I've barely touched on beauty in the past on this blog, minus the odd nail art post, but in the interest of branching out I wanted to write a little about my favourite beauty products. The title of the post sums them up - hero products I use regularly and feel a little bit lost without. Everyone has a few and I wanted to share mine.
Lets start with hair products. I don't tend to use too many products on my hair as I hate that 'over styled' feel and like my hair to look as natural as possible. However, no ones hair looks perfect without a little help and these three products do just that.
Mark Hill Get Gorgeous! No Knots! Leave-in Detangling Spray is the first thing I reach for after washing my hair. For some reason my hair is prone to knotting and after washing it can be a bit of a nightmare to get a brush through. This detangling spray does exactly what it's supposed to do: untangle my hair without weighing it down. The spray is fairly light, gets to work straight away and can also be used on dry hair if it gets knotty throughout the day, although make sure to spray it from a distance so it doesn't wet your hair too much.
Batiste Dry Shampoo Big & Bouncy XXL Volume is next on my heroes list. I'm sure, by now everyone has discovered the merits of dry shampoo and realised that Batiste make both the cheapest and the best on the market. This particular one has a little extra added to it however and really does give your hair a bit more volume where you most need it. Spray onto clean hair around the roots, massage with your fingers and lightly brush out any excess for volumized yet natural looking hair. Great for using before backcombing too but be careful not to use too much or you won't be able to get a brush through it for some time!
My final hair product comes from perhaps a less well known brand than the others and one I only came across by accident.
Percy & Reed Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish is a great product for both smoothing and adding a bit of texture to the lengths of your hair. It also happens to smell rather amazing; rub a tiny amount between your palms and smooth down any flyaway strands at the top and then push the middle section of your hair up with the remaining polish. It manages to be light weight enough not to make your hair feel greasy but thick enough to hold a style and always helps to add a little extra something to my (predominantly flat) hair.
Good quality products that enhance your various make-up styles are hard to come by. I go from one face cream to the next and am not too fussy when it comes to make-up removers and face washes but these two products have earned themselves a rightful place in my heroes list.
The more expensive of the two,
Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eyeshadow Primer is well worth its £16.50 price tag. Again, I stumbled across this product by accident but haven't looked back, using it daily under my eyeshadow. A thin layer of this skin colour primer on my eyelids perfectly holds my eyeshadow in place for the majority of the day without having to reapply and can also be worn on its own to even the tone of your eyelids. Eyeshadow seems to hold much better and come out a stronger shade when worn combined with this primer and the product has lasted me for ages despite me using it most days. I've never been particularly fussed about face primer but this eyeshadow primer is definitely worth using for longer lasting make-up.
If your skin is anything like mine it is liable to become a little shiny throughout the day, especially if you're having a busy day rushing around at work.
Fashionista Shine Stopper Translucent Loose Powder, available from Superdrug, is the perfect quick-fix for shine: simply dust a thin layer over your face and all shine is eradicated, leaving your skin looking matte and even. The colour of the powder is fairly pale but doesn't change the colour of your skin and a little bit goes a long way. My handbag feels empty without it.
I'm not sure I could rave about these final two products enough if I tried.
Body Shop Moringa Body Butter is literally the best body cream I've ever used: superlative fully justified here. The smell is clean, fresh and gently floral without being overbearing and manages to stay on your skin long after applying. The cream is the perfect consistency for my sometimes-dry skin, leaving it soft but not so soft you end up feeling clammy hours later. Perhaps not the most well-known Body Shop scent but Moringa is definitely the perfect scent for me and this cream is my absolute favourite.
Garnier Body Tonic Sugar Scrub is another pretty amazing hero product of mine. Finding the perfect scrub for your skin can be a bit of a nightmare; an endless search for a scrub that is gentle enough not to damage your skin but strong enough to actually make a noticeable difference. This is the best one I've found for a reasonable price and doesn't leave an absolute mess all over the shower when you're finished with it. Use a couple of times a week for smooth arms and legs.
Images:
www.boots.com
www.superdrug.com
www.percyandreed.com
www.thebodyshop.co.uk
