RSVP Beauty

Spray Tans For Tots – The New Irish Craze We’ve all seen the American reality shows documenting the parents who enter their toddlers into US beauty pageants, coating them in make-up and tan so that they look like mini adults. Although such a spectacle causes many of us to shake our heads in disbelief, it would appear that the trend is now catching on with Irish parents and their children. The Irish Daily Mail today reported that the staff of beauty salons around the country have noticed an increase in the amount of parents requesting that children as young as five years old receive treatments like spray tans and feather extensions for occasions like Communions. Tallaght’s Wild Tanning Co. has seen evidence of this growing trend, with manager Shane Brady telling the Irish Daily Mail: ”We have seen it before, parents coming in trying to get their children spray tanned for Communions, but we refuse to do it. It’s just not appropriate for children that young.” Another unnamed beauty therapist told the newspaper that it seemed to be the parents who were more into the idea than the children themselves. “Parents would come in and actually beg to have young children spray tanned,” she revealed, “but we always say no.” What happened to the good old days of ringlet curls and white woolly tights?
Xpose LIVE Comes To Cork! If your daily dose of fashion, beauty and entertainment news on TV3’s Xposé always leaves you wanting more, then the Xposé LIVE show that arrives in Cork this weekend is sure to whet your appetite. The show will be full of glamour and style from beauty tips and pampering ideas to fashion shows and celebrity appearances. As well as this, visitors will also get to mingle with the well-known faces of Xposé – Karen Koster, Glenda Gilson, Lisa Cannon and Aisling O’Loughlin – as they front the show from Cork’s Silver Springs Hotel. Speaking at the recent launch of Xposé LIVE in Cork, Glenda Gilson told us, “We do what we do on the show, but it’s all in one room! We have nails, hair, beauty, fashion – all of the things girls love. It’s everything wrapped into one over a three day event.” Xposé LIVE will be held at Silver Springs Hotel in Cork from the 24th to the 26th of May 2013. For further information on the event or to book tickets, visit www.xposelive.ie
Tess Daly Lands Dream Endorsement Deal We at RSVP couldn’t help but notice recently that Strictly Come Dancing presenter Tess Daly has been really upping the ante in the glamour stakes, going for more youthful looking ensembles and edgier styles that her usual ageing floaty ball gowns. And it seems that we’re not the only ones who’ve taken note, as it has been revealed that Mrs Vernon Kay has become the new brand ambassador for L’Oréal hair products. The stunning blonde will follow in the footsteps of Cheryl Cole, filming stylish ad campaigns with the successful brand after landing a deal worth a reported £300,000. Not bad for a days work! Speaking of her delight over her new role and excitement at getting to say the famous L’Oréal tagline, Tess admitted to The Mirror: “The first time I said it, I got emotional – they’re iconic words. We’ve grown up listening to these amazing women say these immortal words – I had to pinch myself.” Tess also revealed in a statement that she was “honoured” to have been chosen as the company’s new brand ambassador, describing L’Oréal as “a brand that puts women first and encourages them to celebrate their self worth and have confidence in themselves.” Judging by how naturally stunning Tess looks at 44 years of age, we can’t think of a better spokesperson!
Lippy: Kate Talks Buff, Lip Gloss and Getting Perfect Brows! BUFFed Up A make-up range backed by the woman who taught me a lot of what I know. Paula Callan is probably one of the most renowned make-up artists in this country and one of my personal favourites. An inspirational artist whose word I’d take as gospel so I was not surprised when I was impressed with Buff, her latest make-up collaboration with Hession Hair. You can divide cosmetics down the middle into make-up for make-up artists and make-up for the general public. Of course their is plenty of cross over but I’ve been left disappointed as of late with new launches, from a make-up artist point of view anyway. (Tom Ford springs to mind! Have yet to find something I will be adding to my kit.) I found the few bits I’ve tried from the Buff range not only easy to use but also of high enough quality for me to carry on shoots and jobs. I only used it today on a campaign shoot. The eyeshadows are so pigment rich they literally apply as they look in their pretty container. Their concealer glides on easily and doesn’t cake after time. But what I really fell for is Buff’s Make-Up Sheer Glo. Add a few drops to your foundation for a luminous finish without looking too iridescent. There’s nothing worse then leaving the house luminous but returning sweaty and oily looking. Available in 4 shades so you don’t have to worry about the different reflects showing up areas of problem skin. At only €36 this should be in everyone’s make-up bag and every make-up artist’s kit. Available online or at Hession Hair. http://buffmakeup.com/ Brow beaten Another latest discovery (yes it’s very possible these products are out yonks but I can’t know or have tried everything! Hey just like Columbus was an explorer of the new world, I like to think of my self as the Columbus of the beauty world and there’s a question mark over him too.) Brows are finally as important as lipstick after years of taking a backseat, in this country anyway. Before every make over I have a series of questions I ask to get to know ...
Kate Moss Reveals Her Secret to Youthful Skin Kate Moss has shared her secret to youthful looking skin and readers will be delighted to know that it doesn’t involve expensive treatments, creams or any exotic, hard to find ingredients. The model’s beauty secret involves only ice and cucumbers. Kate revealed her beauty tip to Stylist magazine, saying that she submerges her face in a sink full of ice and cucumber slices to keep her skin looking great. She said “If I wake up looking tired and puffy, I fill a sink with ice and cucumber and submerge my face. It tightens everything, making you look and feel instantly awake. It is a bit Joan Crawford – but it works.” The 39-year-old was later asked who her style icon is, to which she responded “I’m into that glamorous Studio 54, ultra-glam era. Like Jerry Hall. I love that ’70s girl who was sexy – she had the hair, the lipstick and the all-round glamour; they were ready for anything – most importantly, a good time.” Moss was recently unveiled as the new face of St. Tropez fake tan.
Lancôme Show Collection Preview‏ Guests came out to The Exchequer Room at Fallon & Byrne to celebrate Lancôme’s preview of the Lancôme Show range. The occasion was the private unveiling of the Lancôme Show range, which is the result of an exceptional collaboration with one of the most highly-acclaimed names in fashion: Alber Elbaz. Guests on the evening included the glowing Claire Byrne, who recently announced her pregnancy. Expecting her first child in October, Claire is engaged to Gerry Scollan. Xpose Series Producer, Debbie O’Donnell stepped out for the evening leaving Baby Sam at home for the first evening. Karen Koster joined Debbie on the evening. Karen, who is getting married next month to John Maguire, spoke gushingly about her forthcoming nuptuals. Another bride in the room was Dyane Connor, the TV3 and her fiancé flew to Italy last week only to fall more deeply in love with their chosen venue. Avilia Lipsett explained her new venture, The Black Door, is proving extremely popular with the ‘IN’ crew and over 30’s to an excited Nuala Carey who promised to visit in the near future. Dublin’s fashion crew were out in force to support the event. Mario Fusco, Fashion Editor Corina Gaffney; Cathy O’Connor’ Emily O’Donnell and recently voted Best Dressed Male, Darren Kennedy. And of course top beauty experts were keen to get a first glimpse of the collection that will be showcased to the world from mid-June and available to buy in Department Stores in Ireland from July 1. The Alber Elbaz Show for Lancome sees this fashion genius create four unique outfits for four legends of Lancôme make-up: Alber Elbaz lends his unmistakable style to four worldwide bestselling Lancôme mascaras, the new Hypnôse eye palette and Hypnose Mono eyeshadows. He has thus imagined an irresistible temporary collection: pure fashion down to the tiniest detail, like the bow adorning the boxes. “The real theme running through the collection is the eyes,” he explains, “and rounded forms. The bottles are so fabulously rounded that they were my inspiration. I wanted to create rounded shapes with a hint of humour,” said Alber.
Tulisa Debuts New Curly Hairdo Tulisa Contostavlos arrived at the Sony Radio Awards last night (13 May) sporting a new hairstyle. The singer debuted a new bouffant styled look for the event. Her new do was not a classic bouffant however, as Tulisa also wore her hair down in tumbling curls. She had also dyed her hair a golden brown colour. The look didn’t receive the warmest of receptions from critics online, with Yahoo UK & Ireland saying that it “resembled a mullet.” The 24-year-old showed off her svelte figure in a form-fitting black and gold strapless dress. She teamed the dress with a pair of black heels and painted her nails white. Tulisa is reportedly hoping that Kanye West will sign up to produce her newest album. According to a source “Kanye could give her a hit, which is what she desperately needs. Look at what will.i.am did for Britney Spears recently. Tulisa is still one of the most famous women in the country and a lot of young girls look up to her – her fan base proves that. It’s well within her grasp to turn it all around. All it takes is one hit.”
Cheryl Cole Gives Us Hair Envy Cheryl Cole was giving us major hair envy as she stepped out of a West Hollywood hair salon recently. The 29-year-old looked every inch the L’Oreal Ambassador with her beautiful bouncy locks and judging by the smile on her face, she was pleased too. Cheryl looked great in a navy strapless maxi dress paired with turquoise sandals. The singer made the most of her new hair as she and boyfriend Tre Holloway stepped out on a romantic dinner date. The couple are also said to be taking their relationship to the next level after they were rumoured to be house hunting together. RSVP is delighted Cheryl has finally found happiness.
Zooey Deschanel Unrecognisable at Met Ball Zooey Deschanel was almost unrecognisable when she attended the annual Met Ball on Monday 6th May. The New Girl star looked like a different person when she turned up minus her trademark fringe and wearing lighter eye make-up than we would be used to seeing her with. Zooey pushed her hair to one side in a side parting, ditching her usual bangs. She also wore a custom made blue and white striped Tommy Hilfiger dress. Zooey’s look on the night caused a storm of activity online as fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions. Many fans disliked seeing Zooey sans fringe with one tweeting “I cannot even look at that picture of @ZooeyDeschanel without bangs anymore. It feels wrong.” Another fan not taken by her new style wrote “@ZooeyDeschanel without the bangs is not @ZooeyDeschanel”. However, not all reactions to her appearance on the night were negative and some fans seemed to like the new look. One such fan tweeted “Wow. This is Zooey Deschanel from the Met gala. No bangs, less eye makeup. Less adorkable, perhaps, but stunning.”
Lippy: Kate Talks Festival Beauty, Dry Shampoo and Baking Style Make-up! Lush-ival It’s that time of year again! We’re scouring the social media and news websites for rumours of line ups and headline acts, picking and choosing our weekends carefully, taking out the wellies and scraping off last year’s mud and memories, googling Coachella pics for fashion inspiration and festival trends alert, putting all our hope and expectation into looking as fresh as Kate Moss at Glastonbury, when realistically she’s in VIP all weekend and probably staying in a 5 star hotel. The disappointing truth is even if you look well groomed on the Friday, don’t expect to even be recognisable by Monday morning. But if your insides need a shower as much as your outsides do then your doing it right… Well with a little help from our friends at Lush, they’ve taken a little pain out of your “in-tents” day beauty routine. Toothy tabs are a genius invention from this forward thinking brand. Solid toothpaste in a measured dose, you just pop one in your mouth, crush and brush as normal. Available in 7 unique flavours leaving you feel fresh and revived. I don’t know about you but if my mouth is clean things feel marginally better at least. Cleansing your palette of all the greasy food, warm pints and cigs. €2.50 for 40. Want mosh pit ready fresh hair? Try their “No Drought” dry shampoo. Sleeping in sweaty tents, up all night, rain (in this country anyway) are all recipes for disaster. So if you find it tough to rock the slept in, dragged trough a bush backwards, stick a headband on and wing it festival hair… make sure this is in your rucksack. Made with all the refreshing citrus fruits like grapefruit, lemon and lime, not only will you feel clean and revived they’ll stimulate your senses and wake you up to keep going all night. €8.50 for 115g. Now throw in 16 rolls of loo roll, a camera, some duct tape and a torch and you’re good to go. Oh the JOY-co! Speaking of dry shampoo, I discovered one of my favourites this week. It’s a little pricier than batiste but the results are amazing. Joico Instant ...
Rihanna’s MAC Lipstick Sells Out in 3 Hours Rihanna celebrated as only she can last night when the lipstick she had created along with make-up giant MAC sold out just three hours after hitting the shelves last week. As a thank you MAC sent the singer a giant cake in the shape of the one of the brands famous lipsticks, adorned with Rihanna memorabilia. The 25-year-old tucked in to the massive cake, although by the look of her impressive abs this was obviously a once-off, and she made sure to share the moment with her fans. Under the picture, which showed her demolishing the carefully constructed cake, she wrote: ‘On the road to destruction #cake.’ The lipstick called ‘RiRi Woo’, which won’t be available until the next shipment arrives in June, was a twist on MAC favourite ’Ruby Woo’. This is the first product from the singers multi-collection deal with the cosmetic company. The rest of the ‘RiRi Hearts Mac’ collection will launch in four seasonal collections over the coming year and will also include eye shadow palettes, brushes and false lashes.
Lippy: Kate Talks Origin Hair Design, Extend Your Lashes and Turning Your Home into a Spa with Voya Voya Voila When new products are sent to me in the post, like an excited toddler it’s ripped open hungrily. Product first, press release and product info after. I have to touch it, smell it, wear it and feel it before I can do anything else. So when Voya recently sent me a beautiful room fragrancer I was a little confused at first. Perhaps they didn’t know my role at the magazine and maybe this was meant for review in a home wears to living section somewhere. But whoopsies… I’d opened it by accident so now there was no going back. After further investigation (i.e. reading the product info…) it turns out it was for me after all. The idea behind it being that with our hectic lifestyle these days there mightn’t be much time for spa breaks and relaxation. This subtly suggestive scent transports you straight to your favourite spa every time you walk past it. As I’ve mentioned before, scent is one of the most powerful memory invokers. Hey presto, every time I get a whiff of this Mediterranean fragrance, I’m transported to silence and peace for a few seconds. A lot of beauty brands have launched home fragrances as of late but this is one of my favourites. Fresh, yet relaxing and restful. It manages to wake me up in the mornings but is calming also. Voya is an Irish brand of skincare and spa products with ingredients straight from the sea, harnessing the powers of seaweed. You should try running a bath, switching off the lights and placing this reed diffuser in the vicinity. Throw in Alexander Skarsguard for a Swedish message and lock the door. Mmm… Check out Voya and their Oh So Scented reed diffuser online at www.voya.ie for €40 The Origin of Hair While waiting for my hair appointment recently I got chatting to a lovely mature lady also waiting. We made general chit chat about the weather and such and then she asked me how long I’d been coming to this particular salon. I explained it was my first time as I was reviewing it for a magazine. “Oh you’ll be very ...
Jennifer Lawrence Shows Off Flawless Complexion at Great Gatsby Premiere Jennifer Lawrence went for a completely new look on the red carpet of the premiere of The Great Gatsby. The 22-year-old actress, who usually sports a smoky-eyed and pink-lipped look at events, showed off her flawless complexion by opting for a more natural look. The Hunger Games star looked naturally beautiful by toning down her make-up for the premiere, possibly so as not to take attention away from the stars of the new film. She wore her newly cut hair up and back from her face to show off her radiant skin with slight height at the crown to add a touch of elegance. She appeared to be only wearing a slick of lip gloss, a small amount of eyeshadow and a touch of mascara. Jennifer wore a black dress with a plunging V-necked neckline by Viktor + Rolf. This she accompanied with a gold Valentino box clutch which added a dose of glamour to the ensemble. Several celebrities made an appearance at the premiere, including the film’s stars Carey Mulligan, Leonardo Di Caprio, Isla Fisher and Tobey Maguire.
Helen Flanagan Voted Sexiest Woman In Britain Former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan has been named the UK’s Sexiest Woman in this year’s FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the world 2013 list. The gorgeous Mila Kunis, 29, was voted the worlds hottest female but Helen topped the poll in the UK beating Corrie colleague Michelle Keegan to the number one spot. The lads mag clearly thinks Helen has it all and we can certainly see why in her latest shoot for the glossy as she shows off her best assets. Speaking about her new title “I’m absolutely thrilled to be voted the Sexiest Woman In The UK. It’s a lovely confidence boost, especially when there are so many beautiful girls out there. Rosie Webster would definitely be impressed!” Irish model Georgia Salpa also features in the top ten along with pop stars Rihanna and Cheryl Cole, model Kelly Brook and singer Pixie Lott. Do you think Helen deserves the title?
Half of Us Carry Red Head Gene There is nothing more associated with Irish people than gorgeous red hair. It seems the science behind the flame-haired gene has been found and it may be from out lack of sunshine. Ireland’s DNA has revealed that one in ten Irish people have red hair, but it is thought that up to half the population could be carrying the redhead gene even though they are blonde or brunette. Ireland, Scotland and northern England have the highest count of red-haired people. The DNA laboratory carrying out research into the flame-haired gene believes it is so associated with Ireland and Scotland because of the last of vitamin D. “It’s to do with the cloudy climate,” said Helen Moffat, marketing manager at IrelandsDNA. “Scandinavia has perhaps less hours of sunshine but Ireland and Britain are much cloudier so the Vitamin D we get is much lower in comparison to somewhere like Scandinavia where they seem to have more sunshine. The fairer you are, the more vitamin D you can absorb. Red hair is associated with fair skin due to the lower melanin concentration and this has advantages as more vitamin D can be absorbed.” IrelandsDNA, which focuses on probing people’s heritage, has developed a new test that allows parents to see if they might have red-haired children. They are hoping the test – which will show that many brunette and blondes unknowingly carry the redhead gene – will curb the prejudice and teasing some redheads face. In Ireland 10 per cent of people are redheads while in Scotland up to 13 per cent have red hair and in England six per cent have red hair. This is considerably higher than in the rest of the world. Outside Europe, only .06 per cent of people are redheaded. For a child to have red hair, both parents must be carriers – but neither of them have to have red hair – and then there is still only a 25 per cent chance that their offspring will have it.
Lippy: Kate Talks Vlogging, The Benefits Of Coconut And Her New Make-Up Addiction Drunk…hic…Vlogging… There are millions of beauty related YouTube videos and tutorials on the inter-web. The new term coined in the urban dictionary is Vlogging, or video blogging, and this has taken beauty reviews to a whole new level. You can search now for a swatch of a particular eyeshadow you’re interested in and see it on the back of someone’s hand. You can see make up tutorials for Halloween looks, celebrity make up (including Bieber and Drake – WTF???) or just watch what regular vloggers bought or “hauled” that day (these are particularly annoying!). One of my all time favourites is a girl called Jenna Marbles. She vloggs about everything from her dogs (inside her top?) to drunk Christmas tree decorating. She has over 8 million subscribers, her video views are over a billion and she has more fans on Twitter and Facebook then some of the largest stars in Hollywood. I love her no holes barred, truth telling attitude, done in a humorous matter of fact way. Check out one of my favourite of Jenna Marbles’ vids – the Drunk Make-Up Tutorial – that could possibly take responsibility for boosting this girl to super stardom! (We’ve all been there…I personally was on that trip to London at the start of the year, where not only did I fix my own make up after copious bottles of champagne, but two other full faces! My best work yet! Giggle giggle…hic) Coco Wellbeing Over two years ago I started looking into a Paleo diet. Over that time I’ve made small, slow changes to my eating habits, starting with giving up wheat completely and reducing my dairy intake. This year, I’ve cut out dairy and since January, I’ve started eliminating sugar from my diet (the biggest challenge yet – it’s in EVERYTHING!!!). Paleo represents Palaeolithic, which in lay mans terms means trying to eat like a caveman. They didn’t have wheat, dairy or sugar in those days but ate plenty of nuts, seeds, berries, fish, meat and veg. It’s more of a lifestyle then a strict diet. I avoid products with more ...
Kathryn Thomas’ Hair Causes Twitter Frenzy It was the semi-final of The Voice of Ireland last night and saw two contestants sent home but what viewers were more concerned about on Twitter was the hair of presenter Kathryn Thomas. Kathryn sported an 80s style perm which saw her receive a tirade of abuse from Twitter users who were clearly not taken by the new do. One viewer compared her to 1930s child star Shirley Temple saying “The hack of Kathryn Thomas’s hair! She’s like Shirley Temple gone wrong!” Others likened her style to that of a poodle with one tweeting “Kathryn Thomas looks roughhhhh on tv! Curly poodle head!” Another viewer wrote “Kathryn Thomas’s hair is vile this week, worse than any other week! Looks like she got electrocuted!! Looks like fusilli pasta!” Do you agree that the perm look just isn’t for her or are the commenters being harsh? This was the penultimate episode of The Voice of Ireland and next week we will see the last four contestants go head to head to see who will be crowned winner. The remaining contestants include Kelly McDonagh Mongan, Shane McLoughlin, Keith Hanley and Shannon Murphy.
Jennifer Lawrence Debuts New ‘Do at Glaad Awards Jennifer Lawrence debuted her fab new ‘do while honouring former U.S. president, Bill Clinton with the Advocate For Change Award at the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in LA, last night. Drew Barrymore was hosting the yearly event, which recognises the achievements of various branches of the media who represent the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and issues important to them. Jennifer slipped up when saying the former commander in chief’s name, although the honouree was in good spirits. He joked: “She really was like 2-years-old when I became president. I met her backstage and she looked like she was touring the Museum of Natural History.”
Hollywood’s Not-So-Hunky Past Today, they’re swoon-worthy Gods of both the big and small screen, but Hollywood’s biggest hunks weren’t always so dapper! Check out the ‘then’ and ‘now’ pics of some of your faves, below…
Michelle Heaton Reveals New Tattoos In Bikini Shoot Michelle Heaton has been through a lot recently so it was nice to see her looking so fresh and relaxed on a recent family vacant in LA. The Liberty X singer posed in a halter neck bikini beside a pool for a sexy shoot for OK Magazine and looked toned and glamourous. Michelle marked her marriage to businessman Hugh Hanley by getting a tattoo reading ‘from this moment 19.07.10′ inked from her torso to her thigh and now three years later she had added to it with a flutter of butterflies. Michelle already has a number of tattoos, the 33-year-old has a large butterfly on her lower back and another symbolic tattoo on her wrist which features her husband’s name above the butterfly and beneath the yellow winged image her daughter’s name Faith is written with three hearts below it. Obviously a fan of the beautiful insects. Michelle underwent a double mastectomy on November 20 after discovering she had the mutated BRCA2 gene, which meant she had up to an 80 per cent chance of getting breast cancer so this was her first bikini shoot which made the star a little nervous. Speaking to OK! for their 20th anniversary edition, ‘The breasts still don’t feel like mine, it’s the oddest feeling in the world.’ ‘I was conscious at first – It was the first time I wore a bathing suit since the op. In some of them you can see the scar at the side, so I had to be careful of what I wore. They’re still numb.’ The full interview with Michelle Heaton is available in OK! magazine out now