Beauty
The hair and nail products every woman should own
12 beauty cabinet must-haves
Love at first swipe
Cien Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover, £1.59, Lidl, punches well above its weight. It swipes away all traces of polish, and the salon-style pump applicator means you can apply the liquid to your cotton pad one-handed, preventing any oopsydaisy spillages. The acetone-free formula is kinder to the nail bed, too.
2 Helping hand
Over the past year, hand cream has truly become a can’t-livewithout-it staple. Created by an NHS nurse and her husband, Nursem Caring Hand Cream, £9.99, nursem.co.uk, has been designed with relentless handwashing in mind (hello, 2021!), and comforts dry, irritated hands with a fast-absorbing formula. It’s available both with natural fragrances and fragrance-free, for ultra-sensitive skin.
Hard as nails
Unsightly chips are more likely to happen on brittle, flaky nails. Improve your nail health and go plantbased using Sally Hansen Good.kind.pure Hardener, £8.99, Superdrug, a new nail treatment made with 100% vegan ingredients. It flattens out ridges and helps prevent splitting, peeling and breaking.
4Mint conditioner
In the US, one bottle of L’oréal Elvive Dream Lengths Wonder Water, £9.99, is sold every minute. Here’s why. This super-duper, lightweight conditioner works in just eight seconds to detangle, smooth and repair damaged hair, while injecting serious shine. Plus the smell is completely addictive and lingers on the hair for days.
5 In shape
A crystal nail file is kinder to your nails than traditional emery boards, and it’s economical too, as one file will last for years to come. Margaret Dabbs Crystal Nail File, £15, margaretdabbs.co.uk, is the crème de la crème. It seals the tip of the nail so it’s less prone to breakage and splitting.
Best buds
Cotton buds have a myriad of uses, from tidying nail-polish smudges to neatening up a smoky eye. If you’re trying to ditch single-use plastics (as we all should be) try Lastswab, £9, lastobject.com, a reusable bud that is cleaned with soap and water.
How refreshing
If you’re in desperate need of a salon refresh and your colour looks a bit meurgh, try a Tresemmé Colour Enhancing Mask, £5.99. Each of the four shades contains semi-permanent pigments that enhance and refresh coloured hair. Apply after shampooing, leave on for three to five minutes, then rinse.
Beat roots
Keep Color Wow Root Cover Up, £28.50, colorwowhair.com, on hand to mask root regrowth and shade in greys. The dual-ended brush helps you target roots with precision and can even be used on the scalp to fill in areas of sparse hair. Apply the powder, let it set for a minute, then brush through.
Bar of gold
Shampoo bars aren’t just great for the planet, they’re great for your purse too. The packaging – usually cardboard – is much easier to recycle than plastic bottles, and in the case of Wedo Professional No Plastic Shampoo Bar, £14.95, lookfantastic.com, one bar will last up to 80 washes.
10 Bring the salon home
For hair that’s more brittle than brill, Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector, £26, cultbeauty.co.uk, is worth the splurge. This deep treatment, which was only available in salons once upon a time, tends to the dry, straw-like texture of coloured, permed and over-processed hair by mending the broken bonds within each strand to reinstate a soft, silky swish.
11 Pen pal
Naf! Stuff Cuticle Oil Pen, £8, nafstuff. com, has been created by working nail technicians to give you that salon manicure finish. Applying oil daily helps boost circulation, nourishes the cuticle, prolongs the life of your manicure and encourages longer, stronger nails.
12 Dry clean
Every beauty cabinet needs a dry shampoo, and Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo, £19, livingproof. co.uk, is the best we’ve tried, with no hint of residue or that tacky, powdery feeling. This doesn’t just mop up oil – it cleans your hair so it looks, feels and smells fresh.