Megan McCluskie: ELLE Bookings Assistant

Jacket - Primark

Top - Topshop

Denim shorts - Urban Outfitters

Boots - Topshop

Bonnie Rakhit: ELLE Market and Merchandising Editor

Hat and scarf -Crumpet Cashmere

Dress - Warehouse

Hooded zip-up jacket - Gap

Jacket - Hugo Boss

Leggings - Falke

Boots - Pied A Terre

Amy Lawrenson: ELLEuk.com Web Beauty Assistant

T-Shirt and shorts - Zara

Cardigan - H&M

Shoes - KG at Kurt Geiger

Emma Sells: ELLEuk.com Fashion and News Editor

Jumper - Gap

Trousers - Topshop

Boots - Kurt Geiger

Necklace - Kara Ross

Natalie Rigg: ELLE Intern

Shirt - Topshop

Shorts - H&M

Jenny Dickinson: Associate Editor/Beauty Director

Shoes - NW3

Lucia Roberts: ELLE Fashion Intern

Jumper - COS

Trousers - Zara

Boots - French market

Natalie Wansbrough-Jones: Senior Fashion Editor

Skirt - YSL

Boots - Martin Margiela

Alice Watt: ELLEuk.com Fashion Intern

T-Shirt - Marc by Marc

Skirt - Topshop

Belt - Vintage

Boots - Emma Cook for Topshop

Susannah Edwards: ELLE Beauty Intern

Dress - Primark

Last week I refrained from telling you about Cat Deeleys tangerine-tinged red lips and nails combo on BBC’s So You Think You Can Dance, for fear I was becoming TV-celebrity obsessed. But then Leona Lewis (who I have never given much thought to) came out on Saturday nights episode looking fabulous with slicked back hair and, yes, tangerine-tinged red lips and nails. Wow!

I have always been a heavy eyes / nude lips kinda gal, but I am inspired. From Cat’s blonde hair to Leona’s milky coffee skin, this vivid colour seems to suit everyone. It’s a brave statement but looks fresh and very now. Word on the beauty street is that sales of red lipstick have soared in Selfridges so I dare you to join the lipstick brigade and try the shade at a beauty counter this week. I am game if you are. I am expecting it to be a bit of shock at first but I am going to persist for the sake of a new, brighter, sexier me!

I am tempted by lipstick in Orange 350 Cream, £11.50 by Ruby & Millie

… meeting hair stylist extraordinaire Luigi Murenu, backstage guru and Global Creative Consultant for John Frieda. We’ll be hitting him up for some tips for the ELLE Style Awards – now only two weeks away!

… Heading to London’s Westfield shopping centre (otherwise known as heaven on earth, or hell, if you ask Mr ELLE Beauty Team) and Destination Skin in the House Of Fraser beauty hall. The clinics are registered hospitals on the high street, where you can get anything from peels to injectibles. We’re just looking… for now.

… Beginning the backstage journey again as we head to New York for the the first of the season’s shows. ‘I’m really looking forward to Proenza Schouler,’ says EBT’s backstage correspondent Georgia, ‘and Marc Jacobs is always fun’. When it comes to beauty people, Georgia’s ‘kind of in love with make-up artist Diane Kendal’ and ‘can’t wait to see Luke Hersheson [a regular on ELLE shoots] do his thing in NY.’

1. March is the trends issue, where EBT’s Georgia – who goes backstage at more shows than Starbucks every season – reveals which looks we’re all going to be working for the next six months. There’s the twist, the plait, the… Oh no you don’t, you’ll have to read the issue to find out.

2. We’ve picked the new-season’s most-wanted beauty buys, so you know exactly what to save up for. Yes, the Chanel tattoos are on there (what do you take us for?), but you’ll also find the best all-round blush and the nail colours that will instantly – and cheaply – update your look.

3. This month, ELLE’s Beauty Extremist Avril Mair has tested the so-called Dracula Therapy, more scientifically known as platelet injection therapy. The idea is that taking a patient’s blood, refining it and then re-injecting it into the face will stimulate collagen production (and therefore reduce wrinkles) by activating stem cells and rejuvenating the skin. Does it work? Avril gives her verdict on page 322.

4. ELLE has a new crush and it’s model Coco Rocha. Follow her on Twitter @Oh_So_Coco and read all about her beauty secrets and inspirations in the March issue.

5. Last, but definitely not least, if you subscribe to ELLE this month, you’ll received over £26 worth of Maybelline make-up – free! The set includes a Colour Sensational Lipstick, Dream Creamy Foundation, Falsies Mascara (which ELLE Beauty Team loves) and Expertwear Blush, plus, of course, ELLE delivered to your door every month. Think that’s what’s known as a no-brainer!

For the uninitiated this means that their warehouse, a sort of heaven on earth for vintage fans, will be opened up so that you can rummage to your hearts content and snap up some bargains. You don’t even buy each item individually. You pay £5 to get in and then buy a bag - medium, £20, or supersized, £50 - which you can cram full with as many retro pieces as you can get your hands on. Doors open at 8:30, but get there early because the queues form fast. Happy hunting!

The sale will be held 6 February between 8:30 and 6pm at Angels Warehouse, 1st Floor, Courtenay Road, East Lane Business Park, Wembley HA9 7ND

Lipstick is big news this year. According to Laura Mercier, it is the year of the lipstick and it’s not just Laura who thinks so, Chanel and Tom Ford are putting their time and money into big lipstick launches for spring.

“Lipgloss is easy and comfortable, but it’s not strong,” says Laura. “Strong lips in red, coral and pinks are back.”

But most British women will agree that wearing a bold lip is scary – it screams ‘Look-at-me!’ and we’re not all sure that we’re up to the scrutiny.

According to Laura, we need to change how we view red lipstick, it shouldn’t just be “worn at night, when you want to seduce”, she says. In France red lipstick is just another part of their culture. “French women will wear a red lip with just a little concealer to cover their blemishes and mascara.”

To make it more wearable Laura recommends patting lipstick onto your lips for a more lived in, printed look. “Glossy red lips look great in a photo, but in real life you’re in danger of it moving and looking funny. You need to be able to forget about it, which is why a matte, red pout works.” And now is “the right time to try it”, she insists, because the new trend for a bold lip makes experimentation less scary.

Here are Laura’s simple tips for getting the look right: “Start with your skin, covering blemishes – don’t feel you need a full face of foundation and powder. Then move onto the lip, get that right, then finally balance your face with just a little mascara,” she advises. I bet most of you order you make-up application – foundation, blusher, eyes and lips, I always do. Which is why when it comes to applying the lipstick it always looks a little too much.

I’m off to apply a slick of Laura’s lipstick, a bold red, ironically called seduction. Give the trend a try this weekend and let me know how you get on. Will you become a lipstick convert or are you a gloss girl through and through?

www.twitter.com/lauradavies

Things that have grabbed my attention today…

Friday’s films - Voiceover supreme Morgan Freeman stars as Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s drama Invictus. Although based on South Africa’s determination to win the rugby world cup in 1995, don’t worry, this is more than just a sports film. Matt Damon turns up as the very stacked rugby captain and offers hope to a country in turmoil.

Still doing the rounds is Jacques Audiard’s The Prophet. A gripping prison drama that’s already tipped for an Oscar.

Not forgetting Precious. Lee Daniels’ heartbreaking epic starring Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique. I honestly can’t recommend this film enough.

Flags at festivals – So now Download at Donington Park has waded in to ban flags at its festival, joining Reading and Leeds. Michael Eavis and his daughter Emily are also at loggerheads about what to do with Glastonbury. To ban or not to ban? That is the question.

Personally, I’m with Emily. The flags should stay. They’re almost always on ridiculously long poles and never obstruct your view. Not to mention they are about the only useful tool in finding your mates again after a trip to the bar – just so long as the flag bearer doesn’t move. And if some schmuck has gone to all that effort bringing a 40-foot flag to a festival, let them have their moment.

That fast approaching Valentine’s Day –  Lulu Guinness has it all wrapped up this year. Her first pop-up shop opens on Monday (8 February) at 65-67 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 9Q, featuring exclusive lips clutches and ‘With Love’ purses. Lulu herself will be in store for the launch on Monday and a percentage of the sales will be donated to the London College of Fashion to create student bursaries.

So print this off and leave it on the kitchen table. Subtle.

Next week, I’m off to New York for the shows – I’ll be blogging all the gossip, don’t worry – so this week has, of course, been spent collecting essential minis for my trip. Along with my notebook and pen and a generous supply of Vitamin C sachets (a fashion week cold is an ever-present enemy) I will be stuffing my suitcase full of some of my best-loved and most-trusted products in their most miniature, ie travel-friendly, forms. The best bit is that down-sizing my beauty bag means I’ll still have space in my case should I find myself with some spare time on my hands, standing outside Marc Jacobs on Bleecker Street….