Catamenia with Class

MOXIE was first developed and first launched in Australia in 2006 by Mia Klistas and her business partners , Jeff Gore and Natalie Koenen who call themselves Millie & More.

With Moxie, they launched tampons, panty liners and pads in the most gorgeous crush-proof tins that look absolutely stunning in your bag, bathroom, dressing table ... In fact you could put them anywhere and they would be acceptable. It feels a bit silly putting 'acceptable' but tampons aren't very nice gathering dust, fluff, tabacco, old gum and pen ink in the bottom of your bag.

We've all had that moment where we are caught empty handed at that point in the month and have a good dig around the bottom of the handbag. 'There's one! Thank GAAAD! Oh ... actually ... (on closer inspection) can I really use that?? It's a bit ... daggy. And the... er... wrapper's a bit undone ... hmmm ... toss a coin?'

Yeah. Whatever you do do in the end I suppose depends on how desperate your situation is, but it is now possible to skip that with a little forward planning.

Of course, you can always keep them in a little zip-up bag (you may already do that), but the Moxie tins are really very classic looking. Not over-the-top sickly girly, but obviously very feminine. Also, the shape of them isn't a direct lead to what the contents might be, which is refreshing. They look great in the bathroom, dressing table, guest loo ...

They're really affordable too. Around £2 a set and you get two tins in a set. They make a really sweet gift for a very close friend ... guaranteed to make someone smile, especially when handed over with a nice bar of chocolate and a bumper pack of Neurofen Liqui-Gel caps!!!

When I was in my early teens, my friend Jazz came back to school, from the holidays, with ' Vinnie's Tampon Case'. She had been in L.A. staying with her grandfather and whipped this very American, 50's looking velcro case, with a very characature drawing of a slightly odd boy called Vinnie which pretty much shouted out 'I'VE GOT MY PERIOD! AND I USE TAMPONS!'. However, it made me smile and laugh and most of all, it made me want one. Desperately. I had Tampon Case Envy (which will, from here-on in, be referred to as TCE).


She drawled 'Yeaah, sorrrry, I got it in L.A.', when I asked where, on God's sweet Earth, could I buy one. DAMMNITTTT!

On closer inspection of 'Vinnie's Tampon Case', my TCE got worse. It came with 'Vinnie's Handy Period Chart'! I was drooling by this point, heart beating fast as my eyes took in this very fun and organised chart to fill in! I immediately fantasised about filling in the chart with my fluffy-ended biro that was an exact replica of the ones used in Clueless. 'Hmm ...' I remember thinking 'Maybe I'll get one in red to match the case.'


The Chart encourages you to 'Know Your Flow' and there's even a section where you can fill in the Period's of your pal's!! I remember thinking how exciting having my period was going to be once I got my mitts on the case and how I needed to be the only other person in school who owned one.

Another friend, Emma, came into the room, "Oh, is that Vinnie's Tampon Case? Ha ha ... How cool is that? I got one in America last year."

TCE. Period.

www.moxieproducts.co.uk/uk/ - Available at Superdrug

www.tamponcase.com/ - Available at Urban Outfitters

SPRING/ SUMMER WISHLIST

Créme de la Mer - the absolute Cat's frikkin' Whiskers. Used sparingly and lovingly.


Lancaster SPF 30 High Protection Face Cream - my late Grandmother, Sandra, used Lancaster sun protection on every hot holiday for years, way before I came along. Her caucasian skin was amazing the entire time I was lucky enough to hang out with her.


Bobbi Brown 'Beach' Body Oil - which I want to marinade in on hot summer evenings and put in my hair.


Aveda 'Caribbean Therapy' Body Scrub - contains salt and Caribbean cane sugar and smells like a fizzy passion fruit and coconut margarita. It plays on your senses with amyris, vetiver, bay and lime which is refreshing and exhillarating. It contains oils of coconut, passion fruit and avocado which, combined with the salt and sugar leave your skin perfected, and as smoothe as biomorphic silicone.


Aveda 'Damage Remedy' Intensive Restructuring Treatment - This hair mask has the texture of silky thick caramel. It contains quinoa protein, a list of plant and wood oils and it smells natural and earthy. After washing your hair, towel dry lightly and apply this treatment from tip to root. Scrape your hair into a bun and clip. Then ... ha ha ... get some cling film and wrap your head up! Bar your eyes and nose, of course! Do your nails, catch-up on programmes, a good game of Scrabble or ANYTHING for an hour as your hair steams and nourishes it's way to perfection. Rinse well, then style as usual.


Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector (which has an SPF of 20+ & is loaded with anti-oxidants - those clever Aussie's know about skin and sun) in Pearl & in Gold. I would mix the two and add to a noisette of Creme de la Mer before applying to face, ears, neck and décolletage... and then mix somemore into a palm of Bobbi Brown's 'Beach' oil


Becca Cosmetics Foundation stick for quick cover-ups


Prescriptives Lash Envy Mascara in Black


Estée Lauder smokey Artists Eye Pencils - the Caviar of all eyeliner pencils. I keep waiting for them to create the solid gold sharpeners, they so deserve! 'Smoked Sapphire' is the current favourite.


Lancôme Nutrix Replenishing Treatment - a thick, intensely comforting cream for highly irritated skin, dry skin, post operative skin (!) ... it would be totaly dreamy on harsh sunburn, windburn, sea salt stingy skin, over-scrubbed and on a plane or boat. A little goes a long way too. Would last you over a year.

Lancôme Caresse Peaux Sêches body lotion - are you thinking, 'Yo! Random body lotion alert!!!' ? Here's why this body lotion makes so much sense right now: This nourishing body lotion has a 'powdery cotton' effect on skin, making it feel super soft and childlike. The genius of this 'powdery cotton' effect is amazing for getting dressed very quickly, especially if you've got skinny jeans, treggings, tights or rubber to wear, since it allows them to just glide straight on ... and off! No jumping around and stressing youself out! It also has a subtle shimmer to it and the rose scent is light and elegant. It's deeply moisturising and long lasting and comes in a fuss-free pump bottle.


Urban Decay Eyeshdow Primer Potion - This is the ultimate eyeshadow primer. I have been using this for years and it never fails and I have never found a better one. Once applied on lids and let to dry for a minute or two, your eyeshadow goes on and doesn't crease and wrinkle. It stays put and allows the pigment to go on in full build and look exactly how it does in it's packaging. Buy this in bulk if you can ... I just found out that it comes in a new XL size ... now what does that tell you?!


Tropical Shine nail files - founded in 1985 in Huntington Beach, California, these nail files not only look delicious but they are so fine. Such high quality and fantastic grade's of coarseness. Their 4-way buffers and files come in pastel neon colours with irresistable Palm Tree icon's that add a little tropical love to your beach bag/handbag/bathroom ... they make really nice gifts too!




• Washable
• Disinfectable
• Durable
• Reusable

'So Delicate Lip Cream' by Bourjois Paris

I was in Superdrug yesterday absolutely fascinated with their 'soundtrack'. They've obviously found a loophole in paying royalties to music companies by airing covers of popular chart music. It's so bad, that once you actually do realise it's not Rihanna singing 'Umbrella', that it's probably someone's 11 year-old daughter making a 'demo' - you cannot help but blush internally and try not to pee your pants laughing your arse off ... and remarkably I stayed in there long enough to test out Bourjois' new Lip Cream.

It's glorious.

It has the texture of freshly whipped icing except when applied to the lips it goes on matte. The palette of colours they have chosen are sexy and cute nudes. Very youthful nudes. I instantly imagine it on pert, nonchalant Parisien girls chatting over glasses of Ricard outside a cafe in early spring. They would re-apply it as the evening dawns and their night plans come into play - except together with a smokey eye. And immediately I am transported to Summer London with it's edge and it's show-offs! The Rose-Scented lip cream would look absoutely stunning with smokey eyes and a tan. Subtly patted onto lips so it's extra natural looking. It's light enough for quick application, but it's full coverage formula smoothes and even the lips instantly. So patting it on, in the 'Rose Poudre' colour, lightly with your finger gives you a perfect lip look.

The coconut oil allows the lip cream to feel like a matte vaseline with extra moisturising benefits that you feel when you rub your lips together. It really lasts as well. I still had it on when I got home a couple of hours later. At which point I inspected it in the mirror. It doesn't do that hideous cakey, dry, sticky thing that other top-brand lasting lip cream's do. Very comforting and a perfect nod to long summer evenings.

I felt my lips and they felt soft, powdery and kissable and smelled so intensely of a rose garden that I thought "if someone was talking to me at close proximity - they'd be in heaven". So, yeah, this lip cream is highly sociable! A great accessory for the obligatory kissing all and sundry every time you bump into someone you know. And with people you don't know - a fabulous and memorable first impression.

A fantastic new product from those tongue-in-cheek Parisiens behind the frilly lace curtains at Bourjois.

Available at Superdrug & Boots for around £5.80

Michelle Obama in Brixton!?

So, I'm on the bus this morning going through Brixton. It's sunday and of course, there are a lot of people going to Church. Mainly women and freshly cane-rowed little girls with tight faces and obedient walks.
I double take a few times, I haven't slept, so it takes me a few minutes to align my cherries before I hit the jackpot ... DING! DING! DING! ... MICHELLE OBAMA! EVERYWHERE! WTF? AMAZING!
Yes, it seems she has influenced the beautiful ladies of the black community in Brixton and it's really increadible.
The absolutely fantastic thing about Michelle's style (whether it's her own or dictated, I don't care, because she carries the look off with aplomb) is that it is TIMELESS and relatively AGELESS. The same cannot be said, really, of many influencial black women in the last 20 years or so. It's not their fault and it's not a bad thing ... it's just such a ridiculously brilliant gift that not only do we have Barack Obama as the President of the US, but, BONUS, we've got Michelle and she is totally awesome.
There's something in her glorious eyes that, simultaneously, tells you and dirty joke and teaches you how to use your knife and fork in the propper manner. Her regal stance and obvious great rhythm deliver a confident stride and her make-up ... well, it's even, contoured, enhancing and striking. Clean and fresh, but with a hint of drama which is very alluring and powerful. Michelle plays with those magical eyes of hers and frames them with her almost wicked eyebrows. They have now become quite Iconic on their own, those brows. So much so that I reckon if I saw a silhouette of those eyebrows in a gameshow - I would recognise them as belonging to Mrs O ... and win the prize.
Apparently, the name Michelle means 'Who is like God?' - yes, with a question mark at the end and the more I say it out loud, the more I sound Australian.
Back to Michelle. So, maybe she's not like God (?), but I definitely think she's a modern day Goddess. For sure. She's taken the best parts of past decades and modern times in fashion and beauty and it works like a charm influentialy. I proudly put her up there on my 'I AM Looking Forward To Getting Older' list along wth Halle Berry, Demi Moore and Lisa Bonet.

Michelle - Brixton salutes you and so do I.