Tag: photograph

"You can use dry oil on your hair, too – it’ll make it glossy as a mane": Eva Wiseman on dry oils. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Observer

Dry oils are not dry. That's your first lesson. They're less wet, heavy and greasy than your usual baby oil, sure, and they leave an almost matte finish on the skin after showering, but they're not dry. See Argan+ Dry Body Oil (14.99, 08450 708090) or This Works Dry Leg Oil (38, harveynichols.com) for evidence. They are liquids. They slosh. Second lesson, as well as your skin, you can use most dry oils on your hair, too – leave it in overnight and it'll make your hair glossy as a mane. Third lesson, it turns your shins into the shiny shins of celebrity pap shots, the kind of shins on the legs of women who appear bred for the beach.

Alternatively

Carita Fluide de Beaut 14 44, carita.co.uk
Declor Relax Intense Dry Oil 43, decleor.co.uk
Etat Pur Nourishing Dry Body Oil 12.20, etatpur.co.uk

Wild thing: unleash your inner animal. Photograph: Observer

This summer, think of your face as a kinetic Pinterest board, one on which to play out all your fancy-dress fantasies. Don't worry – they need go no lower than your chin. Now is the time to stick diamonds on your eyebrows and dance around an Essex field at dawn. Now is the time to paint your cheeks in primary colours and tell the man who sold you overpriced fags you love him. On the Givenchy catwalk, they stuck halved sequins to the models' eyelids and at Chanel they glued pearls down their necks. Everywhere else they painted gold leaf on to hair and eyes and had a bit of a laugh. For a wanton "fairy gone wild" look, experiment with glitter and Vaseline on the cheekbones. If you want to go more sophis, try MAC's Old Gold Pigment (17, maccosmetics.co.uk).

Alternatively

Eye Rock 7, asos.com Violent Lips 10, asos.com Clinique Chubby Stick 16, clinique.co.uk Topshop Crayon 7.50, topshop.com Shu Uemura Eye liner 15.50, shuuemura.co.uk

Best foot forward: time for a pedicure. Photograph: Eamonn Mccabe for the Observer

In the olden days, they'd cut the dry skin off a woman's heel in order to count the rings and work out her age. We've come a long way since then, those days when we had to walk 20 miles to school every morning over ice, glass and blades, and then when we got there we were only allowed in if we wore ear plugs because the lessons were deemed too "incendiary" for female ears. Yeah. But our feet – still they are tough. Butter London has launched a new pedicure collection of products that do disgusting things quite beautifully – like the Rock Off Glycolic Callus Peel (25, butterlondon.com), which dissolves hard skin off your heels, and the Mucky Pups Foot Wipes (13) for when "your dogs are barking". Summer has been promised to us. So start pumicing today.

Alternatively…

Dirty Works Pedicure Set 9.99, sainsburys.com
Cowshed Hand and Foot Treatment 38, cowshedonline.com
Tweezerman Nail Rescue Kit 22, asos.com

The matchy matchy look:Jessica Biel, Rihanna and a Stella McCartney model show how it's done. Photographs: Getty; Mavrix/Xclusive

Yes, it's official - you're allowed to match your clothes again
Clashing patterns has been all the rage for what seems like an age - yes this week Fashion Statement rhymes. But Jess Cartner-Morley has just broken the news that in fact matchy-matchy is the new fashion compliment you should be hankering after. Firstly, from Stella to Whistles, there's been the surprise success of this season's pyjama set trend. Secondly, designers and the high-street are backing matching print top-and-bottom sets for next season too. This week Topshop's autumn/winter press preview was bursting with co-ordinating separates in all manner of textures and patterns. Oh and Wendi Deng got in on the act with a nail polish and cuff matching moment during Leveson.

Barjis Chohan's AW 2012 collection: "Young, fashionable Muslims are struggling to buy clothes from the Western, high-street shops" Photograph: Barjis Chohan

Muslim fashion is having a moment
Muslim fashion is worth 59 million globally. Vivienne Westwood proteg Barjis Chohan has just launched a fashion-forward, Muslim-focused line. Harrods are selling abayas. This week Sara Ilyas rounded up how Muslim fashion is having a moment while discussing hijab trends and what fashion labels are doing to target a modern Muslim audience.

ASOS Autumn/Winter 2012 key trends. Photograph: ASOS

There was a lot happening in the world of menswear
Singapore staged a men's fashion week, which Sue-Wen Quek had some issues with. The first London Collections Men schedule was released by the British Fashion Council. As Imogen Fox noted, there are a lot of Christophers (and a Prince) on board for this first men's London fashion week. Savile Row was once again in the spotlight: Charlie Porter thought it needed to "adapt its crafts to the modern world." Gustav Temple meanwhile, argued that there was no place for the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch on this hallowed street. And if this wasn't enough male fashion action then Simon Chilvers' roundup contemplated Russell Brand's select committee look, shoes, and a new knitwear neckline.

Helen Mirren on the catwalk at Dolce & Gabbana's autumn/winter 2012 show in Milan earlier this year. Photograph: Olycom SPA/Rex Features

Dolce & Gabbana made the Invisible Woman giddy
She was attending the first Vogue fashion festival and minding her own business, when suddenly the Invisible Woman found herself whisked off to interview Italian power duo Dolce & Gabbana. She loved them. They talked about older women, botox and chocolate. Obvs.

Madonna launches her first fragrance Truth Or Dare. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Cowell and Madge
Not together. Can you imagine? No, no, no. The world couldn't cope. Instead this week Ask Hadley dealt with why Simon only appears to have two outfits. And perfumer Stephen Nilsen lifted the lid on working with the Queen of Pop on her first fragrance. Cue tales of 8ft high black steel walls and bitching about musk. L.U.V Madonna!

Tangy tub: soak it up with Philosophy's pink grapefruit bubble bath. Photograph: Observer

I have approx two baths a year. Which is not to say I am filthy. It's not to say that, no. I am clean. Clean enough, anyway. But for me, baths only come into their own at times like this; times when the sky is as dark as a mood and the only good place to be is submerged in perfumed water. Bubbles you need: lots of bubbles. And a podcast playing, telling you stories. And a towel on the radiator. For the listening I'd recommend the New Yorker fiction podcast; for the towel I'd recommend one that's been through several washes and has a bit of fight left in it, and for the bubbles I'd recommend Philosophy's Blushing Pink Grapefruit bubble bath (14, boots.com) which is gorgeously unsweet. Now go – bathe.

Alternatively...

Chanel 60, chanel.com Weleda 8.95, weleda.co.uk L'Occitane 19, asos.com Laura Mercier 31, selfridges.com Rituals 9.90, johnlewis.com MOR 40, houseoffraser.co.uk Jo Malone 38, jomalone.com

Once a day, to keep the wrinkles away: tips for a daily moisturiser. Photograph: Observer

A daily moisturiser needs to do these things: feel light on the skin, so you barely remember it's there; make you not feel all dry and tight-skinned after a day sat under the air conditioning; make your cheeks feel smooth, not sticky; give a lovely base for your make-up, so it doesn't cluster in your forehead wrinkles; have some sun protection, so you don't look older than you need to. Also: hydrate. While Dr Hauschka's Moisturizing Day Cream (17.95, drhauschka.co.uk) doesn't have any sun protection, it does feel silky and smoothing, as does Shiseido's new Super Revitalizing Cream (75, 020 7313 4774), which is recommended for over-30s. Add your own SPF, or use Este Lauder's DayWear (37, johnlewis.com), which has an SPF of 15 and makes you feel like you've drunk your eight glasses of water.

Alternatively

Givenchy Hydra Sparkling Fluid 39, 01932 233 824
Omorovicza 74, liberty.co.uk
Clarins Extra Firming Day Cream 46, 0800 036 3558
Philosophy 34, boots.com
Nivea Anti-wrinkle Day Cream 11.08, boots.com
Shiseido 75, 020 7313 4774