Sarah loves... August 2017

Soigné botanical nail lacquer/£11 I’m invariably in too much of a rush before I go out to spend time doing my nails properly: I do apply a base coat but then I need a lacquer that will cover satisfactorily in one swoop. One of my favourite polishes turned out to be fine in the Professional version but patchy in the consumer one even with two/three coats (I had just bought multiple supplies too, grrrrr!). So I foraged in the beauty cupboard and found this. Eureka! Dib dab, stroke, stroke, wave fingers in the air and off to a very charming lunch party in Devon, looking – ahem! – much more soignée. I like the taupe-y grey colours, particularly Mica and Crépuscule, but there are oodles to choose from.

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Advanced Day Cream/£37 for 50ml

I have a great fondness for this Australian natural skincare company and use several of their products, notably Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum, which is a non-negotiable must. Now, it’s partnered by Advanced Day Cream, which I’m happy to say is suiting my dry mature skin very well indeed. It’s deliciously light, almost floaty, but packs a hydrating punch as well as providing an excellent base for foundation, or more likely tinted moisturiser these summer days. (I’m in the country at the moment with my horses, with hay in my hair and weeds in my flowerbeds…) I’m always sceptical of skincare claims to leave complexion ‘looking visibly glowing’ but, actually, it’s not wide of the mark as it looks instantly fresher and calmer. This cream won’t change your life but it could make your skin very happy.

PediCurve Pedicure Foot File/£39.99

I seem to be hooked up on techie things this month, which is odd as I’m usually hopeless with them and put off testing for months as I did with this.   So let me tell similar souls – it is the simplest thing ever and really rather brilliant. I have used an old-fashioned foot buff since I can remember. Well, that’s consigned to the bin. I couldn't quite believe how easy and effective this is. My only hurdle came trying to detach the click-on heads (you get two, one fine, one coarser), which do need a bit of determination. Apart from that minor cavil, I’m super-pleased.

Dafni Hair Straightening Ceramic Brush/£120

Truth to tell I was a bit grumpy by the time I got to the Amazon Christmas in July show, somewhere up in the City of London. So when a polite young man asked if he could demo a revolutionary hair-straightening device, I fear I may have growled. Slapped hand, Sarah. Kobi Rabi, husband of Dafni’s co-inventor Sharon, an electrical engineer, forbore to say what a mess my caught-in-the-rain-frizzy mop looked; he just set to work, lifting small-ish sections and very slowly moving the heated brush from root to tip. OMG! From frizz to fab in about five minutes. My very thick, shoulder length bob, which I had washed and styled (sort of) 24 hours before, suddenly looked sleek, slightly flipped up at the ends (he showed me how to do that) and the highlights gleamed like rays of sunshine.

Having been umbilically attached to my Babyliss Flawless Volume Hot Air Styler, £30, for nearly a decade, I now can’t do without the Dafni as well.

Tips: Use a heat protect spray. I never used hair straighteners but I understand the Dafni, which heats up in under a minute, operates at a constant lower temperature so as not to damage the hair.

Run the brush through your hair at a snail-like rate then, if you don't have a hot round brush to flip the ends (I do find it a bit easier but I’ve been doing it for years), you can cradle each section for a few seconds to persuade the ends out and up.

Do the top layers first, then smooth the underneath if you have time.   Working the back is slightly more demanding; so if you can find a gorgeous guy to do that for you, I recommend it.

Lipstick Queen Medieval/£22

This sheer deep rose tint, which Lipstick Queen Poppy King told me she named after the lip colour in paintings of medieval women saints, is not new. But it is most definitely a modern classic. I’m including it here as I find myself going online to order it - well two actually – simply because it is so comforting to have a single lipstick that will always do the trick. Perfectly. As the blurb says, your lips look naturally flushed, without looking ‘done’. And it has vitamin E, so it feels soft and nourishing on your lips. End of.