This year I am tardy with my Christmas post – but that’s because I’m tardy with my Christmas shopping. After I write this, I have to sit down and figure out a time when I’m going to get my shopping done as with shoots and prepping for various jobs it’s all been a bit hectic of late. But finally I have my eyes on a few goodies that I thought you might like to hear about as well.

What Santa could bring in his sack for me this year:

NARS Holiday – This is probably my pick of the season and has me more excited than I’ve been about a new collection in a while. At first glance I thought – nice, but not that exciting. Don’t let these little Christmas crackers fool you – they are the type of rich, complex colours that NARS does (I think) better than any other brand on the market. Colours that once you have them you don’t know how you lived without them, and that no other brand does. This is why (like Orgasm and Jungle Red) they rapidly become iconic cult beauty items. Anyway, I digress – why you need some new NARS this Christmas:

Multiple in G-Spot – At first I thought I had a colour pretty similar to this with Malibu, an old but much loved favourite NARS Multiple of mine. But no, this is Malibu’s sweeter teenage sister, more pinky-raspberry and flecked with gold. Even in my two boxes of blushers in the Vault I don’t have anything like this. Gorgeous on cheeks and lips and I fell in love with it on a recent shoot.

Cream eyeshadow in Ponderosa – my stand out colour from this collection. Rich black bronze with a purplish sheen to it, I love this as a liner or as a base for a smoky eye. NARS cream eyeshadows aren’t cheap but they are lovely and the colours are amazing. I have quite a few and I use them a lot – this is my new cream eyeshadow obsession.

Stila Dream Catcher eye shadow palette – Almost too pretty to use, this palette contains 35 different eyeshadows, including the top seller Kitten. In fact, this palette inspired a dream about Jeanine Lobell, the creator of Stila back in the 1990’s when I first got addicted to the brand. (And yes, I am aware that it is quite scary that I dream about other makeup artists but you can’t accuse me of slacking off when I sleep. Top UK makeup artist Lisa Eldridge has also blogged about this beautiful eyeshadow palette for Xmas, and I love it a) as it’s as beautiful as a work of art and b) it’s super-handy for work as I can have it on my work table and dip into it when I’m in a hurry and need a colour quickly, without rummaging through all my palettes. You could not go wrong with this one, there are colours for everyone.

Stila Lip Glaze set – This little number actually made me drool – a box of 8 Stila Lip Glazes in mouthwatering lipgloss colours. Pinks, peaches, luminous milky creams – yum, yum yum. Stila is back on my radar of late after a bit of a hiatus (although a constant devotion to their divine cream blush Convertible Colours is always at MM HQ).

Jonathan Ward Candles – I first came across JW Candles through the incredible British Beauty Blogger in London – this lady has introduced me to more makeup finds than Vogue, and these beautiful bespoke organic paraffin-free soy candles are no exception. This year I would give (and happily receive!) J W Candles in White and Verte as they are so chic and eco-friendly. They are available in the UK at Selfridges and in Australia through http:.//www.ecoluxe.com.au

Tom Ford – Right Santa, just back the truck up, that little sack of yours is not going to cut the mustard as I will be needing all, I repeat ALL of the Tom Ford collection. The whole thing please, (including brushes and skincare). I have yet to find a dud product in this new line that has breathed life into an occasionally jaded product junkie.

Aesop Gift Boxes – this year I’ll be snapping up the Celestial Mechanics set as it contains my favourite products – Fabulous Face Cleanser, B&T Balancing Toner (the only toner I like), Camellia Nut Facial Hydrating Cream and Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque. Plus the box that they come in are the greatest thing for your makeup kit. As in ever. You cannot have too many of those!

Kiehl’s is a brand of skincare that I love and I’m well aware that it’s not been getting the MM love that it deserves (more on Kiehl’s in 2012). My pick of their gorgeous Christmas sets is the Holiday Icons set, which includes Kiehl’s Crème de Corps body moisturiser (which I use on celebs and for serious body shoots), the Kiehl’s Number 1 Lip Balm and the Ultra Facial Cream which is my go-to basic cream in my kit for normal skin.

NARS and Stila are available in Australia through Mecca Cosmetica, and in the UK through Space NK,
Tom Ford is available at David Jones in Australia and Selfridges in London.

Lovely Aussie actress Rose Byrne was sporting a red lip at the Breakthrough of the Year Awards in LA, and her makeup artist, Amy Hollier, was channelling modern glamour. “I’m always inspired by old Hollywood glamour, but this look was definitely a modern version of that. It was more Angelina Jolie in Manhattan, than Marilyn Monroe in Hollywood”, Amy said.

Rose is beautiful, great at what she does (Damages is one of my favourite series EVER, and anyone who can hold their own with Glenn Close must be a fairly serious actress), and we both grew up in Balmain in Sydney, so I am quite partial to a bit of Rose.

Amy Hollier used the following products to get the look:

Eyes

• Stila Starlight shadow “on the inner corners of the eyes, then blended out across the top lid and under the eyebrow arches. The shimmer picks up the light to brighten the eyes and give them a pop”.
• Paul & Joe mascara duo in black “One of my favourite mascaras for dramatic black lashes”, says Amy.

Lips

• Stila Longwear Lipliner in Passionate
• Lipstick Queen Lipstick in Red Sinner

Whilst I hate to kick a brand when it’s down (as of last week Stila was just brought back from the brink of receivership by a private equity firm who have bought it. It’s not been doing well since Estee Lauder sold it in 2006), and there are quite a few Stila products I like, this ain’t one of them.

 The Smudge Pots (in my humble opinion) are the worst of the current crop of gel eyeliners. And the reason I know? Because the good stuff (ie the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner I posted about last week) is in my kit, which leaves the rubbish (ie Stila Smudge Pot), in my personal makeup bag. Isn’t there that saying that the cobbler has no shoes? Well that is definitely me. I have my fancy pants amazing work makeup kit all organized and color coded and with so much stuff in it I have actually injured myself carrying it around (which is just sad but also happens to be true), and then my own makeup bag is beyond tragic. It’s full of gift with purchase brushes (I know! The shame! The horror! I am always telling clients off for this!) and brushes I didn’t like enough to put in my kit, and my makeup is either things I have doubles of, or things I have pulled out of the Vault, where makeup at my place goes to die.

 Which is where the Stila Smudge Pot comes in. It flakes, it smudges, it’s like pushing an eyeliner brush through tar (which at 6am is even less fun than it sounds) and its consistency is just plain wrong. Then by the end of the day when you’ve been working so hard, and (let’s face it) sweating, and you haven’t had time to look in the mirror, when you actually do, what do you find but two very attractive half moons of black nestled in the creases of your under eyes. SO HOT.

 If you want to go halfway between the worst (Stila) and the best (Bobbi Brown), you would find the MAC Fluidline, which is quite nice and creamy and is certainly cheaper than the Bobbi Brown. It’s by no means terrible, so if, at this delicate stage in our global economy you are finding your financial affairs a little straitened, you could definitely do worse than this one. I usually use this at the shows as most of the shows are sponsored by MAC.

 But please, stay far, far away from Stila Smudge Pot. And I’ll take my own advice and I will too.

 BIN IT!