So long, farewell!

It is with great sadness that I write this blog post as it will be my last. Due to work commitments geting more full-on, I just don't find the time in the day to write about my life in the world of fashion. It's been nearly a year since I left the world of Entertainment behind and despite my HUGE reservations at the beginning, I think I'm really starting to enjoy it.

Despite my preconceptions, coloured by the worlds of Ugly Betty and The Devil Wears Prada, everyone in the industry (bar two people, who will not be named!) have been wonderful and so much more down to earth than the movie peeps I used to deal with. And I am a girl who can be bribed and boy, you get great goodies working in this industry.

So it's been short, but very sweet. Writing this blog has definitely helped the transition but it's off with the braces and specs and onto embracing my inner Anna Wintour! FAREWELL!

Behind the Scenes: Top beauty products reviews

This morning as I nearly broke my neck on rogue beauty products in my spare bedroom, I realised that I've got far too many products for one girl. I'm not complaining though as I love this perk of the job. Yes, I have to deal with very shallow, image-obsessed people, but I also get good freebies.

So as part of this blog, I thought I should impart some of my beauty pearls of wisdom so you too know about these fabulous products!

First up is this little lovely from the unpronounceable Swedish firm Sachajuan, which is available at HQ Hair. The blurb about the Ocean Mist giving your hair a beach feel is really true, except you don't have to get sand up your bum, which can only be a bonus. The day I used it on my hair I had so many compliments. I usually wear my slightly wavy hair straightened but this brings out my natural curl making me look like I've spent the morning surfing on Bondi beach, when in reality I've been crammed into an overground train trying not to inhale someone's stale sweat. Bonus!

My second revelation is Max Factor. Maybe I've just been a bit slow to cotton onto this brand, but I've never bought it before, however, since I got sent lots of freebies, I'm a convert. First up is the miracle touch foundation - it goes on so smooth and gives great coverage without making you look like you work on a make-up counter! Next is Max Factor's Masterpiece Waterproof Mascara. It has fairly good staying power, but the clincher for me is the fact it defines my spindly lashes so well.

So that's my faves at the moment - why not let me know if you've tried any new beauty products? Or perhaps there's one thing you can't live without? Post a comment now!

Behind the Scenes: Revenge of the Z-listers

Last night I went to a party for which I had high hopes. It was to launch a new website called I Hate My Look. Even though the title is dubious, the concept is great.

Basically two very experienced celebrity stylists - Nick Ede (of Project Catwalk fame) and Brendan Courtney (of Clothes Show fame) - have got together to offer an exclusive personal shopping experience for us civilians.

At just under £1,500 it's not cheap but not only do you get their expertise and discounts, but you also get to take in a show and have a few cocktails with the guys.

It all sounded very glam and what with the launch taking place in Kate Moss' fave hotspot, Punk, I was extremely excited about the forthcoming launch. It was with great sadness that upon arrival I realised that not even Vanessa Feltz (who has used Nick and Brendan's services before - ahem!) was there - and that woman has followed me to nearly every showbiz even I've ever been at.

No, the only 'celeb' I spied was Camilla Dallerup - Gethin's dance partner on Strictly Come Dancing. Oh well, the booze was free, the venue was lovely and the goody bag was OK.

Now I just need to find someone to pay the £1500 fee to allow me to have a miraculous makeover!

Surprise, surprise - it's Cilla!

So I went to the Arcadia autumn/winter preview yesterday and it was fab. TopShop have once again come up with the most wonderful clothes, including a mad harlequin dress (very Miu Miu) and some fabulous shoes.

Trend wise, it seems headpieces such as headbands and fascinators will be big, as will brooches - all the ranges featured these.

There were some nice winter colour choices - Miss Selfridge had purple and coral, which look amazing together - and Dorothy Perkins had some lovely coats, including a pink checked fluffy number that wouldn't have looked out of place on a '50s movie star.

After the preview, I was lucky enough to be invited for VIP drinks with Sir Philip Green - head of Arcadia. He seemed pleasant enough but looks a bit like a wheeler dealer, which I suppose he is.

The highlight of the evening though was when Cilla Black appeared. A few years back I had a boogie with her and Duncan James to Kylie at a premiere party and let me tell you, she looks better now than then! She's really glam with very slim legs. Her companion was really dapper. Maybe Cilla's going to bring out her own range of clothes?!

Behind the Scenes: Leona Lewis doesn't want to hurt little animals!

I was lucky to catch a sneak preview of the D&G Autumn/Winter line. The clothes are to die for. Gorgeous dresses with unsual fabrics (gauzy tops with cord bottoms), tartans and fabulous shoes.

While I was there, I overhead the stylist who looks after Leona Lewis aying just how well D&G clothes fit Leona. She has, apparently, a body to die for. It's so not fair, eh? She's beautiful, can sing and has a killer bod - sigh!

The stylist also informed the press person that Leona wouldn't wear D&G's leather jackets or shoes as she doesn't wear leather - she really believes in animal rights. So not only is she talented, beautiful and has a killer bod, but she's also caring and just darn nice.

Normal service will resume on Monday!

It's not big and it's not clever but I am way too hungover today to even contemplate thinking further than going home and lying on my sofa, while eating my body weight in Thai food.

I went to a big awards ceremony last night and of course drank far too much so am paying the price now. It didn't help that I had to get up at 6.30am to walk the dog.

Btw, if anyone has a celebrity style icon they'd like to nominate for Monday's post, let me know!

News Round-Up: Madonna eats chocolate SHOCKER!

The stories grabbing my attention this week are...

Madonna is featured in this month's edition of ELLE where she declares her love for British chocolate, in particular Cadbury's Creme Eggs!

Katie Holmes gets a new haircut - is she trying to ditch the Posh look?

Someone else steals my idea of not buying any clothes for a set period. She's rubbish as she only lasts a month... I've lasted 3 and a half!

Another day and another shot of Mena Suvari's arse. It's very perky but please put it away love.

I'm so glad I went home and ate chocolate instead of going to this launch as I was meant to. Don't know who was the biggest celeb - Nancy Lam, cleaner Aggie or BB loser (and now bezza mate of Amy Winehouse's) Aisleyne.

Behind the Scenes: Why does everyone rate Alexa Chung?

The former model turned TV presenter Alexa Chung was all over the web yesterday due to an interview she gave to The Guardian. I'm not sure what the fuss is about this girl. I think her presenting skills are OK but nothing special.

She's obviously pretty and fairly stylish but aside from that, I'm not sure why everyone likes her so much. Especially when she talks about being in the heartbreakers group with Kelly Osbourne (why is it cool to be cruel?!), reading Lolita and drawing pics of the author Vladimir Nabokov. Sigh. Yet another model has to prove she is intelligent.

It reminds me of the time I interviewed Natalie Portman. She is possibly the most beautiful movie star I've ever met. At the time she had shaved her head for V For Vendetta and she still managed to look gorgeous. However, as soon as she opened her mouth, my crush was over. Damn that girl is boooooring. She spent the ENTIRE time talking about Goya (admittedly she was due to be in a film about the artist) and listed every... single... book she's read in the last year.

I don't know why beautiful girls feel the need to prove they are also intelligent. If they just talked naturally, it would be so much better. Possibly the most intelligent actress I've interviewed as Emmy Rossum - she was only 7 when she performed for the Metropolitan Opera in New York, singing 20 different operas in 6 languages! Again, she is very pretty but she didn't feel the need to prove her academic worth.

Behind the Scenes: Celebrity chauffeurs

Apologies for not writing much this week - it's been kerazy at work. I had to jet off to Barcelona on Wednesday for a one hour meeting with Mango. Yes, you read that right - I went all that way for a one hour meeting. It was exhausting, especially the 2 hour drive back from Heathrow.

However, I was well and truly entertained by my driver. His name was Roy Snell and he's a bodyguard, an actor and an ex-fighter. He had so many good celebrity stories, which he'll probably be publishing in his autobiography this year.

He had so many good stories, it's hard to say which is the best but it was probably the tale about Roy dumping love-rat James Gooding into a wheelie bin (Kylie calls Roy bear). Roy also initiated the make-up conversation between Jason from Take That and his dad. Jason even name-checked him at The Brits. How cool is that?!

He's driven or bodyguarded nearly anyone you can mention - Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Madonna, Bros... He was a lovely bloke though - really genuine - and he made those horrible 2 hours on the M25 much more enjoyable. He's making a film called 9mm with Bob Hoskins, Michael Caine and his best mate Ray Winstone in November - I hope he makes it big!

Behind the scenes: Top stylists and more fringes

So it's week two after having the snip and the fringe count has gone up by 2. I am obviously a trend starter - sigh.

In other news, we have a new celebrity stylist coming on board in the mag but it's all hush-hush so I can't write anything about it just yet. But I am VERY excited as I'm a big fan! Once they're onboard, I'll be dishing the dirt - ha ha!

Behind the scenes: Fringe benefits and diet competitions

Just like every other celeb seems to be succumbing to the fringe - the latest of these being Rachel Bilson, so do all the fashion department. Every day, another girl comes in with a fringe. You may wonder why this annoys me so much... Well, I have a fringe and have had one for quite a while. You might say it's my look but now I look just like I'm on the fringe bandwagon - sigh.

On another gossipy note, I had an interesting conversation about the girls who work on one of our rival mags. Apparently all the fashion girls there are into competitive dieting. What the heck?! Why are women so silly?! For years, we've been trying to prove we're the better sex by working hard and proving we're as competent and as clever as our male counterparts. Surely competitive dieting just brings us back to square one and proves to men that we really are brainless bimbos.

Fancy owning a celebrity dress?

Here's this week's fashion and celebrity round-up

1. I attended an interesting event yesterday, which is a tie-in with the movie 27 Dresses. The movie by the way is hilarious - even if you don't like chick flicks, I recommend you go - and actually yesterday's event was also hilarious, although I don't think that was the intention.

Anyway, 27 very generous celebrities have given their dresses to 20th Century Fox to be auctioned in aid of The Lavender Trust. Yesterday at the press event, they held a catwalk show of the dresses, hosted by Mica Paris and attended by glamour model Danielle Lloyd (who looked reassuringly normal-sized for a celeb). I've heard many a rumour about what a diva Mica is in real life and even though I didn't see a hint of that yesterday, she was pretty rubbish as the host - she basically read (and very badly) the information off the cards.

However, the dresses more than made up for her poor reading ability, although I was peturbed to realise I probably wouldn't get even my thigh in some of them. Bidding has already started with Kylie's dress and carries on until the release of the movie on 27 March.

2. Don't follow Madonna's extreme exercise regime unless you want to look like a monster from the deep...

3. Kate Hudson is definitely not pregnant - if she is, it's going to be the size of a bean.

4. Why do pretty celebrities insist on having grotesque pouts? The latest to succumb to the trout pout is the once gorgeous model Saffron Burrows.

5. Just because you've got a lot of money doesn't mean you'll look individual on the red carpet as these three A-listers recently discovered!

Behind the scenes: Editors live the high life!

I don't have a lot of exciting behind the scenes goss to report this week. However, I have realised that being the editor of a magazine is a VERY good thing. In the last few weeks, my editor has been invited to number 11 to meet Alastair Darling, been on one of the best tables at the BRITS and more recently got to go to the NME awards.

If you go to any editor's office, you'll see plenty of pics of them with their arms around celebrities (one of the best I've seen is an editor with Eamon Holmes - it's pure cheese!). It makes me wonder how much work they really do. That's not fair I suppose as they do work, but it's just seems a lot more fun than us average joes. They boss everyone around, get free clothes and get glitzy invites.

Saying that, I am off to Sketch this afternoon for a launch but I'm beginning to think if I've been invited there, it can't be that cool a place anymore - ha ha!

Behind the Scenes: Beauty sale alert!

Today I experienced my second beauty sale. For the uninitiated out there, a beauty sale is when the beauty department sell off all their samples and freebies to the rest of the staff. Items cost from 50p to £5.00 but generally it's a great place to get a bargain.

I experienced my first one last year and to say I was shell-shocked was an understatement. Imagine a jumble sale full of eager grannies desperate to get their hands on some second hand tat. Add in the energy of youth and a few very bony elbows and you get the idea. It was every woman for themself. Armed with huge bags, everyone pushed and shoved until they got what they want. I managed to get a few prime bargains but wasn't overly impressed.

My friend C works on another magazine and she often gives me bags full of freebies - stuff like Dior, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Estee Lauder. The list goes on. Here however, the goodies up for grabs are more likely to be found on the shelf of Superdrug and looking at the state of some of them, right at the back of the dusty shelf as well. So where is all the good stuff going? All I'm going to say is that the beauty editor, who doesn't get paid that much, is always turning up in new clothes, including a few nice designer items...

Behind the Scenes: Bad skin and bad attitudes!

The one thing I’m learning quickly about the fash pack is that they take fashion VERY seriously. Having worked in the celebrity/entertainment sector for so long, this is very odd. Obviously celeb journalists have a fascination with A-listers, but they also take the piss out of them and their job. Fashion peeps are very different and seem to think they are above this – their job is very important.

So it made me laugh out loud when the beauty editor (who I really don’t like) rushed into work today, even though she was meant to be on holiday. Why? Well she’s got a chance to be on the TV! Hilarious. They are soooo serious about their craft yet they aspire to be celebrities themselves.

Aside from this titbit, the other gossip I heard this week is that Jaime Winstone has very bad skin. This comes from one of the writers who saw her in Vivienne Westwood’s show. Quite frankly, this surprised me as I’ve actually partied with the wee Winstone and not only is she lovely, but she has glorious skin when I met her. Perhaps the toll of partying with Lily Allen and the London jet-set has taken its toll?

Peaches Geldof will never be like Paula

Everyone's gone London Fashion Week mad in the office and I had my first taster with a trip down to the exhibition. Images of glamour and mad fashionistas filled my head but the reality was I managed to almost physically bump into How Clean Is Your House? Aggie while she was filming a segment for some show.

I think it's a sad state of affairs that some TV show (what's the betting it's This Morning?) is using Aggie as a fashion commentator. Have you seen her hair? She looks like Rod Stewart. Sigh!

Peaches Geldof is doing the rounds as well (and apparently she's also losing her hair!). Although I didn't see her in the flesh, I was told by one of our fashion writers that she is abnormally skinny and her head is very big. I had such high hopes for Peaches. Paula Yates was always an icon for me - cool and clever. Peaches however seems to be a real media whore - desperate for the attention.

I've also discovered she wants to be paid for EVERYTHING she does, regardless of what it is. Paula never struck me as money-grabbing - it seems a shame her work ethics didn't rub off on Peaches. Here's hoping Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence will be more like her mum because it looks like Pixie is going down the same route as Peaches - sigh.

Behind the scenes: The bitchiness of fashion

The beauty assistant is leaving this week and I really don’t blame her. Besides a salary that wouldn’t support a mouse– it’s so bad she still has a Saturday job, the poor love – she’s treated really badly. I’ve seen the beauty editor snap at her, turn her back on her and ignore her questions on purpose.

It takes me back to my days of work experience on Sugar magazine. It was fun but difficult as the editorial assistant and general saviour of the mag was ill for a week - I was thrown in at the deep end and had to run the entire office! There was a young features writer called Jo working on the mag at the time and I thought we’d get on as we were similar ages. How wrong I was! Once I giggled in her presence and I was screamed at for ‘ruining her peace’. Never mind the radios and constant chatter in the office… What with that and the tuts and mutters from her whenever I did the slightest thing wrong, I chose not to stay at the mag when asked.

‘That bitch will get no-where’ I muttered on leaving the Sugar office for the last time. How wrong I was… Jo Elvin is now the editor of Glamour magazine.

It still gets my goat to this day. There is no harm in being civil to anyone in the workplace, regardless of his or her status. I just hope the beauty assistant goes onto bigger and better things.

Behind the Scenes: The expense of fashion

I am frankly shocked by how much money the mag spends on fashion shoots. What's more, it appears to be the norm in this industry.

I have a minimal budget for my section (and when I say minimal, I mean hardly anything!) yet each month the mag sends an editor abroad for a shoot. I know they work hard while on the shoot and I know they need good fashion spreads to prove the mag is a fashion heavy-weight, but still it makes me sigh with frustration!

Somehow I’m meant to run my section on what it costs to fly two people to New York. So now as compensation I’m working on a way I can go on one of the shoots – it’s the least they can do really, isn't it?!

Behind the scenes: Who knew Westlife were so big?

The things you learn when you work on a fashion magazine - part 1.

Paisley is making a comeback apparently.

And most of Westlife are quite dinky with a 32 inch waist. One of them though has a 49 inch chest. Who knew those warblers had such muscles under their tailored suits?! Or perhaps they just over-indulged like the rest of us over Christmas.

I'm the real Ugly Betty!

A little introduction to me and this blog…

For seven years I’ve been an entertainment journalist, working in the fields of TV, celebrity and mostly movie journalism. It’s been a great seven years. I’ve interviewed major celebrities – 50 Cent and Leonardo DiCaprio were the most memorable; been asked out by a member of a boy band and made a total idiot out of myself at a major premiere (more of that later perhaps?).

Earlier this year, while I was up at 4.30am working on the Oscars, I had that succinct feeling that I’d done it all before. It may be different movies, TV shows or celebrities making the headlines, but it’s the same thing each year, just packaged slightly differently. So that’s when I made the decision to move to fashion. At the time it seemed like a wise idea, but six months down the line I sometimes wonder if I’ve done the right thing.

Not only have I gone from something that was mostly male-dominated (movie geeks are THE geekiest), but I’m also dealing with a subject I know very little about. Of course I like to shop and I love clothes, but I now realise with abject horror that I’m surrounded with women whose sole existence is shopping and clothes. They’re also very shrieky, obsessed with boys and wear a different outfit every… single… day! Oh and I'm older by most of my colleagues by about 7 years - sigh!

While I was looking around the office the other day, the sudden realisation hit me - I am the real Ugly Betty. OK, I may not have a mouthful of metal, busy eyebrows or the inability to co-ordinate but I do feel like I’m working in a very foreign country. And so this blog was born. By recording the ridiculous, I hope to make myself feel that little bit more sane. Welcome to my slightly crazed world.