Jo loves… discovering entire new beauty categories that she’s never tried before (who says you can’t teach a beauty editor new tricks?), falls in love with a long-lost scent (or two) – and adds two new make-up must-haves to her kit…
Jemma Kidd i-conic eyes Brow Pencil, £10, in 01 Honey Blonde. As a blonde, it’s a constant struggle to find a pencil light enough to define my brows without making them look heavy. Hallelujah: this waxy, smudge-proof pencil from make-up pro Jemma is the palest shade of fawny-taupe pencil I’ve yet discovered – and just perfect for those of us with fair hair, with not only a brush but also built-in pair of tweezers in the lid! How genius is that…?
Yes to Carrots Feel the C Pampering Hand & Nail Spa, £9.95 for 250 ml. at www.victoriahealth.com or click here. (You actually get 5% off that as a Beauty Bible ‘insider’, with free p & p and a gift if you spend over £25.) When I first looked at this, I thought: ‘Right, why on earth would I need yet another extra product in my beauty regime – a HAND SCRUB?’ And then I tried it. Flipping miraculous. From the range which has scored so incredibly well with testers in Beauty Bible Beauty Steals, it’s a combination of Dead Sea Salts, olive oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba (and lots of veg-derived vitamins and extracts). When you don’t have time for a manicure, this makes hands appear 1000% better – and about 10 years younger – instantly, leaving them soft as a baby’s derrière. It was definitely worth making space on my bathroom shelf for!
Liz Earle Naturally Active Bust Treatment, £26 for 50 ml. This was another product I thought I didn’t have time (or room for) in my life. A bra does the job just fine, I thought. And then Kim Buckland (Liz Earle’s lovely business partner) told me that this is also a fantastic neck treatment. So I tried it. And for the first time in my entire life I am now using a neck treatment religiously, night and morning, convinced that it’s really making a difference: tauter, fresher, less-lined sin.
Christian Dior Eau Fraiche, and Diorella, £68 for 100 ml. eau de toilette spray. Oh, gosh. When I sprayed the first of these, I just burst into tears – whisked through time and space to the time when my Dad bought me a bottle from Duty Free when I was all of, oh, about thirteen. And I realised: my father’s foreign forays ignited my passion for perfume, and it began with these. Eau Fraiche is a fresh green ‘chypre’ fragrance with almost sherbety notes of Sicilian mandarin and bigarade (and plenty of my favourite patchouli), while Diorella is a super-sophisticated jasmine-rich creation, through which whispers of honeysuckle blow. Dioressence and Diorissimo – which I can never smell without thinking equally nostalgically of my best friend Paula Yates – are also reissued in this ‘edition’, and each of these classic Dior creations is showcased in beautiful and generous flacons tied with gold thread at the neck. I literally stand dithering at my dressing table each morning right now, deciding which to wear. From 15th January 2010 these fragrances will be available on www.boots.com…
Chanel Vitalumiè Eclat Compact, £42.40. The problem with most powder foundations is that they look flat on the skin. But not this: used either with a sponge or the brush that’s supplied, this whisks over skin to even out skintone instantly, delivering radiance without shine. My shade is Beige-Tendre, and this so-gorgeous Chanel logo-ed compact now has a permanent spot in my handbag for day-long touch-ups (I wouldn’t dream of carrying a bottle of foundation with me!): one swipe and I look fresh again. The secret, Chanel say, is a ‘Radiance Light Diffusing Complex’. Me? I just know it’s a minor miracle-worker. (And the compact has THE ultimate make-up-applying mirror, too.)
Sarah loves... a herbal powder for pearly white teeth, a fab new ‘beauty steal’ foundation, a hair-tamer, Lulu’s happy scent – and a classic cleanser that’s never been beaten
Barbara Daly make-up Face Lift Foundation, £8.75, from Tesco stores nationwide. As a fully paid-up member of the Face Lift fan club (the moisturiser/primer, simply called Face Lift, is one of my great raves), I couldn’t wait to get my paws on this – and get it on my pores! I have to warn you that when I first saw the shade Honey in the jar, I nearly didn’t try it because it looked much too dark and dirty. It was actually perfect colour-wise, and the finish is so light and fresh that it looks more as if you’re wearing a tinted moisturiser. But it does cover little blemishes and give a more polished look. And it’s a real beauty steal.
Kérastase Oleo-Slim range (for thick unmanageable hair). My friend Mary Ann Wilmot has a lion’s mane so I asked her to trial this new Kérastase range, specifically designed to smooth, tame and ‘slim down’ very thick, unruly tresses. Well, she now boasts a glossy barnet that keeps its sleek(er) shape for several days, which she says has never happened before. The trio of products comprises: Oléo-Relax Nuit, £21, a nourishing and controlling overnight leave-in mask that doesn’t need washing out; Masque Oleo-Relax Slim, £24.50, a smoothing mask to use on towel-dried hair, then wash out after ten minutes; and Fluide Oléo-Relax Slim, £17.20, a de-frizz cream to use when blow-drying. For stockists, www.kerastase.co.uk, tel. 0800 316 4400 (though you can find Oléo-Relax Nuit with a 10% discount at www.HQhair.com if you click here; simply add the code BBHQ11 at the checkout; to locate salons selling the other products, visit the Kérastase website on www.kerastase.co.uk – just click here.
Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, £12.50 for 100 ml pump plus 2 muslin cloths. No apologies for reminding you about this treasure again. After several weeks of trying out new cleansers, my skin was okay – but a little sulky, not clear and bright (which it usually is). I went back to Cleanse & Polish and Abracadabra! my skin returned overnight to its usual healthy look. It is the highest-scoring product we have ever trialled in 14 years of Beauty Bible testing, and we’ve never heard of anyone it doesn’t suit. Magic! Find a full-size (100 ml) version in the special BB collection, called Jo & Sarah’s Favourites (because they are!): fantastic value at £23, for C&P, plus Brightening Treatment Mask (50 ml) and Superbalm 5g. Click here.
Timeby Lulu, £35 for 50 ml, from www.qvc.co.uk: yes, I know party season is officially over but that’s no reason not to lighten up the dreary days of January with a lovely scent. I had to try masses of ‘celebrity’ scents as a judge for an industry award, and believe me there are some dreadful ones. But Lulu, one of our favourite people, took a really active part in creating her first scent – and it shows. Last year our Perfume Panel voted Time ‘joyous’ and ‘fresh but warm - and happy, very happy…’. And remember, Valentine’s Day is not very far away…!
Dental Splendour, £15.36 for 10 g pot, from www.victoriahealth.com if you click here. Neither of us really likes whitening toothpastes but we do love this all-natural green herbal powder, which you load on your toothbrush on top of the toothpaste. The salt-free combo of juniper berries, orris root powder and myrrh freshens mouth and breath wonderfully, whitens teeth and helps prevent gum decay. Yummy! Beauty Bible and won the Best Organic Bodycare in the Natural and Organic Awards 2009.
Yes to Carrots Feel the C Pampering Hand & Nail Spa
Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser
Time