www.neostrata.co.uk

It is usually by now that the summer tan has faded, and the post-sun pigmentation becomes visible, and we look duller for it- great. Neostrata’s Illuminating Serum literally does just that; illuminates the skin. It contains one of my favourite beauty ingredients, niacinamide (vitamin B3), which has shown time and time again, how effective it is at evening out the skin tone and brightening the skin. Not only that, it also strengthens the skins surface (perfect after an outdoorsy summer) and smooths seeping through dehydrated pores without causing blockages. I think this product could have been named ‘post-summer corrector’.

www.nataliyarobinson.co.uk

The central heating and being indoors more often can trigger some funny breakouts at this time of year, and the drier your skin is, the longer they take to heal (and can possibly leave a mark on the skin), so year on year I invest in the same, popular spot busting product that I have always used and didn’t think could be bettered. Well, I eat my words! I have found a replacement and it is nothing short of a miracle! The whole Quantum Botanika range has been designed to balance and protect the skin in a natural way. The spot solution, contains kaolin, a clay to draw out impurities, zinc to fight bacteria and salicylic acid to heal the skin and keep blemishes at bay. I have had some naughty spots crop up lately and this solution has taken a maximum of 2 days to get rid of them!! It’s unreal! It stinks but who cares? It works!

www.spacenk.com

I have written many times about the MASSIVE anti-aging benefits of retinol but they do not always come without their problems. Retinol should (usually) be introduced to the skin slowly i.e. every 3^rd day or so to begin with depending on the strength of the retinol, it can cause flaking to begin with and/or breakouts, and sometimes it’s just a long process to find the right one for you. However, this does not seem to be the case with Clark’s Retinol. Clark’s has managed to create a gentle yet powerful retinol to give you all the retinol benefits (smooth skin, even tone, reduction in lines, the list goes on…) without the retinol woes. It’s gentle enough to use am (an spf MUST be worn over the top) and pm if desired and contains soothing colloidal oatmeal to combat any aggravation. This serum is perfect for this time of year to brighten the complexion and keep those stubborn, flaky cells at bay!

www.3lab.com

Now this one, in its red, glass bottle and glistening gold flecked oil shining through, is so beautiful I almost didn’t want to use it, until I did, and then didn’t want to stop using it! It is the first face oil from 3LAB, developed over 3 years, under their mantra of ‘skincare meets science’ and it was certainly worth the wait. Packed with 24K Gold flecks, this oil sinks beautifully into the skin -no matter how tight or dry it is feeling, the gold works to calm sensitivities, protect against environmental, skin damaging free-radicals and reduce acne inflammation, not to mention the instant, luminous glow it gives you! Face oils seems to be getting a bit of a rough press lately, but I think this is totally unsubstantiated (depending on which oil, of course) – as a facialist, I have seen incredible skin benefits from using oils, and now, after a few weeks of using 3LAB’s oil myself, my own skin is softer and calmer than before. An absolutely gorgeous oil.

www.spacenk.com

We’ve all experienced sore, chapped lips at the start of winter but windy weather and thick, greasy lip balms aren’t a great combo for the hair. And, it is quite true, lip balms can become addictive when used all the time, besides that, you often don’t get any other benefit from them other than superficial moisture. As a lover of matte lipsticks, I am very conscious of how dry (or not) my lips are because matte lipstick on crusty lips is just ugh, so, I was very interested to try Liquid Collagen Lip. I have to say this one is almost addictive too, but only because it is so darn good! It naturally plumps the lips with a collagen water (no spicy lip gloss here!) and smooths out fine lines and wrinkles over time. Best of all, you can use alone or under lipstick/gloss/balm if you so wish! It’s about time our lips received a bit of beauty pampering!

www.spacenk.com

Pleeeease don’t stop using a daily spf just because it is not officially ‘summer’, the sun is out everyday we just can’t see or feel it quite so much during the winter! Protect your beautiful skin! EVY isn’t just any old sun cream though, it is a patented sunscreen range that has changed the face of sun protection. All in mousse form to penetrate deeper into the skin and avoid the much hated ‘heavy product on skin surface’ situation, EVY also strengthen the skin’s barrier function to better protect it from premature aging due to the sun, heat and wind (yes, wintery wind is damaging too). The face mousse also has the added benefit of containing skin-plumping hyaluronic acid and collagen, skin protecting vitamins C and E, and healing allantoin. It doesn’t clog the skin, it helps to smooth the skin and it gives you up to 6 hours of protection???!! Absolutely incredible, and my new best friend.

www.elementalherbology.com

To be honest, this lovely serum can be used at anytime of the year, it’s light enough to use during the warmer months and soothing and nourishing enough to use throughout the whole year. The reason I recommend it right now though, is because it is incredibly nourishing and hydrating for the skin -often not found in a product of such a light consistency, and light is good when the central heating has just kicked in! It contains all the natural goodness you’d expect from Elemental Herbology, including Green Tea and Raspberry Stem Cells to smooth the skin and reduce free-radical damage (i.e. pollution and sun damage) and it just seems to make the skin happy and less confused!

www.heavenskincare.com

We all know the benefit of ‘beauty sleep’ but the problem is, we more often than not, aren’t getting enough of it. Well Deborah Mitchell has revamped her hugely popular Overnight Success cream and added in Prism Technology , which is not at all faddy as it may sound; the Prism Technology not only defends against UV, pollution, free-radical damage, it counteracts it and causes the skin to produce more collagen and encourages cell renewal after being exposed to light. This also includes light from screens which is incredibly more ageing than you would think. Basically, Deborah has created beauty sleep in a jar and it is dreamy!