Have a good hair day every day in 2024
NEW HAIR, NEW YOU Hair Proud
Clean and Strong Pre-Wash Mask
€10.90, Beauty Bay and iamproud.com
Affordable haircare brand Hair Proud has introduced a hyaluronic acid-based line for normal to dry, dehydrated and damaged hair. This is an interesting pre-wash mask that you apply to the hair before washing it. When you cleanse your hair the aim is to clear oil and debris from the scalp, and pollution and dirt from the hair. A hydrating mask helps both the scalp and hair and this also contains vitamin C, biotin and amino acids to nourish the hair. Use for five to ten minutes once a week.
NEW HAIR, NEW YOU Benvoleo
Perfect Again Mist
€24/150ml, salons and beauty e-tailers
Leading Italian haircare brand Alfaparf Milano has created this sustainable, eco-friendly and vegan line, Benvoleo. It has four pillar categories — Daily, Glossy, Hydration and Recovery. Everything you need for daily and special care is available and all ingredients are locally sourced in Italy. This Perfect Again Mist is its dry shampoo, and instead of the usual talc or additives you find in others this has nettle extract which is a sebum-regulator, and blackcurrant extract to boost volume at the roots.
NEW HAIR, NEW YOU Ouai Hair Gloss €33.90/177ml cultbeauty.com exclusively
Ouai is the Jen Atkinsowned hair brand and she’s the stylist who works with the Kardashians, Gigi Hadid and Gwen Stefani. Her Hair Gloss uses hyaluronic acid, rice water and panthenol to deeply hydrate the hair and provide shine. It’s used every three washes (skip conditioner) for intense shine and zero frizz. Simply apply the gloss from mid-lengths to ends and leave for five minutes before rinsing. The gloss creates a coating over the hair ends that makes it softer, smoother and like a salon blow-dry.
2023’S BEST-SELLING BEAUTY BUYS Sol de Janeiro
Brazilian Bum Bum Cream
€21/75ml to €48/240ml, department stores and online
Sol de Janeiro’s Brazilian Bum Bum Cream exploded in 2023. The body moisturiser wasn’t a new product — it had a legion of fans before it hit our shores— but when it did it became an overnight sensation. It was on plenty of wish lists for Christmas and its appeal lies in its caffeine-based formula that smells like the brand’s famous Cheirosa ’62 fragrance. This also comes as a hair and body mist and smells of pistachio, salted caramel and vanilla. Together, the cream and mist are delicious.
2023’S BEST-SELLING BEAUTY BUYS The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner
€9.30/100ml, stores and theordinary.com
This smoothing and resurfacing liquid from The Ordinary was also a big hitter in 2023. It has recently launched in a travelfriendly 100ml bottle, but diehard fans still opt for the 240ml size that costs just €13.90. The glycolic acid concentration is gentle enough to use regularly to keep the skin clear of dead skin cells that cause dullness, but it’s an effective exfoliating liquid. An iconic buy at The Ordinary, it’s the type of modern product that can be used by any age for smoothing the skin.
2023’S BEST-SELLING BEAUTY BUYS Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray
€30, department stores and online
That Color Wow’s Dream Coat was in the top three most-sold beauty buys in 2023 is no surprise. Again, this wasn’t a new launch, it came out about three years ago, but demand surged in 2023. Inspired by textile technology, Color Wow created this ‘raincoat for hair’ that helps to prevent any available humidity in the atmosphere from swelling the hair shaft and causing frizz. It has been so successful that the brand created another for curly hair and its specific needs. Both are hero buys.
SELF-CARE BEAUTY ThisWorks Deep Sleep Pillow Spray
€15/35ml to €25/75ml, Dunnes Stores and pharmacies
This cult sleep-enhancing beauty buy has been clinically tested for its effects on how restful it makes a night’s sleep for users. In a survey of 1,000 participants, it showed that 89 per cent fell asleep faster than usual, 97 per cent slept better than usual, and 98 per cent felt more refreshed in the morning. Spritzed onto pillowcases, bed linen or pyjamas, the mist has a blend of essential oils from lavender, vetivert, and wild camomile. It might be the night time treat you need for winter.
SELF-CARE BEAUTY Hush & Hush Collagen+ Powder
€82.50/30 servings, hushandhush.ie and stores
Collagen supplements and powders are nothing new, but this Hush & Hush is different. Many are made from animal collagen derived from bones, cartilage and hide from cows or the skin and scales of fish, but this is vegetarian. Animal-sourced varieties have two types of collagen whereas the vegetarian option here has three, each working on getting better skin, hair and joint support. Just 450mg once a day in tea, coffee, water or yoghurt shows visible results in four weeks, says the brand.
SELF-CARE BEAUTY NUXE Rêve de Miel Melting Honey Body Balm
€28/200ml, pharmacies
Honey is such a valuable skincare ingredient for calming, soothing and deeply nourishing the skin. French pharmacy brand NUXE has an entire face, body and lip collection dedicated to the ingredient called Rêve de Miel. It has cleansers, scrubs and moisturisers in the line, and this Melting Body Balm is a hero buy. The melting texture transforms the cream into an oil when massaged in and the formula contains honey and rich botanical oils to intensely moisturise all skin types.