From super-luxe to budget buys, we're rounding up the best new beauty and wellness products to hit our desks, including a high-end CBD oil, a planet-friendly body wash for jus £3, a do-it-all oil and a UTI-busting supplement
We've been rushed off our feet in the GTG office this week - our first ever awards are taking place next week, so it's all go-go-go, but we still made time to indulge in our favourite activity - trying our new beauty products.
Here are the products that rocked our world this week, from less than £5 supermarket buys, to a face cream that costs £145 - it's all here.
79 Lux Golden Oil £68, 100ml
Loved by: Victoria Woodhall, Editorial Director
"This oil made by beauty and nutrition expert Karen Cummings-Palmer is a multivitamin for the skin. There are no ‘filler’ or carrier oils to make up the volume just the pure therapeutic dose goodness of marula, frankincense and rose oils. Combined, they improve elasticity, protect against environmental damage, heal, firm and calm inflammation.
"What I love about this is how fine it feels – not a hint of stickiness or clog-potential and it the smell of the oils is subtle, which I think reflects the quality of the ingredients. While it's great on the body and gives a kind of golden glow (how - I know not) it's really an everything oil. I accidentally used it as a face cleanser and it got every scrap of makeup off. I’ve been adding drops of it to my moisturiser, running it through my hair and using it all over after the bath. It’s expensive but the size is hefty and you really can use it for everything (Karen tells me she too uses it on the face). And if you haven’t yet tried her other product, the 79 Lux Ultra-Nourishing Balm, £46 which is a decadent moisturiser for very dry and eczema-prone skin, I suggest you do. This is cleverly formulated body care where you know you are getting the highest quality ingredients rather than simply buying marketing.
Love Beauty and Planet Coconut Water and Mimosa Flower Shower Gel, £3
Loved by: Melanie Macleod, digital writer
"I’m testing my writing skills a bit by attempting to write a full paragraph on a shower gel, but it’s not so much the actual product (though it is great) that I love, but the ethics behind this brand. The bottles are made from 100 per cent recycled materials, and the brand quantifies CO2 emissions at every step of production and taxes themselves for going over the goals set. The money then goes to support third-party programmes that help reduce landfill waste and overall carbon emissions. The shower gel itself is everything you want from something you use every day; delicately scented, delivering a hit of hydration and no fuss whatsoever."
Chanel Le Lift hand cream, £55
Loved by: Hayley Barnes, beauty assistant
"At the grand old age of 23, I’m possibly not the target market for the newest Chanel hand cream, Le Lift, but after stealing this from my mum I have fallen in love. I have exceptionally dry hands most of the time, so they really suffer when the weather turns, and Chanel has provided the perfect solution. Le Lift is intensely moisturising, containing shea butter and jojoba oil, plus botanical alfalfa concentrate, which apparently works as efficiently as retinol to smooth the skin and clear dead skin cells. Plus, it smells divine and is shaped in a beautifully-designed ergonomic egg which looks chic in any handbag - even if it's not a Chanel quilted number."
Skin Regimen Anti-Pollution Face Cleanser 150ml, £26
Loved by: Victoria Woodhall, Editorial Director
"When I heard that this new range targeted the unavoidable effects of urban life that can impact our skin – namely stress and pollution – and was formulated with the help of a neuroscientist specialising in the mind-skin connection I was already sold. The cream cleanser is fairly thick but with a gel-like smoothness, that means you can really work it into the pores. My skin really did feel beautifully cleansed and peachy without tightness.
"I’ve also been using the Tulsi Booster Oil (tulsi is an adaptogenic plant that helps you cope with stress) and the brilliant Microalgae Essence which is slightly viscous essence that’s like a glug of water for parched skin. Skin Regimen calls itself ‘Modern Plant Chemistry’. If you live a hectic life and want to fend off modern aggressors while not overloading your skin adding anything artificial unnecessary, this genderless range in eco-packaging is a good bet."
Loved by: Melanie Macleod, digital writer
"Before starting at Get The Gloss I’d been largely ignoring the trend for CBD. Despite being rather on the anxious side, I wasn’t convinced that CBD oil could soothe me. Then a little luxurious package including Haila’s CBD landed on my desk and I finally sat up and listened. High end white and gold packaging drew me in, and the velvety consistency meant that placing three drops under my tongue wasn’t unpleasant at all. It’s early days still, but I credit my recent deep sleeps with this high-grade, premium blend CBD Oil - I’m only sad I won’t be able to afford it again once my current bottle runs out."
Ole Henriksen Transform Plus Phat Glow Facial, £42
Loved by: Hattie Sloggett, beauty and wellness awards manager
"Now who doesn’t love a glowy complexion? I mean people spend a fortune on facials in salons and peels that strip all the baddies from your skin, but I may have found the DIY alternative. That's not to say that our wonderful friends at clinics across the country should be put out of a job, but it is to say that you maybe don’t need to sell the family jewels to get a fab facial more than twice a year. I present to you, Ole Henriksen’s Transform Plus Phat Glow Facial - this balmy beauty feels and smells divine which is really a winning combination when you're smothering something on your face. I often find my skin recoils at the mere sound of the weatherman at this time of year, so you will be pleased to know that she is glowing something fabulous due to my twice-weekly date with Mr Henrikson."
Code 8 Iconoclast Eyeshadow Palette Velvet Chrome, £45
Loved by: Ophelia Froud, associate editor
"I’m all about a palette- quick, easy for travel and a one-stop shop for makeup on the go. London-born brand Code 8 has been created with time in mind, making applying makeup quick and efficient to free us up to spend more time on what truly matters. The Code 8 palette gets added ticks from me for being vegan-friendly and paraben-free. The brand uses signature innovative 'Knead Technology', which mixes pre-baked pigments with almond and evening primrose oils. I found the shades intense and easy to blend, and best of all they stayed on so no reapplying every hour. The Velvet Chrome palette comes in pinky blue shades with highlighters and a smoke colour perfect for adding depth to the eye and they’ve added a helpful diagram on the back showing where to use them- more time saved! The palette also comes with a mirror long enough to use- other companies take note we need a mirror decent enough to apply our makeup."
Swiss BioEnergenics, D-Mannose Supplements, £11.97
Loved by: Hayley Barnes, beauty assistant
"UTIs often are an unfortunate circumstance of life as a woman, they come unexpectedly, without warning, and can leave you in searing pain. Like many, I’m pre-dispositioned to get them so I try to prevent them as much as I can in my health and lifestyle. D-Mannose supplement tablets, in my opinion, are a supplement every woman who has had a UTI should be taking daily. They consist of the sugar D-Mannose that the UTI-causing bacteria can latch on, and pass through you in your urine, rather than remaining attached to the bladder, or urinary tract walls. I have been taking D-Mannose for a number of months now and my infections have considerably lowered in frequency, plus when I have had an infection they aren’t nearly as painful."
Sensai Absolute Silk Cream, £145
Loved by: Hattie Sloggett, beauty and wellness awards manager
"That’s it! I can retire my search for a desert island must-have and relax with my feet up. You would be hard pushed to tempt me away from the most glorious face food I have ever dabbled in. Sensai’s Absolute Silk Cream (and Fluid, I might add) is a gift from the gods. Presented in a beautiful pearlescent white tub with an ombre gold bottom, this sterling find really does epitomise the simplistic luxury that we associate with Japanese beauty. My morning and evening face rituals have become something that I look forward to and relish in, taking my time to apply this heavenly product rather than slapping on a bit of old cream I found in a drawer. So thank you, to Sensai, for creating my favourite beauty product yet!"
Sisley Masque de Nuit Velours, £93
Loved by: Ophelia Froud, associate editor
"I was handed a sample of this to try at Heathrow at the Sisley stand before getting on a long haul flight. Curious to try out their latest mask as I’m a big fan of their Black Rose mask, I used it that night when I arrived in the US nine hours later. Overnight it made my skin good as new. No more parched, tired skin. It was restored, plumped and hydrated. I was hooked! It’s packed with thyme honey and shea butter and works through the night to repair and restore skin to recover it by morning. It also contains a cocktail of powerful plant-based active ingredients- macadamia and cottonseed oils, lokum butter, Japanese lilyturf and padina pavonica extracts, plus saffron flower. It can be used as an SOS mask in just ten minutes or like me, you can leave it on overnight and voila- no more jet-lagged dehydrated skin!"