Every girl needs a straight-talking beauty companion and we’ve just found ours...

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You know that friend who’s your voice of reason, that invaluable shopping buddy who’s able to reign you in when you’re feeling your most thrifty or guide you along the beauty  counters when you’re feeling your most overwhelmed? Don’t have one? Well no matter, because with Sali and her words of wisdom at hand, you don’t actually need one.

Written by one the country’s best known and respected beauty journalists, Sali Hughes, the Guardian Beauty Editor and founder of salihughesbeauty.com  effectively decodes and explains all of beauty’s greatest mysteries and stumbling blocks with the authority, knowledge and level of detail testament to her years spent as a magazine editor, consultant, mother and lifelong beauty fan. From acne to what men want, the hilarious chapter on hair removal  to the essential walk of shame beauty ‘It Kit’, each chapter is laced with her trademark humour, honesty and wit with a hefty dose of common sense thrown in too to make her recommendations all the more practical.

MORE GLOSS: Our Pretty Honest interview with Sali Hughes

Truthful, funny and relatable, Sali tells it like it is when it comes to what products and treatments are worth splurging or saving on, what’s just clever marketing and what’s really worthy of hype. Whatever your age, skin type or skin tone, Sali’s got the perfect chapter of makeup tips and suggestions for you. It’s quite simply a must-read for anyone looking for straightforward, expertly researched advice that sifts through the BS and breaks beauty back down to its basics. This is what beauty journalism should be all about and we couldn’t recommend it more.

Pretty Honest: The Straight-Talking Beauty Companion by Sali Hughes, RRP £22 is available from  www.amazon.co.uk .

Images: Jake Walters