By KATHERINE SPENLEY Updated: 16:53 BST, 7 June 2026
How long have you been going to the same salon? For some of us it's decades, because when you know, you know.I was reminded of this recently when I went to see Mimi, the brilliant woman I've been going to for waxing for 12 years. Recently, I admit, I'd been flirting with someone else having been seduced by sugaring (well, it is less painful), but, while a new relationship can be exciting, the shine soon wore off. So, back I went to Mimi – and I emerged from my reunion appointment legs smoothed and spirits lifted. There's a reason they're called beauty therapists after all.Sometimes you get lucky and find The One (Mimi happens to work round the corner from the Mail's offices), but if not it can be helpful to have an expert guide to show you the way and I recently found a brilliant brow tech via the Lucie App. A bit like a posh Treatwell, Lucie allows you to book the best in beauty and wellness in Paris, London and the Cotswolds. I saw Lala in the Cotswolds, and given that she looks after the Glossy Posse, I trusted her to take my brows significantly higher in the arch than I usually dare.I have to say, I loved the result - it really did give my face a little lift and I've become slightly brow obsessed since. So when Maybelline's new product landed on my desk last week, I couldn't wait to try it. Called Brow Inserts (£11.99, boots.com), it's a twofer – one end is a pen that looks like a tiny fork, the other a mascara-like brush. You use the fork first, flick its very fine 'tines' across your brows to add the illusion of extra hair. The blurb says it can draw on 100 hairs in 30 seconds and a couple of strokes filled in my gappy bits and covered the annoying stray grey.Then comes the coloured gel to add volume and tint. It's easy to use and left me with strong defined brows (but not like I'd taken a Sharpie to my forehead). It comes in six shades (ash brown was perfect for me) and lasts up to 36 hours. It did feel quite strange leaving it on when I took the rest of my make-up off and I was worried about ruining my beautiful silk pillowcase. But in the interest of research I braved it out - it didn't budge and my bedding survived too. Definitely a winner.Finally, this week I was reintroduced to EyeAm's marvellous magnesium butter (£25, eyeamworld.com). Rubbed into the shoulders at 6pm, it sent me into a super-deep sleep at 10 (I'm usually wide-awake at midnight). There's 200mg of magnesium in each application and I'm now planning on slathering my feet in it every night before bed - perfect for an energy-filled pedicure season.
