Jo Loves... December
Jo loves… a new lash-booster, a seasonal ‘skin blitz’, is a convert to minerals - and pampers her extremities with some new finds...
DHC Perfect Pro Double Protection Mascara
I have really scrawny lashes. As I’ve written before on this site, most mascaras just ‘skate’ off them, without depositing any volumising/lengthening ingredients at all. And I know that it’s all down to the wand: grippy rubber wands work well, as do fine wands – but the ‘dead bee’ shape? Useless. So: my new favourite mascara is this, from DHC. It has a really, really skinny small brush that makes it possible to access even the fiddliest little lashes, wrapping them in water-resistant polymer ‘tubes’. This is a Japanese technology (Kanebo first used it, and Clinique deploy it now) which means that to remove it, you use hot water on a cotton pad or flannel. But till then, it not only stays firmly put, but also defines and curls my pathetic little lashes so they look – well, not just ‘normal’, but pretty lush, actually.
• DHC Perfect Pro Double Protection Mascara at www.dhcuk.co.uk/£13.50 – buy here
When you catch yourself sniffing your hands and reapplying a hand cream just because of the smell – well, in my book that’s a great hand cream. But this smoothing new hand offering from Aussie brand Aesop – we like to think of them as ‘the thinking woman’s beauty range’ – also delivers rich moisture, yet passes the ‘bathroom door handle test’ with flying colours: you can apply, and it sinks in fast enough that you’re not trapped in the loo with hands that can’t grip the handle. The scent ingredient I’m hooked on is vetiver – I am a self-confessed vetiver-aholic – which is of course very woody and grounding. Not everyone’s tasse de thé, but I’m carrying this everywhere with me and hand-sniffing is definitely keeping me calm during this Christmas countdown.
• Aesop Reverence Hand Balm at www.beautyexpert.com/£18 for 75 ml – buy here (and you get 10% off that by entering the code BEAUTYBIBLE at checkout)
ESPA Lifestage Net8 Serum
We’re longstanding fans of Susan Harmsworth’s ESPA range – but this is probably my favourite launch yet. At this time of year I often feel skin needs a bit of extra ‘oomph’, and add in a serum under my moisturiser, morning and night. And this limited edition serum probably my favourite yet, with its potent blend of eight concentrated natural ingredients including licorice root extract and something called Himalayan fleece vine. This glides on beautifully, smells divine and has without question evened out my skintone and got rid of early winter dullness. It’s steepishly-priced, but if your budget’s generous, a great skin-vestment. There are more Lifestage products in the pipeline, a little bird tells us – can’t wait.
• ESPA Lifestage Net8 Serum at www.harveynichols.com/£100 for 30 ml – buy here
I am as foot-obsessed as ever: I wash my feet before bedtime every night (at the recommendation of a Chinese doctor I used to see, who insists it wards off colds and ‘flu), and then cream them thoroughly, deeply massaging areas where hard skin tends to build up (superpedicurist Bastien Gonzales maintains it helps break down those layers). And I’ve become deeply enamoured of this, because it’s really softening without being greasy – and smells pleasantly, lightly citrussy, rather than of menthol or camphor (as so many foot treatments do, and which I know some people can find off-putting). It’s so affordably-priced that you truly can be lavish! Which is the whole idea.
• Dr.Organic Virgin Olive Oil Foot & Heel Cream at www.hollandandbarrett.com/£6.19 for 125 ml – buy here
Unlike Sarah, I’ve never really been a convert to mineral make-up – till now. This innovation from Clarins (who are doing some very interesting things on the make-up front right now) has a silky texture and is really, really covering: you unclick the gold lid, pull out the kabuki brush – and with the teeniest amount of buffing-and-swirling of the powder onto skin, imperfections like red veins (from which I suffer badly) are completely disguised, quite miraculously. What I like in particular that to cover the ‘holes’ which release the mineral powder, there’s a little plastic disc – which means that unlike most, the powder doesn’t go absolutely everywhere when you take the lid off. It’s a bit bulky for carrying round during the day, but to be honest the finish is so impressively long-lasting that I don’t even need to. It hasn’t replaced my usual By Terry Cover Expert liquid foundation entirely, but when I’m in a hurry this is a super-fast fix.
• Clarins Skin Illusion Loose Powder Foundation at www.boots.com/£28 – buy here