BREXIT beauty makeover

Forget French face creams and Italian scent. It’s time to embrace Turkish cologne — and lip peels from Korea

LAST week, the UK triggered Article 50 and started the clock ticking on the two-year Brexit countdown.

But even before that momentous moment, savvy insiders were looking outside of the EU for inspiration.

‘We’ve already seen a push to connect with countries that aren’t our immediate neighbours,’ says the Mail’s economics expert, Hugo Duncan. ‘Once we’ve left the EU, Britain will be free to make trade agreements all over the world.’

The beauty business has traditionally had close ties to Europe, but it’s time to look beyond French pots of skincare and Italian scent and be more adventurous.

Here, top beauty experts share their favourite global hotspots and tell you what to add to your beauty arsenal to get ahead of the game . . .

TURKEY

Sandra Vallow, director of beauty buying at QVC, has dubbed Turkey the ‘one to watch’. It has a long history of spas and wellness and its geographical position — slap bang between Asia and Europe — means it benefits from ingredients and innovation from two continents.

BEST BREXIT BUYS: Turkey’s biggest cosmetic manufacturer is Flormar, which has 700 shops in more than 90 countries.

That doesn’t include the UK, but you can order from websites such as tncosmetics.com. The Terracotta Blushes (£13.67) and Terracotta Shadows (£10.75) are particularly good.

Turkish brand Duru is available on Amazon. As well as selling traditional soap used in Turkish baths (£3.29), there are beautiful colognes in light fragrances, such as mandarin and lemon, which make zesty summer scents if you don’t like anything too floral.

SOUTH KOREA

THE Asian nation is a powerhouse in beauty innovation, bringing us sheet masks, cushion foundations, fizzing toners and much more.

‘A huge amount of investment goes into research and development,’ says Alexia Inge, of beauty store Cult Beauty.

That’s hardly surprising, given that South Korea has a large domestic market and China and Japan on its doorstep.

‘The size of the potential sales encourages fierce competition, which is good for cosmetic breakthroughs,’ says Alexia. BEST BREXIT BUYS: CosrX is a great example of a beauty company offering problemsolving products that draw on old and new techniques.

The Blackhead Silk Finger Balls (£8, cultbeauty.co.uk) — silk cocoons that you soak in warm water — are a technique once used by geishas to clear the congested areas of their complexion.

If you liked the innovative application offered by cushion foundations, check out romantic Bear lip tints (above, £8.50, thisisbeautymart.com)— a gel you apply like a lip gloss, leave for a few minutes then peel off to reveal a deep stain. And if you haven’t yet heard of the Sum 37 Cleansing Stick (£19.88, amazon.co.uk), you’re missing out. Perfect for travel, it’s a solid balm in the form of a deodorant-like stick, which you apply to the face and then add water to cleanse.

AUSTRALIA

BEAUTY isn’t just about the cream or lotion, it’s also about how it’s delivered — and Australia leads the way with attractively packaged products to show off in your bathroom.

‘There’s a chic design company based in Sydney called Container Made, which is proving influential in the industry,’ says Anna-Marie Solowij of cosmetics boutique Beauty Mart.

‘They design the packaging for cult Australian brands such as Kevin Murphy Haircare, a brilliant range from the Aussie stylist, and the well-known Korner skincare.’ BEST BREXIT BUYS: As well as Korner and Kevin Murphy (below), try Go-To, a range developed by former beauty editor Zoe Foster-Blake, whose Pinky-nudey lip balm, £10, was an instant sell-out. not yet available over here, it can be shipped to the UK for a flat fee of £15 — see gotoskincare.com

AMERICA

SMArT beauty buyers in the UK are looking to the West Coast. ‘There are so many interesting

brands coming out of the U.S.,’ says Anna-Marie. ‘We’re seeing a return to the new Age trend of the nineties. We’re calling it the new natural — a bit hippy, a bit mystical, reflective of California, known for its laidback surf culture.’

BEST BREXIT BUYS: Anna-Marie cites brands such as House of Intuition, which sells a range of items harnessing the healing power of herbs, crystals and essential oils to revive the body and soul. Try the Heart Chakra love Bath (£11, thisisbeautymart.com), a bath oil that promises to ‘open the heart chakra to love, desire, attraction’ or Violet Water (right, £12.50, thisis

beautymart.com), which can be used as a perfume or cleansing bath water.

JAPAN

JAPANESE beauty products have a cult following thanks to cute, adolescent packaging — think animal cartoon characters in pastel colours. ‘The word

kawaii, meaning loveable or cute, which informs a lot of South Korean packaging, is a Japanese word,’ says Anna-Marie. BEST BREXIT BUYS: Cleansing powders to which you add water have been bubbling on the horizon for a while. Japanese brand DHC’s Washing Powder (£11, thisisbeautymart.com) is a favourite among skincare junkies. With environmental concerns surrounding microbeads, we can expect such powders to become even more popular as consumers look for exfoliants that won’t harm the planet. It’s surely no coincidence that mainstream brands, such as the Japanese-owned Biore, have their own versions. Try Biore Baking Soda Powder Scrub (£5.29, superdrug.com). If you’re looking for innovative cleansing methods, seek out DHC’s Foaming Mesh (£3.50, thisisbeautymart.com), a net bag made from fine weave nylon, which creates a rich mousse and doubles the volume of any foaming cleanser that you use.

NEW ZEALAND

THE focus here tends to be on ingredients. ‘This part of the world is rich in indigenous plants,’ says Anna-Marie. ‘And local brands are finally capitalising on that.’ BEST BREXIT BUYS:

you’ve probably heard of Trilogy, the rosehip-oil brand, but SansCeuticals is a small range of multi-functional beauty products using more unusual natural ingredients such as baobab, goji and lychee.

Its Activator 7: Body, Hair And Face Oil (£35, brummellsof london.com) has a growing reputation among beauty fans.

Another brand to check is Antipodes skincare (available at feelunique.com, from £12.99), a ‘scientific organic’ range rich in manuka honey, avocado, macadamia and jojoba.