Grace loves... new face on the block, Hanako Footman, because she's eerily beautiful with an edge of exoticism.

Biog:

Hanako was discovered at a Festival, dancing to Metronomy. With the beauty of her Japanese mother and English/Irish father combined in dark eyes and a rosebud pout, she is also a keen blogger and aspiring actress, and has two short films out later in the year.

Favourite Beauty Product?

Shu Uemura eyelash curlers - "they are so great!"

Dream Beauty Campaign?

Chanel

Text: Grace Timothy

The statement lip, the statement eye - sure. But statement skin? Sounds naff to say 'skin is in', and yet at the SS11 shows flesh tones blotted out lips, eyes, even nails. It's a tough look to pull off - the label 'nude' is totally inaccurate. Don't think you can just roll out of bed, et voila - just as much prep, precision and product is required to achieve a beautiful nude as the perfect smoky eye or the latest nail art. Luckily, we have a host of foundations and skin prep products that claim skincare benefits as well as coverage. From the natural but 'subtly enhanced' looks we see season after season at Stella McCartney (the image below is from their SS11 campaign - buffed to perfection), Calvin Klein, Balmain and Alexander Wang to the homogenous complexion where lips and eyes are blended into the rest of the face, the nude look is getting easier to perfect.

SKIN 

Making this dressed skin look undressed is anchored in conditioning your complexion. If you have normal or dry skin, prep the skin with a light facial balm massaged into the skin and remove the excess with a warm, moist muslin cloth - Emma Hardie Moringa Balm is perfect for this. Follow with a plumping primer like Shu Uemura Stage Performer Radiant Glow and then add a pea-sized amount of your day cream to your foundation for a glossy glow. I really rate Bourjois Healthy Mix and Giorgio Armani Face Fabric - both are light enough for summer. If your skin is oily, prep with Nars Pore Refining Primer and try YSL Teint Resist Foundation - it's oil-free and slightly mattifying, without completely concealing your natural texture or creating dry patches. Add a very fine sweep of illuminating creme (MAC Cream Colour Base in Luna Frost is light and suits most skintones) to cheekbones, brow bone and above the Cupid's Bow to keep the look dewy rather than matte.

LIPS

Take your foundation down over the lips, but if you're using an oil-free formulation, condition the lips first with a light lip balm like Creme de la Mer The Lip Balm. If you don't want to lose the lip entirely, try to choose a nude lipstick that is only one shade warmer than your natural colour - a great example is Sharon Dowsett's neutral lip for Cara Delevingne (image above) - she used Burberry Romantic Rose N° 24 lip cover topped with Nude Beige N°9 lip glow. If you can't resist the shine, this September Laura Mercier will launch a collection of 'Bare' tint lip glaces, with Bare Naked giving you that 'barely there' nude lip, almost concealed from sight but for a glassy finish. 

NAILS

The same rule stretches to nails - blend them in with your natural skintone. Nail expert and designer David Barton blended two Maybelline Forever Strong Polishes for a neutral, flesh tone at Amanda Wakeley: 75 drops of Taupe Couture into a bottle of Rose Poudre. If this doesn't work for you, his range for Maybelline includes a full gamit of skin tones so you can customise your own nude shade.

THE CATWALK LOOK

A beautiful nude was seen at Proenza Schouler's SS11 show (image below). Makeup artist Diane Kendal made skin the focus rather than eye or lip, with glossy iridescent highlights. MAC Face & Body Foundation was applied for a sheer finish and MAC PRO Sculpting powder in 'Sculpt' was used underneath the cheekbones with an angled powder brush #168. MAC Iridescent Loose Powder in 'Silver Dusk' provided that sheen on the top of the cheekbones, down the nose and Cupid's Bow. The lip was smoothed with lip balm before being 'erased' with concealer.

Text: Grace Timothy

Grace loves this... because aromatherapy's skin-perfecting powers know no bounds. Aromatherapy is an oft-maligned and misunderstood area of health and beauty. It's gone from being a hippy dippy alternative medicine to being thrust into the mass market in half the shampoos, body creams, air fresheners and soaps going.

Thankfully, there has been a big revival of using oils in skin and haircare, and off the back of this oil comeback, those impeccably trained blending experts are now enjoying the limelight once again - channelling the superior potency of essentials oils into skincare products that really work.

"Basically, I would say in a pure form aromatherapy is the same as it ever was," says aromatherapist, Kirstie Garrett. Kirstie's client list includes Gywneth Paltrow, and she was one of the founders of the aromatherapy-based Balance Me skincare products. "The thing that's changed is its price point, availability, press, packaging, and coming out of the 'specialist health store' bracket." Sadly, in many cases this translates as a dilution of what's an incredibly potent discipline. It's tricky to navigate without the right know-how, and like the trend for 'natural' and 'organic' skincare, so many established brands are popping up with claims to aromatherapeutic values, but many of these are synthetic replicas of natural aromas.

Don't be fooled! Here's a cheat sheet to make aromatherapy an easy addition to your skincare routine.

Kirstie Garrett, Gywneth's masseuse, offers seasonal and problem-specific essential oil blends, as well as custom-built aromatherapy retreats in South-West France. www.prendsletemps.co.uk

Kate Logan uses pure essential oils in her comprehensive skincare range, Kate Logan Beauty, with detailed instructions as to how to maximise their efficacy through application. She is launching a new range, Beatific Beauty in September that channels oils into a scent therapy arena. www.kateloganbeauty.com

Amanda Lacey blends oils on a bespoke basis at her exclusive clinic in Chelsea. Models, actresses and beauty editors alike count on her for unbeatably glowing skin. www.amandalacey.com

Solyvia provides organic aromatherapeutic solutions in handy roll-on form. Pulling ingredients from the Corsica's nutrient-rich soils, each dry oil is loaded with essential extracts to tackle skin complaints, minor burns, bites, stress and moderate pain. www.spacenk.com 

Tip off: We heard on the grapevine that legendary aromatherapist Michelle Rocques O Neil has a new product range due out this autumn… Because will have the scoop.

Text: Grace Timothy