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I'm sure you all remember the bubbly Essex girls that got through to the judges houses in Xfactor last year. The two lovely ladies that make up the band 2shoes are Charley Bird and Lucy Texeira. From the heart of The only Way is Essex territory, the girls hail from Basildon and Brentwood. The girls started out as a band in 2009 but raised to the public's attention in 2011 as the bubbly contestants in Xfactor. They managed to get through to Tulisa's judges home in the beautiful Greek Isles. 

Although they never got through to the finals they have really capitalised on their Xfactor fame and have a manager, agent and are gigging regularly which they are both over the moon with. 

We invited them to talk beauty, tans, cosmetic surgery with me on our current Beauty Show "Harley Street Beauty". Their agent Dean Midas Maynard said how bubbly they are and great on camera but I wasn't anticipating how easy they would be to interview and their fab infectious laughter. The girls say that the X Factor experience was absoloutely TOTES AMAZE!

The girls admitted the journey was extremely hard phsyically and emotionally, but they enjoyed every single minute of it. Now the girls are optomistic of what the future holds, they are in the studio now working on releasing a single this year and also a new found career of TV Presenting could be in the pipeline or maybe some reality TV.

Where better to meet them and chat everything gorgeous and glam than the glossiest nightclub in Essex renowned for its positioning as one of the best clubs in Essex but also heavily popular in TOWIE..The obvious choice had to be The Sugar Hut in Brentwood owned by Mick Norcross one of the main characters in TOWIE and ran by BB and TOWIE star Kirk Norcross. 

While myself and the crew were in Brentwood we noticed Amy Child's salon shame I was in a rush and couldn't try a bejazzle and the boutiques of TOWIE stars Lucy Mecklenburgh (Lucy's Boutique) and Sam and Billie Friers (Minnies Boutique), we had to then shoot off to Chingford for filming at a salon. Anyway sure I'll be back shortly and get a chance to checkout the boutiques and salons soon when we attend Essex Fashion Week.

Anyway thanks to 2shoes, Money North the girls management, The Sugarhut and Dean Midas Maynard the girls agent. We had a fun few hours oh and I can't believe you have a pink car to match with my pink iPhone Charley haha REEM!!

Brands: Influence, Danity, Dana Kleinert, Emma Louise London, Pogostick Failure, Kiley Evans, Fair + True, Cocoabella, Cross Culture Fashion, Phylese, Vodka Vintage, Little Mistress, Charles of London and Mrs Pomeranz. 

Kat Von D opened ‘Young Fashion: Half scene catwalk’ at Pure London yesterday. The show started at 2:30 pm with Kat expressing her excitement about being a part of the event.

On the same catwalk as the tattooist’s collection were clothes made by Influence, Danity, Dana Kleinert, Emma Louise London, Pogostick Failure, Kiley Evans, Fair + True, Cocoabella, Cross Culture Fashion, Phylese, Vodka Vintage, Little Mistress, Charles of London and Mrs Pomeranz.

Kat Von D’s collection is made up of two lines ‘white label’ and ‘red label’. The first one explores the romantic, artistic and more sophisticated side of Kat, while the second one is inspired by the LA lifestyle.

I definitely prefer the more romantic Kat and a couple of pieces caught my attention, such as Kat’s Starboard Vest. (see pictures below) Which style do you prefer?

Joanna

We visited Pure London, UK’s leading fashion buying event, on Sunday 12^th February 2012. We had a peek at the A/W 2012 collections and we know what buyers will find in stores this autumn.

During the Pure London event buyers can find contemporary, directional and premium women’s wear, as well as young fashion, footwear and accessory brands all under one roof, making it very exciting.

Industry experts, WGSN and Drapers guide visitors through the shopping experience by revealing next season’s trends.

For us Pure London is all about networking and building brand awareness. It is a great place to find niche labels in the emerging designer showcases.

If you have never visited Pure London before and have an interest in fashion, there is still time to visit this season’s Pure London show.

Joanna

Naomi and Jules headed over to Stoke Poges on Tuesday to attend an interesting anti-ageing beauty night with the experts. Ariane Poole Celebrity Makeup artist teamed up with 2 well known faces in the beauty world to deliver an evening with the experts. The first was multi award winning skin guru Dr Tracy Mountford founder and Medical Director of The Cosmetic Skin Clinic in Buckinghamshire and London Harley St.

Dr Mountford’s “philosophy is to enhance natural beauty rather than alter looks. The key is to not look like you have had anything done”. That is why she is the ‘go to’ person for so many celebs.Dr Mountford  was on hand to discuss non-surgical questions and gave an insight into all the new cutting edge anti-ageing treatments from the USA, of which there are many. 

The second expert was celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton. Andrew has won many awards for his hair creations, including 'Hairdresser of the Year'. His eye for trend forecasting makes him a firm favourite with beauty editors and he is widely regarded as the 'hairdressers' hairdresser, not forgetting his long standing appearance as the resident hairdresser on '10 Years Younger'. Andrews’s passion is transforming the hair of 'real’ women, giving them beautiful, feminine styles they can easily manage themselves. He delivered an interesting talk on how to deal with grey hair and how to keep your hair looking it’s absolute best, hair botox he calls it. We love it!
 

The evening was in support of the Katie Piper Foundation. All of the proceeds raised went towards supporting other burns victims to undergo the same therapy as Katie experienced in France, that is not currently available here in the UK.

I think the highlight of Jules and Naomi's evening was getting front row seats to Ariane Poole's Makeup presentation. Ariane's career has spanned over twenty-five years, as a leading name in her field, she has worked with many of the top fashion & beauty photographers and an impressive list of celebrities, models, pop stars and even royalty.

Being highly renowned, her credits include major advertising campaigns for the likes of Max Factor, Boots No7, Almay, Miss Selfridge and Molton Brown. She is also a regular contributor to many magazines, newspapers and websites as well as past television credits including GMTV, the Big Breakfast, “Lets Get Beautiful” for Carlton Digital, “Makeover Hit Squad” for Granada and the Special K Lifestyle Series for Sky.

Five years ago, Ariane launched a make-up range reflecting her dream of creating a line of cosmetics that were not only fashionable and innovative but quick and easy to use and above all, a problem solver for make-up dilemmas.

Ariane is regularly asked to predict future trends in make-up as well as giving good advice and tips. Therefore her product range offers helpful and practical solutions as well as fantastic trend-led products.

Her celebrity followers include: Fern Britton, Sharon Osbourne, Kirsty Gallagher, Cilla Black, Sue Barker, Tess Daley, Melanie Sykes, June Sarpong, Kerri Katona, Denise Van Outen, Julia Carling, Lisa Snowdon, Linda Lusardi and Gail Porter.

So who better to listen to when your thinking about makeup for your 20's/30's/40's plus. Ariane understands the importance of using the right colours and trends for your age but interestingly as we age the way we apply our make-up should change quite alot. Her make-up range is just divine. Naomi loved her retexturing facial primer and I think Jules wanted the entire range.

So all in all it was a great evening thanks for the tips Tracy, Ariane and Andrew we'll bare those in mind!

Naomi Isted - The Blondie Media Team