BEAUTY:By PHYL CLARKE

BROWNIE POINTS

Good news for Dublin northsiders: Bobbi Brown, the queen of no fuss make-up, now has a counter at Arnotts in Henry Street. Along with her famous palette of neutrals, the new Smokey, Sultry and Smouldering collection includes delectable eye shades as well as shimmery eyeliner pens in gold and silver (which are more wearable than you might think). There are four new lipstick shades in red. Hey, let's get that party started. And for fans, don't forget there's also a terrific BB counter at Dublin airport.

LA STORIES

Some of the best tricks of the make-up trade come from the land of make believe. The Smashbox Photo Studio in Los Angeles was set up in 1990 by Dean and Davis Factor – great-grandsons of cosmetics legend Max. Stars recognisable by their first names flocked to the studios: the Madonnas, Charlizes and Drews of this world.

They brought themselves but, more importantly for the Factor brothers, they also brought make-up artists, whose skills, tips and insider secrets inspired the Smashbox range of cosmetics.

Among the company’s newest products is a new addition to its wonderful primer collection.

Not content with making a product that keeps your foundation in place all day, the Photo Finish Luminizing Primer, at €39, will give your complexion a vitamin boost while smoothing lines and pores. A subtle shimmer in the tint gives a holiday glow when worn alone, but it also provides a protective base for foundation. Win, win. While you’re at the counter, check out these two nifty, double-ended pencils: Eye Beam, to highlight and brighten eyes, and Lip Beam, to help make lips look fuller (€25).

CLIMB ABROAD THE CAMEL TRAIN

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll be aware that theshade of the season is camel, which looks well on Irish complexions and looks great with other colours, especially deep red. Best of all, it's an expensive looking colour that goes a long way to cheer us up in these belt-tightening times. Nails Inc has come up with Cadogan Square, a delicious shade of camel to ensure you'll be fashionable right down to your fingertips (€17.50 at Brown Thomas).

There’s a garage in Coosan in Athlone stocked with thousands and thousands of buttons. It’s the workshop of a talented NCAD ceramics graduate called Jane Walsh whose Button Studio handmade Irish jewellery is proving a hit both in Ireland and the UK. Walsh originally started making jewellery with MMs and jelly beans, but since moving to buttons and exhibiting at Showcase, her business has taken off. Reclaimed from craft shops in the UK, the buttons are sorted, arranged and then encased in clear acrylic resin to make everything from earrings and necklaces to rings and cufflinks. Customers often bring family buttons from wedding dresses or other sentimental items for special commissions and Walsh has also started to develop a line with patchwork fabric. In Dublin her jewellery can be found in the Kilkenny Shop, where prices are €15-60. buttonstudio.ie

COLOUR CODE

With money too tight to mention, many women are colouring their hair at home these days and, with the marvellous advances in recent years, you can achieve great results. Having said that, there are a good number of home colouring disasters walking around. Garnier has one of the largest ranges for colouring your hair at home – here are some tips from its expert Trevor Halls (right), who points out some common mistakes:

People are seduced by the model photo on the packet but you have to be realistic: can you achieve this colour and maintain it?

Going too extreme with a colour in an emotional response to a break-up or divorce. It’s “out with the old and in with the new”.

Making the wrong colour choice without checking guidelines on the side of the box that indicate what your hair will look like when added to your current colour.

Home hair colour is safe, easy and fun but it’s not magic; if you have different coloured stripes in your hair, the new colour will not mask them.

Grey hair absorbs dark colours rapidly so your colour statement will be strong. Instead, choose a lighter and softer tone.