In The File Marked 'BIN': L'Oreal Studio Secrets Anti-Dull Skin Primer

This 'professional' skin primer is supposed to add some radiance to dull looking skin - in fact, despite the pink tones, the only thing that shone through was way, way too much sparkle. It's far too glittery to be used during the day unless you want to impersonate tinsle, and I'm not sure I'd use it at night either. Its quite a common beauty brand trend (and mistake, in my view) to chuck some sparkle in a product and label it 'radiance enhancing' instead of putting in proper ingredients such as ultra-fine irridescent pigments that really will catch the light in a way that is appropriate. We do not all want to look like the tree fairy, thank you. There is also a miniscule picture 'instruction' on the bottle of a cheek and a 'to the ear' pointing arrow. And, it means what? Add to cheeks in a upward direction possibly, but in that case why would anyone just want radiant cheeks. Wouldn't the better option be to look radiant everywhere on the face? Sigh. I give up.

Gift Set: Revlon Va Va Voom Red Nail Collection

This sweet little set of four fabulous nail colours in the red spectrum is great for experimenting with reds. The bottles are mini-size (5ml), meaning you don't have to commit to wearing just one red the entire time. Inside, it contains One Perfect Coral, Revlon Red, Cherries In The Snow (I'm wearing that one right now!) and the super-shimmery Frankly Scarlet. At £5.99 for the set, I think its a great value buy for those of us - like me - who never, ever get to the bottom of a full size nail varnish! It's at Superdrug exclusively.

Put To The Test: Natio

The first thing I found from this natural and aromatherapy based Australian range was Body Gloss, which I loved for the gleam it left on my arms - a perfect accompanyment for a little black dress. So, I felt motivated to give some of their other products (stocked at Debenhams and Debenhams on line) a try. I found Renew Radiance Foaming Cleanser, £11, good value for money and a wash off cleanser that acts more expensive than it actually is. It didn't foam wildly, and is more of a creamy wash off, but the aromatherapy scents came through and once removed with warm water my face felt moisturised and clean. The other item I tested is Glow Skin Brightening Face Balm, £13. It's infused with green tea, lavender and rose but the scent is very fresh and light. The texture of the cream isn't as balmy as the name implies; it feels more like a night cream weight. However, it smoothes in very easily and although I won't say I was glowing like a superstar, it is a cream I will definitely come back to when my skin feels dry. In fact, both products are good to have on hand if your skin starts to feel dry during the winter because they do give the complexion a moisture boost as well as leaving it feeling velvety and soft.

First Look: Clarins Spring 2010 Cotton Flower

Ooh - love the pared down coolness of the Cotton Flower Eye Quartet & Liner palette in the forthcoming Clarins Spring Make Up Collection, but because I can't resist a little prettying up, the Cotton Flower Face Palette gets my vote as one of the most irrisistible make up items to save up for next year! It launches on counters in February. Also look out for the almond scented pink glosses, Iced Pink and Sweet Fig - one shimmery and one creamy - that are packed full of Vitamin E for a perfect pout.

USUnlocked.com: Shop America!

I've just found out about this very cool website that allows you to shop from the States and have it sent to the UK. Hanes and Victoria's Secret (even though it's rumoured to be coming to UK), GAP and Old Navy are amongst the stores but better yet is that it allows you to shop from department stores such as Macys, Nordstrom and Bloomingdales, including the beauty department of course! The ultimate for us beauty lovers is that you can also shop Sephora and snap up some fabulous Kat Von D! You sign up for a shipping address and once you've registered you will be quoted shipping rates: USUnlocked package and ship. I haven't signed up for it yet, so not sure what the fee involved is, but if you use this service, please let me know how you rate it. www.USUnlocked.com

Cut Specific Hair Care...Hmmmm.

Noticed on Sephora.com a new brand called HerCut that targets your hair style before your hair condition or type. One of five styling products aim to support long layers, bobs, pixies, shags and blunts by using 'cut-specific polymers' combined with positive, negative or neutral charges (yes, I'm lost too now) to give optimal styling benefits. Oh, really? I'm not sure what to make of it. My gut reaction is 'yeah, right' and it will take some serious convincing that negative charges will make one jot of difference to a pixie or a bob, for example. Long layers or a shaggy cut I can just about stretch to understanding might need a differently formulated product, or that sleek or rough looks need different things, but there are a million and one styling products out there already that do the job and don't claim 'cut-specific polymers' as an ingredient. What do you say?

Happy Times At The Cosmopolitan/Olay Fun Fearless Female Awards

I go to quite a few award events but I've just come back from the Cosmo Fun Fearless Women awards that celebrates amazing women with a mix of celeb and non-celeb awards and it really was fabulous. Food was a yummy chicken dinner - proper food that made Vernon Kay happy - followed by Baily's & Pineapple cocktails - weirdly delicious but I couldn't drink a whole one! Highlights of the night were getting Pixie Lock to tweet my twit-pals on @britbeautyblog, with her very quick fingers painted with alternate green and black polish, catching Dannii Minogue powdering her nose before going in front of the cameras and getting a sneaky peek at the celebrity gifting suite (Uggs..boxes and boxes of them, Olay beauty gifts stacked sky high!). As ever, my camera skills won't win any awards but I wanted to share the evening with you, so here they are in random order.