It's just another week on the beauty desk...
Another week, another casual encounter with David Beckham. Ha – we kid you. Of COURSE that’s not a usual occurrence and the beauty desk were, we promise, suitably stoked to see David in the flesh to celebrate a decade since the launch of his Instinct aftershave. Stoked and a just a touch starstruck. The most extraordinary thing about Mr Beckham? That he was, in the words of Lisa Oxenham, ‘friendly, really down to earth, well-mannered and lovely.’ Ahh.
It’s been an eventful old week for Lisa: not only did she rub shoulders with one half of the formidable Beckham duo, but she also saluted Liz Earle’s impressive twenty years in the industry by tucking into an enormous blue icing bedecked cupcake in honour of the cosmetics giant. Hats off to you for bringing cleanser back and making some spectacular skincare, Liz.
Right, onto our top ten this week…
THE PALETTE: Tom Ford Eye & Cheek Compact
The beauty desk are a diverse bunch. Some of us favour a red lip, others a smoky eye; half of us are skincare obsessed, the rest would throw every single serum out the window in order to keep our favourite lippie. A few brands, however, unite us. Tom Ford is top of our collective pile and when this palette from the Soleil collection landed we all spent an indecent amount of time cooing over it. That gold: the perfect eyeshadow for a little iridescence on a warm evening. The deep pink: the ideal shot of raspberry to suffuse pallid cheeks with warmth. Basically: we’re all over this. And you should be too.
Out on the 27th of April.
THE SCRUB: Sabon Rose Tea Body Scrub
It’s that time of year again: days are getting longer (yippee!), the weather warmer, hemlines invariably shorter and, in the fullness of time, tights will have to be cast aside. Oh yes, the first barelegged day is coming peeps, but don’t fear – instead, put your faith in a good scrub when it comes to preparing for the great unveiling of skin after winter. This one is our current favourite: it is pleasingly thick (and therefore doesn’t slip around on the skin ineffectually) and the rose oils offset the saltiness of the scrub particles so it’s a treat for the nose AND skin.
Out now. £28
THE SKIN REBOOT KIT: Face Gym DIY Kit
We’ve long revered the powers of half an hour spent being pummeled by the Face Gym team. Once tension has been rubbed out of facial muscles and blood pumped in skin looks radiant and plump. The addition of Alexandra Soveral’s seasonal skincare is the icing on the cake. Now that we’ve got our hands on this kit containing the roller, a dinky face brush and four of the skincare products, we’ll try to recreate the facial at home between visits.
Out now. £85.
THE TREATMENT: The Signature Treatment by Soveral at the Agua Spa in the Mondrian Hotel, £55 - £120
Alexandra Soveral is hitting it out the park this week. The beauty desk took tired, dry, lusterless skin to the vast subterranean spa in the Mondrian hotel and had our skin brushed to encourage circulation, coated in honey to act as an antibacterial face mask and massaged with Soveral’s organic oils to tone, detoxify and nourish. We emerged with happy, happy skin indeed.
THE SHAMPOO: OGX Coconut Water Shampoo
Cliched though it is, we can’t help but be seduced by the smell of coconut, quite simply because it transports us to beaches in our minds. Aromatherapeutic benefits aside, we really like the way this makes our hair clean without feeling dry, and minimizes flyaways without weighing hair down.
Out now. £6.99
THE MASK: Nude Miracle Mask
If you’re still scrubbing at your face with harsh exfoliants, stop – you may be doing more damage than good; buffing away with granules on the delicate skin on your face causes microscarring which can result in premature aging and a loss of firmness. Rather than forgo the glow courtesy of exfoliation, just switch to an exfoliant that relies on the power of AHAs like Nude’s Miracle Mask, which contains a few small rice beads to please the scrub-obsessed among you, but mostly dissolves the bonds between surface skin cells with glycolic acid, allowing them to simply be washed away to reveal the healthy skin underneath.
Out now. £38
THE HYGIENE: Japonesque Solid Brush Cleanser & B Make-Up Brush Cleanser
Our mission to make you wash your make-up brushes has gained new ammunition in the form of B’s bargainous cleansing spray. Equally popular among the team is Japonesque’s solid cleanser, which requires a mere swirl and swill to render filthy brushes clean and sanitary once more. Do it weekly and you’ll notice your make-up is easier to apply and skin less prone to flare ups.
Out now. £16 and £4.99 respectively
THE WELLBEING: Aveda Blue Oil
You may have noticed that the beauty desk are determined to find the best calming, uplifting aids for use throughout stressful days. This oil is our current darling thanks to its pepperminty, chamomile scent, which seems to really help us diffuse stress. Apply to pulse points and take three deep breaths whenever the world seems to get too much.
Out now. £13
THE BODY: Melvita L’Or Rose Firming Oil with Pink Berries
Despite our good intentions, we never seem to follow through with using firming body products on a regular basis because they quite frankly usually smell a bit odd, look horrid on the shelf and generally make the process a little grim. A world away from the unhappy rigamarole of using most unguents designed to eliminate water retention is this new Melvita gem, which is pretty to behold, smells delightful and moisturises skin so well that even if the whole smoothing thing doesn't come to fruition, you’ll still be addicted to it in the coming months (see above paragraph on baring skin).
Out in April. £30
THE EYE CREAM: Gazelli Reviving Eye Cream
The white oil indigenous to Azerbaijan improves skin on a cellular level, helping it to regenerate, absorb nutrients and hold onto moisture. Handy, then, that Gazelli have harnessed the power of white oil in this eye cream, which now comes in a pump to preserve the ingredients by eliminating any exposure to air or bacteria and make travelling with it a doddle.
Out now. £40.