BIRTHDAY PARTY GLAM, NATURALLY
So with my 40th birthday on the horizon, I set out to try some of the incredible up-and-coming beauty treatments that have a conscious focus at their heart. As one of my best friends is holistic makeup artist and nutritional therapist Sjaniel Turrell, I let her take over and book us in for some of the best.
STILL London non-toxic gel nails
I rarely get my nails done — chipped varnish while you’re cooking is not a good look. Gel manis, which stay put for 2-3 weeks have become de rigueur for that long-term polished look, but the current commercial offering means not only plenty of chemicals you’d much rather avoid (once you know, you know). Many nail gels are formulated with formaldehyde, camphor, formaldehyde resin, BPA, toluene, and other toxic additives, according to Well + Good. It’s not the healthiest environment to be hanging out in and the fumes from those synthetic nail product ingredients can affect the health of therapists who breathe them in daily over long periods of time.
My fav address for a much greener alternative is STILL London in Dalston. They use varnishes from The GelBottle Inc., who offer 360 (!) colour options. Their gel polishes are “5-free,” which means they don’t contain 5 of the most common chemicals in mainstream gels, and are vegan and cruelty-free.
For my 40th party, and my actual birthday the next week (plus a couple of great photo and video shoots which you’ll hear more about soon), this was the perfect solution. If you’re a diehard mani-pedi advocate and already rolling your eyes at the idea of a hempy, green gel mani, have no fear — you can do AAAALLLLL the gorgeous, elaborate and personalised nail art full of colour choice and a variety of finishes from matte to glitter. And you can smell the absence of chemicals, too. Like a breath of fresh air.
Fellow birthday girl Yasmin Sewell (we had a joint party) joined Sjaniel and me and we made a fun morning of it. Yasmin went for indigo nails with silver glitter constellations (Aquarius — our sign and then Libra and Capricorn representing her sons), Sjaniel went for a red, blue, nude and tortoiseshell medley and I went a bit whacky (I am an Aquarius after all) with a ‘70s marbling effect topped with a couple of constellations and the sun, moon and Saturn for good measure. It’s been a week since I had them done and they look fresh, a bit crazy and I love having a peek at them. Yes — this stuff makes you smile.
Moka & Sarah ethical and sustainable eyelash extensions
15 years ago, I first heard of lash extensions, and thanks to my friend, beauty editor Sophie Beresiner, I got to try them first-hand, then and there, A painless process, they looked fab but within a week or two I hit trouble — some of the lash extentions had been glued to two of my own lashes. This wasn’t a visible concern, far from it, but as the lashes started growing at different rates I experienced irritation as a faster growing lash tugged on a slower growing one bonded by the lash extension. This caused me to pick and pull (painful!) and by the end I was left with around three lash extensions on each eye that would not come off and some damaged eyelashes. Safe to say I didn’t try that one again.
After much research by Sjaniel, we discovered Moka & Sarah’s London Atelier in Spitalfields that could add a little extra sum’n to my lashes — mascara not needed. Moka came over to my house a couple of Sundays ago and treated Sjaniel and me to a cosy nap, during which she went to work with her own signature lash application, which she calls Japanese Feathering. She invented it because she found that the classic and Russian methods fell short for a natural look that suits most eye structures.
Having travelled to 35 different countries to develop her techniques, Moka can perfectly adapt her lash enhancements to all ethnicities with her tailored approach. While the lashes themselves are synthetic as opposed to animal origin (which means they are cruelty-free and vegan-friendly), they are also more environmentally conscious as they use plant-based adhesives that are batch-tested, low fume and free from hydroquinone and formaldehyde — important because many common eyelash glues are noxious.
Moka & Sarah’s ethics spread wider too. As a small business themselves they choose to work with other small businesses to keep a close eye (no pun intended!!) on the quality of their products as well as the socio-economic side. We went for a shorter lash with my Asian eye and a fuller look. Sjaniel, who has a more European-shaped eye, went for something more separated and fuller. Both of us are more than happy with the results, little maintenance needed (just keep those oils off your lashes!) and have woken up every day since then looking almost spectacular sans makeup!!!
Charlotte Connoley at SKINWORK ‘Insider’ Facial
Next on the agenda was the VIP treatment at SKINWORK, courtesy of the very talented Charlotte Connoley. Charlotte and I have a longish history — we met in 2009 when she moved to my modelling agency. Ex-supermodel Charlotte is a hoot and I loved bumping into her at castings. We’d lost touch over the years while she had kids and started training in beauty therapy. We met again a couple of years ago when we both hosted an event and she taught me the power of gua sha. Of course I was eager for her to get her hands on me, but life got in the way and so it wasn’t until my birthday countdown that we made it happen. She has recently moved to SKINWORK at Alex Eagle’s studio in Soho, where she is currently training therapists in her second to none pressure massage for the face.
I got the “Insider” Facial, which is incredible — Charlotte literally massaged that tension out of my neck, chest and face using long sweeping and sculpting movements. As part of this treatment, she addresses the stress and tension that we hold in our muscles by whacking on a pair of rubber gloves and “sculpting” the inside of the mouth and jaw, to create a more radiant, youthful and firmer look. This is called the buccal facial massage technique — which I’d heard of but hadn’t yet experienced! She integrates this with other techniques, as well as lymphatic drainage using an organic oil and rose quartz gua sha.
Natural makeup by Sjaniel Turrell
Sjaniel is back at it again! My friend worked her magic to deliver the natural birthday makeup of my dreams. We went for a slicked black cat eye — a signature of mine that I’d somewhat abandoned. With a dinner at 6:30 p.m. and a party into the early hours with over a hundred guests to catch up with, my makeup had to work hard. Concentrating on a powerful eye meant not having to worry about touching up lips and cheeks, which I just dabbed some Tata Harper Lip and Cheek Tint onto. Black liquid liner by Absolution made my already enhanced lashes absolutely pop — and no mascara meant no smudging. Then a press of gold bio glitter to the eyelids took it to another level. After my first outfit, a sequined ‘70s number that everyone loved (watch this space to find out more), I changed into a William Vintage (add link to other post) catwalk Versace 3-piece outfit from 1990. This dress was a riot of colour (complete with multi-coloured tassels and a bolero short-sleeved jacket), so Sjan and I added a quick caramel mattish lip with Inika Rose Nude Lip Crayon which stayed put and held up to the camera flash.