Beauty Buzz - 21st July '08

The hottest new beauty products and celebrity news in handbag.com's Beauty Buzz, including L'Occitane's new fruity range, a great beauty offer in boots, Bobbi Brown make-up lessons and a celebrity filled party...

Beauty Assistant Katie Corcoran brings you this week's hottest beauty news... 

Fruity Pampering

We have come over all fruity this month at handbag and thankfully this new Citrus Verbena range from our French favourites L'Occitane doesn't disappoint. You can enjoy the uplifting blend of verbena extracts, lemon essential oils and grapefruit to awaken your senses on what can sometimes be a dull summer morning! With products to suit your daily bodycare routine or to slip into those skincare gaps we are sure these luxurious fruity products will be a hit. Try the Sorbet Body Cream which brings a smile to the skin with grapefruit extracts to smooth, cool and hydrate, or perhaps you simply need the zesty hit of the Citrus Verbena Shower Gel to help you get on your way to work of a morning.

In store now prices start at £13.50

Vintage flair
17 have launched a quirky vintage inspired beauty collection full of coral pinks, glossy nail polish, shimmering eye shadows and sheer glosses. All wrapped up in '60s inspired artwork packaging to give it a stylish flair. Pop into Boots between the 16 July and 12 August and spend £5 or more on 17 products and get your Limited Edition Vintage Collection box free! Now who said you don't deserve a mid month treat!

Expert make-up lesson

The Bobbi Brown new Mauve Collection is here! Hurrah! Think vintage colours mixed with a modern twist and as Bobbi simply says, "These shades are inspired by the covers of beautiful vintage books, infused with hints of purple, grey and brown" - just divine for the new season we reckon.
So in order to celebrate this new collection Bobbi Brown's elite New York make-up artist team are going to be gracing Selfridges to meet customers and give them a free make-up lesson on their new season's colours! So to get a great updated look, lots of tips and some expert advice call the Bobbi Brown counter at Selfridges to book a free session... don't delay!

Bobbi Brown counter in Selfridges London from the 24-30 July. Offer only applies to pre-booked appointments, call 020 7318 3468

Tested on film stars - not animals

Celebrity tress-teaser Tara Smith launched her fabulous new range of organic hair products this week and this Beauty Ed was lucky enough to attend the A-list happening at the úber-stylish Hemple Hotel in London's Bayswater. Tara has tended to the hair of hundreds of artists over the years, including Demi Moore, Rosario Dawson, Orlando Bloom, Anna Friel, Gary Oldman, Natalie Imbruglia, Quentin Tarantino and many more. Her film credits include heading up the hair department for the LA leg of Sex And The City: The Movie among others. And her clients are clearly firm friends too, as so many off them made the trek to see Tara launch her new line of eco-friendly products - with Rosario Dawson flying in from LA especially for the event.

The go-green, purse-friendly range, due to launch in Tesco on October 1 2008, is made with natural and organic earth-friendly ingredients and contains certified organic fragrances, with fully recyclable packaging. Tara says: "It was important to me to develop a professional-standard line that's not only environmentally friendly, but accessible to everyone with a realistic price tag. The hair is essentially a plant and your scalp is the soil - you have to feed and nourish it for your hair to be healthy." I've tried the C Curls collection and it's already a staple of my hair regime. And with the seriously cool strapline ‘Tested on film stars, not on animals' what's not to love about this launch?

Watch our exclusive chat with Tara Smith below

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