This instalment has come around quickly, but there’s lots of newness to go through! The heatwave fried and drained my skin to a prune-like existence and I spent every evening trying to get it back to its former glory (with some success, I might add). Here are the recent, the decent and snippets from the world of beauty.
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Salt and Stone Neroli & Basil Perfume - Two ingredients that’ll get me excited are Neroli and Basil. Previously I’ve looked at brands like Jo Malone and Le Labo but this one is even better. Salt and Stone is a cool girl option and I am a willing customer. I’ve had their body washes before which are incredible (particularly love the Santal & Vetiver and the Saffron & Cedar ones). If you are looking to treat yourself or buy a gift for someone, I love these. They’re a much slicker option than the go-to brands.
Beauty Pie Future Proof Lipsticks - A new thing from the BP team; lipsticks. I am a full lippie convert these days. Since I had some botox around my lips to even them out I have a much more natural lip edge, so lipsticks feel easier. Loads of them don’t last on me though, or at least not evenly. Thrilled to find some that do, these. Particularly recommend shades Damzel and Instinct if you’re after a dusky “does she have anything on?” kind of vibe. £14 with membership of £25 without (to be honest they’re easily worth the £25 compared to others).
Inkey List’s Glycolic Exfoliating Stick - I have Georgia Day to thank for this as she posted about it. My word this stuff works. I first used it to sort out a cracked heel which it resolved in a few days. I now use it on the backs of my legs and arms where I get pesky ingrowing hairs. Guys, they’ve gone. I can’t believe how effective it is, and £15!
Bob Beaute Brow Gel - I talked about this last month when I mentioed Violet Grey but wanted to share again because I am so, so impressed with this brow gel. I like my brows to look raised (they naturally slant downwards) but not frozen and this stuff achieves that for a good 8 hours. I like it a LOT. Violet Grey is the only place in the UK that stocks the brand, you do have to pay for shipping unfortunately but there is also a first-time discount. Worth it.
Pradascope Mascara - As a rule, I don’t like fashion brand make up. I like brands that specialise in make up, rather than franchise it out to a beauty group. In recent times I’ve had to soften on this, but when Prada sent me a package I really want to not like it. Sadly, it’s really good, especially the mascara. The brush is different, it’s only got bristels on one side so you apply it by stroking your lashes. It’s very good. I wish I could tell you otherwise but sadly everything I’ve had from them is really good…
Colostrum Co Powder - When my husband and I went to Somerset we were sat next to a lovely couple and I commented on how amazing their dogs looked for their age (bear with me, this isn’t just a pet based recommendation). They mentioned they had a brand, Colostrum Co which they (and the dogs) took every day. Liz, the founder, has MS which has been limiting her ability to walk more than a staircase at a time. She sourced some colostrum and long story long… was doing 10km hikes in Spain within weeks of taking it. This prompted them to build their own company. They very sweetly didn’t push it on us, but as soon as we parted I had a google and found their brand and bought some. So far, so good. Colostrum isn’t really spoken about in the UK but lots of American friends swear by it. The studies on the effectiveness for cases of dementia, MS, cancers, perimenopause are frankly astounding. I bought the capsules, but you can buy an unflavoured or a vanilla powder. I am gently placing it in front of both sets of parents who have various ailments too…
111 Skin NAC Eye Serum - Ergh, this one annoyed me. So, long term readers know I am very much a dedicated member of the Medik8 Crystal Retinol Eye church. Committed customer. But one finished and I was waiting for the 20% off sale and 111 Skin sent me this. Guys. it’s really good and I have now managed to love an eye serum that is even more expensive than the Medik8 (which is only £44 at the time of writing, run) . Three times as much. F*ck. 111 Skin stuff just is very good, their sheet masks are unreal. But they’re very expensive. Lesson here? Pasta and butter for dinner to fund skincare. Follow me for more toxic tips xoxo.
Goop Beauty Bronzing Gel - Do I need another bronzing gel no? Was I going to turn down some product from Goop? Also no. I’d heard about this stuff being a “rich mom” bronzer and I totally get it. It is! The colour it gives off is a deep, “I travel to beaches regularly” kind of brown. The Westman is more of a “I sat in the park for an afternoon” and I love it, but this Goop is what old money wears. Am I making sense? I just really like it.
EVY UV/Heat Hair Mousse - I mentioned in my post on SPF (linked below). I managed to fry my hair in the heatwave and it went orange. As in really orange. I do not spend the amount of time and money I do at the salon for it all to go wrong in the sunshine. So I did some digging and found this stuff. So far so good. Works as a volumising mousse too.
Delighted to be partnering up with ZIIP Beauty yet again. I saw Kate Watson-Smyth talk in July about the very subject I want to put to you: you’ll have seen the Ziip everywhere and it’s because it’s really good. We 35+ female Substackers are littered with opportunities for anti aging/beauty tech. There is a reason this is the one that keeps making it “to print.” It’s excellent.
I’ve been using the device for ages now, so I used this partnership as an opportunity to update myself the small print. Did you know our skin is naturally slightly negatively electronically charged? I did not. I am enormously paraphrasing here but from what I can gather stress, aging and injury can poorly influence the skin to do “bad things.” Using electrical therapy means you reactivate the skin to repair well, firm up and sort itself out. And the ZIIP device is championed as best in class for doing this at home.
Even as a seasoned user, I am still astounded at the before and afters. I see two “types” of results; the longer term lift and improvement in skin texture, then the “just before an event” topical style result when I do the longer routines in the app (there are 17 to choose from and the longest one is 12 minutes). I was fretting to my manager in the Spring over this as ZIIP like us to show before and after content in partnerships and I worried that I wouldn’t have anything remarkable as I used it all the time. Then I did the “Everything Facial” on the app, just look at the results above…
The image speaks for itself. I don’t think I need to spell it any more clearly; I love my ZIIP and wholeheartedly recommend it. What it does for me for skin tone, strength and shape is exceptional. It is supposed to be good for people with spot prone skin, bar the odd hormonal Vesuvius I can’t speak to this but friends who have bought it for themselves have often found it magically walking to their teenagers rooms as the Tiktok before/afters for redness are incredible. Fun for the whole family!
For more ZIIP content from me pop over to Instagram where I’m nattering about it while doing a routine, and get 10% off a device with the code ANNAH.
Counter Cleansing Gel - Absolutely gutted to finish this, I’ve asked my husband to pick me one up from the USA later this month. It’s such a good cleansing oil; I heard Victoria Magrath talking about an oil being the best remedy for hormonal breakouts and she’s absolutely right. Work it into the skin while you’re getting a bath/shower ready and then rinse off. It pulls all other oils and sebums out; leaving it clean but not stripped (which damages the barrier).
Medik8 Advanced Peptide Moisturiser - I’m not really a moisturiser girl. I much prefer oils and gels. I keep one moisturiser with my make up that I use as a base if my skin is dry, but other than that I can often go without. So when I found this one, I was shocked how much I liked it. Medik8 is just such a good brand. My skin loves it. It’s sort of a whipped texture and feels so nice on. When I use it at night (as a sandwich with my retinal) my skin is noticeably firmer.
Mantle The Miracle Mask - When I first opened this, I thought “meh.” It didn’t stand out to me at all. The ingredients are nice but nothing mindblowing (compared to more “technical” brands like Medik8 etc). I popped it on after cleansing one morning and left it to do it’s thing while I cleaned the house. I was shook by how bright and tight my skin looked. Words eaten. I would firmly recommend for the more sensitive skinned of us as nothing in the formula is fierce or strong - just really well put together. It’s reduced at Liberty, here.
What else is coming from me on beauty stuff you ask? Well, I am doing an indepth post on aesthetics later in the month. I’ll share everything I have done to my face and body. TBC on how many photos will be included (ha) but long term readers will know I am a huge fan of the people I go to so have asked them to fill the blanks on my own understanding of things to share with you. Subscribe to receive!
The • Inkey List's Glycolic Exfoliating
Stick is AMAZING, what a revelation!!
Prada Beauty is amazing! Blushes are plump and pigmented, concealers creamy with fab coverage. Now must try mascara..💖