So many beauty products land on my desk every day, so what stood out for me this year? What brands was I most impressed by and what products really worked and were wonderful?
Here’s my best beauty buys of this past year.
· Hourglass Illume Sheer Colour Trio £54, Space Nk. Now I know this is eye wateringly expensive but these three cream to powder colours makes the prettiest blush, subtle contour and illuminator and blend so easily and flatter all skin ages. I think that Hourglass pretty much triumph at everything makeup right now and win my best colour cosmetic award for the year.
· The Ordinary Vitamin C 23% Cream £4.90, ordinaries.com This brand hands down wins my skin care launch award for 2016. It is hard to choose a product from the collection to like most but this gritty, tingly night cream leaves skin glowing and hydrated in the morning. And the serums, especially the HA 2% tightens as it dries to mimic serums that cost ten times as much.
· M&S Bare FeetMargaret Dabbs Treatment Night Socks £9.99. These are the high street alternative to those super spenny Bliss pedi socks, and have silicone gel on the soles and heels to soften sandal hard and high heel toughened skin whist you sleep. After a week of wearing them your skin softens and hydrates itself. Very clever.
· Kerastase Bain Anti Pelliculaire £17.90, visit kerastase.co.uk Confession time – I have dandruff – and it’s hard to find a gentle non-stripping dandruff shampoo that works. This launched this year and it ticks every box.
· Paula’s Choice Resist Anti Ageing Retinol Body Treatment £32, visit paulaschoice.co.uk Not new, but new to me, the best body lotion I have tried this year by a mile.
· Lancôme Juicy Shaker £18, these lip oil hydrate and add a hint of flattering colour (my only bugbear is the scent, but it quickly disappears). Perfect for winter.
· Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Micro Cleansing Foam £23.50. With so much fuss about the foil mask (which is great but so are so many sheet masks) this (and the Micro Cleansing Balm £36) have been overlooked and they are my favourite cleansers of the year. The foam (which doesn’t foam and is gentle) for summer and the Balm (which isn’t greasy at all) in winter. And they smell divine too. A word of warning on the balm, as with most oily balms you’ll need to double cleanse it off with a salicylic or glycolic if you want to put on a serum afterwards, or the latter will not penetrate properly.
· Guerlain Cils D’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara £25, the best body building, lengthening super stripper look mascara of the year (and yes I love a stripper lash). Makes false lashes redundant.
· Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows £25. I have been growing my brows out this year and they refuse to all grow back in the right direction, so I powder in the patches and then groom with this. It has the right amount of colour and staying power and the BEST ever brush; super tiny for precision application.
· Dyson Supersonic £299.99 - Yes I know, I know, how much? But I love it; it has cut my drying time in half, is lightweight and just sits in my hand so well. And I HATE Dyson vacuum cleanser with a vengeance, so go figure.
Here's to 2017 and another year of, hopefully, beauty innovation, brilliant buys and products that actally do what they promise to. I promise that I hsall keep on sharing my no nonsense beauty advice too.
HAPPY NEW YEAR