Compiled by PHYL CLARKEand DEIRDRE MCQUILLAN
Reeling in the years
Products come and go but the cream always rises to the top. These players have stayed the distance and are still delivering impressive results.
20 YEARS Avon Anew
Back in 1992, the cutting-edge technology of retinal and vitamin C made Anew an instant hit – it’s still going strong with 160 sold every minute worldwide.
20 YEARS YSL Touche Éclat
Known affectionately as the “magic wand”, this highlighting pen deflects shadows and adds radiance.
30 YEARS Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair
This beauty editors’ favourite offers recovery while you sleep and boosts skin’s natural ability to repair itself.
In the bag
With the holiday season just around the corner, stocking up on travel-sized essentials will make short work of your packing.
Whatever your holiday budget you can give your skin the five-star treatment with a set of luxury skincare basics from Sisley, free with the purchase of two products (one being skincare). The set is valued at €125 and includes the cult fragrance Eau du Soir for that finishing touch. Available until April 28th at Brown Thomas.
For the boys
Dublin designer Olivia Hegarty, an award-winning graduate of the Bray Institute of Further Education, is now based in London. She served her apprenticeship after college with Pauric Sweeney and also with a City tailor. Now she has joined forces with two London collaborators to set up a men's label called Percival, which operates from their East London studio. Most of the clothes are made from locally sourced fabrics. The collection has a contemporary boyish look, but with almost bespoke attention to detail and finish. As part of Re-Dress's Better Fashion Week, some items from the spring/summer collection have been stocked at the Better Fashion Shop in Castle Market since April 3rd, until the 29th. Prices range from €50 for a jersey T-shirt with Japanese-inspired print to €330 for this waterproof jacket in navy dry wax cotton, trimmed with navy cord. See percivalclo.com
Head mistress
Galway-based milliner Fiona Mangan, shortlisted for a Fashion Innovation Award taking place this month, brings an unusual perspective to her headwear. With a degree in architecture from DIT in Bolton Street, she practised as an architect for 10 years, but with the downturn in the construction industry, turned back to a lifelong love of fashion. Since setting up her business in Athenry two years ago, her training in form, proportion and structure comes into play in her millinery creations.
This lace confection from her current collection called "Into the Deep" was inspired by underwater life and actually photographed in the Galway Atlantaquarium by photographer Brian Harding. The full collection can be seen on her website, fionamangan.com
I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT Fashion designer Claire Doyle
Chanel Perfection Lumiere I’m a huge fan of Chanel’s new Perfection Lumiere foundation. Although it feels light, it stays on all day and just like any good outfit, takes you with ease from day to evening.
Epsom Salts After a long day, I love to bathe in Epsom salts, it’s great for extracting toxins and giving your skin a really smooth complexion, especially with summer nearly here.
Simple face wipes I use them every night to remove my make-up, and in the morning to freshen my face – they are really moist and don’t dry out like other wipes. I keep some in my handbag as they’re great for taking off marks or stains on clothes, too. I recommend them my clients, as many of them are time-pressed professional women who are on the go all the time.
Paddy’s O’Granola Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and now that I’m training for the women’s mini-marathon in June I love to have some Paddy’s O’Granola – a mix of toasted cereals and nuts, dried fruit, honey and organic sunflower oil, which I have with natural yoghurt. I like that that all the ingredients are natural and it tastes yummy.
Moroccanoil I use it on the ends of my hair. With the excessive use of electrical hair products over winter months, my hair is in need of conditioning treatment. My hair is so silky and smooth after I use this, it’s just amazing. It’s probably the best hair product I’ve ever used. I can’t say enough good things about it.
See clairedoyle.ie
BOUTIQUE OF THE WEEK Eden, Dundalk
On the second floor of a 19th-century building in Dundalk, Gillian Leavy's Eden boutique has become a destination showcase for a thoughtful selection of Irish and international labels. One of the first, for instance, to spot up-and-coming French designers such as Isabel Marant, Leavy's current finds include Swildens, a new French label with appealing mix of casual, easygoing tailoring at affordable prices. Eden continues to stock favourites such as Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, Vanessa Bruno and Orla Kiely – and Eden is the only place in Ireland to carry the Icelandic Kron label. With an eye for the unusual, Leavy is always on the lookout for something new and different, but primarily for good design. It is her proud boast that customers who bought pieces eight years ago "are still wearing them and they are not out of fashion". Her new website edenireland.comlaunched on St Patrick's Day and has already found fans as far away as Australia.
Call the Doctor
Buying a new nail polish is a nice little treat for yourself – sure don’t you deserve it? Nail colour has become a trendsetter in recent years, with waiting lists for the latest and much-copied Chanel shades du jour – just check out the Les Jeans Collection – inspired by the myriad shades of denim. To keep your nails in peak condition, try a little home-help in the form of Dr LeWinn’s Renunail Strengthener, €28, a four-week treatment which sorts out any flaking and peeling and builds hard and strong nails. There’s a complementary nourishing oil to maintain the good effects. At House of Fraser and Debenhams
