Benefit Ultra Plush Glosses €19.50/£13.50

Available: July

Benefit have been doing some seriously good re-marketing recently and their latest launch is something I’m very excited about. While I love the Benefit Ultra Shine Lip Glosses for their cute colours and lasting sheen, the applicator brush is extraordinarily small and awkward.

Now, come July, the brand are launching a range of glosses with an easy squeezy applicator. Better still, each gloss coincides with one of their cult boxed bronzers and blushes. So, for those who love the natural look you can team your Dandelion soft blush with a matching pearly pink gloss or for anyone who prefers a bright coral flush, Coralista comes with a matching pinkish-orange gloss.

Other additions to the range include Bella Bamba (sheer bright watermelon), Dallas (dusty rose), Hoola (shimmering golden nude) and Sugarbomb (glistening pinky nude). Best of all, they’ve a non-sticky texture so you can lash them on and not end up picking strands of your hair away from your lips in the slightest breeze.

Soap & Glory Sit Tight Super Intense XS Serum €21.99/£16.50, 125ml

Available: Now at Boots

Our faces get all the attention. From serums and masks, to facials and micro-derm, we frequently spoil our skin from the neck up. With summertime officially upon us—before we anxiously peel off our winter layers—it’s time to give our neglected bodies some TLC.

Lured in by its miracle-promising name, I opted to try Soap & Glory’s new Sit Tight Super Intense XS Serum. The “special super strength body firming serum” is a supped-up version of the original Sit Tight formula and vows to be twice as effective. Bombarded by faux-scientific sounding ingredients like ‘Puffdrain 82’ and ‘Slimenergy3 Caffeine Complex’, I threw caution to the wind and massaged the wince-inducing, cold ‘circo-360 massage roller’ around my thighs for a couple of minutes each morning.

The beauty of this product is it activates when you sit down, so you don’t feel so guilty about that mid-morning digestive at your desk.  After two weeks of meticulous rolling, I can’t say my pins are ‘absolutely flab-you-less’ as promised, but without any dieting, there is a definite tautness and a new suppleness that I’m looking forward to showing off on the beach.

 John Frieda Full Damage Collection

Repair Full Body Shampoo, 250ml – €6.31
Full Repair Full Body Conditioner, 250ml – €6.31
Full Repair Deep Conditioner, 150ml – €7.03
Full Repair™ Perfect Ends Deep Infusion, 50ml – €7.03

Available: Now

Whether your hair crime is colouring, heat styling, back-combing or all three, if you want your hair to continue to look good without having to forsake styling it, you’ve got to invest time and care into its condition.

As someone who ashamedly is guilty of all three on a regular basis, I started using John Frieda’s new Full Repair range about a month ago and am genuinely delighted with the help its given my abused tresses.

For anyone who likes to know the science behind the product, the key ingredient is Inca Inchi, a lightweight micro-oil rich in repairing omega-3 that helps to restructure the hair, detangle it to prevent future snagging and protects from heat styling. The hero product from the range is the Perfect Ends Deep Infusion; it’s a potent remedy for over-worked hair.

This weekend WhatSheWears was invited to a blogger event in London’s Shoreditch (I know, tough life) to check out Boohoo.com’s high summer collection (more on that later).

A hip East London warehouse was decked out in Boohoo’s finest summer clothes and shoes with a photo booth, sweets to remind us of our childhood, a caricature hall of fame and plenty of time to mingle with the people behind the online shopping destination, PRs and other bloggers who came along on the night.

What She Ate: Pizza

What She Drank: Mojitos

What She Listened To: Stooshe, who gave an unplugged performance of their latest single Black Heart, plus the most fabulous rendition of TLC’s Waterfalls.

See our photos from the event below.

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I am always inspired by the model-off-duty look. Everyone from Freja Beha Erichsen to Miranda Kerr has their own immaculate personal style away from the runways and bright lights, but no one does it quite so well as Miss Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (pictured, 1).

Rosie is mostly seen rocking such designer brands as Isabel Marant, Rick Owens, Vanessa Bruno, Chloe and of course, Burberry but luckily her style is very easy to copy on the high street today.

Rosie lives in LA now but she hasn’t forgotten her roots and before Christmas, she was spotted out in this classic blazer/jeans/scarf ensemble that is so popular this side of the pond.

It will soon be time to replace the chunky knitwear with lighter wool for spring. Reiss have a great sale on sweaters at the moment. A stand out piece is definitely the Baxter V-Neck Knit reduced from €100 to €47 (pictured, 2)

A coral coloured blazer is a must-have wardrobe staple for the coming season. The Kooples and Pied A Terre in House of Fraser have a beautiful coral Edge to Edge blazer, (pictured 3. £169/€204) which is a little pricey but an ideal investment piece and the perfect colour and shape to see you through the transition from winter to spring fashion.

We all love a skinny jean and they are a timelessly popular but bootleg jeans are actually easier to wear and when worn with heels, can do wonders for elongating the leg. There is a wide range on the high street now including these dark denims from River Island, £29.99/€36 (pictured 5)

The perfect way to complete this look (and guarantee you are still warm in these pending chillier months) is the addition of a light scarf. Rosie’s choice is the perfect one to keep her cosy but not engulf the whole outfit. Faded animal print scarves are a current trend and my favourite is the Animal Rose one from Miss Selfridge, £16/€21 (pictured 4).

Now all that remains to steal Rosie’s style is a pair of killer shades – and a killer pout!

-    Jennifer Ennis

Brown Thomas Dublin is once again delighted to host the Irish National Final of the Triumph Inspiration Awards 2012 on Wednesday, 30th May 2012.  16 fashion students from the award-winning Griffith College Dublin and the Limerick School of Art & Design will take part in this prestigious design competition, which this year will be hosted by Xposé presenter Karen Koster. The esteemed judging panel will be announced in due course.

Triumph, one of the world’s leading lingerie and shapewear brands, once again challenges young students from all over the world with the fifth annual Triumph Inspiration Award, the industry’s leading design contest in lingerie.

Triumph invited students from Griffith College Dublin and the Limerick School of Art & Design to prove their creativity and expertise by producing a catwalk showpiece to represent this year’s theme “Dragons and Butterflies”. These quintessential Chinese symbols that represent opposing elements were chosen because the International Grand Final is taking place in Shanghai this October.  The Irish winner will travel to Shanghai to represent Ireland at the International Grand Final and their design will compete against 30 other national winners – an invaluable experience for any budding designer.

Vote for your favourite design

Lingerie and design fans can check out the 16 designs that have made it to this year’s Triumph Inspiration Award Irish Final at Brown Thomas on Facebook and vote for their favourite design. The result counts as one vote towards the jury’s final decision.

The Triumph Inspiration Awards curates the most innovative and inspirational lingerie designs and provides a prestigious platform to showcase them in front of national, consumer, and trade press, along with industry professionals. The students participating in the International Grand Final are judged by a renowned jury of fashion, design and media, whose names are yet to be announced. The experts from the last year’s Final include Viktor&Rolf, Ellen von Unwerth, Lily Cole and Helena Christensen, to name but a few.

The winner of the TIA 2012 will follow Boglarka Bodis’ footsteps, the Hungarian winner from Triumph Inspiration Award 2011. Her extraordinary creative design “Les Fleurs du Mal” will be commercialized into a mini-collection of four pieces, containing a bra, a brief, a body and a camisole and will be available in autumn 2012 in selected wholesale and Triumph stores worldwide.

Background

Launched in 2008, the Triumph Inspiration Award is an annual contest that recruits design student from around the globe to create unique lingerie showpieces that draw out the best of their artistic vision. Approximately 9,300 students took part since the beginning of the contest that is now established as the industry’s leading fashion design award.

The TIA Award aims to give creative young students a glimpse into the world of lingerie, encouraging their talents, stretching their capabilities and honing their skills. The main goal: to inspire young designers who will, in turn, inspire those that come after them.

For further information, visit triumphinspirationawardie.com. Check out and vote for the 16 Irish Finalists on facebook.com/BrownThomasGroup

Triumph International is one of the world’s largest underwear manufacturers. The company enjoys a presence in over 120 countries with its core brands Triumph®, sloggi®, Valisère® and HOM®. Triumph employs more than 36,500 people and achieves a turnover of CHF 2.2 billion (2010).

This is a WhatSheWears.ie advertorial feature.

While the UK marvel at Stella McCartney’s kit for their Olympic team and the Italian Olympians get fitted for their team Armani suits, we Irish treat our Olympic team’s Mums to a spot of pampering ahead of their departure for the London Olympics 2012.

Earlier today we popped along to see P&G Professional Ireland’s VIP Day in Dublin where Irish Olympic athlete’s Mums got their hair styled by the country’s top Wella Professionals Stylists and received a full beauty makeover, courtesy of Olay and Max Factor celebrity makeup artist, Lyndsey Cavanagh.

After contributing greatly to the development of their sons and daughters and now doubt made many sacrifices along the way, today’s pampering session was a welcome pat on the back for these special Irish Mums.

See how to wear sportswear as streetwear with these street style pictures we took at the event

More pictures from the event below.

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Mulberry certainly know how to create a stir – first team up with beautiful songstress du jour, Lana del Rey, then name a handbag after her and while you’re at it, have her entertain all your VIP guests at a private party in Chateau Marmont during Fashion Week.

So after all that anticipation, the Mulberry Del Rey handbag finally landed in shops this week (£795 online, €990 at Brown Thomas). Inspired by the singer’s signature retro look, it’s the first time the brand has collaborated with a star since launching its best-selling Alexa satchel.  A retro take on the Mulberry Bayswater, we think, yet £200 more expensive.

Pictured above, Lana has a custom made Del Rey in White Ostrich and as Emma Hill (Mulberry’s Creative Director) says: ‘The white with the gold accent suited Lana perfectly – it’s glamorous, and a little bit retro!’

For the rest of us mere mortals, the vintage style bag comes in black and deer brown, with more colours (Burgundy, blue and white) to follow.

Availability: Shop the Del Rey online (£795) and at Brown Thomas Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway (€990).

P.S Passing through London Heathrow at the weekend, I picked up these gorgeous Mulberry SS12 postcards, which are complimentary! Pop into your nearest Mulberry store to get your hands on some – getting one of these Brighton pier and ice cream themed cards by post will brighten up someone’s day. Photo taken on Instagram (see full image).

Pictured left to right: Aleana O Shea, Laura King, Dana McNally and Ruth Keane.

Neola Boutique, an Irish owned business, opened her third boutique with an exclusive party to mark their official opening in Dundrum Town Centre. The boutique stocks Rene Derhy, Old Molly & St Martins and celebrity favourite jeans brand Hudson jeans as seen on the Middleton sisters, Fearne Cotton, Sienna Miller and Keira Knightly.

Pictured at the launch were TV 3’s Laura Woods, owners Neola Killeen & Emmet McLoughlin, Elaine Butler Doolin, Karen McEvoy, Sandra Byrne, Model Alison Canavan, Avila Lipsett, Emily O’Donnell and Roz Purcell.

Neola Boutique, The Gallery Level, Dundrum Towncentre, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Tel: 01-846 0000 | www.Neola.ie

Photos: Brian McEvoy

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We’re glad to know that we’re not the only ones wondering “what to wear” when an unexpected invite comes in the post to a summer event.

That’s exactly what Anna Friel and Gemma Arterton declared in this video, when they were invited to the Audi Polo Challenge at Ascot, which took place this weekend. Anna wore a bright Alice Temperley dress with black wedge booties while Gemma opted for a spotted dress and trench coat. In fact, cute summer dresses with wedge heels (so as not to sink in the grass) were the outfits of choice for a day out at the polo.

The Audi Polo Challenge is an annual exclusive fundraiser  for the various charities supported by the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry and this weekend Kate Middleton, was present for the prize giving, wearing a Libélula silk tea dress and Stuart Weitzman wedges (available at Arnotts in Ireland or Russell & Bromley in the UK) .

More than 500 VIPs, including Rhys Ifans, Rupert Penry-Jones and Chris O‘ Dowd were treated to exciting high goal polo featuring HRH the Duke of Cambridge (Prince William) and Prince Harry.

Following the polo, guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner prepared by Coworth Parks‘ Executive Chef, Chris Meredith, and entertained by BRIT award nominee, Pixie Lott.

Alexa Chung made a serious style statement at last year’s Met Gala ball in NYC, championing British fashion design by wearing a shimmering Christopher Kane paillettes dress.

And now you can get the look for yourself as Alexa Chung’s incredible Christopher Kane dress will be hitting THE OUTNET today, May 15th, at 50% off.

Christopher Kane AW11 Alexa sequined tulle dress
Original Price: €4,741
Now: €2,370

If you haven’t heard about it yet, THE OUTNET is an online outlet owned by the folk behind NETAPORTER,  stocking previous season designer fashion at reduced prices.

The inaugural Meteor Camden Crawl Dublin kicked off last Saturday with an exclusive gig in Whelan’s on Wexford Street.

Featuring singer-songwriter Fionn Regan and English four piece indie sensations, Mystery Jets, the gig was just a taste of the 100 bands which took to the stage over the weekend in selected venues from Camden Street to Temple Bar.

We boogied to: Rubberbandits, Cashier No 9,  Le Galaxie and little xs for eyes

See who was Camden Crawling in the gallery below.

Photos: Kieran Harnett

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