If you don't know about mehndi - where have you been all this time? It's the art of henna body decoration that has become hugely popular but is correspondingly expensive and time-consuming. But not any more, thanks to some handy mehndi kits produced by L'Oreal's new division ID. The kits, costing £8.99, offer ink (which lasts for eight hours and can then be washed off with soap and water), stencils and an explanatory leaflet. Additional stencils are £1.99 for a pack of three. Other items in the ID line include tattoo transfers (just a teeny bit passe, perhaps, but no doubt some provincial types will love them), body art pencils, hair colour mousses and, definitely a tired trend this one, hair mascara.
Despite trying our most persuasive best, we have not been able to find anyone in this office prepared to try a new Irish hair colourant called Changes. Based almost entirely on natural ingredients such as plant and vegetable extracts and manufactured in Ireland, Changes costs £4.95 and is available through health food stores in "nine vibrant colours". It certainly looks very good and has not been tested on animals - not even an Irish Times guinea pig.
That chic luggage - and now fashion - label Louis Vuitton recently produced a guide to 30 European cities, including Dublin. Divided into seven slender booklets and packaged in a smart box, the guides are now the smartest source of information about where to shop, eat and stay when travelling to Oslo, Copenhagen, Warsaw or Antwerp. Priced at £30 for the box, sadly they are only available from Louis Vuitton outlets, which means you will just have to take a trip to London, say, or Paris in order to pick up a set.
