Business & Finance Club - Beauty : There is no end in sight to dark nails - the trend ramps up a notch this season with a glut of deep, muddy taupes and mauves. Perhaps the most unusual is Chanel Paradoxal 509 Nail Colour (£24, 020-7493 3836), a grey-mauve that seems to change with different light and skin tones. My advice on wearing these murky shades is to go for ones with a shot of mauve in them - Mavala Marron Glacé Nail Polish and Barielle Tight Knit Nail Polish are good examples, softer and easier to wear than straight brown. The darks make broader fingers look slimmer, especially if you wear them as a single stripe down the centre of your nail.

THE COMEBACK Lanolin

Great to see lanolin return as a skin (or in this case lip) conditioner as it is a superb emollient. Lanolips Lip Ointment, a new tinted balm, is made with lanolin from the fleece of sheep reared on an Australian farm by its creator Kirsten Carriol's father. Most beauty editors have all five juicy shades (Rose, Rhubarb, Apples, Sunshine and Dark Honey).

BEST BUY Guerlain Abeille Royale

Guerlain has found that 'micro-tears', caused by tissue breakdown, a side effect of internal stress, are responsible for wrinkles and loss of firmness. Its answer is Abeille Royale, a serum with royal jelly that repairs, lifts and firms skin. Fresh and milky, the serum rolls over skin like satin: tap it on with fingertips at night.

THE NOVELTY Poppy Valentine Cosmetics Bag Vintage lovers Poppy Valentine make cosmetic bags in their Norwich studio from reclaimed fabrics they have collected. This one, made from floral cotton and lined in plain fabric with a zip closure, is a good example of their lovely work. It measures 17x21.5cm, so is roomy enough to carry the essentials.

THE SCENT Clive Christian C Made for those who love traditional florals, this mixes Clive Christian's signature rose and jasmine absolute accord with violet flowers (which Napoléon sent to Josephine Bonaparte on their anniversary and kept in a locket with a strand of her hair after she died) and sensual, heady tuberose. This is a refined smell - something for connoisseurs in a sea of lightweight scents. Perfume, £195.