IT’S QUITE NICE TO GO WITHOUT MAKE-UP FOR A FEW DAYS...
Strictly pro dancer Katya Jones reveals the minimalist make-up she wears off duty, and the ‘life-changing’ product that keeps spots at bay. KATIE WRIGHT finds out more
LIKE many of us, Katya Jones took the opportunity during lockdown to cut back on the amount of time – and money – she spends on beauty.
“It’s been like a detox for everything, don’t you think?” the Strictly Come Dancing professional says on a Zoom call from her home in London.
“Our faces, our hair, our nails – just nothing artificial for a while.”
Not that the Russianborn dancer usually wears a whole lot of make-up – unless she’s waltzing on our TV screens on a Saturday night, of course, which she’ll be doing when the new series of Strictly commences on BBC1 in the next few weeks.
“I think because we wear so much make-up on the show, off-stage, we’re not as full-on. It’s quite nice to go without make-up for a few days.”
Having completed a year of not buying any new clothes while working with Oxfam to encourage shoppers to consider their reliance on fast fashion, the 31-year-old has also reassessed her beauty buying habits.
“With my make-up, I’ve been trying to not buy anything until it’s fully run out, because I realised I just have half-opened things and I think, ‘What do I do with them?”’ Katya says. “So I make sure I’m giving them away to friends or to my mum.”
Here, Katya reveals the daily skincare and make-up essentials that help her maintain a clear, healthy complexion...
SUPERDRUG TEA TREE BLENDED OIL, £3.49
“MY NEW revelation is tea tree oil – oh my God, it’s life-changing!” Katya says, of the product she discovered after suffering an outbreak of acne that wouldn’t budge.
“I had a big, big problem a couple of years ago – the spots just wouldn’t go away on my forehead. For any spots or pimples, you literally put it on overnight and they’re gone. You can just buy any in Boots or Superdrug, they have their own brands.
“Just literally tap it on the spot. It’s incredible.”
THE BODY SHOP TEA TREE SKIN CLEARING FOAMING CLEANSER,
£6.50 THE dancer doubles up on anti-acne ingredients with a tea tree oil face wash, but doesn’t like a complicated multi-step routine.
“I have a very simple routine. I cut down because I was trying all these things and then suddenly my face was just like, ‘What’s going on?’,” she says. “Cleansing is so important for me, making sure my skin is always clean, and then I just moisturise.”
HELIOCARE 360 DEGREES COLOR OIL FREE GEL IN BEIGE,
£32.99 “I CAN’T put very thick creams that moisturise a lot on my forehead – my skin is very different on the top and bottom of my face, so I use very light products – just to keep it moisturised and not dry, but I don’t overwhelm my skin with a product,” says Katya, which is why she loves Heliocare tinted moisturiser. “It’s not really a foundation, because I don’t want to wear a heavy foundation every day.
“It’s a very, very light gel-based moisturiser.”
CLARINS NATURAL LIP PERFECTOR IN ROSE SHIMMER,
£18.50, John Lewis “I DON’T go anywhere without it,” says Katya of the Clarins tinted lip balm. She swaps between the Rose Shimmer and Apricot Shimmer shades, which offer – as well as moisturising your lips – a hint of colour and shine.