SKINCARE TRENDS
Are fizzing facewashes and space-age serums what you’ve been waiting for? Will mindfulness help you get the most from your moisturiser? We investigate the latest breakthroughs and buzzes to help you look younger for longer
1 THE BEAUTY BUYS MAKING US MINDFUL
In our increasingly fast-paced lives, a drawn-out beauty routine would seem to belong to a bygone age when ladies spent hours at their dressing tables and products weren’t built for speed. Yet the trend for mindfulness – being in the moment and doing something consciously with awareness and intent – has influenced our approach to beauty as well as our wellbeing. Not only does taking a little time to focus on what you’re doing give you a moment of meditation in your day, it means you’re thorough, too. As Anna-marie Solowij, co-founder of online retailer Beauty Mart (thisisbeautymart.com) comments, ‘Cleansing balms and oils, which need to be massaged into the skin, automatically make the cleaning process more involved and ritualistic. These products are frequently laced with essential oils, which work on a deeper level, too.’
The results of spending a few extra mindful minutes on your skin can be seen quickly. The new Clarins Extra-firming Mask [1], £46, comes with instructions for pressure-point application to smooth tension lines. Treated with radiance-reviving ingredients, skin looks noticeably brighter and fresher after 10 minutes. The Aveda DIY Tulasāra Awakening Ritual focuses on dry brushing the face and décolleté for gentle, natural exfoliation. After using the brush [2], £27, a facial massage with Radiant Oleation Oil [3], £38, a blend of six nourishing plant oils, boosts the micro-circulation. Leave it on for at least four minutes before cleansing your face. Another oil we love is Diptique Infused Face Oil [4], £48, with its beautiful scent of the fresh rose petals that continue to steep in the bottle.
2 THE NEW A LIST
In the quest for youthful-looking skin, it’s hard to beat retinoids, vitamin A derivatives. With proven anti-ageing powers, they enhance the production of fresh skin cells, help make new collagen and fade age spots. Available in a stronger prescription from a dermatologist and as retinol and other derivatives in beauty products, it’s the one ingredient I always tell women to look out for. It can make your skin go red and peel when you first use it, but stick with it and you should find your skin adapts. For those who really can’t tolerate it, a new generation of retinol-containing products is landing on beauty shelves. Skin Laundry Night Renew Treatment [1], £34, from the Californian cult brand, has a relatively low amount of retinol, but will still deliver benefits and has moisturising shea butter and safflower seed. But the biggest buzz is around a new type of vitamin A, retinyl retinoate, found in Medik8 r-retino ate Youth Activating Cream [2], £135. It’s gentle enough for those with sensitive skin, and some studies suggest retinyl retinoate is actually more effective than retinol. It can also be used during the day, as it’s stable in sunlight – unlike retinol, which is usually recommended for night use for this very reason.
3 THE NEW GENERATION MASKS
For those of us whose last encounter with a face mask was as a teen with a sachet of clay from Boots, the new world of masks offers an exciting, if sometimes bewildering, choice. The trend leader, sheet masks, involves putting pre-soaked paper, cloth or foil over your face to hydrate or to deliver anti-ageing ingredients. The mask forms a barrier, allowing the actives to do their work. Launches we like include Starskin Mud Sheet Mask, £11, and Lancôme Advanced Genéfique Youth Activating Second Skin Mask, £59, which contains the equivalent of half a bottle of the bestselling Genéfique serum. The 20-minute treatment gives more luminous, refined and plumped skin. Unless you lie still, however, sheet masks may slip off. Jane Cunningham, aka britishbeautyblogger.com, suggests investing in mask covers if you want to move around (we found some on Amazon from Daiso Japan).
What’s next? South Korean beauty blogger Vicky Lee predicts we’ll soon see body sheet masks. ‘We all want glowing and dewy skin, and not only on our faces,’ she says.
4 THE MULTI-STEPS REPLACING MULTI-TASKING
Forget one product that does it all. Why use just one when you could use three? Or 10? We seem to be embracing the multi-step beauty routines used by Asian women, not least because of the extraordinary amount of product inspiration coming from South Korea – beauty’s current epicentre of innovation. We’ll admit we were cynical when products like beauty essences (also known as softening lotions and waters), designed to be used pre-serum and moisturiser, first landed on our desks. But, following a GHI trial, just over half our testers said they’d include a skin softener in their routines as they were so impressed by them. Our winners were L’occitane Immortelle Lotion Divine [3], £42, and Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Resist 24 Balancing Softener [4], £45.50. New to the market is La Prairie Skin Caviar Essence-in-lotion [5], £135. Fabulous if your budget allows. Extras like skin softeners, pre-serums and boosters really can improve the results of other products in your routine and leave skin looking and feeling better than ever. If you think lots of layering would leave you feeling greasy, think again. New-generation textures are light, though they pack a powerful punch. Try Ren Flash Hydro-boost [6], £34, which helps the skin retain moisture. It’s applied in a thin layer before moisturiser, and simply massaged in with a few drops of water.
Many multi-step products are also fun to use. A case in point is carbonated cleansers that you use as a double cleanse alongside your regular cleanser. These are powders that make water fizzy, says Jane Cunningham. ‘The theory is that you add the powder to a bowl of water, dip your face in and let the bubbles massage and cleanse. Usually the powder also contains acids, such as glycolic, citric or malic, for an exfoliating effect.’ Tap into the trend with vitamin- and anti-oxidant-rich Mizon Vita Lemon Sparkling Powder, £10 for two sachets (cultbeauty.co.uk).
5 THE SPACE-INSPIRED BEAUTY BREAKTHROUGHS
When earthling trends simply weren’t pushing the boundaries for Space NK’S customers, the retailer looked to textures and technologies inspired by space. New launches include products to target adult breakouts from cult US brand Sunday Riley. Martian Mattifying Melting Toner, £48, is (like all Martians) green, and transforms from a water to a gel, calming and clarifying skin with clay, Manuka and marshmallow. UFO Ultra-clarifying Face Oil, £68, treats and prevents breakouts with salicylic acid and also minimises the marks left behind.
Also otherworldly is Prai Praimordial Collagen Restorative Serum, £49.99. Using a discovery from NASA’S Mars Rover mission in which the planet’s hematite (iron rose crystal) was used to help grow super-sized asparagus (stay with me), an astrophysicist worked with Prai to develop an anti-ageing technology. Hematite extract helps boost and grow collagen, improving the structure of mature skin, so this has been bottled with hydrating, smoothing ingredients in the silver, twinkly serum. Beauty can, you see, sometimes be rocket science.
6 THE PILLS TO POP
There’s been an explosion of ‘beauty ingestibles’ – powders, pills and drinks that promise younger-looking skin for longer. Most include ingredients like marine collagen – Veggiecol is a vegetarian version using egg proteins (rejuvenated.co.uk) – anti-oxidants, Omega fatty acids and hyaluronic acid to boost skin’s own collagen production, protective ability and moisture levels. So do they work?
In an ideal world, we’d get all our nutrients from a healthy, balanced diet, but there’s lots of evidence that many of us don’t, according to nutritionist Parminder Sandhu. Other factors influence our requirements, too, such as hormonal changes, stress and weight gain or loss. A supplement can fill in the gaps – and have positive effects on skin. New Beauty Beneath, £39.99 for a month’s supply, is sold alongside moisturisers on the shelves at Boots to emphasise that inside-out beauty connection. In its tests, 79% of triallists saw an improvement in wrinkles after eight weeks.
7 THE TECHNOLOGY THAT REVEALS YOUR AGE
If you’re brave enough, make a note to try the new online diagnostic tool from Olay, which will tell you how old you look. It works using facial recognition technology to analyse and compare a picture of your face with those of over 300,000 other women. As well as estimating your age, it will tell you your best skin features and where there’s room for improvement. Product recommendations follow, and you can track improvements over time. It launches in January, though we had a sneak peek, and I was very happy to be given an estimated age 10 years younger than my real age. I must be doing something right!