Introducing: LOOK MAKEUP! Yes you heard me right...

I am beyond excited to finally be able to tell you about this culmination of a project I've been working on throughout my illness, Look is launching its own makeup range!! (worthy of both those exclamations).

The very best thing about this range, and contrary to the opinion of a lot of cynics out there, is it is basically mine and Katie's dream makeup. As in we developed the range and worked on every aspect, but especially the colours and formulations, to get the makeup we want in our makeup bags, and we hope everyone else will want too. Much like Victoria Beckham did with her clothing range. I'm pretty sure that makes us the Victoria Beckham's of the makeup world, right? We used such intricate techniques as matching pantone references or bits of cardboard we quite liked. Really.

The Ashley Isham print that runs throughout the range (some more prominently than others) is a nod to our fashion standing in the magazine world and our readers (OK, and our) obsession with all things fashion. The pink is a classic LOOK love. The chunky packaging is value and aesthetics in one and the makeup is as the tag line says; designed, tested and worn by the beauty brains at LOOK magazine.

I feel a bit funny saying that, since I have read celebrities waxing lyrical about their own fragrances or ambassadors for ranges expounding the virtues of their 'favourite' lipstick, and not been entirely convinced. So I realise it sounds like I'm endorsing a product that happens to be born of my employers. BUT, having had the opportunity to develop it with pretty much a free reign, is like someone saying - here, take all these resources and make your absolute dream shoe. You'd be quite excited to get it on your foot? Yup, me too.

So, 30 mono eyeshadows, triple hit compacts, foundations (including a BB cream), primers, eye kohls, liquid liner,  lip duo's, glosses, lipsticks, bronzers, blushers, 30 nail polishes and entire looks in a box, complete with step by steps. A pretty comprehensive range, and happily a percentage from sales go to a cause close to my heart, Look Good...Feel Better

THESE are my picks for personal hero products. I have actually stolen the samples. Er, sorry LOOK team...

Oomph Lashes, in Blackest Black. Aside from having the cutest packaging in the whole range, this volumising mascara is the popular choice among the makeup artists I've forced it upon.

Loud Lips in Tangerine Cream. This is the Lara Stone of lipsticks. I SO love this shade. So far I am wearing it every day. I promise it wasn't me who made it sell out in Superdrug Westfield...

Nail Pop in Mink and Dusky. One is my perfect opaque candy pink (hard to come by in polish world), the other is I kid you not, the colour of my amazing cat Desmond. Desmond is my favourite colour, for nails, shoes, dresses, mushrooms, anything.

Nail Pop in Mink

Make Me Blush in Flush and Pinch. I love the cute names of these (um, I did name them), and the colours are very exciting on the skin. These two are good for pale people like me - just the right amount of glimmer - and I;m fussy about shimmer blushes fyi - to make cheeks look dewy and plump, and the colours are prrretty pretty.

Holiday Glow in Rio. It looks dark but I use it for contouring. Unusually matte and a perfect shadow shade for amazing sculpting skills, I wear under cheekbones, with the blush on my apples.

At the moment LOOK Beauty is available in Superdrug in the new Westfield in Stratford, but they're rolling out to all Superdrug stores in October, with more lines added in November. Prices from £4 to £18

Loud Lips in Tangerine Cream

tangerine dream

Nail Pop in Dusky

Make me Blush in (top) Flush and (bottom) Pinch

Do Not Disturb

We just moved from the 5th to the 7th floor at Blue Fin Building. Going up in the world eh? (sorry), Although this news was met with the usual fear of change feelings, in actuality, its really nice and refreshing. And I get to chat to the InStyle beauty desk every time I go to the toilet now, which is always nice...

The not so nice part was the packing. I HATE moving, this was particularly traumatic. 3 1/2 years worth of desk hoarding into two measly crates. And then unpacking it all two floors up. Ugh.

The nice thing was finding the little things I forgot I had. This was my favourite:

I used to be Beauty Editor at CosmoGIRL! Such cute teenage days. I sat on a great desk with fashion team Navaz, Bella and eventually Olivia (beautifully modelling my customised chef hat at the head of the post).  Navaz was gold. If blogging was prolific in those days, she would have featured in mine regularly. Not least for THIS particular hat.

Its not a joke, she wore it very seriously, when we were NOT TO DISTURB. Every time someone new came in they would humorously try to comment on it, to her, as if they hadn't read the request sat on top of her head. A few days in and the hat was fearfully respected and honoured.

She made me one eventually too. I wore it once at LOOK when I did expenses. It sort of had the opposite effect - I'm not good at commanding fearful respect and honour for the hat.

Still, ahh, the memories...

The Day in Pictures - LOOK Show 2010

Well, not the whole day, just the funny bits that made me laugh. Annotated for your perusal...

Katie & I backstage just before the madness kicked in

Sorry, hello - have you met new nail technician Katie?

I don't really know what to say about this. It was 'art' in the makeup backstage area. Creepy does not do it justice.

Rubbernecking

Rubbernecking pt II

sorry, hello - hello? Have you met Katie, the last minute addition to the model line up?

Nothing amiss here...

Katie and I front row just before the show starts, after the madness has abated, but still mid-sweat

Queuing for the photobooth. OK, imaginary queuing. Checking my imaginary watch.

Mallorca Meltdown

Today just generally calls for a meltdown. I'll give you snippets.

In the space of a few days I have, or have had; LFW, The LOOK Show- second season, LFW coverage, Look Show coverage, Look Good Feel better Editors Day at Selfridges, Mallorca trip.

LFW involved delegating to Jess - I can't handle being actively hated and bundled out the way by whole teams of backstage hair/makeup for more than four seasons in a row. She seems to love it - weird.

Laena from The Like has her hair done at Katie & Guy Salon, Beckenham

The LOOK show involved running in heels from 9am til 19.30. Highlights were: Katie doing the hair of Laena from The Like (we didn't have enough stylists), Katie standing in for a model for the walk-through (we didn't have enough models), me having my turn as a pap and shooting Diana Vickers and... Calum Best!! Oh the dream! (we didn't have enough time or an omnipresent photographer). I was not half bad - here are two I took. (horn tooting? moi?)

'I'm only gonna let you shoot me once' - for full coverage go to LOOK online

The coverage of both involves me and my team pulling our hair out for two days while we manically try to meet deadlines. Throw in a very last minute a/w trip to Mallorca, leaving in two days, minus a day out of the office to meet readers at Selfridges, and I am just about ready to crawl under my desk and weep. No, sob.

In other news, Katie and I wore matching FitFlops to work today. We shall have to walk home separately...

Sophie Smokes

Having prepped, preened and practiced, the Look Beauty Tutorials are live. 

I could only cringe through my fingers when wed editor Kate showed me the finished product, I vowed a strict detox diet and enunciation lessons. But then they un-stretched the video, so it's just the enunciation left. Thank god.

Lesson One: Sophie does Smoky Eyes, still to come is contouring, perfect base and a 1940's face. Cringe factor aside, I wonder when I can start guest panelling on Britain's Next Top Model - ahh, dreams.

http://www.look.co.uk/beauty/looks-beauty-how-to-smoky-eyes

MACfest

I love Isle of Wight. It's my kind of festival, sunny, pleasant, friendly etc. I love it a hell of a lot more when MAC offers to have me and my friend (for festival purposes Debbie replaces DadJokes, he can't be doing with portaloo's) stay in their amazing mansion off site. Complete with golf cart so we don't have to walk anywhere. Absolute Radio passes so we get the very best view of the stage, and celebrities obviously, and all the lashes and lipstick I could ask for, applied by their artists on a daily basis.

At least I could do my filming for LOOK safe in the knowledge I looked more fabulous than festival. Cue interviews with Paloma Faith , Caroline Flack, Erin O Conner, as well as a terrifying sabotage by Lee Francis (watch out for this vid on look.co.uk soon, and here also of course).

The last day shooting main beauty for the mag, with MAC senior artist Neil Young, involved us all piling onto the big wheel for one of the shots. I was scared to the point of rollercoaster fear, shameful I know but I am older than all those creams let on.

Thank you Ruth Wiles, Jane Walsh, Kate Armitage and team for a festival fabulous weekend, pleeease can I come next year?

getting my makeup done in the MAC backstage area before filming

Ruth at MAC helps me with the Big Wheel shot

p.s. Beyond Retro does a mean line in rain macs. £3 a pop! love.