The launch of the latest iPad (in-store today, if you missed the headlines) has got us feeling a little tech-savvy, here at Bella HQ. Okay, so we're not the kind of people to queue outside the glistening Mac store in the small hours of the morning so as to get our hands on the latest technology (you're far more likely to find us tucked up in bed, catching some Zzzzs whilst lathered in cream and hiding behind an eye-mask), but that doesn't mean we don't like our iPhones, iPads, Androids and 'Crackberries' just as much as the next person.

It's fair to say that Apple started something of a revolution when they launched the App Store in July 2008. In the three years that have passed, well over 700,000 apps have been compiled by clever developers and programmers which, between them, have clocked up nearly 25 billion downloads.

Let's face it, one of the most rewarding, not to mention fun, parts of working in the beauty industry is discovering new products. A long day in the office can be made all the sweeter by the sound of the elevator making its merry way to our floor and depositing a courier laden in goodies. But the sheer wealth of pretty packages that find their way to our desks can make it hard to sift through the brilliant, and find the truly outstanding.

A few weeks ago, one product immediately caught my attention. Maybe it was the striking contrast of the black and aqua packaging; or maybe it was the name. Black Chicken. Black Chicken? I wanted to find out more. Fast forward two days, and I found myself sharing a coffee with Chey Birch, the mastermind (and, I suspect, something of an alchemist) behind Black Chicken's Love Your Body Oil and Love Your Face Serum.

We're all familiar with the advice to eat five (or more) serves of fruit and veggies a day, but whereas a bowl of tomatoes, oranges, carrots and grapes can quickly conjour images of someone who's healthy on the inside, it's likely you don't equate these foods with radiant, moisturised skin.

Not so the clever skincare experts over at Ella Baché, who not only know the power of fruits when it comes to skincare, but also understand the importance of maintaining the integrity of those raw ingredients in their products.