2012 will be the year of "higher maintenance" for my beauty regime ...or rather, lack of. I tend to stick to the routine of cleanse, tone and moisturise. When I'm feeling really daring mascara and a red lip is as much as I can handle (although I did badger Kay Montano to teach me some new looks. Check out my Rio Glow, Doll Face and Red Line)

To kick off the new year and my new beauty resolution, I needed a clean slate, a perfect glowing blank canvas, all the better to experiment with colour and textures. That's what led me to the sanctum of Vaishaly's salon. I'd passed the discreet entrance off Marylebone High Street many a time, noticing over the years how it went from one door to two. Mental Note 1: Something good must be going on inside for her to expand in such a short period of time.

I booked an appointment with Vaishaly herself and she came to greet me at reception with the kind of glowing unlined covetable skin her reputation would lead you to expect; a reassuring sign of what I hoped I would emerge with. Despite her rapidly expanding empire she makes time to perform facials herself. Her business is tightly run to ensure the highest quality and consistency; she very carefully picks her small team of facialists who perform her signature facial on Vaishaly herself so that she can assess their hands and technique to ensure they are up to her standards.

The facial consisted of around four or five stages: I'm afraid that I fell asleep at one point so my recollection is a little bit woozy. There's, deep-cleansing, extraction, micro-dermabrasion (with what I can only describe as a baby vacuum cleaner for your face - terrifying yet satisfying when you see all the dead skin cells she's managed to suck off), a massage and then closing of the pores using a high-frequency tool that has the added benefit of killing any unwanted bacteria in the skin. All very sophisticated and high-tech but the most heavenly part is Vaishaly's facial massage which lulls you into the deepest state of relaxation, nudging all those tense muscles to let go and give in to absolute serenity. Reluctantly waking up and having to face the world I decided to arm myself with a potion. I'm a recent convert to facial oils as moisturisers and left with the Night Nourisher from Vaishaly's own carefully developed range of beauty products.

At £450 with Vaishaly and the Vaishaly Signature Facial £120 with her team of experts, it is an investment but a highly worthwhile, effective and above all a pleasurable one that will leave your skin looking amazing, radiant and smoother for a good four-six months.

Fancy making your own candle this year? Candle chandlery, Rachel Vosper of London is offering candle making classes through January and February for a little glow in the mistier of winter months...

If you'd rather a candle already wicked and ready to go, those by Rachel range from £26 to £50, and the vessels can be refilled at the store with a fragrance of your choice - a good investment and pretty eco-friendly too. Launching in February, the 'Candle Bar' will allow us all to choose a container and then pick a candle from the fragranced candle bar to create their own bespoke product. So the store on Kinnerton Street is a hot ticket for 2012. Check www.RachelVosper.com for details.

Text: Grace Timothy

A big part of our latest tutorials - starring Erin O'Connor and Caroline Issa - were the nails. With Sam Biddle, we came up with some new nail effects to compliment Kay Montano's SS12-style makeup looks, and now want to show you how you can achieve the styles yourself. Here's Sam's exclusive how-to guide to Because nail trends.

Rio Glow starring Caroline Issa - The Inked Nail

I adore this look, it has a washed out inked effect, and because it runs up from the tip of the nail it will always make your nails seem longer. Paint your nails a natural shade, then best way to create this effect of by using water based paint, available from www.originalsugar.com these are high quality paints used by nail professionals. Choose an inky blue and water it down, so it becomes a wash, and using a small brush apply to the tip and leave to dry. Then reapply slightly lower, layering this three or four times so the very tip is darker than the first layer. You will find it sits like waves on the nail - don't worry, once the top coat is applied this will blend together beautifully.

Silver Wash starring Erin O'Connor - The Peek a Blue Nail

Most people shy away from using blue on their nails, but it's set to be SS12's coolest accessory colour. These nails have a hint of something extra which peeks out as the light catches them. Paint your nails a baby blue and leave to dry. Using a silver paint or a white if you prefer and the brand new Sugar Styler available from www.originalsugar.com paint thin lines vertically down the nail bed, from the cuticle to the free edge. Apply a topcoat once dry.

Doll Faced Charm starring Caroline Issa - The Don't Be Shy Nail

This effect was created using the Spongeing kit from www.originalsugar.com. It goes along way to making your nail seem long and slender and can be used in any colour combination. Or if your shy about having colour on your nails this is a perfect solution for you. Paint your nails a nude colour, something as close to your skin colour as possible. Once this is dry lay the tulle from the kit over the tips of your nails, it looks best if it is just over the tip. Dip your sponge into some red polish - this polish is Dior - remove excess by dabbing on a kitchen towel and them gently dab over the tulle or lace in the kit. Leave for about 30 seconds and gently remove the material. Once dry, apply topcoat.

Glitter Blink starring Erin O'Connor - The Dangerous Glimmer Nail

Using a range of gold, bronze, copper and brown polishes with shimmers will create this very effective look. Apply a base colour of gold shimmer and allow to dry. With a small sponge dipped in a copper polish, ideally with a shimmer like those from Orly's mineral fx range, dab off excess and then apply over the edge of the nail going up the nail by 1/3. Leave to dry, then with a rich chocolate brown create a similar effect using your sponge going just 1/3 over the copper colour.

The Red Line starring Caroline Issa - The Luna Manicure

The Luna Manicure has been around since the 1950s when a makeup artist from MGM studios added white to the Luna area. Now this very simple and effective look can be created with any two colour combinations. To get this look Paint your nails in a petrol or denim blue. Leave to dry and then with a black polish and a small detail brush paint half moons around the cuticle areas. Topcoat when dry.

Text: Grace Timothy & Sam Biddle