SPRAY A LITTLE SUNSHINE

 

 

A cooling body spritz is handy to keep in your bag as the weather warms up. It makes you
feel – and smell – refreshed and revived, and usually a spritz is less intense and heavy than a perfume, which is what you want on sunny days.

The new Avon Sunshine Kiss, £3.50 (avonshop.co.uk) is a body mist with scent of starfruit, Hawaiian plumeria and white amber, which isn’t too floral or sickly – it’s light and refreshing enough to spray over your clothes and hair to give a zesty, exotic scent.

TIME TO COPY KATE

 

 

Shades that seem garish in winter are easier to wear in the sunshine. With this in mind, the new Kate Moss collection from Rimmel London is perfect for warm summer days and nights. The Kate Bright SS15 Collection is five lip colours and five nail polishes in very wearable bright shades. Inspired by exotic beaches and stunning sunsets, Lasting Finish Lipstick, £5.49, comes in tangerine, pinks and fuchsia tones, and Salon Pro With Lycra Nail Polish, £4.49 (Boots) comes in Red Ginger, Angel Wing, Green Dragon, Hip Hop and Soul Session. Hip Hop is the perfect shade for toes – an orangey-red that looks great with a light tan.

MULTI-TASKING MUST-HAVE

 

Prickly heat, stings, sunburn and dry and irritated skin can all be hazards of warm summer weather. That all sounds a bit bleak, but it is of course worth some minor ailments to feel the sun on our skin.

And most summer niggles can be eased with a little tube of miracle gel - yes, there is one product that will banish all these irritations quickly and effectively. Aloe Vera is often overlooked as a natural treatment that really works. It gets lost amongst all the much fancier creams and lotions we have these days - but this classic is an unsung hero that works a treat.

It's inexpensive and perfect for taking on holiday in a little tube like this Passion For Natural Aloe Vera Gel, £7.69 (Boots). It cools and soothes, doesn't block pores, dries and absorbs quickly and can also be used on children, so one tube will work for the whole family.

This sounds like we're big fans - and we are. It's a brilliant bargain, definitely one to pack or pop into your handbag as we head into summer.

 

NEW MAKE-UP UNDER £10!

 

It's always good to find a new brand that's great quality and great value - it all adds up to a guilt-free treat.

La Splash is the latest US brand to make it to our shores, and it looks like it's going to be as huge here as it is in its homeland.

Lip Couture, £8 (love-makeup.co.uk) is the only product available here at the moment, but it's pretty special. It's a liquid lip colour that dries matte and stays on for hour. It doesn't transfer to a glass if you're having a drink, and it's waterproof, so you can even wear it swimming and sunbathing.

It comes in nine shades, including Forbidden, a rosy pink, and Innocent Vixen, a tawny nude that looks great with a slick of gloss.

These lip colours can be drying, so it best to use gloss or lip balm on top and make sure lips are well moisturised underneath - that way it won't dry out and will last fresh all day and evening.

STAY COOL WITH NEW BODY BUYS

 

It may be hard to envisage at the moment, but we’re edging into warmer weather and soon
cooling, refreshing body products will be bliss to use.

This new collection from Sanctuary Spa is all based around cucumber extract, which has a soothing effect on the skin. It’s well-priced – everything’s under £8 – and will be delicious to cool down skin after being in the sun.

Cooling Body Sorbet, £7, is a light, fresh body moisturiser that absorbs quickly, leaving no stickiness behind. It has waterlily, cucumber water and aloe vera to moisturise and soothe the skin. Cooling Shower Drench, £7, is infused with watermelon, cucumber extract and menthol to cleanse and invigorate skin. And Cooling Glacial Scrub, £8 (Boots) uses a blend of sea salt, cucumber water and aloe vera to remove dead skin cells and leave skin feeling refreshed and glowing.

 

PERFECT SKIN FOR £3!

 

Primers have fast become an important part of the make-up world. They do all sorts of jobs – mattify, illuminate, smooth, disguise, whatever you need, there’s a primer that can do it.

And the best news is that they’re now completely affordable. Take this new range of bargain primers from George at Asda, which is on offer from today until June 10, costing £3.50 each. The Illuminating Primer, above, is usually £5, and it works to brighten the complexion, giving an instant healthy glow without unflattering shine. The George Matte Primer, usually £5, controls shine for a matte finish that isn’t dull – great for warm summer days. These join Pore-Fect Primer, Eye Primer and Lip Primer, all £3.50 currently reduced to £3 (all from Asda) which have been around for a while and are truly fabulous value.

The great prices mean you can buy a couple of products to suit your skin at different times. Use after serum instead of moisturiser for the best results.

EASY WAY TO COVER ROOTS

 

Visits to the salon for root touch-ups can cost a fortune if you’re having to go every three or four weeks.

There is a cheaper way – touching up your roots at home is much easier than you may think, and definitely a lot kinder on the purse.

Nice ‘N’ Easy has just relaunched its Root Touch-Up product, £4.99 (Boots) to make it easier to use and more effective. It’s now in a new cream formulation which covers up to 100 per cent of grey, and its 17 shades mean there should be an exact match for your hair colour.

The formulation also matches the cream formula of Nice ‘N’ Easy Permanent Colour Crème, so it blends well if you’ve already used the Colour Crème as a home dye.

I love products like this – they’re so useful and do the job well, making them a genuine bargain. Work out how much salon visits cost for root touch-ups, and you’ll be saving a fortune.

Nice ‘N’ Easy Colour Advisor Jonathan Long says this is a really precise way of covering roots.

‘When touching up your roots, target the most visible parts first – the front hairline, parting and temples. Once you’ve applied the product, leave it on for 10 minutes, and then a quick tip is to wet the hair and massage the colour into itself around the hair lines and parting before rinsing,' he says.

‘Don’t forget to do an allergy alert test 48 hours before you colour your hair – every single time.’

 

LOVING RIMMEL'S CUCUMBER SCENTED MASCARA

None of us need an excuse to buy a new mascara and this new one from Rimmel, with its fabulous metallic green case, is worth snapping up when it goes on sale next month.

Rimmel London Wonder'full Wake Me Up Mascara with Vitamins & Cucumber, £7.99 (Boots) has a lash loving formula that contains pro-vitamin B5, vitamin E and cucumber extract that leaves lashes feeling conditioned and silky. 

The thick brush head has an hourglass shape to stretch the lashes which has an eye opening effect. It doesn't clump or smudge - I only need one coat to see a difference.

But the best thing about this is the cucumber scent - calming and cool - just the thing to refresh your spring/summer make-up bag. It's in mine already.

 

Rimmel London Wonder'full Wake Me Up Mascara is available from May 20th 2105.

 

LOVING ALDI'S NEW EYE SHADOWS!

 

I am really excited about these new eye shadow palettes from Aldi. The Lacura EyeShadow Box, £3.99, goes on sale exclusively at Aldi from this Sunday, April 19th, and has to be one of the best value eye shadow palettes that I have come across.

 

There are four colour ways to suit your individual eye colour (For Green and Brown Eyes and For Blue and Brown Eyes) as well as a creamy highlighter.

I was genuinely surprised at the quality - these really are very good. Apart from being flattering, wearable shades, they have good staying power. The bronze shades, pictured, are my current favourites.

The only complaint I have - which is not unique to this brand - is that the double-ended mini brush, which comes in the palette, is a little too small for my liking, but the quality of the shadows more than makes up for it.

While you are shopping, try to pick up one of their new mascaras, £2.39 each, the Wondercurl Mascara, with a curved brush to lift and separate lashes and the new Lacura Glamour Volume Mascara, with a pleasingly fat brush to lengthen and thicken lashes.

As always with Aldi's beauty offerings, these are only available as long as stocks last. So you know what you have to do. 

WHY WE ALL NEED A TAMER

 

We've come to expect the unexpected of the George make-up collection on the shelves at Asda. Their primers, for example - for face, eyes and lips - are fantastic value and they do a great job. And now they have produced another little miracle worker.

Launching this month, The Tamer is a 2-in-1 lash definer and brow groomer to create shape and definition around the eyes. It can also be used as a clear mascara to fix coloured mascaras. At £3 it's a bargain buy that will fast become a handbag hero. 

You'll wonder how you ever manage without it.