First and most importantly, I like to start with the perfect base! See your skin through the festive party season with these all-time hero beauty products:
Tri-Balm
Simply the bestest cleanser, exfoliator and moisturiser, all in one glorious solid stick balm! A true skincare multi-tasker, it melts away makeup and doubles as a mask if you leave it on in the bath—perfect for those with more life than time!
Frances Prescott TRI-BALM (£39/70g, francesprescott.com).
Follow with the ultimate hydration boost—Pestle & Mortar’s Pure Hyaluronic Serum
This award winning, lightweight serum and favourite of some of the world’s top beauty editors, visibly plumps up even the most dehydrated skin. This exceptional serum soaks into the skin instantly, leaving it visibly radiant, reducing fine lines and improving elasticity. Just what you need when cold weather, central heating, and a less than hydrating lifestyle begin to take their toll.
Available at Liberty of London, www.luminis.com, www.cloud10beauty.com. To find your nearest stockist go to www.pestleandmortar.com (£36.00).
Dr Levy Eye Booster Concentrate (STAR PRODUCT)
Late nights, cold frosty starts, and more mulled wine than mistletoe are part and parcel of party season. Don’t let the delicate skin around your eyes bear the brunt! Dr Levy’s Eye Booster Concentrate is designed to provide both deeper long term rejuvenating effects, and eye-catching short-term boosting results. It uses stem-cell technology, peptides, antioxidants and hyularonic acid to rewind the years and quite literally reverse the signs of ageing. I know. I’ve tried it.
This stuff is so good, I’m lugging it around Africa for the next three weeks. And possibly insuring it!
Available from the Dr Rita Rakus Clinic in Knightsbridge, drritarakus.com, or online at drlevyswitzerland.com (from £165).
Top it all off with the crème de la crème of face creams, Crème de la Mer (STAR PRODUCT)
Alongside their trusty cult hero The Moisturising Crème, Crème de la Mer have launched a concentrated serum, the Miracle Broth!
Available at SPACE NK Westbourne Grove or cremedelamer.co.uk.
***
Next up, hair. My hair is incredibly fragile, and the very best hydrating and repairing treatments I’ve founds are as follows:
Aldo Coppola Aquamare
This is, strictly speaking, an after-sun treatment, but formulated to hydrate and deeply nourish hair exposed to sun, wind, salt and chlorine, it also does a bloody good job of bringing winter hair back from the brink. The rich content of minerals, oligo elements and vitamins in the brown algae extract work wonders on hair stressed by central heating, wind and rain. And if that’s not enough, all their products are organic, natural and vegan friendly.
Available at Aldo Coppola, The Kensington and Chelsea Hair Salon and Beauty Spa. 70 Sloane Avenue, London, SW3 3DD; 02070520709.
Philip Kingsley, Elasticizer Extreme (STAR PRODUCT)
This pre-shampoo treatment is targeted at a very specific hair type: extremely dry, porous and very thirsty! This product is ideal for naturally afro or coarse hair, or hair that is exceptionally processed and damaged. It provides instant replenishment, hydration and nourishment and resuscitates better than anything on the market.
In short, it’s the best thing for the type of hair that’s incapable of becoming oily, and as a result snaps and frizzes and fluffs. This stuff is quite simply the shit. Available at Peter Jones or Philipkingsley.co.uk (£32).
Rita Hazan Weekly Remedy
An innovative and lightweight therapy for color-damaged hair, this two-step treatment works instantly to repair hair from the inside out, leaving hair soft, manageable and frizz-free for up to 24 hours. Faster and lighter than a traditional hair mask, with instant and noticeable results. It left my fluffy and parched hair crazy-smooth with a mirror-like shine!
Available from Selfridges (£34).
***
Then, last but not least, the finishing touches—teeth and nails!
Curaprox
For the whitest teeth without painful bleaching, Curaprox is charcoal–based and totally non-toxic. It goes on black, then leaves your teeth sparkling white—so good even my boyfriend is a convert!
It removes discolouration using activated carbon without abrading or bleaching, while boosting oral health. Refreshingly lemony, it even includes a limited edition Black Is White version of Curaprox’s CS 5460 ultrasoft toothbrush. Available from www.curaprox.co.uk, professional dentists and larger Boots branches (£19.95).
Soigne
And for the best, prettiest, most conditioning, fastest-drying nail polish, you can’t do better than new French import Soigne! An amazing range of sophisticated colours, strengthening oils, and the best quick-dry spray I’ve ever come across.
I especially love their new Limited Edition Le Miroir polish—it paints on super-easy and leaves your nails with a flawless, mirror-like reflective finish! Unlike their main range it does only last a few hours, but I’ve never seen anything like it. I think of it as Cinderella nails—it looks incredible for one party, then peels off shortly after. Available at Soignenails.com (all polishes £23 each).
