Swine Flu makes Jacko look not so wacko anymore!

The outbreak of swine flu is all over the news and the talk of status updates everywhere.

I have friends' who have already cancelled their trips to Mexico, and others who have booked to go in the summer and are now in Mehico holiday limbo. My heart goes out to them, and most certainly to all who have been affected by this outbreak. Swine Flu is spreading all over the world, and two people being diagnosed in Scotland are bringing the panic closer to home.

My best friend made a point that whilst everyone’s focusing on where the outbreak began, if someone has recently come back from Mexico and we happen to be sitting on the tube with them, we may be at risk without even knowing.

I think public transport is diseased even without all of this Swine Flu, but whether we like it or not, for some, it’s the only way. I am getting my face mask first thing in the morning. It’s not the kind of thing I’ve previously felt the need to search for online - but there are loads, plus the NHS have ordered 30 million extra.

The Daily Mail website has an article that I found to be very informative and helpful. Everyone seems to be going for the Jacko style masks, but they are certainly not the best option.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1174313/Swine-flu-panic-sweeps-UK-public-rushes-buy-facemasks-actually-work.html

A Geri Halliwell inspired cycling mask.

The Chinese wear protective face masks daily,
covering them with a cycling mask or a piece of material.

A website shares my thoughts... mocikingly.

So, I'm buying my mask, some pieces of different material (we don’t know how long this is gonna last for and I’m not wearing the same thing every day), and a few Swarovski crystals to add a bit of sparkle. If Louis did ever make a face mask cover, I wonder how much it would be?...

"Can you please spell Gabbana?"

I struggle with the idea that a girl living in New York had really never heard of Gabbana?! But a girl living in New York, London or Paris will certainly have a similar reaction to Andy Sachs (as did one of my fellow fashionistas,) when I say Dolce & Gabbana and make-up in the same sentence.

Please note that I tend not to stop in the beauty department of Selfridges (unless it’s Christmas and I’m gift searching or unless I really have to). My make up palette is precise. I am a MAC girl, along with my YSL Touch Éclat, and a bit of Diorshow Backstage Mascara. In addition, is the fact that I seldom buy make up in London unless I’ve run out of Touch Éclat, and then it’s duty free at Heathrow or Stansted. My MAC stack is more or less all purchased in the US of A, primarily on Fifth Avenue, glamorous yes, much less expensive, hell yes! And as the saying goes, “once you go MAC, you never go back,” well that was my motto...until Friday.

There is no better way than to start my first blog entry, than with Dolce & Gabbana. My first fashion love, my first fashion buy... ok, it was D&G not Dolce, and there is a difference, but ultimately the thrill is the same, the ‘sex’ is the same, and on Friday, whilst wearing a D&G gold vest (emphasis on the gold), I found the need to stop on the ground floor of Selfridges' beauty department, where before me was something that was not there two weeks ago and that took me very much by surprise.

For the first time, the fashion Gods that are Dolce & Gabbana have released a make-up collection that is exclusive to Selfridges. The face of the collection, Miss Scarlett Johansson is a more than perfect choice, as a blonde of course (her newer darker look is not so Dolce). Quoting Stefano Gabbana, ''she’s a beautiful girl, but she’s really easygoing. She is very Dolce & Gabbana,’' but trust me when I tell you there is nothing easy going about the collection. It is - simply stunning - simply sex.

I think I was staring at the products for so long that the lovely make-up artist came over just to see if I was ok. We sat down and she applied a lip colour. Cute and pink, “perfect choice for my complexion,” but I already have a similar colour in Estee Lauder (yeah ok I never said I bought that either - blah). She asked me if I would like to try the red that Miss Johansson wears in the ad campaign. I have a MAC red, but it tends to bleed into the edge of my mouth, and after a drink, or few, no one tells you this and you only find out when the photos are uploaded onto facebook and then realise I look like I was in training for clown school. I wasn’t intending on buying anything so what harm could it do, I would try it out. All reds are the same surely?

She applied The Classic Lipstick in Devil Red, no lip liner, but with a lip brush (which annoyingly enough are not yet available to purchase). She then covered the lipstick with The Lipgloss in Ruby and my lips were the sex.

I also tried the foundation that can be used as a powder, or can be used wet to provide more coverage. This again was amazing, especially for my post holiday tanned skin that is too dark for my MAC foundation.

I asked the lovely make up girl for the details, and asked what the foundation came in. Dolce & Gabbana eat your heart out. Gold. Sophisticated. Sexy. Sleek. The collection is perfect to throw in my speedy without making a mess, but a joy to reveal to onlookers wondering where on earth these gold jewels are from.

I didn’t buy the products immediately. I decided to have a think about it, all the while staring at my lips in every reflective material I walked past. On Saturday I woke up and was asked where I was going that I had applied red lipstick first thing. And that was my deciding factor. I have had a stressful week, and yes, shamefully, did not take off my make-up on Friday night. But the fact that my lips were the same as when first applied said it all.
I went back on Saturday and collected my first pieces of Dolce & Gabbana. There are blushes, nails colours, eye shadows, lip liners, and I'm sure the list will develop quickly. The only thing that the new collection couldn’t provide me with was a Scarlett Johansson cleavage... I think it would be Dr 90210 for that...