I’m always ready for a bit of a skincare and make-up refresh in the spring. We might want a lighter-weight moisturiser. We definitely need an everyday SPF product since we’ll be gambolling about like a Timotei woman – weather permitting. That said, we still might want to look sunkissed while we tiptoe through the tulips with our bare legs out. There are so many excellent fake-tan options out there now but I’ve narrowed it down to my top three (I’m using all of them at the moment).
I don’t think make-up has to be all fresh and girlish for spring. You can still be a vamp in April. Let’s not forget that this time last year we weren’t allowed to do “indoor socialising”. We were deprived of opportunities for being sultry at parties. So it’s time to bring on the red lips, the black eyeliner and the dramatic mascaras. Smokin’ spring is a thing.
1. The spring red lip
Anastasia Beverly Hills Matte Lipstick in American Doll (£21; selfridges.com)
It’s always red-lip season as far as I’m concerned. I can’t handle any sort of shine with red lips – a glossy red can look a little old-fashioned in the worst way. A matt red looks much chicer, but its texture can be unkind to over-40 lips if the formulation isn’t just right. Anastasia Beverly Hills has solved this problem beautifully with this celebratory pillar-box scarlet that’s creamy but with no hint of sheen.
2. A hair-glossing styling cream
Larry King Hair Care A Social Life For Your Hair (£12; cultbeauty.co.uk)
Larry King’s hair washes have a massive fan club and rightly so – I’ve found the Liquid Hairbrush Conditioner (£42; cultbeauty.co.uk) transformative – but the styling products are just as wow-y. This product is a bit like a lightweight hand cream for hair. It will control flyaways on fine hair as well as smooth and moisturise dry curls. There’s a version called the Flyaway With Me Kit (£19; cultbeauty.co.uk) that comes with a handy teeny brush (a bit like a toothbrush), which I’ve found very useful for organising untidy ends and edges.
3. A shimmery nude lip colour
Deck of Scarlet Threeway Solid Lip Oil in Natural Nectar (£25; deckofscarlet.com)
This ultracool American brand with a slightly bonkers name has some real gems in the lip department. The conditioning lip oil is somewhere between a balm and a lip gloss. It’s the type of texture that usually needs reapplication every half an hour. But magically, this one stays put.
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4. A bold, false-effect mascara
MAC MACstack Mascara Mega Brush (£26; johnlewis.com)
I am always on the lookout for an excellent extending and thickening mascara that doesn’t clump. This new one gives instant, long and fat-lashed drama. It’s for you if, like me, you love the idea of lash extensions, but not enough to go to all the trouble (and expense) of getting them.
5. A sultry black liner
Lancôme Idôle Ultra Precise Waterproof Eyeliner (£19.50; boots.com)
Having trouble creating that feline look? This product is for you, my friend. It’s a liquid pen liner that’s smudgeproof and won’t flake off halfway through the day/night. It has the skinniest tip so you can get nice and close to the lash line and go over mistakes – should you make any.
6. A great budget mascara
Maybelline Colossal Curl Bounce Mascara (£10.99; boots.com)
Here is proof that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get high-performance mascara. This is my current favourite at the budget end. As well as fast, abundant lashes this gives an instant lash lift, which is excellent if you cannot be bothered with lash curlers (guilty).
7. A foolproof fake tan (for the face)
Tan-Luxe The Crème Advanced Hydration Self-Tan Face Crème (£40; boots.com)
This is the go-to brand for facial fake tanning if you are a bit impatient about the whole thing. The products are almost foolproof. The best known are the self-tanning drops (£15; boots.com), which you mix in to your moisturiser or serum. This latest product – a good moisturiser with the self-tan already added – requires even less skill. Slap it on at night, wake up with a post-minibreak face.
8. A foolproof fake tan (for your legs)
Isle of Paradise Medium Self-Tanning Oil Mist (£15.96; lookfantastic.com)
Get those tights off and put this oil on. This is one of the easiest fake tans I have ever used: just spritz it on and massage it in and have sunkissed pins that last for up to seven days.
9. An instant face bronzer – with benefits
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Whind Ourika Sun Instant Glow Tinting Water (£32; uk.whind.com)
This is an innovative and rather fabulous multitasking product from a new brand. It’s a hydrating serum that also contains a tint that gives an instant warmed-up look to skin. It’s also a subtle, gradual self-tanner, so if you use it every day you can build up some glow. I’m slightly obsessed with it and am currently using it under and over make-up. You can mix it with your moisturiser or serum face oil if you want to approach it more carefully than I am.
10. A scalp-conditioning serum
Arkive The Root-Ine Scalp Serum (£9.33; boots.com)
If you take care of your scalp you’ll have healthier, glossier hair growth. There’s been a huge increase in products for scalp care in recent times, particularly at the luxury end of the market. This hydrating, conditioning serum is one of my favourites from a new, nicely priced range from London superstylist Adam Reed.
11. The chic spring nail shade
Chanel Le Vernis nail polish in Riviera (£24; chanel.com)
Ever since the classic Rouge Noir shade – launched in 1995 and still going strong – Chanel has had the knack of coming up with the nail colour we didn’t know we wanted to wear. Looking not nearly as teenager-ish at it sounds, this new pastel yellow varnish is an instant, chic manicure update.
12. A light but hard-working moisturiser
Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Lift and Firm Day Cream (£66; johnlewis.com)
Ceramides – which toughen up and nourish the skin’s barrier so it keeps the moisture in – are a bit of a fashionable ingredient now. But Elizabeth Arden has been a champion of ceramide for some time with its award-winning Ceramide Capsules. Here, this skin-strengthening molecule appears in an ultralight gel-texture moisturiser. Perfect if you want to move away from a rich cream but still need something seriously efficacious.
13. A lightweight concealer
Rose Inc SoftLight Luminous Hydrating Concealer (£23; net-a-porter.com)
I’ve been impressed by the make-up collection created by the British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. It’s exceptional quality for mid-priced slap. The blushers and foundations have been in regular use at my house and the concealer I now can’t do without. Lightweight yet with very decent coverage, it deletes dark circles without a hit of cakeyness.
14. A sheer foundation
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Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation (from £34; spacenk.com)
I am so happy to see more lightweight, glowy, age-friendly foundations coming onto the beauty shelves. Those high-coverage matt bases do most of us no favours. This gives you everything you want from a tinted moisturiser: a sheer, natural finish but with a little more cover.
15. A luxury body scrub
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Resurfacing Body Scrub (£48; johnlewis.com)
The ExfoliKate facial product from this brand is in every beauty editor’s bathroom cabinet because it guarantees skin glow. Now we have the body version of this gently exfoliating goo just in time for a naked-limbed spring. Rejoice!
16. A face-saving make-up mousse
Maybelline Instant Anti Age Perfector 4-in-1 (£13.99; superdrug.com)
This product promises an awful lot for under £14, and if you are one of the many right now with post-Covid skin (battered and wan in my case), it’s a face-saver. Uneven skin tone is blurred, open pores are concealed and there’s a lovely velvety finish.
17. A seasonal facial oil
De Mamiel Spring Facial Oil (£85; demamiel.com)
Yes, a very big price tag for a small bottle of oil. But Annee de Mamiel, its creator, makes the finest organic botanical facial oils on the planet. This one is designed to brighten and clarify the skin. It’s packed with antioxidants and a beautiful-smelling blend of citrus and herb extracts. A massive treat to massage in at night.
18. A nourishing body lotion
Weleda Skin Food Body Lotion (£14.95; weleda.co.uk)
I do love a bit of shine for my shins and this intensive moisturiser will give legs and arms a gentle glow. Great for seriously dry and even eczema-prone skins, but a pleasure to use for everyone.
19. A glow-boosting cleanser
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Trinny London Be Your Best Enzyme Balm Cleanser (£32; trinnylondon.com)
There are so many balm cleansers out there but very few that thoroughly take off all your slap, and even fewer that don’t leave your skin feeling slightly waxy. This is a rare type that leaves your face squeaky clean yet not stripped, and with a bonus bit of gentle exfoliation thrown in – always useful for making lines appear less prominent and for general radiance.
20. An everyday SPF
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF50+ (£17.99; superdrug.com)
Sunscreen is not just for beach holidays, as I’ve said 1,000 times before on these pages, but you need something featherlight for daily use. Nor is this the first time I’ve mentioned this product, but it offers the best everyday protection you can get – certainly at this price point.
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