We wish you a very merry Christmas

We love Christmas. For all sorts of reasons. We see lots of lovely new people visiting our wee town, we have time with our family, we eat excessively and share special moments with our loyal clients.

So here's to a happy Christmas - here's some of the things we will be thinking of, doing, drinking, reading, listening to and so on....

Books

Eat to Live by Dr Joel Fuhrman, The Ultimate Happiness Prescription by Deepak Chopra and Treasure Yourself by Miranda Kerr.

We are listening to...Taylor Swift Long Live, Christmas Lights by Coldplay and Runaway by Kayne West...if you have a spare 38 minutes view the video on You Tube. It really is beautiful photography.

Drinking Magaritas at the moment - its a fab summer drink.

We are loving all the great places to visit in Martinborough...Medici, Vynfields, Providore, The Village Cafe and the Tin Hut in Featherston. We are spoiled for choice.

Products we love

The Crabtree and Evelyn Christmas spray, what a delightful perfume!

The new design in foot files - we have them in stock and they are brilliant. It makes it so much easier.

We have a lot of clients here that work outdoors and complain of the consequences of the sun on their skin. Our contribution to helping prevent this is Danne sunscreen. This is the best sunscreen and we have clients who wear it all year round. Its a top notch product. Our other contribution - eat plenty of anti aging foods; carrots, watercress, spinach, broccoli, kumara, melons and foods to protect you from the environment; wheatgerm, leafy greens, nuts and wholegrains.

Men we Love

All the local men who month after month come here for a haircut. We think you are great.

Women we love

What else can we say...the women who make this business possible we are so lucky to have such wonderful clients.

Our thoughts

We are thinking of the Pike River miners...we get to go home Christmas.

Also of Richard Wilson. He will be greatly missed and there will be definite empty spot and feeling for this year's holidays.

So no more from us for this year but we will see you all back soon. We are open most of the time so if we can help let us know.

It is our sincerest wish for a very happy and blessed Yule season and that the coming New Year is filled with health, happiness and prosperity for you.

From all of us at Turret House

Straight Talking and a few Curls of Wisdom

We have started the wedding season! Take a look at our last blog it has photos from our last season and information on why you should book your wedding at Turret House. Anyway, for this months useless and not so useless information please read on!

We are listening to...Eat,Pray Love Soundtrack and a couple of french ditties by Babylon Circus. Songs are way more sexy when you can't understand the words.

Drinking Croft wine the 2006 pinot is fabulous

We are loving this blog http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com

Quick fixes for the face

If you can't afford beautiful french clay which we use by the way, then use kitty litter. Apparently you add a little water and make a paste. I can't say we have tried it yet but if you do let us know the result!

Ooh and we can't forget to tell you about our new product, from Lot 8 a beautiful facial product made of olive oil and infused with other natural aromatic oils - its wonderful and - if you have a wee bit of acne add a drop of lavendar oil to the oil. Perfect skin food!

Our exercise goal for the season - to have a waist size 70% of our hip size. Apparently that's sexy...and do we care...yes actually.

What you should do right now...

If you want to do something special then consider a couples package - we have had quite a few people through lately and what a wonderful way to reconnect. Its a wonderful pampering with delightful food and drink. You need to experience it, people love it - it is truly the ultimate.

At this time of year it is easy to be 'run down' by winter so we recommend the following to give yourself a instant pick me up.

- Get a professional browshape. Groomed brows make you look polished and allow you to get away with wearing less make up.
- Bronze up. Applying a tan makes you feel thinner.
- Splurge on a manicure or pedicure. Fresh shiny nails make you happy whenever they catch your eye.
- De fuzz all over. Being smooth and hair free make you feel good.
- Get a blowdry. Get bouncy voluminous hair with not too much product and it should last for days.

A tribute to the brides...

This month we take a break from our usual format to pay tribute to the brides that year after year put their faith in us and give us the chance to be part of a very very special day. We hope you enjoy just a few of the photos we have on file from our Summer season.

If you are thinking about a wedding then the current makeup trends are:
Romantic goth polished, dramatic, moody and glamorous. Purple is a key shade for this season and characterizes well the dramatic undertow of dark, gothic romanticism.

The image of a ballerina projects poise, grace, and polished elegance. Natural tones offset this classic feminine, luxury look. Muted dove greys, pastel mauves, dusty flesh pinks and creamy nude tones, edged with charcoal and a touch of black, to give definition to the pastel palette.

Hair - keep with classic and soft styles with a modern or playful twist such as the traditional chignon or high bun with curling or backcombing. Pin high on the crown its so glamorous. Try a hair accessory such as silk flowers, lace, clips or headband.

Remember these are just trends and you can do whatever you like. And hey if you don't know we have plenty of up to date mags to trawl through.

If you are thinking of a hair and makeup artist for your wedding consider the following:

Your lead artist at Turret House reported to Peter King and Peter Owen the guys who got an Oscar for Lord of the Rings. She led a huge team of hair and makeup artists and worked on a number of the stars. She has also spent 10 years doing top end European commercials with the like of Tony Kaye and Ridley Scott.

We are not stuck with one makeup brand - we just buy the best of the different brands. YSL, Revlon, Chanel, Guerlain just to name a few.

We don't just view your face but we also look at your decolletage, back and shoulders. We also do a whole range of pre wedding preparations such as manicures, pedicures and facials.

Turret House is the perfect place to enjoy the preparation - its relaxing and the staff are dedicated to helping you with anything, even the last minute speech! Although we travel to anywhere, this is the perfect place to get away from what can be stressful preparation. Coming here is about you, not about everything else.

See you soon
The Turret House Team

As another season comes to a close, a whole new season of possibility opens up. The Oscars always serve to remind us of the glamour and there is a part of so many of us that likes to imagine we can have a bit of the glamour in our own lives. Although not in any way supported by the Oscar establishment, the movie Nine is an inspiration to glamour. It is our movie of the month and the music is the soundtrack to the movie. See it, listen to it and love it for what it is.

Words of wisdom

Live for today, not yesterday - it's gone dammit (but love your memories)

Where to eat

Go to Vynfields - what a fab place to eat and good food to boot. Their
food and wine is organic - we love those people who give a damn about what we put in our mouths.

Sushi for lunch from the Martinborough Hotel on a Wednesday.

Books....

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra and as you might already know we have a great choice of beautiful magazines but the best value for money is the Harpers Bazaar.
And please if you have borrowed books bring them back!

What to eat

Make the most of the last of the seasons raspberries and blueberries
And to make someone's day make some jam or a pie and give it to someone special.

And as the nights get cooler then have a candlelit dinner, put a fire on and just embrace what good things autumm brings.

The beautiful people...

We love Johnny Depp at the moment - and Kate Hudson. Kate looks like a whole heap of fun.


Style Guide

The colder weather often means we go from warm rooms to cold outdoors - so you need to hydrate your skin with moisturiser.

Boots are also in the shops - which means cutting your toenails shorter for a comfortable fit.

Wear deep red lipstick and nail polish oh the glamour! In the words of Penelope Cruz in her song from Nine 'A call from the Vatican'..."I will kiss your toes",get in here for a pedicure for kissable toes.

Don't forget we stock the very lovely Italian Davines shampoo and conditioner range. With names like Love, Nounou and Momo and by the number of clients we have that are delighted with it, it must be good!

Heres to the beautiful autumn leaves...

Gail and the Team