on what to do with black, white and grey.   “White, grey and black are colours that are always with me in my kit. And I use them in... 

So many pinks, so little time!  With every shade available, where do you look, which should you use, and which one actually suits your skin tone? Nadira V Persaud,  leading Make-up Artist with over 16 years of beauty expertise, who has generated work in beauty and fashion editorial, celebrity and advertising internationally and most recently worked on Marie Claire UK, You Magazine and Adidas has... 

There are so many variants of purple; plum, lilac, bright, muted, dark, light.  Everyone has a shade they ‘refer’ to when thinking of purples.  But really, anything does go!  Jules Cardozo-Marsh, Make-up Artist, has given MAF some of her suggestions on how to wear purples and lilacs  www.JulesCardozoMarsh.com  “This Spring/Summer, lilac and purple hues give a fresh and feminine... 

Is it really possible for blue to not scream 1984 and visions of Madonna videos?  Being old enough to remember that fashion of hot pink liner under your lashes and turquoise blue above, it can fill most women with a touch of horror at the thought of putting blue makeup on their faces. However, all is not lost!  There is a blue out there for anyone, and I’m not the only one to think so. YouTube... 

Joan tells us why she loves the Estee Lauder Advanced skincare collection. I’m very lucky to be privvy to insider knowledge on skincare collections, and very lucky to be one of the testers for MAF.  As a buyer of Estee Lauder products for many years, having a skincare range that’s moved with modern times is nice. I’ve been using the Advanced Night Repair Concentrate for a while and... 

Is it fair to say that all colours are season specific, or are suited only to one hair colour, skin colour or eye colour?  Is it possible that one can use every colour of the rainbow, assuming the right tones have been chosen? A firm believer in this, whilst I’d love to wear grass green tops and scarves, I know that I can only where yucky manky khakis and sludges, but the same isn’t true...