Jo is loving... for early summer
Soap & Glory Speed Plump, £14 for 40ml. Oh, my: I love, love, LOVE the texture of this night cream – so much that I want to go on and on applying its almost ‘bouncy’, cloud-like texture. It harnesses, I’m told, something called ‘Bubble-BoostTM Technology’: each time you open the jar, the ‘self-bubbling’ mousse regenerates, refilling with air. (No, I don’t know how it works, either – and care less: the whipped texture presses all my skincare pleasure buttons.) There’s no need to keep reapplying, though: just one application is more than enough of the wonderfully nourishing blend of oxygen-boosting ginseng, double-whammy of hyaluronic acid and a patented Fruitylastic complex (derived from raspberry leaf, fruit and seed extracts). It gets its lovely scent from sweet orange oil, meanwhile – and is brilliantly affordable. Hooked, I am!
Surratt Mascara, £21.
My friend Ruby Hammer introduced me to https://www.maulirituals.com/collections/mauli-womanthis when she gave me a spring makeover – and it’s a revelation. Honestly, it looks like a doll’s mascara: it’s tiny. But I discovered: this is no sample; the wand (and tube) have been downsized specifically to make it possible to access every last fine eyelash (and then some). When you’ve got super-skinny lashes, like me, it’s important that every one is coated. The teeny wand is also super-manoeuvreable, again helping to access the lower lashes and inner lashes, as well as to ‘lift’ the lashes. Inky black, only – but then as far as I’m concerned, that’s the only colour for mascara.
Sanctuary Illuminating Whipped Moisture Crème SPF15, £15.50 for 50 ml.
Another truly fantastic and really affordable moisturiser with a wonderfully super-whipped texture. (I’m crazy for some of the new textures in cosmetics – cream-gels push my buttons, too.) The word ‘illuminating’ is pretty key, here: it really delivers radiance which, under foundation or tinted moisturiser, makes skin appear youthful – because of the way it bounces light off the face. (Without being ‘sparkly’, NB.) The SPF15 is useful on cloudy days, probably not enough for when the sun comes out, but come winter this will be a skincare staple
Mauli Oils, £44 for 130 ml. I like my body oils earthy and grounding: I spend so much of my time living ‘in my head’ that I need something to tether me to Planet Earth. Bodycare can be amazing for that. Introducedto me at a SpaceNK Open Day, Mauli Rituals offer natural and organic products hand-crafted by Ayurvedic practitioners in India and aromatherapists in the UK – and they are truly a treat for the senses. The Body Oils are probably my favourites, in the range, and I’m hard-pressed to choose between Serenity (designed to balance Pitta energy and pacify a fiery mood, with its sandalwood, bergamot, lavender, lime, spearmint and rose absolute), and Surrender (brilliant before bedtime, blending chamomile, ylang ylang, frankincense, geranium, vetiver and spikenard). Really, really looking forward to exploring more of this range.
Eco Tan Winter Skin Gradual Tanning Moisturiser, £28.95 for 200 ml at www.amazon.co.uk.
I discovered this Australian organically-certified tanner at 2016’s Natural and Organic Products Show – and I’m loving it: a great addition to the list we recently published here, and a ‘keeper’ for me. Really ‘slippy’, the caramel-tinted cream-gel has great blendability because there’s plenty of ‘playtime’ while you cover your legs. (The only bit I ever both with, however.) The colour is truly realistic, there’s absolutely no smell and I find that topping up every three to four days is keeping my legs super-realistically lightly golden. The tube’s lasting absolutely ages and should see me through summer, I think. (This whole range impressed me at the show and I’ve fingers crossed it becomes more widely available here.)