Is it a lipstick? Is it a gloss? No, it’s Clarins’ new Crystal Lip Balm!

You might think that after years of using and reviewing beauty products, I would have developed some kind of beauty-related compassion fatigue. But no, every now and then a product comes out that’s so clever / innovative / beautiful, it has me leaping around the office like a madman. Which is exactly what happened when I received Clarins’ gorgeous new Crystal Lip Balms. Part of the summer Instant Sun range, they’re translucent lip balms in the form of a bullet lipstick that have the sheer finish of a light gloss. I haven’t seen a product like it before and I think they’ll be a huge summer hit for Clarins.

Clarins Crystal Lip Balm, £15.50, available nationwide from May 2010

Heaven scent

I love everything about Stella McCartney. Her clothes, her ethics and her daddy (I had a major crush on Macca when I was growing up, slightly wrong looking back on it now…) And now I’m falling in love with her latest offering – the new Sheer Stella fragrance. A delicate fresh floral with notes of rose, peony and amber, it’s the perfect light summer spritz. Oh and it’ll look beautiful on your dressing table too.

Sheer Stella EDT, £36.50 for 100ml, available nationwide from May 2010. 

Join the pony club

Being a woman of lack-lustre shoulder length mousy brown hair, I regularly experience pangs of hair envy when a girl walks past with a gorgeous long swishy ponytail. Which is why I think the new Ponytail by Mail service by Neville Hair and Beauty is absolute GENIUS.

Just send a little snippet of your hair to Neville’s salon and his team of pros will create a pony that exactly matches your hair in colour and texture. A few days later and – voila! – you’ll have a bespoke, totally natural looking pony. Just clip on and start swishing!

The Neville Pony starts at £90 depending on length. Call Neville’s on 020 7235 3654 for more information, or pop into the salon: 5 Pont Street, London, SW1X 9EJ