* On January 20, Passage du Desir launched a range of sex toys that look like makeup brushes, mascara, etc, in black and red. The idea is that you can carry them in your handbag without embarrassment.

* For the first time ever, a full fragrance formula will be exhibited to the public at the IFRA’s Sense of Europe exhibition at the European Parliament in Brussels, from Jan 24-Jan 31. The fragrance is by perfumer Christophe Laudamiel. Fragrance formulae are normally kept a closely guarded secret. 

*  Throughout February and March, Artisan Perfumeur is holding a perfume draw that also benefits charity. Call in at an Artisan Parfumeur store and you can write a message on a paper heart, all of which go into a big jar – then,  for every 20 messages received, a tree is planted by Tree Aid. The winner of the draw gets a bottle of perfume, and the country to benefit this year will be Mali in honour of AP's fragrance. You can also leave messages on the firm's Facebook page from 30 Jan. 

* L’Oreal is looking for a member of the public with ‘an eye for style’ to present its Destination Beauty channel on YouTube. 

* To tie in with the release of its limited edition Rosa Mundi candle, Diptyque has redecorated its shop windows as a garden of flowers, until mid-March. 

* Watch out next year for Lynx, the deodorant brand, branching out into hair care and also a limited-edition Lynx women’s fragrance. 

* Niche firm Centella has developed a patented spray technology – the micromist (brumisation microparticulaire), which mists a lotion into tiny particles, providing, says the firm, better hydration by producing smaller droplets. It costs 74 euros for a box-set of Reine d’Hongarie lotion and a micromister, which is handheld and runs on batteries. 

* Aroma-Zone has released five natural room sprays costing 5.90 euros for 100ml. They are called Apres-midi Gourmand (cinnamon, honey, sugar); Dark Amber (amber, wood, spice); Ne Me Pique Pas (insect repellent with cedar, cryptomeria and lemon eucalyptus); Sur le toit du Monde (pine, mint, green tea); and Pluies d’Etoiles (orange, honey, lavender). They are available from the firm’s website and own boutique in Paris's boulevard St Germain. 

* Niche brand Nohèm has extended its ‘Rituels d’Asie’ range with an eau micillaire (combined cleanser and toner) costing 25 euros for 100ml and based on white peony, lotus, green tea and hyaluronic acid. Available from spas, beauty salons and Mademoiselle Bio. 

* This month, Swiss firm Laboratoires Kart will launch a range of essential oil sprays (11.90-16 euros for 50ml). It consists of: Pieds Plume foot spray, which contains peppermint, cypress and sage to keep your tooties fresh and cool; Peche d’enfer  ‘revitaliser’ which contains lemon, geranium and grapefruit for a quick pick-me-up; Moustic’Air insect repellent which keeps mozzies at bay with citronella, rosemary and tea-tree…; De l’Air air freshener eliminates bad smells with lavender, eucalyptus and rosemary; and Froid de Canard immune-booster kills off cold viruses with pine, eucalyptus and tea tree. All the products are organic and are available from the firm’s website, parapharmacies and health food shops. 

* Laboratoires Kart is launching a universal cream for all the family – La Crème des Crèmes, based on Nicaraguan papamiel nectar, shea butter, beeswax, macadamia, sesame and jojoba oils, and rosewater.  It costs 18 euros for 150mls. Certified organic, it is sold at health food shops and parapharmacies. 

* In February, Yves Rocher will launch a detox programme for those who’ve overindulged in the party season. It consists of: activating scrub with bamboo (5.90 euros during launch period, 11.80 afterwards); detoxing slimming gel with citrus and coriander (11.50 euros during launch period, 22 afterwards); and a dandelion and green tea-based diruetic drink (9.50 euros during launch period, 19 afterwards). The launch period is 15 Feb – 9 April. 

* In February, Shu Uemura will launch the Celestial Garden collection, based on the season’s hot colour – brown. It consists of two eyeshadow trios – Air and Lumieres; false eyelashes; and a limited-edition blush in pink or peach. 

* In March 2012, Yves Rocher will launch Sexy Pulp, a mini-range comprising a volumising mascara (with a trendy new pink brush) in black, brown and blue; and a plumping lip gloss with applicator, in eight shades. Launch prices are 7.90 euros and 8.90 euros (during launch period 12 March – 22 April), rising to 14.90 and 17.50 when the launch period ends. 

* L’Oreal is to manufacture a new anti-ageing range entitled Glycanactif, which targets cell gyclation and reduces skin damage. 

* Beauty box startup Ma Boite à Beauté is the latest firm to enter the French market. Subscriptions cost 10 euros per month for 4-6 travel-size product samples and the firm is offering free delivery until March. 

* Lancome has unveiled its new campaign for lipstick range Rouge in Love, featuring Emma Watson, shot by Mario Testino.

Nice little article here on what a real woman would have to look like in order to look like Barbie. Seven foot six strike you as a reasonable height? 

Well done to the jury in the Stephen Lawrence case, who have finally brought a degree of justice to the Lawrence family and convicted two of his killers. The incompetence of the police in the original investigation beggared belief and, as much as the crime itself, was a stain on British society. Let us hope now that they can bang up some of the rest of the feral pack that 18 years ago attacked two innocent young men merely for the colour of their skin. 

A man in Bangladesh has cut off his wife's fingers for daring to seek a higher education.

Remarkable women celebrated in the Guardian today. From peace activists to athletes/carers, enough to make you thoroughly ashamed of yourself.

Saddened today to hear of the death of Christopher Hitchens. It's always saddening to lose a fellow atheist, but especially one so witty, intelligent and incisive. My best regards to his wife, family and friends.

* As of March 2012 Sephora will be teaming up with colour firm Pantone to launch a range of limited-edition cosmetics. They reflect the red-orange shade that Pantone has named as the ‘colour of the year’ for 2012 - ‘Tangerine Tango’.

* In March 2012, Clinique will launch Repairwear Uplifting Firming Cream, based on an extract of the brown algae Laminaria Digitata.

* In January, Bourjois is launching two new products: Healthy Balance unifying powder (four shades) and Volume Glamour Max Definition mascara (black only) with a 500-bristle brush that it claims increases your eyelash diameter eight-fold.

* In January, Yves Rocher is launching a new mini range of shea butter products, comprising three items: Baume reparateur peaux très seches (body butter, 150ml, 15 euros), Lait reparateur peaux très seches (body cream, 150ml, 9.50), and Concentre ultra reparateur (dry zone cream, 45ml. 17 euros).

* This Christmas, NARS’s giftbox theme is ‘Modern Kabuki’. It is releasing a three-colour limited edition lipstick palette entitled Kudoki (115 euros, with three colours entitled Ougi, Takebue and Botan). The style is like the firm's high-end ceramic Bento Box seen earlier in the year. It also has a limited edition ‘Hanamichi’ eyeshadow palette (55 euros), with the colours laid out in the shape of flowers.

* French-Moroccan firm Feniqia has released its latest ‘parfum concrete’ solid perfume. Called Odyssey, it has head notes of lime, heart notes of magnolia and base notes of incense. 20.50 euros for two 20g cakes, which you can rub on your skin, burn in an essential oil burner or use solid to perfume your wardrobe.

* Biologique Research is a new brand that has set up in a hotel particulier in Paris, offering bespoke skincare treatments. You get one bespoke session, and then follow-up beauty boxes arrive through the post for six months. Only 5,200 euros a pop.

*  Perfume giant Interparfums has signed a 13-year exclusive deal with French ballet shoe and accessories maker Repetto to produce a fragrance line, with the first perfume tabled for release in 2013. Repetto, founded by the mother of ballet star Roland Petit, is known for its shoes and high-end accessories, but perfume marks a new departure. Industry analysts say the Repetto brand will help to replace the Burberry franchise when its licence with Interparfums runs out.

* Sephora has asked Nepalese fashion designer Prabal Garung to revamp the staff uniforms for its North American stores in April 2012 – for the first time in 10 years. They are expected to include a black shift dress with red trim, a fitted black pantsuit with red accents for women, and a black shirt, black sweater with red accents and black pants for men.

* 100,000 euros-worth of perfumes have been stolen in an armed robbery at Meaux in the Ile de France. The thieves were dressed as gendarmes.

* A court in Turin, Italy, is opening an inquest into what it believes are false claims being made by a Swiss hair-growth product called Crescina, which retails at around 300 euros a bottle and is meant to treat male-pattern baldness.

* Beauty gift boxes remain a big Christmas seller in France, according to research by market researcher Panel on the Web, with 2-3 million expected to be sold this year.  However, this year, the recession is biting and buyers are opting for mid-price boxes (69 euros) rather than high-priced (115 euros).

* Estée Lauder has developed a new anti-ageing cream targeted specifically at European women, after its research found that European women consider ageing a natural process rather than something to fight, and are looking for low-maintenance products and routines rather than anti-ageing capability.  
 
* The Climate Counts report has named L’Oreal as the leading firm in the ‘household products’ category when it comes to addressing climate change.  It came 16th overall, out of 136 companies listed and was mentioned for its use of solar, wind and geothermal energy to drive its production plants.

When I fired off a snotty email to H&M the other day for using computer-generated models in their advertising, the last thing I expected to get was a reply from customer services. Here's what it says:

Dear Patricia,
Thank you for your email.
We are sorry to hear that you have been disappointed with some of the images that have been used for our publicity.
For all publicity images, we do use real photographs of real models. In our Shop Online we show our fashion through real life models pictures, still life pictures or as virtual models pictures. The virtual models are used in the same way as we use mannequins in store for ladieswear and menswear.
The procedure for creating the online mannequins is that the garments are photographed in various angles on a mannequin. The pictures are then made more model like in a computer system, commonly used within the business. The heads we use for our virtual models are head models, who are well aware of how we are using them to show our items in Shop Online.
For all other marketing and campaigns-outdoor, TV, print and other media-H&M will continue to use real life models.
Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to get back in touch with us.
Kind regards,
H&M Customer Services

Well, sisters, I would not willingly be a customer services rep at H&M right now - the phone is obviously ringing off the hook.

Nevertheless, it's just not good enough. Since printing was invented, women have been sold an unachievable image of how they should look in their clothing, but it was pretty obvious to see in an Edwardian publication, for example, that not only was it physically impossible for a woman's hips to be smaller than her waist (the perceived ideal at the time) but that the women in the images were DRAWINGS. So were the women in 1920s and 1930s magazines, where to meet the image of desireability at the time, women would have had to be about 20 feet tall and two inches wide.

What I object to in the H&M debacle is not only the extreme thinness of the models, but the fact that the computer-generated images are not clearly seen to be fake - they are presented as if they were real.

And there is a simple solution to that: colour the bodies black or silver, and take the heads off. Then these images will clearly read like a shop dummy. It is still an impossibly tall, impossibly thin image of women, but with no more relevance to most women's everyday life than a CGI of Barbie.

* Load up on your Nivea while you can, girls. Beiersdorf, owner of the brand, has announced that its restructuring will cost 1,000 jobs, 250 of them in Germany. This is just the latest bit of bad news for a company that used to look bulletproof. It's already stated its aim to withdraw from the makeup market, though the skincare looks safe for now, but if you're a fan of the makeup range, stock up now while stocks last.

* Niche makeup brand By Terry has taken a word-of-mouth marketing approach to Christmas, installing pop-up ‘tint bars’ where visitors can win the firm’s latest products. Until December 31, you can attach your name to a Christmas tree  at any By Terry point of sale and stand to win a made-to-measure makeup kit. The firm is also aiming to launch its first perfume next year.

* Unilever is revamping its Vaseline products, especially the body lotions range, with new ingredients and packaging. They are available now in Europe with a US launch due early next year.

* Makeup For Ever opened its first Paris boutique for the general public on 2 December, in the rue Franc-Bourgeois. The firm’s existing boutique in the rue de la Boetie is for professionals only, but anyone is welcome to wander round the new boutique and take advantage of the brand's whoppingly enormous range, along with expert help from the beautician/makeup artists/sale assistants.

* In February, Japanese Fujifilm will start selling its anti-ageing Astalift range in France, with the UK, Germany and Spain to follow. Fujifilm diversified into cosmetics following the collapse of the analogue film market, which claimed many of its rivals such as Kodak. 

* Girly Italian makeup brand Tokidoki (which looks Hello-Kitty-style Japanese) is launching into France. Over the Christmas period it will only be available at Sephora, but after that it should roll out nationwide.

* Beauty chain Marionnaud and Lolita Lempicka have teamed up to design a Christmas teddybear – the Bear of Happiness – which will be sold in Marionnaud stores. Proceeds will go to CEW, an organisation that provides makeup sessions and toiletries for women in hospital. Buy one and make another woman happier.

With the news that H&M is now using fake, computer-generated bodies to advertise its products, then sticking real models' heads on top, I really think it's time to boycott this company. Clearly, not even the rarest of physical types, who are then airbrushed to within an inch of their lives, is good enough for this bunch of wankers. We all know the detrimental effect the promulgation of this entirely unachievable body image is having on women and girls' self-esteem. So, why don't we all send the firm an email or a tweet today, telling them we will no longer buy their products until they change their advertising policy? The UK customer service email is: Customerservice.UK@hm.com and the weblink is http://www.hm.com/gb/contact

What a lot of nonsense is being talked and tweeted about Jeremy Clarkson's remarks about the trade union strikes.

It's true, of course, that Clarkson is a dickhead, but he does at least have the merit of being an entertaining dickhead. Personally, I disagree entirely with his politics, but I don't miss an episode of Top Gear. Dave Prentis in contrast may have a heart of gold, but he's a humourless twat.

No wonder the Left (of which I am one) have such a bad reputation if they can't understand exaggeration for comic effect. What Clarkson was saying was clearly a joke, and no, it is not even faintly the same as a race joke or a rape joke. Great Britain is not a country when trade union members are a minority who suffer hate crimes from the majority.

It might have been helpful, therefore, if the Beeb were going to book a polemicist, to have a better presenter than a milquetoast like Matt Baker to come back at Clarkson in a more robust manner. 

* Dave Prentis, Ed Milliband, get a life for God's sake, and stop jumping on the bandwagon. 

* On the other hand, Clarkson, you idiot - take up the offer of working with a care worker all day and let's see that on the Beeb please - it would make great television. How about a series, with his fee donated to charity?

There is a great little slideshow here, detailing exactly how women are crippling themselves with ridiculous shoes. As any fashion commentator knows, over the past few years, heels have become higher and higher (nothing at all, I'm sure, to do with a backlash against women's equality...) and in this piece, a podiatrist details exactly the havoc they can wreak. Not mentioned in the article, however, is the chief disease they cause - double arthritis of the knee, a truly crippling ailment that can lead to chronic pain and a housebound life. Note, though, that your fave ballet slippers are just as bad culprits as high heels.

An investigation is underway in Australia after a hospital mistakenly terminated the wrong foetus. One of twins, the foetus had been diagnosed with a heart defect but the termination, carried out at 32 weeks, was carried out on the healthy twin by mistake.

The US health agency the FDA has approved the use of a middle-of-the-night sleeping pill for those who suffer from early morning insomnia. Called Intermezzo, it is a low-dose form of Ambien, designed to tide people over the kind of wakefulness that strikes at 2-00 to 3-00 in the morning, and has to be taken the night before. Small-hours wakefulness is a common symptom of menopause, when falling oestrogen levels interfere with the brain's ability to regulate sleep and although I would be wary of medicating this 'problem' (I haven't slept through the night in several years), Intermezzo sounds like it could be a useful option for occasional nights when you absolutely HAVE to get some sleep because of a big event the next day.