Treat yourself to luxury party prep, or save
those pennies for when you’re out – you choose…
Dazzling eyes
A big hit for winter is ‘paint-box’ eyes.
Update your make-up collection with a new eyeshadow palette with vibrant and
smoky colours. We love the NARS New Wave Palette ($63; spacenk.com), with its
mix of matt and shimmer tones, but we’re counting our change with the Vivo
Colour Block Palette and its 12 shades ($6.5; available at Tesco). Apply a dark
colour to the inside and outside of your eyes, then blend in a contrasting
lighter shade to the middle of your lids for the hottest party look.
The
NARS New Wave Palette
Luscious lips
The more expensive the lipstick, the more
pigment it contains, so the colour will stay on your lips for longer. Blood-red
lips never go out of fashion and Chanel’s Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick ($40;
boots.com) is a classic. When you’re on a budget, a lip stain will give you the
same effect, and if you want to add shine, use a sheer lip gloss on top.
Revlon’s Just Bitten Kissable Lipstain Balm ($12.9; Superdrug) is a
double-ended wand with a lip stain and a silky balm in one to add extra shine
and moisture to your lips.
Chanel’s
Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick
Healthy skin
If your skin’s pale and lacklustre the
morning after, apply a revitalising mask for 10 minutes. Açai berry, papaya and
pine bark extract are the active ingredients in The Organic Pharmacy’s Enzyme
Peel Mask ($78.5, 40ml; theorganicpharmacy. com). Dead skin cells and leftover
make-up grime are lifted to reveal soft and wrinkle-free skin. If you’re
susceptible to breakouts, our thrifty find is Aubrey Organics’ Sea Buckthorn
& Cucumber Moisturising Mask ($14.5, 118ml; aubreyorganicsuk.co. uk). It
clears away dead skin cells and debris and cools and calms your skin, leaving
it feeling smooth and hydrated.
The
Organic Pharmacy’s Enzyme Peel Mask
Base beautiful
Natural mineral foundations have great
staying power, saving regular trips to the loos to touch-up your make-up. It’s
also better for your skin. Build up the powder in layers with your brush to
suit the level of coverage you’d like. We love Lily Lolo’s Mineral Foundation
SPF15 ($20; lilylolo.co. uk), which is half the price of the equally brilliant
Bare Minerals Original SPF15 Foundation ($38.5; bareminerals.co.uk).
Lily Lolo’s Mineral Foundation SPF15
Fingertip glamour
Glitter and sparkles are mandatory at
Christmas time. Last year, crackle polish was the ‘in’ thing; this year we love
magnetic polish. Simply apply two coats of nail varnish and, before the second
layer dries, hover the magnet provided over the nail to attract the magnetic
filings and create the jazzy design. Nails Inc’s The Strand Star Magnetic
Polish ($20.9; nailsinc.com) and Barry M’s Neptune Sea Magnetic Nail Effects
Polish ($7.9; barrym.com) both create a festive star shape.
Nails
Inc’s The Strand Star Magnetic Polish
Barry
M’s Neptune Sea Magnetic Nail Effects Polish
Fresh looks
Telltale signs of late nights and too many
cocktails show up under your eyes, where skin is most translucent. A good
night’s sleep and plenty of water works wonders, but a little under-the-eye
cream at night can also help. Avoid using creams containing alcohol as it’s too
harsh for the delicate skin here. Caffeine, fennel, aloe and parsley are
natural rejuvenating ingredients. Skinceuticals AOX+ Eye Gel ($112;
skinceuticals.co.uk), contains antioxidant vitamin C and caffeine to reduce
under-eye puffiness, but Laid Bare’s budget-friendly Pack Your Bags Tighten
& Lighten Eye Cream is a cinch at just $12.9 (mypure.co.uk). This bargain
beauty is free from chemical nasties and contains aloe vera to soothe tired
eyes
Skinceuticals
AOX+ Eye Gel
