Guest Blog - Lisa Stokes. Make-up, beauty and skincare specialist.

Guest Blog - Lisa Stokes. Make-up, beauty and skincare specialist.

An expert in make-up, skincare and beauty, with a wealth of knowledge and experience, Lisa Stokes is a regular contributor to the beauty pages of various high-profile magazines and is a regular on The Huffington Post, and The Guardian. She has a passion for scented candles and home fragrance so we asked Lisa to pick her favourites from the ranges available at Heal’s:

Diptyque started it. I remember the first time I smelt Tuberose. The intense, comforting smell of fresh rose petals. It took me back to my younger days, making rose water in the garden. That was my first experience of a luxury, scented candle. Now, I’m hooked. I’m an out and out scented candle addict. For me they not only change the whole ambience of a room, they can actually change my mood, lift my spirits. Often, if I’m working with an anxious actor or celebrity, I’ll burn a mini relaxing candle in the dressing room just before they go on set. It works. It creates an aromatherapy air of calm. When I travel I take them with me, they remind me of home.

I choose different scents for different rooms and seasons. For winter I love the cosy scents of cinnamon, cloves and figs. In spring, I go floral, rose and bergamot. Neroli takes me to the fresh Mediterranean scents of summer. Year round my bathroom alternates between relaxing lavender and uplifting jasmine. My downstairs loo... anything. A scented candle can turn a loo from cold and functional to, actually quite a nice place to be.
Scented candles are my gift of choice this Christmas.  Ditch the bubble bath gift set and instead opt for the tasteful affordable luxury of a scented candle.  Here are 10 of my favourites available from Heal's. 

1. Neom Organics, Scented Candle Pampering Trio, £40.00

Top notes of lavender and jasmine, ginger and Moroccan rose. 20 hours burning time.

2. Molton Brown, Verve Piccolo Candela Set, £42.00
Four uplifting scents containing a combination of essential oils, set in hand blown green and yellow glass cases. 20 hours burning time.

3. Heal's Botanical Rose Scented Candle Range, from £14.00
Strong scent of fresh rose, hand poured with embedded dried rose petals.

4. Cowshed Wild Cow Invigorating Room Candle, £30.00
Top notes of lemongrass, ginger and rosemary. Vegan. 60 hours burning.

5. Neom Christmas Candle, £40.00
Christmasy scents of Cinnamon, Ginger and Tonka Bean. 55 hours burning time.

6. Diptyque, Tuberose, £38.00

Intense natural rose, 50-60 hours burning time.

7. Heal's Botanical Lavender and Vanilla, from £14.00

Fresh relaxing lavender and sweet vanilla, hand poured with embedded dried lavender pods.

8. Acqua di Parma Colonia, £47.00

Fresh Sicilian citrus notes, with undertones of sandalwood and cedar.

9. Miller Harris Citron from £10.00
Fresh orange and Jamaican Lime.

10. Orla Kiely, Fig Tree Candle, £24.00

Fig, citrus and lavender, set in an Orla Kiely Spot Stem print glass jar.

Over the past decade Lisa Stokes  has established herself as one of the UK’s leading make up artists, working with celebrities  including Kate Moss, Gemma Arterton, Juliette Lewis, and Daniel Craig. Her editorial and fashion clients include In Style, Grazia, Guardian Weekend, Marie Claire, and Elle. Lisa has also created looks at London Fashion Week and red carpet events such as Elle Style, Glamour, The Brit Awards and The Baftas.

“Jan/Feb 2012 Special Offer”

“Gone to Pot”

The ultimate detox package – when the body and spirit need more than a little help from Mother Nature

• ‘Lime and ginger full body exfoliation’ – 20mins
• ‘Bumcial’ – firming mask for the buttocks, saddlebags (sorry to mention them) firming and detoxing – 20mins
• ‘Honeybelle’ body buffer – a bit like a wood sander but much more gentle! – proven and effective solution to cellulite, improves circulation in the skin and underlying tissue – 30 mins
• ‘LPG mini’ – targeted hip, thigh, lower leg and stomach – this non-invasive machine radiates deep dominant cellular activity stimulating the skin – 30mins
• ‘Cleansing smoothie’ – we will sneak those anti-oxidant packed fruit and veg in there somehow!

Total time of pure bliss – over 2 hours

£99 – should be £250

Potting Shed tip ** The visible brilliance facial can be added to this package @ £25 rather than £40 (just don’t tell anyone!)

 

Secret Santa Ideas

Getting involved with the office ‘Secret Santa’ round of gift-buying can be a nerve-racking business. Buy a fun, imaginative present and everyone will marvel at your ingenuity and good taste. Get it wrong and you could end up looking like the office dunce.

At Heal’s you’ll find plenty of clever Secret Santa ideas, ranging from the cool but affordable to the downright silly - all of them guaranteed to raise a smile from even the grumpiest of workmates. Here’s a selection of our favourite options...

1. My Cuppa Tea Mug £10.00

Brilliant idea, this. The colour matching chart allows you to make the perfect strength cup of tea every time.

2. Moustache Corkscrew £9.50

Moustaches are all the rage thanks to ‘Movember’. This corkscrew/bottle opener is a lot of fun - and useful too.

3. Mini Voice Changer £10.00

Enjoy hours of fun amplifying and distorting your voice with this novelty gift. Choose from three different settings and have them rolling in the aisles with a well-chosen catch-phrase.

4. Inflatable 80s Mobile Phone £12.00

Perfect for the workmate who doesn’t get the concept of a ‘private’ phone conversation. Altogether now: ‘I’M AT THE OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY!’

5. Office Stress Emergency kit £10.00

The ideal gift for a stressed out workmate who really needs to CHILL OUT.

6. Notable Moustaches 2 £6.00

In preparation for next year’s Movember, why not give your ‘tache-growing colleague the chance to experiment with six different styles: Handlebar, Banker, Pencil, Walrus, Biker and Stud.

7. Milk Chocolate DIY Kit £7.50

Five milk chocolate tools - perfect for colleagues who spend Monday morning describing their weekend grouting triumphs.

8. Reservoir Ducks £14.00

Let’s go to work.

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

Your guide to making the perfect mulled wine from Heal's

 Let’s face it, a Christmas gathering isn’t really a Christmas gathering without mulled wine. Nothing evokes the festive spirit better than the delicious aroma of heated claret infused with cinnamon, cloves, citrus and sugar. It’s like liquid Christmas.

Making the perfect glühwein, vin chaud or glögg couldn’t be simpler with the Heal's Mulled Wine Set, which includes a bottle of full-bodied Chilean merlot, gourmet mulling syrup, cinnamon sticks and two glasses. It makes a great gift, too.

Of course, if you take your mulling very seriously, it’s worth investing in a Giles & Posner slow cooker. Slow cooking is the ideal way to gently heat the wine and allow those delicious spices to work their magic - and with three adjustable heat settings, you can keep the wine warm for hours without overcooking it.

So this Christmas, why not offer your guests a really warm welcome.

 

Barca Caffe

Barca Caffe 

"We Pay Half" Weekend

Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th December

Here's one for the diaries! This Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th December Barca Cafe on the third floor are offering a fabulous 'Half Price Discount' on their full menu this coming weekend. So its even more reasons to make a day of it at Redbrick this coming weekend.

Buyers' Christmas Picks - Sam Walker, Senior Buyer, Toiletries and Gift

Buyers' Christmas Picks - Sam Walker, Senior Buyer, Toiletries and Gift

If you’re worrying about what to buy friends and family for Christmas and you need a bit of inspiration, it always helps to get a professional opinion.  So we decided to ask three Heal’s buyers what they’ll be buying their nearest and dearest this year…

1.) Moscow Faux Fur Cowl £35.00

I’d love to get my mum one of these. They’re great because you can dress them up or dress them down - you could wear one with a smart coat or a chunky jumper. I think my mum deserves two gifts, mind you, so I’d also buy her a 2.) Molton Brown Kaleidoscope Gift Set £36.00. When it comes to mums, you can’t go wrong with a bit of pampering.

3.) Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa Gift Set £72.00

For dads, I recommend the Acqua di Parma range. I love that clean, fresh, just-been-to-the-barbers smell, and to me it encapsulates a classic Italian masculine style. I’d also buy my dad a nice pair of slippers.  My favourites are our charcoal knit ones.

4.) Grey Cap With Pink Bow £50.00

This is a really good present for a girlfriend. It’s a cool contemporary take on a classic item and one of those things you might not buy for yourself but you’d be over the moon with if you received  it as a gift. And it goes really well with our 5.) Grey Crochet Fingerless Wool Gloves With Red Bow £38.00.

6.) 1950s Silver Dreyfuss 500 Telephone £65.00

The perfect gift for your boyfriend or male friend. This phone may have a classic 1950s shape but the colour and finish are very contemporary and it would work in all kinds of interiors. Technology-wise it’s totally compatible with the modern day - it has a standard BT connection and push button operation. It may look retro but there’s nothing old-fashioned about it.

7.) Seedling’s Make Your Own Kaleidoscope £30.00

My grandmother had a tin kaleidoscope when I was a child so for me they bring back all kinds of nostalgic memories.  This is a fantastic present for kids. It’s a new take on a traditional toy and I love the fact that it’s creative. The pack contains the tube, the beads, rhinestones - which you then assemble yourself. I always think when children make something themselves, they treasure it more.

8.) Princesse Tam Tam Cappuccino Top Pearl Grey £43.00

I’m loving all the new loungewear we’ve been bringing into Heal’s lately and this is my favourite. It’s so snuggly, so soft, and really easy to wear. Not only is it really easy to wear around the house, but you could easily throw on some jeans with it and pop down to the shops. Gorgeous.

Buyers' Christmas Picks - Farzana Jones, Buyer Accessories, Lighting & Fabrics

Buyers' Christmas Picks - Farzana Jones, Buyer Accessories, Lighting & Fabrics

Choosing the perfect Christmas present can be a real challenge. To make it easier, and hopefully give you some useful ideas, we asked our very own Heal’s buyers what they’ll be getting their family and friends this year… 

1.) Black & Blum Loop Chrome Candelabra £21.00

This is a perfect gift for mum.  Inspired by the Fibonacci curve, it’s a really striking and cleverly designed candelabra that makes a perfect centrepiece on any sideboard or dining table - either on its own or interlinked with others.  A coordinating vase is also available. 

2.) Anglepoise Type C LED Desk Lamp £295.00

Men love Anglepoise lamps. If you’re looking for the ultimate present for your dad, the new Type C is a great option. Released in September 2011, it’s already destined to be a design classic. Innovative, futuristic and stylish, it’s just an amazing-looking object.

3.) Robin Cushion by Donna Wilson £67.00

A really lovely gift for a female friend, Donna Wilson’s designs are quirky and cute and they appeal to all age groups. And if the robin goes down well there are other equally cute and quirky alternatives to buy, including her cat, owl and house cushions.

4.) Bold and Noble London Type Map Slate Print £95.00

For boyfriends, husbands or male friends I recommend this framed artwork. There’s a real trend for typography in framed art at the moment, and this design certainly ticks the right boxes. For non-Londoners there’s also a UK map version available.

5.) Peekaboo Rabbit Kids Wall Clock £48.00

Kids really love these clocks. There’s a rabbit, and cow and a cat to choose from, and their eyes move from left to right as the clock ticks. They’re a fun way to learn to tell the time and perfect for any child’s room.

6.) Cranberry & Spice Botanicals Range From £14.00

This range of candles, which are hand poured in the UK using real dried botanical pieces, makes a really nice gift for your grandmother. When lit, they create a delicate and beautiful festive scent that fills the home and creates a lovely Christmassy smell.

7.) Heal's Discovers In A Flutter London Framed Art by Samantha Neal £600.00

I love the idea of having a map of London on the wall, and this is something I’d be very happy to find under the tree with my name on it. It’s truly stunning, the kind of thing you could look at for hours and pick up new details you hadn’t noticed before. Maps tend to be quite masculine but this has 3D butterflies, leaves and flowers - it’s a totally fresh approach and I love it.