Pilgrim Charms Collection

The Danish jewellery company Pilgrim make some very pretty and distinctive costume jewellery and their Autumn 2007 Charms collection is a lovely addition to the line. Available in silver or yellow gold finishes, choose from a selection of unique and creative charms, including teddy bears, ducks and this covetable owl. If you prefer your charms to be a little more grown-up in theme, there are also various crystals, lockets and pretty antique-style keys available. With a range of different bracelets and chains available on which to display these adorable trinkets (all pretty reasonably priced at around €20-30), don't blame me if you can't stop collecting them!

Pilgrim jewellery is available in Ireland from their store in the Dundrum Town Centre, and from various other outlets, including Avoca and Kilkenny.

Caudalie Vinotherapy

I've just placed another of my regular orders with the Caudalie website, so I thought it was time for a post about this brand. Caudalie is a French company which has been producing skincare based around the humble grape for over 10 years now. Grapeseeds contain polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidants that can help protect the skin against free-radicals, and Caudalie skincare is packed with these little gems. And it's not just the seeds which are used - the grapevine stalks themselves are full of something called "resveratrol", which works to stimulate cell renewal, and this is also used in Caudalie's anti-ageing products.

I've been using Caudalie skincare for around 6 years now, and coming from someone who loves to try out the latest new skincare products, this brand loyalty really says something good about the line! My favourites are the Gentle Cleanser (a mild, creamy cleansing milk which keeps my skin soft and clear), Instant Foaming Cleanser (a gentle, refreshing and non-drying foaming cleanser), Eau de Raisin (a soothing and refreshing water spray which I use after cleansing), Anti-Ageing Serum for Eyes and Lips (an easily-absorbed serum which works wonders on my under-eye circles), Vinoperfect Radiance Serum (a milky serum which is perfect for reviving a dull complexion) and Lip Conditioner (my must-have lipbalm, I carry this everywhere).

In Ireland, Brown Thomas has recently started to stock Caudalie's bath and body line and as far as I know Therapie on Molesworth Street still stocks the facial skincare. But I usually order directly from the Caudalie website - delivery is free on orders over €50, products are reasonably priced in Euros and orders are usually delivered in around a week.

Image courtesy of http://www.caudalie.com

Louis Vuitton Neverfull

I've never been particularly attracted to the Louis Vuitton monogram bags, but the new Neverfull range, artfully modelled by Scarlett Johansson in the Autumn/Winter 2007 advertising compaign, has grabbed my attention. Available in three sizes, these totes would be perfect for travel - no heavy hardware to eat up your cabin baggage weight allowance and plenty of room for all the little necessities to keep you comfortable while flying. You could probably even fit enough for a weekend city break into the large model and avoid baggage reclaim altogether.

Priced between €390 and €450, these are at the more reasonable end of the LV price spectrum and should be available from the Louis Vuitton store in Brown Thomas in Dublin.

Images courtesy of http://www.louisvuitton.com

Aveda Smooth Infusion

If I was granted a wish to change just one thing about my appearance for good, it would be my hair. It has always been my dream to have the kind of smooth, sleek, super-straight hair that requires no styling - to just be able to come straight out of the shower after washing it and let it dry naturally and not have to do battle with hairdryer, brushes, serums and straighteners to get it under control. Until I find the magic bottle containing a genie to grant my wish, however, I'll have to rely on a different type of bottle - two in fact - the new ones from Aveda containing their Smooth Infusion shampoo and conditioner.

The Smooth Infusion line promises that hair will be up to 60% smoother and softer after using both products, and while I haven't figured out how to quantify it to a precise percentage figure, I am definitely impressed with what these products are doing for my hair. I do still need to style my hair after washing, but the process is much quicker, and from the first use I could see how much smoother and sleeker my hair looked. The products don't weigh my hair down, either, and I love the extra protection they give against heat-styling.

Smooth Infusion Shampoo and Conditioner are available from Aveda counters and salons now, and if you're lucky you might even be able to get your hands on a sample to try out first. The 250ml bottle of shampoo is priced at €20.50 and the conditioner at €22.00.

Armani Fall 2007 Leather Collection

Be still my beating heart... Armani's summer bronze collections never do much for a pale girl like me, but once Autumn rolls around and the Fall collections are on the counters, the Armani counter is pretty much guaranteed to have me as a customer. This year's collection doesn't disappoint. The Fall 2007 Leather collection is perfect for recreating the grown-up glamourous looks featured on all the catwalks for this season. The collection arrived in Brown Thomas last week, and barely before the saleswoman had the words "limited edition, we only got one order in" out of her mouth, I had requested the Eye Mania palette, the new Sheer Blush and the Maestro Liquid Eyeliner.

The Eye Mania palette (€57) is encased in a black snakeskin patterned compact and features eye shadow shades of satin pink beige, soft shimmering pink, matte deep purple and matte ashwood.

TheSheer Blush #11 (€35) is encased in a similarly embossed palette and is a gorgeous shade of pink with a touch of peach.

The Maestro Liquid Eyeliner (€25) is a water-based black liquid liner with a felt tip - perfect for recreating this season's catwalk looks.

The new collection also includes single eye shadows, lipsticks and lip shimmers and the advisor section on the Armani website has a helpful step-by-step guide to recreating their look with the products from the collection.

Run, don't walk to the Armani counter for this one!

RMK Beigy Colours A/W 2007

OK, the name of this collection might not invoke excitement, but the cute heart-embossed shadows, blushes and glosses from Japan-based RMK's Autumn/Winter 2007 collection are all going on my wishlist. The limited edition collection, comprising 6 eye shadows, 4 lipglosses, 3 blush/highlighters and 3 nail polishes, takes a subtle and polished beige as its backdrop and compliments it with coordinating pops of colour in the hearts that are embossed into the shadows, blushes and glosses. You can use the colours separately or mix them together to create custom shades. The quality of RMK products is generally fantastic and I'm sure these are no different.

RMK is available from House of Fraser in Dundrum in Ireland.

Image courtesy of http://www.rmkrmk.com

Nylon magazine - read online

Nylon magazine is one of the more artistic and creative fashion magazines out there, with a fresh and irreverent take on fashion and a pleasantly different approach to the major publishers when it comes to beauty writing. Unfortunately it can be hard to find in Irish newsagents, which is why I was so pleased to see that they make their past issues available online, and for free! You'll need to sign up to a free 3 month digital subscription (no credit card details required!) to see the more recent issues and once you've created an account, you can log in anytime to read the issues online. Recent cover stars have included the White Stripes, Christina Aguilera, Christina Ricci and the infamous (and ubiquitous) Ms. Lohan and the current issue is fronted by Nicole "I don't know why I'm famous either" Richie. Happy reading!

Image courtesy of http://www.nylonmag.com/