Check out our pick of the most useful mobile
phone apps, to help you look and feel your best.
Organic Beauty by Bliss Software, free
Combine your love of food and your love of
beauty with this low-tech app. It shows you how to use natural ingredients from
your kitchen cupboard to cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize your skin. You can
scroll through food items to learn their often weird and wonderful beautifying
benefits. For example, find out how to make the a softening facemask with a
cabbage, and how to use the water left over from cooking vegetables as a
face-wash.
Best tip!
Ginger is great for fighting headaches.
Mash some ginger, squeeze out the juice, add some sesame oil and mix. Rubbing a
small amount onto your temples can help soothe the pain.
EWG Sunscreen Buyer’s Guide, free
How effective is your sun cream? This app
shows you the products that will best protect your skin this summer. It
explains what sun protection factors UVA (the sun’s dominant ray that
penetrates the deep layers of skin and contributes to ageing and wrinkles) and
UVB (which penetrates the outer layer of the skin causing sunburn) mean in
simple terms. It reviews 1,700 products – including sports, baby and make-up
sun protection. And it lists toxic ingredients you should avoid, plus the most
effective UVA and UVB filters (the best are zinc and titanium). You’ll need an
internet connection to use this app.
Top product!
This Aubrey Organics Natural Sun Green Tea
SPF30 Sunblock ($22. 118ml; aubreyorganicsuk.co.uk) scores “1” on the EWG
sunscreen rating system, so it comes highly recommended. It’s an all-natural,
(UVA/UVB) mineral sunscreen, and its green tea delivers antioxidant power to
fight free-radical sun damage.
Beauty Steals by The Beauty Bible, $3
From the Beauty Bible authors Sarah Stacey
and Jo Fairley, this helps you keep your fingers firmly on the beauty pulse.
The experts use a simple daisy symbol to rate products for their botanical
ingredients, the absence of synthetic chemicals and being certified organic.
There’s also make-up tips and product recommendations.
Best tip!
Pump three drops of Liz Earle Superskin
Concentrate ($60 for 28 ml; uk.lizearle.com) into the Liz Earle Cleanse &
Polish Hot Cloth Cleanse ($21 for 100 ml). Massage this into your skin to melt
away make-up and grime, and finish by wiping your face with a muslin cloth.
Natural Beauty Tips, by LikeBit Creations, free
This gives you excellent advice for
treating skin problems such as blackheads, oily skin and dry lips. All the
advice is suitable for sensitive skin and the beauty tricks are quick and
effective. When you find a tip you like you can save it as a favourite, so your
tried-and-tested remedies are always at your fingertips. This app is also
available via itunes.co.uk and the Android Marketplace.
Best tip!
Gently steaming your face once a week
removes dirt and keeps your skin soft and healthy. You can add a few drops of
eucalyptus oil or Indian neem oil to the water. After steaming, splash cold
water onto your face and gently pat your skin dry. It’s a brilliant deep-clean,
and a highly effective remedy for blackhead, too.
Beauty Tips from DailyGlow.com, by Everyday Health, free
Get a new beauty tip every day with this
fantastic app. It covers everything from selecting the right bronzer, to
on-trend hair-dos. Select “Problem Solvers” and you can scroll through a long
list of skincare, haircare and personal care topics. For example, when you
click on “cellulite”, you get a detailed explanation of what it is, how it can
be treated and the most common myths explained. We love the “blogs” section,
covering the wide selection of beauty topics as featured on Dailyglow.com.
Best tip
You can make a simple a hair-repair mask at
home by mixing two eggs with five teaspoons of olive oil. Massage it into your
hair, and then let it sit for half an hour before washing it out. The oils and
proteins strengthen and add shine.
