Recently I attended the DUBAI WORLD CUP, the world's richest horse race, which was a splendid occasion. Like ROYAL ASCOT, the focus is just as much on the ladies' hats and outfits as it is on the gee gees and this year was no exception. Racing afficionados are obviously aware that FRANKIE DETTORI stormed home in the big race on a superb AL MAKHTOUM steed but what about the fashion stakes? All the ladies were winners, to my mind, and Brit milliner extraordinaire PHILIP TREACEY was there to judge the Style Awards and here he is avec moi, naturellement! My patriotic hat was by another famous Brit hatter, DEIDA ACERO (020 7351 27 27) and caused great excitement in the Dubai equivalent to the Royal Enclosure. "A picture's worth a thousand words" and here it is:
SALLY in DEIDA ACERO hat with PHILIP TREACEY.
My red dress, by the by, is by PARVEEN (0207 486 84 80) and is the very one that sent the proprietress of S AND M, into paroxysms of something or other (full story next month, after being legalled!)
DUBAI is ab fab and my lovely publicist CHARLOTTE ELLIS and I had a brill time there thanks to Charlotte's wonderful friends, SANAA ONE, SANAA TWO, SAVANNA, et al. The hotels are extraordinary, the clubs and restaurants are amazing, the beach gorgeous, the natives super friendly and the shopping to die for. My fave shop in Dubai is CENTURY 2000 (971 4 336 6654), owned by clever fashionista VIOLETTE GAUTHIER, where you can snap up top designer wear, including D AND G, VALENTINO, VERSACE, LACROIX and GAULTIER at amazing prices: check it out.
Back in dear old Blighty it was time to sort out my skin after all that sun, sand and surf. It is really important to have regular monthly facials, especially if you subject your face to the rigours of foreign temperatures, travel, dirty cities and the stress and strain of modern living. My all time fave facial is SKIN BY STEREX's fab CARAT Facial which contains caviar, Retinol, AHA and antioxidants which are all massaged gently into your skin by a SKIN BY STEREX therapist. So that's where I headed after returning from Dubai to give my face some TLC in the expert hands of lovely ELAINE STODDARD, SKIN BY STEREX's Director of Training.
A CARAT Facial plumps up and rejuvenates the skin, as well as stimulating the cells and is excellent for sun damaged skin. The products Elaine used on me were the CARAT Cleansing Emulsion which is really practical as it does not need to be followed by a toner, the CARAT 24 Hour Cream, a rich, fluffy nourishing cream which you can use at any time and CARAT's latest and greatest product, their Innovative Transdermal Serum, "the ultimate anti-ageing weapon" which you use sparingly at night on face and neck, hands, arms and décolleté. The serum is packed full of vitties and nutrients and a new and exciting ingredient called EUL 134 and I promise you, you will see a difference in your skin in just a few days.
To nourish the skin and renew the collagen in your whole body from the inside out you should also take the CARAT supplements, Skin X, Ultra-Vital, Collastim and C and C, all of which I take myself.
Ring 01273 686850 for CARAT stockists and to book a facial.
We are very lucky that we live in an age where we can keep our skins looking gorgeous and glowing throughout our lives. There are loads of truly amazing anti-ageing products out there and there is something for every skin type.
MD FORMULATIONS (stockists: 0870 850 6655) have brought out Daily Peel Pads which you can just wipe over the face after cleansing to give your skin a gentle peel. Our guinea pig, MAUREEN has been using the pads for a month and reports fresh, glowing new skin without any stinging or discomfort. "So easy to use", she says. A great idea too.
And now my favourite American skin care company, DR DENESE (www.drdenese.co.uk), who specialise in anti-ageing products, has something new and exciting for us too. DR DENESE's new product is called Growth Factor Serum, a collagen-supporting serum designed to improve skin tone and elasticity and significantly reduce wrinkles. The serum is extremely potent and should only be used on the forehead and cheeks. It is currently being trialled, including by our HGUK guinea pig PATRICIA and we will have results for you soon, skin mates. In the meantime do not forget about all DR DENESE's other great products including their Home Micro Dermabrasion Kit, Hydroseal Hand and Décolleté Serum and, a recent Product of the Month, the Perfect Pucker Line Filler (For Above The Upper Lip), a real boon to all you naughty ladies who are still smoking (shame on you!)
DR ADRIENNE DENESE, the company's founder is a gorgeous lady in her 50s who looks 20 years younger. She has long been a heroine of mine and the good news is that I am finally scheduled to meet her this month. Watch this space, laydeeeez! In the meantime here is the best photo I have got so far of the pulchritudinous and brilliant DR DENESE:
DR ADRIENNE DENESE.
For those of you who do not have the time to get to a salon for a facial, NU SKIN have come up with a fab little gadget called the Galvanic Spa System II, a tiny little hand held, battery operated machine which will give you an instant lifting facial in just a few minutes "in the comfort of your own home". You simply run the Galvanic Spa over your face and neck in an upward motion in conjunction with 2 gels: the Pre-Treatment which gets rid of the toxins and the Treatment which massages nutrients into the skin. It only takes 5 minutes and all you will feel is a slight tingling during and tightness after the treatment; use it weekly for firmer skin. NU SKIN products are sold through distributors and the lovely lady who demo.d the GSII to me and mine is called KERRYN and you can reach her at:
[email protected]
MARY KAY is an international company who manufacture all sorts of wonderful products, including some fab anti-ageing ones. The HGUK beauty department has tried them all now and we love the Time Wise range, particularly the 3-in-1 Cleanser which is really effective and quick to use, the Age Fighting Moisturiser, the Night Solution and the Firming Eye Cream, all of which are self explanatory. My personal favourite is the MARY KAY Day Solution with a sunscreen of SPF25 as I get fed up with having to apply a moisturiser and a sunscreen every day in spring/summer (which is now officially here, believe it or not!)
The MK cosmetics are also great, particularly the Signature Ultimate Mascara for the best ever feathery and feminine lashes and the Signature Lipsticks and Glosses in all sorts of luscious colours. Definitely the brightest colours and most long lasting lippies I have come across this year! MK is also sold by distributors and our HGUK contact is the delightful MARIANNE at:
[email protected] 07711 451497
A fan of the world famous MARY KAY range of cosmetics is allegedly the lovely and fresh faced JENNIFER ANNISTON and here she is, boys and girls:
JENNIFER ANNISTON.
But enough about our faces already! What about our bods and limbs which will be seriously on display this summer with shorts being so fashionable. VEET (previously known as IMMAC) are going great guns with their hilarious Wax Virgin commercials and now they have signed up the truly scrumptious JENNY FROST, the ATOMIC KITTEN babe who will shortly be releasing a solo album, to be the face, or should I say legs, of VEET. VEET launched their latest wax and cream hair removal prod.s in the presence of gorg JENNY last month and I have to say her legs felt every bit as divine as they looked (gnash your teeth, boys, Beauty Ed.s first!)
I have to admit I was a Wax Virgin myself but, after trying the VEET wax strips method which is quick, easy and virtually painless, I am hooked. Once you realise how easy and pain free DIY waxing is, you will not let any incompetent "beautician" hurt you ever again! It simply isn't necessary. Well done, VEET. The waxing packs contain 10 strips which can be reused several times and oil wipes for a smooth finish. VEET's Warm Wax Roll-On and their Hair Removal Cream are also extremely effective and easy to use. Great products, available from all good chemists.
But waxing alone is not enough if you want to have perfect pins this summer: you must banish any cellulite as well. Our lovely HGUK reader JANEY who has been trying MADONNA's pet cellulite cream, SkinGenuity(tm) Body Perfecting Formula for the past 2 months says that it has worked well and her skin is seriously smoother and less dimpled. Well done, Janey. You can locate this exciting new product, which is tipped to be the next Strivectin at: www.physonics.com The cream's Ethosomes (tm) system provides the ingredients to fight those naughty little cellulite- forming cells down below while antioxidants and moisturiser smooth the actual skin surface. And it's official: it works! Thanks, MADONNA and JANEY.
Another anti cellulite product which works well and smells fab (unlike some of them!) is LANCOME's Slim Success which I reviewed recently and which you readers seem to like. Available in all good pharmacies and stores.
So there is now no excuse not to have nice smooth, well waxed and cellulite free legs, girls. Then get into your cycling shorts and get cracking. THE BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION, an excellent charity will be running Help A Heart Week next month from the 3rd to 11th June to promote heart health through exercise, a subject close to my heart(excuse pun!), as those of you who have read my new book SENSUAL PLEASURES AND THE ART OF MORPHING INTO A HEALTH GODDESS (below) will know. So get yourselves sponsored and get cycling, either on a real bike or at the gym. Personally I will be doing my cycling both at my club, HOLMES PLACE FULHAM (ring 020 7471 0450 to join me there) and round the streets of West Ken on my trusty COVENTRY bike: I will be the one with the perfectly waxed legs! If you want to support the wonderful BHF for their Help a Heart Week please contact: 020 7487 9434 [email protected]
And now for something completely different..........................one of the more unusual contributors to SENSUAL PLEASURES is VALENTIN BORISSOV, the celebrity psychic. I firmly believe that we should all be healthy mentally and emotionally as well as physically and that is where VALENTIN comes in, soothing our fears and predicting what we can and cannot achieve in our lives. Originally from Bulgaria VALENTIN has a rare and special psychic gift and is much in demand in London society as well as in Monaco where he consults within the Royal circle. Serious business men and women take their questions and problems to VALENTIN, who works mainly with Tarot cards and I have to admit he has always been unnerringly and frighteningly accurate for me personally. Ring him on his business mobile: 07940 475 305
VALENTIN BORISSOV.
Our Paperback Book of the Month for May is the No.1 best seller, LABYRINTH by KATE MOSSE (an attractive blonde like the STORM supermodel but with an "e" on the end!) Published in paperback by ORION at £7.99, LABYRINTH was a hardback No.1 last year and a recent RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB choice. Our reader MARY says "I was frightened this book would be very intellectual because KATE MOSSE is very brainy but it was actually very easy to read and very exciting. It's about 2 completely different women in completely different eras, one girl living in mediaeval times and one in the present. But both the stories are very good and they blend together seamlessly. I loved it."
Our May Hardback Book of the Month is the interestingly titled THE REVENGE OF INDIAN PETER (The Incredible Story Of Peter Williamson, A Biography In Novel Form) published by my own publishers THE BOOK GUILD, who always find fascinating and unusual books to bring out. Written by actor, director and playwright ROSEMARY LINNELL who is now sadly deceased, THE REVENGE OF INDIAN PETER is priced at £16.99. I decided to read this one myself even though I do not usually like historical novels (it is set in the 18th century) but I found the extraordinary and shocking tale absolutely riveting. INDIAN PETER is the true story of a young boy who is abducted from Scotland, sold into slavery in America and endures a terrible life of cruelty, even living for a time amongst brutal Red Indians who treat him as a dog. He finally returns to his homeland, hell bent on revenge but nobody believes his story...................Peter's life is brilliantly reconstructed by ROSEMARY LINNELL who, as a playwright, has a real gift for writing conversation and the book is an absolute page turner, as interesting to male as to female readers. Highly recommended.
Finally, thank you for your letters about DR BOB KHANNA, our lovely cosmetic dentist and facial aesthetics expert who will be happy to answer any queries you may have about those subjects. In answer to your impertinent questions, dear readers, yes, DR BOB is happily married and here he is with his lovely wife SONIA and myself at a recent fundraiser for THE FAIRYLAND TRUST children's charity at opulent Jermyn Street nightclub HEY JO, owned by one of HGUK's most charismatic sponsors, DAVE WEST. (BTW my spring like Green Goddess dress was designed by talented London designer PARVEEN (see above for details.)
SALLY with DR BOB and MRS SONIA KHANNA. C.r.: MARIA BERGMAN.
Thank you for reading my page. Please email me at:
[email protected]
SENSUAL PLEASURES AND THE ART OF MORPHING INTO A HEALTH GODDESS (£16.99) is available from the following outlets:
Delancey Press - [email protected] or 0845 4589911
ISBN: 0780953911998LOO TIME VIDEO available from:
[email protected] and:
http://www.121music.com/pages/video_01/home.html
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