FESTIVE BEAUTY S.O.S | Wearing killer heels without killing yourself

YOU'VE BEEN at work all day and, if you’re belong to a very small minority of the female population, you’ve decided it’s okay to wear 6-inch stilettos to work. And you’ll be damned if you crack in a moment of weakness (or pain) by taking them off or rubbing your feet. You’ve insisted for time immemorial that they’re really comfortable (ohmigod are they not), and you'll sashay through life insisting as such, walking, head held high, into the horizon with your heels strapped in place. To each her own. This post is for women who can't mask the unbridled pain we feel with every step we take in, what I call, holiday heels on all dozen or so occasions we slip into them each year.

For those of us who haven’t trained our feet to endure the unending pain of fixing spikes on our heels while we teeter around on our tippy toes, the decision to wear high heels to holiday parties -- post work or otherwise -- will be met with swift, crippling pain confining us to a chair or -- for the very steeled (or drunk) -- a gentle sway on the dance floor to momentarily take the pressure off of one foot at a time. By the end of the night those who can’t resist the punchy beats of George Michael’s Last Christmas will be buffing the floor with our stocking-ed feet, which is no way to treat a pair of $50 Wolford’s is it?

So here’s our quick guide to wearing heels without a sense of dread during the festive season:

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TREND MILL | Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique rocks

 

A LARGE swath of beauty bloggers on the interweb are obsessed with nails. So obsessed that they take daily pics (NOTDs to you) of a different manicure. I wonder how they’ll react to the launch of Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique this month. Because it’s a cracker of a range.

First, Fulerton is always behind the scenes at the hottest fashion shows, works with the top stars and knows what’s going to be a hit trend seasons before it is. She knows what you’re going to want to be wearing on your fingers next fall before it’s even a glimmer in your fashionable eye.

She’s also incorporated some pretty interesting concepts into the range. There’s a stand-alone kiosk that is stocked with double-ended bottles, nail art, glitter, nail tools and all sorts that Andrea has clearly thought long and hard about. In fact, I bet most of the products came about because she wanted them for her own use and couldn’t find them previously, like the credit card-slim buffing block. There are 78 SKUs in all.

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EXPERT SECRETS | Lisa Eldridge videos

ANYONE WITH a finger on the beauty pulse in the UK knows about the talented beauty Lisa Eldridge. She creates makeup for No. 7, styles amazing shoots for top magazines, is married to an artist whose work I adore and has her own website, populated with some of the most useful how-to videos ever to hit the internet. Which is saying something because there are gajillions of videos on the ever-growing interweb.

The lady's so thoughtful, you can even request to see certain videos (entry form is in the left sidebar), so don't fail to pipe up if there's a look or technique about which you're curious.

Bookmark this site and refer to it often. 

My favourite videos:

1. Anti-ageing makeup eyes, brows and lips
2. Anti-ageing makeup foundation, concealer, powder and blusher
3. Pastel beauty trends (the model looks like a different person after, doesn't she!?)
4. An everyday makeup look
5. 4 ways with lipstick
6. Dita Von Teese inspired matte lip
7. Morning after makeup part I (Very useful)
8. Morning after makeup part II (Very useful)

Find your favourite Lisa Eldridge video.