Hello ladies! How are we?! I’m so glad it’s April already and that Spring is well and truly here. It’s about bloomin’ time as well, right? Winter and I do NOT get along. My lips get chapped, my face goes all scaly and I’m 50 shades of milky grey. It’s not a good look. Until I get my little self off to California ( LOTS of wishful thinking and day dreaming) my favourite make up and beauty brands have been helping me look as lush as I can until the sun starts shining and we enter balmier climes. The recommended are a mixture of luxe and high street and things I’ve loved for a long time. They’re tried and tested!
Photography by Lisa Jane
Moisture
My face cannot get enough. It should be said that too much regular rich moisturising could do the opposite in effect. It can in fact trick your skin into thinking it’s doing a fine job and not doing enough for itself. These particular heroes of mine should be used almost as a short- term treatment.
- Rose Hip All Purpose Salve – This was given to me at Christmas and I have used it every day since. It’s part of Marks and Spencer’s Apothecary range and contains natural rosehip oil but is paraben, cruelty and alcohol free. It’s almost like a luxury Vaseline tub in prettier packaging. I use it as a super strength lip balm, hand cream and balmy highlighter when I’m on shoots.
- Heal Gel Intensive: Soothe, Repair, Protect – My love for this is never waning. Introduced to me when I was a personal beauty consultant at Liberty, this wonder product is genuinely for all skin types but its uses vary. I use it personally as a topical treatment for burns, scarring and cold sores as it calms down irritation and inflammation. On my oily/ combo prone clients it’s a fantastic moisturiser/ treatment and primer for breakouts (hormonal and allergies) and post flight stress due to it’s regenerative and cooling properties.
- Sisley’s Comfort Extreme – This was given to me recently but their wonderful business manager at Selfridges in London, to try at home. I use it post moisturiser for those bits of my face that are a bit drier and need more help. The Linden blossom ingredient helps to calm and soothe sensitivity whilst shea butter (not the main ingredient) promotes hydration.
- Sisley’s Facial Mask with Linden blossom for Sensitive Skin – I’ve loved this since last year when Aliya, Sisley’s top Spa therapist in London recommended I try it. Most skins become sensitive in cold and harsh weathers and this is the perfect post hot bath/ shower skin treat. It’s calming, soothing and superbly moisturising. Perfect after those heavy nights out or feeding your little ones all through the night.
- Sephora Honey eye mask – I fell in love with these in New York last year. My eyes and face were puffy from sheer exhaustion, the cold, being over worked and over indulging. Perfect for a wedding planning Bride to Be! I also use them when my sinuses are bad ( quite a lot of the time) and they’re fabulous to use on my clients the morning of their wedding day. They instantly de stress, nourish, smell fresh and cool down the eye area.
Exfoliating
So many people forget that exfoliating is an important part of your weekly routine. There is no rule as to how often it should be done- once or twice a week is my personal recommendation. It leaves your complexion renewed and helps your make up look impeccably applied- even if it’s been done in 2 minutes.
- Simple Sensitive Kind to Skin Exfoliating Wipes – Wipes are the devil you’ve heard me say before. Purely because the people using them are using them for the wrong purpose. Wipes are not the be all and end all of cleansing, they are a great addition. I use these when I’m rushing out the house in the morning and my face is falling off, they’re also fantastic for client’s flaky noses and lip buffering. Soaked in micellar water, they’re heavily textured on the one side to buff away dead skin. Perfect.
- Bobbi Brown Buffing Grains – These have become my all round staple. They’re made from Japanese Adzuki beans, which are full of protein for the skin and help naturally and kindly exfoliate dead skin. Perfect to use with your regular cleanser in the shower.
- QMSMedicosmetics Dermabrasive Gel – This is my luxury * when I have 30 minutes to exfoliate mask*. Pop this on with the brush that comes with it and the multi acids and enzymes eat the dead skin from your complexion. Wash away after 15 minutes with a flannel, buffing at the same time. Not for the faint hearted, it tingles and itches and leaves you redder than a strawberry but it works wonders for sensitive and dry skin types. Use the Exfoliant Fluid if you’ve an oilier, more blemished complexion without the sensitivity, as it’s more active in fruit enzymes.
Your Base
Your base in winter/Spring is important, regardless of how little you wear or how heavy a look you enjoy.
- Dermacolour Concealer Palette – Pop along to Charles Fox Ltd in London and they will colour match you so those oily zits can be hidden. These have built in correctors and are bursting with pigment so a little goes a long way. Best applied with a brush, pat and push and feather blend out.
- Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer – I think everyone’s sick and tired of me going on about this in posts and on Instagram. I love them. If you’re of a palid and think skinned complexion like myself but you also suffer from dark circles and red patches this will be your Mecca. Best applied with a brush and blended with your finger. Check my video on how to apply concealer like a pro.
- Bobbi Brown’s Tinted Moisturiser – Great for Normal to Oily Combo skins that want that little extra help in the mornings. I would advise putting the Heal Gel on first and then popping a pea/ bean sized amount on with your fingers. Pat and push onto the face for a lovely subtle coverage.
- Bobbi Brown’s BB Cream – great for darker skins with a little discolouration that needs evening out. Gives a heavier coverage than the tinted moisturiser and a matte finish for those who get oily bits. Leaves you looking gorgeously radiant at the same time.
- Nuxe Crème Prodigieuse DD Cream – fantastic for dry, dehydrated and sensitive prone ladies who lives in the hustle and bustle ( DD means daily defense against the unnatural environment) It only comes in 2 shades Light ( great for Olive tones) and Dark ( Dark Olive to Asian). It keeps your skin glowing and has a flat bronzer built in so it’s fabulous for couperosis sufferers.
- Sisley Paris Phyto Teint Expert – A true luxury in gorgeous, lightweight but enveloping foundation with skincare treatments built in- Cucumber, Gingko Biloba and Frangipane. It helps retain skin’s moisture and conceals redness and other discolourations. Apply with a foundation brush and pat blend with fingers.
- Illuminating and blushing the skin is also part of creating the perfect base. It uplifts the complexion perfectly, giving you that cheats glow!
- Bobbi Brown’s Shimmer Brick in Beige – this will give most skin tones a lovely healthy kick. Add to the tops of the cheekbones.
- RMS Beauty Living Luminizer – For those that want something vegan friendly as well as completely natural and moisturising. Gisele’s Make Up Artist created this coconut oil based illuminator to be applied with your fingertips, on your cheekbones.
- Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base – I have these in Champagne and Rose. Apply before foundation all over the face for a gorgeous subtle Giselle glow. Apply on top of foundation under the shimmer brick for a super intense boost.
- Fashion Fair’s Highlighter Golden Lights – this is one of the loveliest highlighters I’ve seen for darker skins. It’s a powder so is great for those with an oilier complexion that still want to look like they’ve been in the sun for a bit and is so pigmented it’ll last you forever.
- Bobbi Brown Uber Beige Pot Rouge – this is a fabulous creamy bronzer style blusher. A great trick for calming red complexions and for lifting sallow complexions is to add bronzer.
- Clarins Multi Blush in Candy is the perfect pick me up for porcelain skins. Apply to the apples of the cheeks.
- Ellis Faas Cosmetics S302, the perfect Apricot cream blusher. It’s a pen so can be popped directly onto the face, pat blend with fingers.
- Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powders, Golden Light, Natural and Deep. Dust lightly all over the face to lift sallow complexions and calm redness.
- Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Sparkle and Cream Eye shadows in Goldstone and Stone (pictured below). These have primers built in so are wonderful for popping on 2 minutes before you walk out the door. They’re both natural- Goldstone being super reflective, great for easy eye illuminating and super easy to blend.
- Love, Honour and be True is a lovely lipstick brand, created specifically for Brides wanting the perfect shade for their wedding day. Love Story is a gorgeously moisturising, lightweight red lipstick. It’s not matte and reflects light beautifully, perfect for early Spring.
- Natural Collection Lip Gloss Turkish Delight is the best natural lipgloss I have ever used. It’s shimmer free, non sticky and flattering to most.
Best of the Best
My absolute can’t live without top 5 items from this generous selection of the products have to be:
- Rose Hip All Purpose Salve– I love a multi tasker with skin care benefits
- Bobbi Brown Buffing Grains – Jump in the shower, exfoliate everything at once. DONE.
- Bobbi Brown’s Shimmer Brick in Beige – a one size fits most complexions for a gorgeous glow.
- Bobbi Brown’s cream eye shadows – a gorgeous shimmery uplifting and easy to apply eye make up.
- Love, Honour and be True – a gorgeous lipstick, reasonably priced and a very pretty addition to your Spring kit.
There you have it my darlings, products to save your skin from Winter, so it’s ready for Spring! Remember to patch test these products before buying to make sure they’re right for you and your gorgeousness.
Happy glowing!
Kylie x
