Sarah Loves... Late Spring 2025
For Sarah, it’s all about looking natural but better for spring/summer - smoother and more even skin tone with a bit of glow. PLUS she shares details of a months’ long programme to help her nails get stronger and healthier.
Lumene Serum in Foundation SPF30
This is a truly fab hybrid of hydrating and smoothing skincare with make-up, from a Finnish brand that uses some wild-crafted and natural ingredients in 100% vegan formulas. I wear it every day as a foundation; I apply with a brush but it’s also fine with clean fingers. Just one thing: do remember to shake it before use. My skin tends to be dry and is, umm, ‘mature’ so I layer it on top of a moisturiser/primer with vitamin C (great for fading brown patches). Anyone with younger, normal or oilier skin wouldn't need all that hydration.
This creamy Lumene product is really light but the coverage is plenty to even out my skin tone. It lasts all day, plus it contains light-reflecting Lumenessence Pearls to make skin brighter. There are ten shades and I find no.2 works all year round, unless I’ve got really tanned. I sweep a bit of bronzer powder over it in summer, with a highlighter (see below) to glow up my skin tone. For evenings out, I finish with a dusting of setting powder.
£39.90 for 30ml - buy here
Cosmetics a la Carte Bare Glow Luminizer
I stroke and blend this nearly sheer, crème highlighter up my cheeks as a blusher to accentuate the bones and sometimes on my upper eyelids to make my eyes look more sparkly. It’s particularly good for a dewy, glowy effect over setting powder. Seven shades, all gentle and gorgeous. All cruelty-free, never tested on animals, vegan and mostly allergen free.
£39 - buy here
The Natural Africa Kalahari Melon Seed Oil
Our many long-term faithful readers know that our USP is telling the truth about products. But maybe you wonder occasionally if we just flit from product to product as we try the latest thing. I wrote a bit of a rave about Kalahari Melon Seed Oil here as a Fab Find of the Week when I was trialling the first bottle of this facial oil. And now I thought I should tell you that, after using the first bottle of this Kalahari Melon Seed Oil every night until there wasn't a drop left, I’m on my second bottle. Because it is really fantastic and, honestly, I’ve never been a particular fan of that category. Why so good? First, it’s really easy at night when I’m tired: I just massage a third of the dropper-ful after cleansing into face, neck and décolleté. All done, sinks in almost immediately, anything left on fingertips gets rubbed into nails. And next day, the results have been visible from first off: softer, smoother, plumper, more supple skin. As I’ve written above, my skin is dry and ‘older’… so seeing consistent continuing results like this is truly delightful.
£45 for 30ml - buy here
KURE Bazaar Tinted Nail Hardener, Omega Nail Oil and Active Revitalizing Nail Balm
After two bouts of norovirus in the winter my nails became the weakest they've ever been: flaking, breaking, splitting, chipping, ridged – you name it. Now, our mantra with nails has always been to adopt a multipronged approach. First, topical: oil at night plus lots of hand cream during the day and also my beloved KURE Tinted Bazaar Nail Hardener, a pretty polish in my favourite Rose Beige (now their bestseller), Nude Beige or Clear. These have now been joined by Omega Nail Oil and also Active Revitalizing Nail Balm, which I can’t wait to try.
KURE Bazaar Nail Hardener/£22 for 10ml - buy here
KURE Bazaar Omega Nail Oil/£26 for 10ml - buy here
KURE Bazaar Active Revitalizing Nail Balm/£34 for 15ml - buy here
Vitabiotics Perfectil Original
And second: supplements. This is back to a tried and trusted formula I remember writing about many years back. I’ve been taking a Perfectil tab every day, which contains biotin, zinc and selenium plus a bunch of other nutrients – all good for nails and also hair and skin (can’t argue with a multi-tasker). Results are slow but sure – my nails have stopped splitting, and mostly stopped flaking, and are growing. The other thing we always say about getting nails back on track is give them time – three months at least – and keep on keeping on with the programme!
£6.30 for 30 - buy here
