Marks & Spencer Beauty and Fashion for Summer 2011

It's been a frantically busy week for launches and press events it's hard to know whether we are in high summer or the depths of winter - and the Christmas invitations are starting to arrive already.

Wednesday night saw us all turning up for a Handpicked Media exclusive blogger evening at Marks & Spencer to see their high summer beauty ranges. They held it in their press room so it meant we also got to see their Autumn/Winter and some high summer fashion thrown in too.

Picture from Handpicked Media

So here is what caught my eye on the evening.

Summer brights and blocks of colour take centre stage in every high-street shop window.Inspired by the Spring/Summer 2011 catwalks, the collections are bold and bright and marked the end of a long and more subdued winter.

Photo: Myfashionlife

 Marks & Spencer fashion for Summer 2011 contains a fab range of grab-and-go dresses and separates that you'll want to quite literally grab and go with for your summer wardrobe. Dresses cover a multitude of sins and are easy to wear with little flat sandals and a tan of course.

And talking of tans I am in love already with the Tess Daly Daly Spa range exclusive to M&S which is easy to use, smells nice (which is always a bonus especially when it's covering an area) and which leaves skin looking glowing and gorgeous and can help with orange-peel skin and other trouble areas. The collection has been carefully thought out to cover all those treatments we would like on a daily basis from a local spa leading up to a holiday. Prices start from £6 for the super-hydrating hand cream.

Next on my list was the summer 2011 make-up range which has gone for burnished gold and bronzes with complementing brights to either enhance a tan or make you feel like you've got one. Everyone agreed that the colour  palettes were really good quality with deep pigments and lush colours. Check these out.

Essential Colours Liquid Eyeliner range, a bargain £3.5 each - these gave nice thick, deep lines

Essential Colours Nail Varnishes, a bargain £3 each

Golden Goddess Holiday Palette £7.50

This Perfection Eye-Shadow Quad in Bronze will take you right through to Autumn/Winter for £12

I won't be going on holiday without this amazingly good value  Get Set... Go  bag and bottle set for just £7.50.  With so many airlines getting tough on baggage weight this makes perfect sense.

So at trip to the Beauty counter at Marks & Spencer is both affordable and essential this year! And the preview we got of Autumn/Winter has made me look forward to some wonderful shapes in dresses and warm woolies - watch this space!