Ain’t no party like a Clogau party

Fact: through my job, I get to go to a lot of parties, writes Rebecca Mann. Also a fact: it’s still work – though I appreciate there are worse ways to earn a living. Sometimes, events clash with personal commitments – over the years I’ve attended press launches on Mothering Sunday, my birthday, my husband’s

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Feeling Plucky?

January, surely, is the longest month of the year, writes Rebecca Mann. Yes, I know my calendar tells me it has 31 days – exactly the same as March, May, July, August, October and December. But every year, somehow January seems to last as long as all those other months put together. There are several reasons

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Clinique hosts SHA-mazing launch (with apols to Nicole S)

I once met Nicole Scherzinger (with then squeeze Lewis Hamilton) in a lift in London’s Dorchester Hotel. I gave her some friendly advice on diamond earrings (long story, but it was late and strong liquor had been taken) so as a quid pro quo I’m sure she won’t mind me modifying a word she dreamt

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The Moodie Blog: In awe of Murphy’s lore

Who knew I had so much in common with a supermodel? (Stick with me, I’m not a) delusional or b) drunk. Although it is still early.) Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Carolyn Murphy, the face of Estée Lauder’s new Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipstick, set to launch next February. Murphy attended the

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Onwards and upwards with La Mer

According to the book 1,339 QI Facts To Make Your Jaw Drop (Faber & Faber, rrp £9.99 – I should so be on commission) women look their oldest at 3.30pm on Wednesdays. The tome also asserts that the average woman spends 16 months of her life crying – presumbably after looking in the mirror on

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The delights of the dark side

The older I get, the less I like middle-of-the-road. Wishy-washy. Half measures. Stuff that isn’t quite one thing or the other. Most recently this has manifested itself as a loathing of all things lukewarm, be they people (love me or hate me – just be consistent); food and drink (piping hot or properly chilled pur-lease);

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A new take on Sleeping Beauty

It’s official: inadequate sleep makes you look older. So far, so obvious, perhaps. But we’re not just talking about a temporary cosmetic effect that can be remedied with a couple of early nights. A recent clinical trial commissioned by Estée Lauder to coincide with the launch of its new Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex

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Hunting for Honey with Coty and Firmenich

How do you create a fragrance? It’s a simple question, but the answer – and the process itself – is anything but. Nobody can create on an empty stomach. And even the cakes were on-brand Think of everything a fragrance juice has to do. It has to reflect the brand universe, and sometimes a celebrity/designer’s

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“Just keep paddling till you see the pub.”

“Are we nearly there yet?” It’s a question any parent who travels with small children has come to know and dread. On Monday, it was an oft-aired query as Team Moodie #1 and #2 kicked off the company’s 2013 Great Travel Retail Educathlon efforts (there are more to follow this weekend). I’d like to say

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Paco Rabanne Invictus: All Eyes on the Prize

Some days, I really love my job, writes Rebecca Mann. Last month, in Paris, I had one of those days. The event in question was the official reveal of Invictus, the new men’s fragrance from Paco Rabanne, fronted by professional athlete Nick Youngquest. The Moodie Report was the exclusive travel retail media at the launch.

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Shiseido’s breathtaking Ibuki ad premieres in Paris

Paris has always had the power to take my breath away – for reasons good and bad (have you seen what the tourist traps charge for a coffee these days?) – but last Friday it managed to leave me breathless for all the right reasons. I was visiting the City of Light courtesy of Shiseido,

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When making up is not so hard to do

It is a truth universally acknowledged that – even if you’re sat at the pointy end of the plane – most people look better getting on a long-haul flight, than they do getting off it. That was certainly the case for this writer en route to the recent TFWA Asia Pacific Show in Singapore, thanks

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An audience with OPI’s pioneer of polish

Last week, courtesy of Coty and OPI, I made a flying visit to San Francisco – via Madrid. The Spanish city was the setting for the launch event of OPI’s Fall/Winter 2013 San Francisco collection, which will be available from August. OPI’s Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, the First Lady of Nails The line is said to deliver

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