Anything to move the focus away from Yesterday’s Post.

Of which we will never speak of again.

Let’s focus on these spinning circles instead.

So, a friend of mine came around with her daughter and her friend the other day, right, and something was a bit wack with her daughter, and I couldn’t figure it out, and then I realised she had STRAIGHT HAIR, which deserves caps because she has the wildest, curliest hair since, you know, ever.

I asked her what had happened.

This is what had happened: The friend’s mum had taken the two girls out with her shopping, and just for the fun of it, got the girls manicures, pedicures (including nail art, as depicted in the first image) and blow dries.

The girls are five.

I was a leeeetle bit shocked. Sure, I mean they’d had an awesome time, (they were so so pumped about the nail art) they’re gonna paint their own nails and do a rotten job of it, so why not have a good, neat job, and as for the hair, well, that can be washed, but I think it’s just this whole thing of, you know, if you’re getting blowies and pedis at five, what can you possibly have to look forward to at 16?

Botox?
Micro-dermabrasion?
A new set of boobies??

Remember this post? 

It’s all about my adoration for Missoni, and their new fragrance Acqua, which has JUST launched.

One cool thing about that post:

The Missoni people in ‘Straya sent the link to the Missoni people in NYC, who sent it to the Missoni people in Italy, i.e., Angela Missoni, who liked one of the photos I’d used in my post so much, she asked the Missoni people in NYC to find out where I got it, so she could buy it. Bottom line: Angela Missoni read fruitybeauty.

Another cool thing:

The Missoni people in ‘Straya were a little bit chuffed with my Missoni obsession, and gave me FIVE BOTTLES OF THEIR BEAUTIFUL NEW FRAGRANCE, MISSONI ACQUA, as well as ONE, BIG, FAT, BEAUTIFUL MISSONI BEACH TOWEL to give away.

So, there’ll be four prizes of the lush new juice…

…and one MEGA, SUPER prize of the juice and the beach towel. And let me tell you, I own one of these towels, and when you strut to the beach with it gently resting on your shoulders, you’re pretty much the most fun, (and most designer) cat to hit the sand.

How you can win:

First, you must be a subscriber. Second, post a comment below describing (in less than 25 words, and I’ll be counting) the best compliment someone could possibly give you regarding your delicious new Missoni perfume.

The best answer will win the best prize, and the following four will win the penultimate prizes.

Because of the efficiency and professionalism of the Missoni people in Straya, the competition ends this Friday at 12 noon, so that the goods can be sent out on Friday afternoon. How. Good. Is That. Start your engines Fruits…

NB: I am not judging this competition, the Missoni fruits are. But they’re a funny lot; they get my humour, so keep on truckin’ you funny little fruitbats.

This is Clare, who is 26.
Sorry, was 26: She died this morning from skin cancer caused by solarium use.

Please click and read her story in the paper today:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22410791-2,00.html

A former solarium junkie, Clare Oliver died from aggressive melanoma. Before she died,  she wrote a very moving, if-you-use-solariums-you’re-stupid-cause-I-did-and-was-grossly-uninformed-about-their-strength-and-dangers, letter, which will serve as her legacy to those she can save from a similar fate.

In case you didn’t know, solariums emit both UVA (ageing) and UVB (burning) rays, which means they are just like lying in the sun, but of course, you don’t wear your 30 plus in the solarium, do you? No. You don’t. So really, you’re just laying there, utterly exposed to skin-cancer causing rays. And really, what could be more stupid than lying in a box getting aged and burnt? (Hint: Not much.)

For the  sake of your own intelligence, (and, well, life) if you go to, or know anyone that goes to, a solarium, please stop. They are an incredibly dangerous device and as our government are too slack to correctly regulate them, (why they still exist at all baffles me and don’t get me started on that mess of a TV show, Sunset Tan) I’m gonna take over the Serious Reins and plead that you buy a nice bottle of Garnier self-tanner instead of frying your skin in a box. Please, no more cancer boxes, fruits. Please.

But of course it’s not just solariums that cause skin cancer, fruits.

Continue Reading..

I have access to roughly 789 billion lip balms in my job, but so many leave my lips dry after using them. No matter the price or the prestige, they leave my lips flaky and rubbish.

Here are two I have to shed some light on, as sadly, they are two that have SOMEHOW managed to get a reputation as being the oldest, best, most loved for the lips.

Lucas Paw Paw ointment. Great for nappy rash, bites etc but not your lips. Seriously. If I had a dollar for every model that pulls this out of her Marc Jacobs bag and profess to its splendour, I would have lots of dollars. I take great joy in telling them it has a petroleum base and is no better than Vaseline for your lips. "Oh, but I use it all the time," they say. Yes, well, that’s cause it’s drying your lips out, sugar.

Vaseline. See above. I repeat: Petroleum is no good for the lips. Why? Because  all petroleum products do – and in fact most lip "balms" – is provide a barrier. They don’t actually nourish or moisturise the lips at all. They just cover them and give the illusion of them being all lovely and moisturised. But your lips are actually drying out under there. These products aren’t soothing or healing your lips, just coating them.

The key to seriously looked after lips is actually three fold.

1. Make sure your lips are exfoliated every week or so. Do this using a warm face cloth and if possible, a dedicated lip scrub. (Try the Lip Scrub, below) Don’t use your face scrub, it’ll be too strong on your lips.

2. Next, use a lip nourishing product (think vitamin e/sweet almond/coconut oil; shea butter), that contains no petroleum to properly moisturise the lips. There are plenty of these around, and I’m sure your comments will be most helpful in detailing them.

My two very-well-researched picks?

Shizen’s Lip Serum

and Jo Malone’s Vitamin E lip conditioner (it has SPF 15.)

3. And this is only if you want to, or are going into a windy day, or a blizzard, you can swipe on your old lip balm or barrier to lock in that new lease of moisture. But even then I reckon stay away from nasty old petroleum. Trust me on this one.

Today I’d like everyone to consider sporting some Welcome Spring! makeup, which revolves around the colours we most commonly associate with spring. You know, purple, pink, lilac… fun, flower-based colours that look bad on vinyl tablecloths but fantastic when used with the correct foundation and hairstyle.

Here are some Springy suggestions, categorised for your personal Boldness Factor.


Very Bold (Likely to wear a slash of silver glitter on eyelids)

Go for a striking blue-based pink lipstick, a lovely creme or powder blush taken slightly up the cheekbones to give you a sweet flush, and a wash of sheer lilac on the lids. Team with mascara and a delightful little ponytail or 50s quiff for a mega super pretty effect.
You’ll be all tonal and cute and I promise this look will garner ‘You look fresh’ comments.

Moderately Bold (Likely to wear the occasional slash of green eyeliner on the eyelids)

Apply a lovely lavender shadow (Clinique does a splendid duo of purple and white which allows you to achieve the perfect shade – no matter how dark or light) over the eye socket and some black mascara. Up the ante with a fine line of black liner if you feel like it, but make sure you keep it right on the top of the lashline – it’s meant to boost the lashes, not define the eye. Roll with your usual blush, and some lovely girly pink gloss. Woot. Wooh.

Pretty Rubbish At Being Adventurous with Makeup (Likely to wear the occasional line of brown liner. Maybe.)

Whatever your normal eye shadow is, don’t do it. Just line your lash line and apply two coats of mascara. Now apply a little bit more pink blush than usual, and smile when  you do it so it’s more on the apples, making you look fresher than if it were further up the cheekbone. Now, If you don’t have a fun pink (or purple) gloss or lipstick, pat on a little blush or eye shadow in either of those colours onto your lips, and swipe your normal clear or nude gloss over the top. Bam – you’re Springy without it being scary.

I went to the ACP party last night for the launch of 30 days of Fashion and Beauty (stay alert fruits – over September there will be something like 50 magazine events/instores with fashion and beauty eds) of which Delta Goodrem and Elle Macpherson are the faces.

Elle looked ravishing, ethereal, willowy, glamorous as always. But it was Delta who thieved the show. Check it:

Sure, her feathery Bowie dress was a little silly, but her hair/makeup/Burberry Prorsum belt/confidence just radiated hotness. She’s back, you know? She’s doing the all grown up, got it all together, got a stylist and makeup artist and some subtle hair extensions, check me ouuuuut thing we all wish Britney would do.

She’s on the cover of Cosmo on Monday looking like a cross between Jen Hawkins and Cheyenne Tozzi. Not a bad cross-pollination at all.

Go Delta, you little pocket rocket.

I’m feeling answery!
Here’s an answer!
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Hey Ms Fruity – found your blog via the Definitely Excellent
galadarling.com…

The question I am most burning to ask concerns (powder) blush – when
I smile merrily and go for those apples of my cheeks . . . what do I
do with all the laugh lines? Do they get blushed too? I can’t
actually sweep blush any distance towards my temples without
encountering "off-road terrain". I’m 34 and from NZ (sun-lovin’
childhood) and I’m a big fan of laughing, so yeah, it’s a bit of an
issue.

Nadine.

The answer, Nadine, is simple, simple, simple. I have laugh lines too (thank you, genes), so I’m well-versed in this domain.

1. You’re spot SPOT on applying your blush on the apples (fleshy bits) of your cheeks. Thing is, keep it there. Don’t take it any higher, and keep it away from those laugh lines. Shouldn’t really be up there anyway, should be along or under your cheekbone.

2. Get rid of your powder blush. It settles into any fine lines and makes things worse. Instead, buy creme blush. Good, well-priced ones are Bloom, Becca, Rimmel, Revlon and L’Oreal but my faves at the moment are Stila’s convertible cheek colour and La Prairie’s stunning cellular radiance cream blush. Oh, fruits, it’s delicious. It was a birthday gift. I love it much. (Treat yourself if you’re feeling wild.)

3. If you ever notice your fine lines getting creasy, (like at 5pm) dab on a little oil (jojoba, rosehip, face) onto them, it’ll make them glow. (Alternatively, have a glass of water – they’re more often dehydration lines, rather than age lines.) But as you said Nadine, you have a sun-loving past, so yes, they are probably age lines. And aside of toxin-filled needles and things, what you can do to lessen their appearance is to make sure you exfoliate your skin, so that the dead skin cells are removed (they make fine lines more pronounced) and then use a seriously hydrating, regenerative face cream (high broad spectrum sunscreen through the day please) and a very good eye cream, and a NON-MATTE, ‘radiance boosting’ foundation, and your creme blush, and those laughter lines should be far less visible.

4. Don’t you dare stop laughing, lady.

If you’re anything like me (six foot seven, moustache, unnatural flair for pastry-making), you’re pretty rubbish at painting your own nails, especially on your writing hand.

Cue O.P.I’s new ProWide brush,which I used for the first time yesterday, even though it’s been out for a while, I think since the Australia collection. (I’ll be honest – I pay for my manicures, or go au feral most of the time.)

It’s wider right, so it carries more polish, but then spreads it more evenly and thinner, so you get a stupidly fast application, cause in around two (careful, slow) strokes, your nail is pretty much covered.

Genius!
I liked it much!

It made the whole messy affair (I was using a vampish red whose name was unreal, but sadly it is at work, so I can’t write it here – suffice to say it’s just swell, and is from their upcoming Russian collection and if you like a classically whoreish red, you’ll be all over it) SO SO much easier, that I actively thought to myself, young woman, you owe it to your fruits to blog about this tomorrow.

That is the brush. It’s really not that great an image, is it, especially as it’s clear, because it’s from an O.P.I treatment product. But it’s WIDER. Trust me.

You remember how I had that phase of talking up Kit gear all the time? Their wild pop nail polish; their mandarin body wash, their fig body oil, their kite-enthusiast lessons… But then, even though little Kit shops started blossoming in Myer stores around the country, I still kind of felt like I was somehow showing off, because I had access to an actual free-standing store as well as Myer (Oxford St Paddington), and for some of you that was, you know, kind of patronising I guess.

But now, (or rather from September 1) you can ALL buy Kit online. It will be DELIVERED to your home. Or workplace if you’re trying to PRETEND to your partner that you don’t drop way too much coin online.

And it’s not just Kit the actual brand, that’s actually only a teeny part of this store (created by Mecca genius, Jo Horgan) . There’s a whole fruitbowl of Definitely Excellent niche brands like Scott Barnes, Jemma Kidd, Too Faced, Pop, Cosmedicine , Cowshed, Smiley, Korres, etc etc. Celeb-adored gear, most of it.

This is all sounding way too cash-for-commenty, so I’ll finish now, but it’ll kind of be the best place you’ve ever bought stuff for yourself, or your friends, or your cello teacher, ever. Promise. Kind of. Maybe. Shut up.

The address, by the way, is www.kitcosmetics.com
Happy dingin’ Friday, Fruits.