#71 Alley Up

There's nothing novel about www.makeupalley.com - but that doesn't alter just how wonderful a site it is. Millions of product reviews, millions of worldwide readers and writers and the biggest cross-section of tried-and-testeds anywhere on the web. I've come to double-check it everytime I write a product review... and the truth always speaks volumes.

Before logging on and reading up, ensure that you always check the number of reviewers against the percentage of people who would buy again. The higher the percentage AND number of reviewers, the closer you'll get to finding a great product.

It's also worth checking MUA's Top Picks from time to time, to get an idea of which products are being consistently praised. Two of my favourites - MAC Fluidline and SK-II Air Touch Foundation - do very well indeed, despite the latter being expensive.

It's reassuring, in a very basic, humanistic way, to read reviews that reiterate your personal opinions and, even more so, to try something that has been proclaimed an 'HG' (that's Holy Grail in Makeup Alley speak) by the press, try it for yourself and hate it and then log on to see it denounced by hundreds of users too.

It's also fascinating for another reason. When something is really good, it's often universally acknowledged to be so. There are of course users on the site who get miffed when a recommendation doesn't work for them - again, proving that there are always exceptions - but on the whole, when a product lives up to its promises, the praise it attracts borders on fervent.

And given the amount of poorly performing products out there, that's just the way it should be.

#54 Ace Base

Now that the mercury has plummeted from fine to freezing, my skin has already started to misbehave. I haven't yet had the dry cheeks, though my lips have been chapping more than usual, but I've noticed that my complexion tends towards blotchiness far more easily. I use base only when utterly necessary, but this week, it's been necessary twice. My staple favourite (which I stash in my wardrobe and only whip out on special occassions) is SK-II's Air Touch Foundation. I've raved about it before - yes it can take some getting used to and it's mightily expensive - but once you get the hang of how to mist evenly and lightly, you'll feel as though you have a mini make-up artist stashed away in your bag - skin looks unquestionably airbrushed and unreal. But it is inarguably a foundation - and despite the fact that it feels and looks untraceable, I cannot always overcome the mental awareness that my skin is coated in a thick layer of cosmetic colouring. Which is why I'm more of a tinted moisturiser sort of girl (even though, t.m's are of course just the same - lotions packed with cosmetic colouring). Logic, however, doesn't prevail here - I always have and always will feel more comfortable and confident in a tinted moisturiser, over a foundation. That's just me.

Clinque do tinted moisturisers well and their new Supermoisture Makeup has a pretty flawless formula. It blends like a face cream - sinking in, leaving skin plump and soft. The coverage can be anything from super-sheer to medium, depending on how much you use - I like to rub it over my nose and chin, when skin is still almost damp from my face cream and blend it all in together. Great for drier skins in winter too. I also love (and the Bliss girls are going to go crazy at this, because it's on constant back order and almost always sold out) Remede's Translucent UV Coat. It's about as watery and light as it's possible for a formula to be, but it leaves a sheeny soft-focus behind. While it won't cover your spots, it'll certainly lift grey and lacklustre complexions - and with an SPF30 built in, feel as though you're wearing nothing more than the lightest lotion. Which is why you can't get hold of it for love nor money. Groan.

Chapping lips call for a thicker formula in winter. The Sainsbury's Organic Softening Lip Balm (95% organic) was lovely in summer - peppermint scent, sheeny, light - but hasn't cut the mustard this October as it slides off rather than stays put - not the guard against the elements I was hoping for. I've therefore shifted back to a staple - Crabtree & Evelyn Jojoba Oil Conditioning Lip Balm (which I hasten to add is only £1.50) and the new Origins Organics Soothing Lip Balm (not launching till Jan 2008 - but I'll be pre- and re-viewing the new Origins Organics line and a couple of new Jurlique launches in my next blog), which have a pleasing cocoa butter base that feels nice and creamy on lips and stays put for at least an hour.

Winterproofing? So far, so good. If only I could apply the same logic to my cotton dress, mini-skirt and suede-shoe filled wardrobe...

#34 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

I've just fallen victim to a secret party that left me 1) shaking and scanning the room for the closest bottle of champagne; 2) simultaneously self-conscious and giddily excited and 3) astonished by the skilled subterfuge that had taken place around me during the last two months. My partner, my mother, my sister, my work colleagues and my closest friends have all managed to lie to me at some point within these past weeks in order to create a single moment when I would return home to the heart-stopping shock of having a dozen people pop up in my tiny apartment kitchen, shouting the word 'SURPRISE!' Well, congrats, you got me.

Heart-warming though it was, I couldn't help but fear how easily I fell for all the lies and how naive I must be to not have realised for a single second that my very own husband was planning an evening that was so well-oiled that most of my friends thought he'd also been hiding a secret sideline as a premiere party planner.

The only problem was that I'd spent the day out with the family, being dragged from destination A to Z before being allowed to return home... I was looking far from my best. So after the initial 'Wahey' moment, I retreated to my bedroom where I gave myself five minutes to throw on a party dress and sling suitable slap at my fraught face. Any longer and the search party would've arrived - poking fun at my vanity and ogling my cabinets of cosmetics. Nope, couldn't have that.

When in a rush, I play it safe. SK-II Airbrush Foundation makes my skin look sheeny and uniform, even when it's veering towards tired and temperamental. I spray the first squirt onto a paper tissue as the initial discharge can be oilier and less fine than the 'mist' that appears afterwards. It's a quick spray back and forth, from left to right, over my entire face, with eyes closed. If you're doing it right, from the correct distance and the dispenser is working without a hitch, absolutely no blending will be necessary. You just let it be. Brilliant. I then dusted Bobbi Brown Blush in Soft Pink onto the apples of my cheeks and swiped Dior Skinflash across my sleep-deficient circles. Three easy pieces... and the result? A graceful reemergence (no one noticed the difference, but simply commented on how 'well' I looked), which coupled with several glasses of champagne and home-made cocktails later, meant I still looked good, even after I'd behaved disgracefully.

#9 No rest for the wicked...

Last night, things went awry in the Malcontent household. Excessive alcohol consumption led to loss of keys, diminished dexterity and a Kowalski-esque holler that woke up half the bloody (and, at that time of night, bloodthirsty) neighbours. Yes, Mr Malcontent locked himself out. Idiot. Being wrenched from golden slumbers at the heart-stalling time of 3.30am did nothing for my mood, my mind or my complexion. This morning, having managed just four hours of semi-decent sleep before my embarrassingly polite alarm clock ‘Tweet Tweeted’ at 8am, I looked a right ol’ mess. Puffy eyes, dark circles, pores, well, poreifying. Now, being a beauty editor, I should technically be armed to the hilt with bottles of beauty miracles that would magic away all unflattering signs of sleeplessness. In truth? Come on, who are we kidding? There isn’t a single product on the market that will turn a corned beef complexion into plump, well-rested, Pampers-baby-bottom type skin overnight, and certainly not within 10 minutes. It just isn’t possible. But, as I had a morning meeting, something had to be done. Something drastic:

1. SK-II Facial Treatment Mask. Bloody hell these things are expensive, but when you’ve had a late night and your eyes are all ringed and bulgy, these sopping, pre-soaked, moisture-boosting masks are good. I want to stress that they don’t work wonders – I didn’t develop an LA glow or radical radiance or skin as soft as Mischa Barton’s earlobes, or any other such nonsense – but they did leave my skin feeling softer, more hydrated and looking far less irritable.

2. Vaishaly Day Moisturiser, Normal/Combination. Simple, easy, sinks in without residual oiliness. With calming essential oils and SPF. One of the best face creams I’ve tried.

3. Lots of Liz Earle Superbalm. On lips, dry patches, under eyebrows.

4. Dermalogica Total Eye Care. Reliable in a Homebase-Hubby, 'takes care of everything' sort of way. Leaves no residue and also has SPF.

5. Some Guerlain Bronzer, Bourjois Eyeliner, Shu Uemura Lash Repair, Clinique Almost Lipstick in Almost Blush and a swipe of old faithful, Giorgio Armani Sheer Cream Blush, No 5.

After all that, you’d expect something great, something head-turning, wink-inducing – a makeover on par with Ally Sheedy's legendary Breakfast Club metamorphosis. The truth is, I didn’t look amazing, or fresher-than-fresh, or particularly radiant. I looked fine and, crucially, as though I'd had a decent night's sleep. A darn sight better than most of the working week’s survivors – especially the woman who almost lost an eye tweezing between Southwark and Bond Street! - and for a Friday morning, that was more than enough for me.