5 beauty products I would find VERY hard to live without

There are times in our lives when we stumble across a beauty product or a shade of eye shadow where we cannot imagine there being a better version of it. Anywhere.

It'd be a slight exaggeration (not to mention, a bit shallow) to suggest such products can change our lives for the better. But when we do find them, they certainly challenge the status quo, whilst secretly making us very happy indeed.

Here are my TOP FIVE Best Beauty Buys:

1. Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage

Anyone who’s ever had bad skin will tell you, it’s a conundrum. We thank the heavens for cover-up but when we actually put it on we’re not quite sure it doesn’t make our skin look ten times worse? 

Step up Laura Mercier. Hers is the only concealer that doesn’t cake. In fact, miraculously, it seems to blend into your skin, removing blemishes and redness from your very eyes. And its best feature? It doesn’t aggravate spots like so many concealers. It's my absolute desert island must-have! (although if I were actually living on a desert island my skin should be wonderfully tanned and spot free, right? Scrap that, I’ll take mascara instead).

Holding the top spot. Literally.

2. Seche Vite Top Coat
If I ever overhear anyone discussing the best nail varnish colours, I tend to sneak over, eyes wide, and announce that I know of a nail product so good, they will never need pay for a professional manicure ever again.

To say Seche Vite Top Coat is 'excellent' would be an insult. It is nothing short of miraculous.

It has two things going for it: it dries in seconds (literally) and is nigh impossible to chip, at least not before the week's out. Not only that, but it also has the ability to transform any cheapo nail varnish into an OPI delight.

The proof was definitely in the pudding one afternoon, when, applying Seche Vite to my newly polished tomato-red nails, I suddenly realised I’d left some handwashing in the sink! I was in a mad rush so had no choice but to rinse out the clothes. Half-expecting my nails to be completely destroyed (I’d only finished applying the top coat just ten minutes beforehand) I was amazed to discover they were still perfect.

I like to think, in a world where The Makeup Oscars exist, this product would steal Best Performance.

No. 2: The Only Top Coat You Need Ever Buy

3. Jo Malone Body Crème & Cologne.

OK, so this is two products, not one, but hear me out.

There is something undeniably heavenly about Jo Malone. Of course the iconic premium packaging adds to the allure (as does the price) but for me the scents are quite beautiful and a far cry from the multitude of sickly-sweet high-street perfumes. And it lingers...

I remember my first spritz. I was on holiday in New York, staying with a girlfriend in Brooklyn. I spotted a bottle of Jo Malone White Jasmine and Mint cologne in her bathroom and decided to try a little on my skin. Later that day, as I meandered though the streets of Brooklyn, gentle wafts of the cologne kept rising from my shirt collar. The subtleness of the scent made me feel sexy, feminine and optimistic. And from that moment on I was sold.

My combination du jour is White Jasmine and Mint body cream followed by a little spritz of Vanilla and Anise. Applying the cream just before you spray helps the scent cling to the skin.




No.3: A daily touch of luxury



4. St. Ives Swiss Formula Invigorating Apricot Scrub

If Vogue sees fit to crown this unassuming exfoliator one of the best exfoliators money can buy, and it costs less than a fiver, what’s not to love?

Everyone knows that two of the key secrets to good skin are drinking plenty of water and exfoliating once a week.

Yet, when it comes to exfoliating, there's a fine balance. You want the product to feel as if it's working, scouring away dead skin to reveal squeaky-clean, youthful skin underneath. But in my experience, certain exfoliators just don't feel like they're doing very much. As if their hearts are not in it. But not St. Ives! It is the Headmistress of Exfoliators, designed to whip your skin into shape.

Costing just over £4 from Boots, you've got nothing to lose in giving this one a go. Just don't use it everyday.

No. 4: Your weekly facial. Sorted.

5. Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer*

(*I’m allowing the ‘z’ here because it’s an American product. Innit.)

I can honestly say I’d find it hard to live without this product. Whenever my skin is feeling dry or tight, I massage in some Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer and within minutes it looks and feels hydrated and new.

Having spent hundreds of pounds over the years on an array of different brands (Estée Lauder, Chanel, Dermalogica, Biotherm…) it was a relief to finally discover my ultimate moisturiser in Kiehl’s.

It doesn’t come in a particularly beautiful bottle, it looks uninspiringly medicinal, and it isn’t cheap, but, it works. I love the fact it sinks into my skin without leaving any oily residue or worse, the flakiness that you sometimes get with other moisturisers.

You can buy Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer with or without SPF (15).

No. 5: Ultra? I'll say.

So that was my Top 5. What's yours? 

Trends: You're joking, right?

Top Shop wedges by Unique, £130

Whilst shuffling, somewhat bewildered, through the astonishing number of 6-inch wedges on display in Selfridges Shoe Gallery the other day it occurred to me that sometimes makeup trends can be just as (seemingly) impossible to wear. Not that I think this season's trend for wedge platforms isn’t fabulous; vertiginous wooden blocks, with neon-bright leather straps, designed to elongate the legs and make feet and ankles look impossibly slender. Stunning works of art they may be but the fact is they are nigh impossible to stand up in let alone walk in.

Whilst strapping a pair on 'for a laugh' in the Top Shop bit, I asked the assistant who was lolling nearby, "How long do you think this trend for über-platforms is going to last? I mean, I’m not old or anything. Ha, I’m only 32!" <nervous laugher> "but seriously, how does anyone walk in these?!"

To which my much younger blonde beauty replied "A glass of wine helps". 

Ah ha.

Take the current S/S stretching into A/W 2011 trend for red eye shadow, as seen at Narciso Rodriguez, Carolina Herrera, Alexander Wang, YSL, Chanel, D&G....(I could go on). Basically, RED is BIG NEWS. 

Carolina Herrera Beauty, Spring 2011

But is red eye shadow wearable off the catwalk?

Much is being debated online about the way to wear red. I'll sum up: it looks better on the young (e.g. 25 and under). If you're going to wear it, don't be frugal. Make a statement.

Another way to wear red this year is blended into the lower lash line with a deeper brown swept across the lid. Coppery reds work best and be careful not to shade too far down under the eye.

Rhianna is someone who can pull off just about any look but the combination of red eye shadow and tapered lashes here is clearly on trend and alluring (if slightly scary).

Rhianna rocks red

A huge trend from last year which continues to influence 2011 is the orange lip.

Prada Spring/Summer 2010

I most vividly remember seeing this for the first time in the The Prada Sunglasses campaign; the dynamism between the polished acrylic transparent frames and high-lacquered tangerine lips. Orange lips felt instantly brave, now, and boy did I want to try it. 

So how do you decide if a trend is wearable?

There are two frustrations for the classicists amongst us when it comes to makeup trends. One is that it is sometimes difficult to tell which of the trends will last beyond a season (you finally get round to buying a bright orange lipstick only to discover neon pink is the colour of the moment). Secondly, some makeup trends are not necessarily designed to work on their own. They are carefully considered, extensions of a fashion collection, engineered to accentuate an entire look.

For me, the pleasure to be gained is in giving a nod to, rather than diving head-first into a makeup trend. Flirt a little with a neon pink lip but keep the rest of the face pared back. Swap your trusty mink eye shadow for a sweep of gold. Red eye shadow may be a stretch too far but how will you know unless you try it?