This has been an especially joyous week in beauty, with some stunners being lobbed my way. These in particular have delighted //
The Skincare / I bloody wish I’d have found the first thing on this list before writing my piece about puffiness – Bakel Cool Eyes is a great when rolled around hot, exhausted eyes and offers the same ample pressure and cooling rollerball action as the Exuviance number. Oskia’s newest duo Oskia Renaissance Brightlight and Oskia Renaissance 360 have also been applied regularly. The serum is packed with skin lightening ingredients and can be used all over or on patches of concern, while the cream is a buttery, less concentrated way to approach pigmentation.
The other two are treatments. Avon’s Anew Clinical Advanced Resurfacing Peel pads are a really good dupe for more expensive versions that do a similar job. Mostly glycolic acid (an AHA that will break the bonds between dead skin sitting on the surface and allow the cells to be washed away), I wipe one over freshly-cleansed skin every other night.
I’m also a bit potty about Face Gym’s DIY Kit. I tend to do a face mask whenever I can in the evenings or at weekends, but have recently taken to curling up in front of a film with a clean face and this kit. You start by brushing and rolling that medieval-looking device across skin to stimulate blood flow, and then massage in the various moisturising agents. It’s fairly meditative and seems to really encourage a bit of glow.
The Trainers / Not a beauty product but nonetheless an item of beauty and one that’s quite literally put a spring in my step this week, I picked these Nike Air Max Trainers up during a spree at Liberty London (currently lots of stuff is 20% off there – as if I needed but the slightest encouragement…). They’re comfy as can be, (I think) look pretty good on, and are the perfect shoes to go with my new Ganni skirt. But that’s a whole other post…
The Wellbeing Stuff / You all know by now that my idea of pure joy is a bath in something soothing while reading a book in candlelight. Enter Aromatherapy Associates De-Stress Muscle Himalayan Bath Salts and Lola James Harper The Purple Agency candle. The bath salts: same scent as the oil, though slightly more remedial and skin-loving thanks to the salt element. The candle: brainchild of photographer, musician and creative director Rami Mekdachi and smells a little like ‘sexy men’ (this to me is a touch of woodiness, smoke and bitter citrus).
I’ve also discovered lots of new herbal teas this week which, to a women who only drinks herbal tea, is really quite thrilling. Bellevue’s Classic Camomile Infusion and Ginger & Lemon Infusion both do what they say on the sachet, while Clipper’s newbies Calmer Chameleon (chamomile, honeybush & cinnamon) and Skinny Mintie (mint & caramel) add a bit more excitement to proceedings.
The Make-Up / Healthy skin, bright lips and a sheeny eye have been my go-to of late, so these three couldn’t have found a better home. Deciem’s Hylamide HA Blur is a great blur primer but is even better when whipped out to spruce up waning make-up come 4pm. I just dab a bit onto creases and under eyes and everything seems to come to life again.
Chantecaille’s Lip Chic in Red Poppy is the perfect spring colour – bright enough to cheer as face up, but not so much that paleness is emphasised. A slick provides a nice juicy colour, two a full whack of sheeny red. To avoid looking overdone during the day, I just pair this lipstick with a pat of RMS rose gold Master Mixer on my lids and add a dash of mascara.
Other / I usually spritz something on top of my make-up to rid myself of any powdery flatness, but I recently couldn’t find any such sprays in my house. I grabbed Garnier Ambre Solaire Self-Tanning Dry Face Mist instead and sprayed it over my make-up thinking I’d handle whatever tanned mess developed later. No such mess transpired: on taking off my make-up my skin was evenly honeyed. I’ve since been tanning in this unorthodox way without any mishaps.
The final product has found a place in my routine thanks to Monty. Delightful though he is, I now wash my hands a great many times more than I previously had and need a deeply replenishing cream to reduce dryness. Skinfix Hand Repair Cream may not look overly exciting, but it does the job marvellously and I’ve been slathering it all over my hands between washes.
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