In an act of supreme ineptitude, I scheduled last week’s column to go live at 8am instead of 8pm by accident, which meant that I didn’t get to update you on the very end of my week last week.
Ending the week with shenanigans that unfolded in Chelsea on a trip to Frantoio on King’s Road. It’s a family-run Italian restaurant that I’d heard about from friends as being the restaurant for excellent Italian fare, delicious wine and an incredibly relaxed, friendly atmosphere. It certainly didn’t disappoint. I had the Cozze al pomodoro (mussels in tomato and garlic) to start, followed by spaghettini and jumbo prawns. This is, without doubt, the best Italian food I’ve ever had. Every mouthful was an experience, utterly delightful and the kind of food you immediately plan to enjoy again, on another visit, as soon as your plate is clean.
I was all set to take pictures of the food and share how amazing it was with you, but it’s one of those places where it felt wrong to take snaps of everything and turn the table into a still life shoot. Not because it’s a stuffy place where you’d get side eye, quite the opposite. It feels so relaxed and informal that it’d feel daft to put any kind of barrier between you and enjoying the food, the fellow diners (it’s one of those places where everyone chats) and the experience. Trust me though, if you go, I can’t believe you’ll come away thinking anything other than how wonderful it was.
Funnily enough, I recommended it to two people this week and they said that they’d been before and seen Joan Collins and Ronnie Wood there, on separate occasions, so I get the impression it’s a little bit special and doesn’t need the fanfare of styled pictures on social media to get the tables filled.
While I was in Chelsea, I popped into the hair salon Lockonego as I spotted my friends Ben Cooke and Jonathan Long through the window. Back in my OK! days, Lockonego was one of my go-to salons and Ben and Jonathan were the people I called for quotes on red carpet styles and anything that might help me predict the next big trends in hair.
It’s such a lovely feeling to see friends in the industry who you’ve known for over 20 years and have an easy shorthand with and who it’s always hilarious to reminisce with.
My ‘big night out’ this week was to a dinner for the skincare brand Then I Met You. Charlotte Cho, the founder, was in London and threw an intimate dinner to celebrate the brand’s success and their launch into Space NK.
I was sitting with two of my favourite beauty buddies, Caroline Hirons and James Welsh, and over trout sashimi and glazed lamb we caught up and I quizzed them about their love for the Then I Met You products. Both Caroline and James have been raving about them for years and, as someone who hadn’t yet tried all of the products, I was keen to hear their favourites, what they recommend I try and what makes it stand out from the beauty crowd. More on that to come in an upcoming Instagram…
The temperatures in London were high again this week, which made for a few sweaty commutes but also made me take a closer look at my makeup stores and the textures that can stand up against the heat and last all day.
I’ve been wearing Reeson Beauty Bronzing Balm on pretty much bare skin most days and it’s such a light formula that you think might disappear with a little bit of wear, but this somehow manages to grip and stay put all day whilst still looking sheer and making skin glow.
I received a very generous PR package from Maybelline and tried their latest blushers and found a new favourite in their Sunkisser Blush in Downtown. I’ve shown the application process on my Instagram here but if you’re on the high street this week and fancy adding something incredibly prettifying to your makeup bag then this is my top summer pick.
What highlights have you had from your week and are there any summer beauty buys I should be adding to my list?
Frantorio is the best Italian in Chelsea. Stiff competition, but I concur! x
I am desperate to experiment with blush and this looks stunning on you! I'm tempted to go down a slightly pinkier route, but don't want to look like Picasso's Dora Maar.
I went for dinner with a girlfriend a few weeks ago. We went for tapas, served as and when they are ready, as is the norm. We took a photograph of the first plate, put down our phones, and there they stayed for the remainder of the evening. It was only when we left the restaurant and left each other that we realised we had no photographs of the food, the restaurant or together. 'If we didn't put it on the gram, did it even happen?!' (We're using it as a reason to organise something else soon)