Which facial kit will you ask Santa to bring?
YOu may never have dreamed of having a celebrity facial, but this could be the perfect time. The world’s top facialists, have had to come up with ways for their A-list clients to get the same results at home. So there’s a raft of new beauty kits and treatments designed to recreate the full spa experience in the bathroom, whether it’s in a penthouse in LA or a semi in Surbiton. We put them to the test to see which can really give you that red-carpet glow...
Meghan’s skin saviour
Skinesis Instant Miracle Treatment Setting Mask, £46 for four, sarah chapman.com FAMOUS FANS: Meghan Markle, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. WHAT IS IT? With this ‘shake, paint, peel, reveal’ kit you make the same algae mask Chapman uses in many of her bespoke facials. you paint on a mix of lava clay, brown sea algae and rose, then it dries like rubber and peels off after 15 minutes. It calms, hydrates and helps any creams you use underneath to penetrate skin. WHAT’S IT LIKE: After adding powder and water to the shaker, I’m up against the clock to paint i t onto my skin before it goes solid. I adored how cold it felt. My skin felt bright, rested and depuffed. 9/10
Lily’s massage
001Skincare London Red Carpet Home Facial Kit by Ada Ooi, £299, 001skincare.com FAMOUS FANS: Lily Al l e n and El l i e Goulding. WHAT IS IT? Lily called on acupuncturist Ada for her pre-wedding facial. Her take on Chinese massage is said to give an immediate, needle-free lift. WHAT’S IT LIKE: I use the Cryopress freezing face roller over a serum to relax my forehead and increase circulation. Then there is the ‘ridged sculpting stone’ to drain any fluid and toxins. Finally, I use a ‘tendon picking’ tool to loosen tendons in my forehead. My face is pleasantly pink afterwards and my lines do look softer. It’s a powerful massage. 8/10
Elle’s secret
MZ Skincare Instant Radiance Facial Kit by Dr Maryam Zamani, £245, mzskin.com FAMOUS FANS: Serena Williams, Elle Macpherson.
WHAT IS IT?
Celebs love this Harley Street surgeon for her natural-looking ‘tweakments’. The seven-piece kit has everything you need for a celebrity glow, with an exfoliating mask, serums, a hydrating toner, retinol skin booster and a rose quartz gua sha (facial massage) tool. WHAT’S IT LIKE: After 15 minutes of the Radiance and Renewal clarifying mask, my skin was gloriously clean and prepped to absorb the vitamin C serum by day or the brightening lactic acid at night, followed by anti-ageing Retinol Oil and a massage with a rose quartz stone. Products full- size apart from vitamin C and lactic acid which are singledose and pricey to replace. 7/10
Kate’s bee sting
Heaven by Deborah Mitchell, Black Bee Venom Mask, £163, heaven skincare.com FAMOUS FANS: The Duchesses of Cornwall and Cambridge. WHAT IS IT? This potent mask, Camilla’s favourite, is a quarter bee venom. At my pre-lockdown f aci al with Deborah, s he explained that this tricks the skin into thinking it has been stung, so the body freezes the muscles to stop the ‘ toxin’ spreading. The result is a lifted, firmed complexion. WHAT’S IT LIKE: My skin lapped up the rich cream which has lavender and rose oil. I left it on overnight and in the morning my lines looked soft, although the ‘freezing’ effect is nothing like the impact of Botox. 6/10
Christy’s roller
The Facial Edit Joanna Czech x 111 Skin, £226, revolve.com FAMOUS FANS: Models Bella Hadid and Christy Turlington. WHAT IS IT: Facialist Joanna Czech uses her own freezable metal roller on her clients over the 111Skin masks created by Harley Street plastic surgeon Dr yannis Alexandrides. The cold roller is asymmetrical so it mimics the squeezing and pinching of a facialist’s hands, pressing the mask’s high-powered serums into your skin. I saw an instant brightening and lift. 10/10
Gwynnie’s glow kit
The Glow Kit by Dr Barbara Sturm, £160, spacenk.com FAMOUS FANS: Gwyneth Paltrow, Irina Shayk. WHAT IS IT? The German skin doc is famous for her ‘Sturmglow’ and this seven-step, glow-getting kit contains her best-selling Glow Drops serum. WHAT’S IT LIKE: After a mild foam cleanse and a gentle scrub, I layered the creams — mask, serum, moisturiser, anti-ageing primer — and it was like seeing a dry sponge plump up. 9/10