There's a new Kate Somerville sensitive skin range that everyone can get excited about among our list of new loves this week. Plus candles, fragrance, face masks and hand-sanitizer. Just about sums up lockdown really
Sometimes when it comes to skincare it pays to par it all back and that's exactly the ethos behind Kate Somerville's much anticipated DeliKate collection; it only includes three products but it's been making serious waves in the beauty world - you only need to see the waitlist to realise that!
If the warm weather has got you dreaming of a tan, we've reviewed a new self-tan range that rivals the original icons, plus we tried a couple of perfumes lovely enough to make us throw our rule of not buying fragrance before trying out the window.
Kate Somerville Delikate Recovery Cream, £69
Loved by: Victoria Woodhall, editorial director
"Sensitive, stressed and simply ‘over-producted’ skin rejoice: Delikate is a three-product fragrance-free range focusing on calming redness, repairing the skin barrier, healing and soothing. There’s a Recovery Serum , £70, and a Soothing Cleanser , £33, but the hero for me is the Recovery Cream , £69. Full of ceramides, soothing peptides and anti-inflammatory ginger, it’s quite firm to the touch but melts into the skin beautifully. It feels like a cream that has your back when you’ve maybe overdone it on the actives and acids and or have had a laser treatment or peel. I’ve been cycling it with a retinol and it completely takes away the dryness.
"This is a cream that we all need for those SOS days when our poor faces need a break. The sheer beauty of the packaging will make you want to keep it close. It launches on May 28 on Cult Beauty and the is open."
Von Norten Black Collection Candles, £43
Loved by: Hattie Sloggett, GTG contributor
"The thing I love most about candles is their ability to take you away to long-forgotten lands, poignant times in your life or to your favourite holiday spots. During lockdown I have been lighting A LOT of candles for this very reason. I recently discovered the delicious Black Collection from Van Norton; these eco-friendly, vegan, made in England beauties are as aesthetically pleasing on the eye as they are appealing to the nose. My favourites are Mediterranean Fig & Olive , which delightfully, takes me back to summering in the Greek Islands, whilst still being Covid-19 safe in my living room, and Oakwood & Cedar , which helps bring the outside into my office by evoking the smells of hot summer nights and campfires in the woods. So, as I say, when you can't travel...... Candle!"
Elizabeth Arden White Tea with Mandarin Blossom, EDT £40 for 100ml
Loved by: Victoria Woodhall, editorial director
"It’s hard to buy perfume without being able to test it, but this is such a shoo-in for fans of uplifting, fresh green scents (me!) that it's one you can buy on spec and feel pretty pleased. I liked the original White Tea which launched in 2017; it’s a perfect everyday light scent with iris, musk, sea breeze and citrus notes. Now the addition of mandarin blossom turns it from everyday staple to standout. Yes, it’s as relaxed as the original, but with a crisp fresh hit that revives the senses laid over mid-notes of aromatic white tea and a base of grounding musk.
"Fragrance has become so important to many of us for sensory stimulation in our same-same days. This is one good value pick-me-up that might just take pole position in your fragrance wardrobe."
Skin Glow London Glow Mask Under Eye Treatment, £8 for a pair
Loved by: Melanie Macleod, digital writer
"Wearing these made me look like I had a glowy, sparkly Instagram filter on - and when I took them off it still looked like I had one of the skin smoothing filters on. Made from hydrogel (and thus lovely and cooling) these shimmering patches are infused with vitamin C, turmeric and hyaluronic acid to soothe and hydrate the delicate undereye area. I especially liked them because they were thick the whole way across - I hate it when undereye patched peter off into a thin tail which pokes into my eye. There's a full sheet mask in the range too which I look forward to trying."
MGC Derma Facial Serum For Hydration, £85
Loved by: Marie-Louise Pumfrey
"I’ve never tried CBD in skincare before and so was intrigued to give this a go. Apparently it has miraculous results for sufferers of dry skin, like me. I’ve been using it for a couple of days and the effect is instantaneous. My skin is soft, hydrated and glowing. It has a cream-like gel texture and smells really good; clean and citrussy. MCG Derma uses the highest quality CBD formulation, which delivers a concoction of vitamins A, B, D and E – plus vitamin F which strengthens the skin moisture barrier for added protection. It’s also worked excellently for my 20-year-old daughter who suffers from extremely dry skin, caused by the anti-acne treatment Roaccutane which she was on three years ago. Needless to say, I’m struggling to get this serum back off her."
Byredo Unnamed, £170 for 100ml
Loved by: Hattie Sloggett, GTG contributor
"Recently relaunched in limited edition packaging, Byredo's iconic Unnamed comes in totally blank packaging which leaves us ‘free to create our own associations, with no semantic boundaries’ (i.e. because it doesn't have a name it's free of preconceived ideas). This is about as cool as it gets for a fragrance addict like me. It comes in the trademark Byredo bottle, with a perfectly white completely blank label so you can create your own connotations, name it yourself or even add a message as a gift. You are provided with a pack of black letters in the Byredo font. However, this launch includes fluorescent blue, green and pink letters too for the more outlandish among us. Notes-wise I picked up pink pepper and mossy firs. I wonder what notes you will discover while dowsing yourself in this uber-cool fragrance.
Lisa Franklin Pro-Effect Lip FX, £32
Loved by: Melanie Macleod, digital writer
"This lip treatment claims to increase volume, hydration and softness as a safe alternative to lip fillers. Plumping ingredients include portulaca pilosa extract (also known as kiss me quick) which improves the texture of lips and caffeine to stimulate blood flow to contour and define lips, plus giving the balm a cooling sensation on application. I sadly don't look like Kylie Jenner following a week of use, but my lips are lovely and smooth and I'm particularly fond of the applicator - one edge is covered in little bumps to exfoliate the lips. It's non-sticky, unscented and a pleasure to use - plus it makes my lips nice and glossy which is never a bad thing."
Lusso Tan Self Tan Lotion for Face and Body, £19.50
Loved by: Victoria Woodhall, editorial director
"This organic, fragrance-free fake tan was created out of frustration by three Belfast-born sisters, who couldn't find a good tanning lotion that looked natural, was odourless, long-lasting, fast-drying, didn’t smell, was streak-free, organic and not ridiculously pricey. The result is Lusso tan, which launched this year and it’s a brand to watch.
"I have quite pale skin and went for the lotion in Medium; I did two applications with a mitt to get a good glow and three days in it’s still going strong. I also tried the Rapid Tan Mousse £19.50 which gives a lovely instant gold coverage.
"Both have a pleasant caramel colour, sink in straight away, don’t transfer to your clothes so you can get dressed straight afterwards. I’d also recommend the tan removing Bath Bomb £8.50. I went off-piste and used it as soap on my hands for spills after I used my fingers to apply it to my face. Good value, great results."
Alleven London Colour Shield – Shade Amber, £38
Loved by: Jemma Thompson, digital designer
"I have noticeably uneven skin tone around my one side of my chest and sometimes in summer, I feel a little self-conscious when I want to wear vest tops and summer dresses. I’ve tried fake tan but it doesn’t even me out, makeup worked great but the transfer left on my clothes was heart-breaking. I was a little lost until I heard about the body concealer that won’t budge from Beyoncé’s MUA Sir John (have you seen her silky legs?). With two new additions added to the line-up of seven shades from fair to deep, this spray-on and wash-off body enhancer seamlessly blurs imperfections and gives you the most natural glow.
"Thanks to the colour-adapting pigments that match your skin tone, it’s basically an airbrush in a can. What I love the most is the quick-drying transfer-resistant formula which lasts all day during summer weather, I’ve yet to test in water but it claims to be resistant. I might in London this bank holiday weekend, but I’ll look like I’ve stepped off a beach in the south of France. If you’re after a skin perfector that leaves you with luminous lit from within skin, then try this."
Bybi Clean Hands Moisturising Antibacterial Spray, £5.50
Loved by: Melanie Macleod, digital writer
"I'm something of a hipster when it comes to hand sanitiser , in that I was using anti-bacterial hand gel way before it was the done thing. I particularly love sickly-sweet ones from Bath and Body Works in America (I'll always fondly remember the one that was called Blueberry Cake Donut). But my collection took an altogether more chic turn when Clean Hands came into my life. Vegan skincare brand Bybi's hand-san offering lives in a baby pink bottle with gold lettering (so far, so cool), smells of lavender and contains 65 per cent alcohol to reduce levels of bacteria at the same time as soothing my hands. I especially like that it's a spray formula that absorbs in seconds. When time eventually comes to get back on the tube, I know this will be in my bag."
Leighton Denny Back to Nature nail polish collection, £60 for six or £12 each
Loved by: Marie-Louise Pumfrey, GTG contributor
"Just before lockdown I wisely had my gels removed professionally and took a welcome break from my gel polish addiction. I’ve suffered horrible weak nails ever since and have kept them natural and short for the last two months. Now a little revived and desperate for pretty nails again I thought I’d dry some old fashioned polish, ideally without lots of nasty chemicals. I’d read that Leighton Denny had launched The Back to Nature Collection, which is a low chemical and vegan-friendly polish formula in lots of appealing colours. It’s made with plant ingredients such as maize, wheat and potato with none of the traditional solvents. I’m a novice at painting my own nails; polish goes everywhere and they always chip within 24 hours. But undeterred, I set up a nail spa in front of the TV last weekend and had great success. Fortunately, this collection has a wider brush, designed to make the application easy and I managed to achieve a fairly convincing manicure and four days later they are still going strong."
Beached State Of Hydrate Leave-On Mask, £19
Loved by: Jemma Thompson, digital designer
"For all my fellow lovers of multitasking beauty, pay attention and let me intro you to a face mask that does it all. A pre-workout mask? Check. A daily moisturiser? Sure is. DIY spa-glow in ten mins? You got it. This leave-on mask gives you a much-needed hit of hydration, especially for my dehydrated sun dazed skin at the moment. Made with ingredients from a 97 per cent natural origin, this vegan skin saviour contains a mix of ten plant and nut extracts high in AHAs, vitamin C and antioxidants that work to keep dead skin cells at bay and transform skin from lack-lustre to luscious and radiant."
Starface Space Wash, £13
Loved by: Melanie Macleod, digital writer
"Starface landed earlier this year with their undeniably cute star-shaped pimple patches and the US brand has just launched into a new category with this bold yellow foaming cleanser - just seeing it in the shower brightens up my mornings. It's a plant-based solution (SLS and paraben-free) to gently treat acne-prone, sensitive skin. It has a no-frills formula that leaves my face feeling squeaky clean, thanks ingredients including white willow bark extract (a natural salicylic acid alternative that exfoliates to help prevent clogged pores), sage leaf extract to heal skin and holy basil to extract to help treat and prevent skin infections. It's not the fanciest cleanser I've tried but if you're looking for something to slot easily into your routine I recommend it whole-heartedly."