10 BEAUTY PRODUCTS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD OWN

Of course we want to know what products our new beauty director uses! Here are her all-time greats

Once someone hears what I do for a living the first thing they usually ask me to do is describe my skincare routine in detail. Often that’s tricky for me as I’m always (and rather unhelpfully) forgetting the names of things… ‘that light blue Vichy bottle, er… DM me on Insta and I’ll tell you when I get home’ is a typical response. But here they all are, not only remembered, but fully present and correct.

Given the nature of my job, the products I’m using can change as I trial many new launches that I consider worth putting through their paces. But these ten products have become my trusted skincare steeds. They are always on my bathroom shelf, travel with me when I’m on the move, and having stuck to them for the past few months, have given my complexion great clarity.

But there are a few things you should know: it’s worth remembering that these products work brilliantly for me. So who am I? I’m in my 40s, have fair and slightly sensitive skin that’s prone to dehydration and slight redness. I’m fortunate that I have fine but not drastic wrinkles, something I put down to lucky genetics (thank you Ma and Pa) and the fact that I am not and never have been a sun seeker. I have tried Botox only once: it was a year ago and for a feature. I loved it – it was only baby Botox for those ‘elevens’ frown lines between the brows – but I haven’t gone back. I prefer to trust in skincare, lifestyle and trying to maintain a certain ease about ageing since it is, as they say, better than the alternative. I’m not puritanical, though, and I can’t promise that as soon as Dr Tapan Patel tells me he has a free appointment I won’t dash straight down to Harley Street.

I’m also not (at least not yet) a big user of retinol. I don’t deny that it’s a powerful skincare ingredient, but it almost always leaves my skin red and feeling as though it’s burning. That said, there are some products launching in the coming months that I’m about to start trialling. which promise a softer, but still effective, retinol action. More on those in due course. In the meantime, here are my current top ten skin perfectors.

“THESE ARE MY TRUSTED SKINCARE STEEDS; THEY HAVE GIVEN MY COMPLEXION GREAT CLARITY ”