FROM THE FRONT | Illamasqua opening first stand-alone shop!

WOO! ANYONE familiar with the cult British beauty brand will be happy to hear this, especially if you live within the ring Road or happen to be visiting London anytime soon. PLUS, there are going to be courses (YAY) for those with yearning to learn a bit more about applying makeup or, as Illamasqua would have it, finding your alter ego through makeup.

• WHEN: Soon. Exact date TBA
• WHERE: 20 Beak Street, London W1

We're waiting with bated breath. Find out more here.

FROM THE FRONT | Daisy de Villeneuve paints Angie, Audrey, Marilyn and Cheryl

I LOVE ILLUSTRATORS. My dream job (yes, like Dawn from The Office) is to be an illustrator... and a baker, the Belgrade bureau chief for Bloomberg and, well, a few other sundry things. Back during my more regular tenure in London, I spent a fair amount of time at The Hospital Club and particularly in the Bellini Bar. I like a fizzy cocktail as much as the next freelance writer, but it was the Julie Verhoeven walls that kept me coming back. Garance Doré inspires both jealousy and admiration (she's brilliant AND gets to snog The Sartorialist!?) in equal measure. Natasha Law has a strange, hypnotic hold on me and Quentin Blake brought Roald Dahl to life (not that he needed any help) before my very eyes... still does, in fact, as I don't think you should ever stop reading Dahl (and if you haven't, read his sinister short stories. Macabre and hilarious.... Tales of the Unexpected is a treat). My friend Carol Chu (the lovely lady who turned my vision for a logo into reality once upon a time. Thank you!) blows me away with her work. Teach me, I implore! 

But, whoa, whoa, back to the point (focus, Jess, focus). There's another illustrator who has a certain way with a felt-tipped pen.

Click to read more ...

SHOP THE PAGES | New feature alert!

ONE OF THE things that I have had on my mind since early 2007, when I was first in the throws of launching my beauty website and my old blog, the beloved Cult Beauty Blog (RIP. Remember her? Bless... I do miss the ol' cult-beauty.blogspot.com. Perhaps we'll revive her one day), is how to actually translate magazines to the internet. Now, I know it's a bit cheeky of me to do this, but how cool would it be to simply click on the pages of the magazines you love and buy the products you're coveting right then and there, online?

Enter SHOP THE PAGES, the new feature where you can actually browse and click select pages from the most recent magazines.

For the sake of not pissing off said glossies (we heart you and just want to share our glossy love!) or infringing on copyright, we are only scanning select pages and don't make any money off of it. It's purely for content.

Credit cards (you do have a monthly budget, right? Stay within it!) at the ready!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE PAGE.