Your guide to make up and more by Lesley Thomas. Can we really trust celebrity endorsement of beauty products? Do we believe that a self-tan is excellent because Jordan uses it or a moisturiser is more effective because Jodie Marsh has given it the thumbs up?
Royal favourite: the Queen uses Clarin's beauty products From what I gather, you need only pop up on a reality TV show these days to be bombarded with offers of free lipstick or "It" creams that you might like to mention in your next interview in OK! The Queen doesn't go around raving about the latest 1,000 anti-ageing products, does she? Yet the royals have made some pretty respectable calls when it comes to selecting products for endorsement.
Clarins, one of the world's most reliable beauty brands, has just been discreetly given a royal warrant - and well deserved it is, too. Whenever I ask beauty editors and make-up artists (who are bombarded with free stuff) which products they would actually pay for, Clarins is always on the list. Though neither the Queen nor Clarins will say which products she uses, we do know that ladies-in-waiting have been sent out for emergency supplies of its Hand and Nail Treatment Cream ( 16).
If she isn't already, the Queen should also be using Clarins's excellent Super Restorative range, formulated for mature skins. In particular, the Super Restorative Day Cream SPF20 ( 58) is well worth spending one's money on. It's no surprise that the Prince of Wales is a fan of botanical beauty, and chi-chi company Micheline Arcier Aromath rapie has been given his official seal of approval.
Reflexology and massage treatments at its Knightsbridge clinic are a hot ticket in the pampering world. We may not know which brand of toothpaste is squeezed out for him every day, but I'm told Charles likes Micheline Arcier's oils to be used when a minion draws his bath. And rightly so - I can vouch for the soothing efficacy of the Lavande Bath Oil (from 11, www.
michelinearcier.com). For a cheaper, plant-based alternative, you could try Charles's own Duchy Originals organic beauty line.
The Pure Organic Hard Soap ( 3.75, at Waitrose) is the bestseller and the only product so far to have the Soil Association stamp. The Duke of Edinburgh gave the royal approval to Penhaligon's marvellous fragrances.
I do hope he wears Blenheim Bouquet, originally blended in 1902 for the Duke of Malborough. The zingy citrus fragrance is the firm's bestseller, and fans have included Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton and Hugh Grant (from 45; 0800 716108, www.penhaligons.
co.uk). Ladies might like to try the fresh and feminine Bluebell fragrance, which was created in 1878 (from 50); contemporary English princesses Kate Moss, Keira Knightley and Rosamund Pike are among its fans.
Elizabeth Arden also has a warrant from the Queen and was a favourite with the Queen Mother. No doubt the brand's renowned all-purpose Eight Hour Cream ( 20) is excellent for chapped lips and wind-blasted cheeks after a bracing hack. Body lotion ( 20) and hand cream ( 18) versions of the classic formulation are just as enriching.
She's not your standard beauty icon, but when it comes to accentuating the positive, I think we can learn a thing or two from the Duchess of Cornwall. My friends in the hairdressing world tell me she has "difficult" hair, but Camilla has always picked the perfect, not-too-brassy shade of blonde to cover the grey and complement her complexion. For this she must thank Jo Hansford, "the first lady of colour" and a specialist in precision highlights.
Liz Hurley and Yasmin Le Bon (both paying customers at Hansford's Mayfair salon) won't trust anyone else with their hair colour (020 7495 7774, www.johansford.com).
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