My Top 5 Beauty Products
I used to be an advertisers dream utterly convinced that I could transform myself from 5 foot 3 to model proportions simply by slathering on whatever product the model was claiming to use. I'm much more sceptical now and although I like to try new products I tend to return to a few staples that I absolutely trust.
Number one on my list is Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish (100ml for £15.50)
I have been using this since the days you could only buy it from the telesales channel QVC! Now I stock up at John Lewis in Kingston. Liz Earle's best-selling line of beauty products are based on naturally active ingredients and smell devine. The Cleanse and Polish is a thick white paste which you massage all over your face & neck then remove with a muslin cloth soaked in hot water. I like the fact that my skin feels incredibly clean with all traces of make up removed but not at all dry. If I run out and use another product I'll ensure I buy some more within a week or my face feels tight and dry.
Other Liz Earle products I love are: Instant Boost Skin Tonic, Superskin Concentrate, Eyebright & Nourishing Botanical Body Cream.
Number two: Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream (£26)
I am never without this genious product. Throughout the winter I slather this on before bed and wake up with a nice plumped-up face. It's a multi-tasking product which I use on my hands & cuticles, lips as a glossy balm and even the heels of my feet!
Number Three: Redken Extreme Shampoo (£11.50) and Strength Builder (£17)
My hair has been highlighted since I was 16 and without this thick, rich, hard working product may very well snap!
I've tried many shampoos over the years and nothing works as well at taming my frizz as this. My hair is far more manageable, sleeker and shinier thanks to Extreme. Obviously if you happen to see me out walking the dog on a drizzly, windy day my hair will resemble a haystack - no product can compete with the British weather!
Aqueous Cream (£4.09 for 500ml, Boots)
Ok ok, I don't use this all the time but without doubt it is one of my staples that I return to over and over again. No it doesn't have a beautiful smell or pretty packaging but it WORKs. We always have a huge tub of this in the house and whenever someone's hands are dry, shins are flaking or skin is sensitive or sore this cream is transforming.
Sudocrem (£2.60 for 125ml)
Again this is not a glamorous beauty product but is near miraculous in it's power to heal skin. It's probably best known as a cream for nappy rash but packed full of zinc it can literally heal the worst red raw chapped skin over night. I have had the reddest of noses during a cold, applied this thickly before bed and woken up with my nose utterly returned to it's usual self within 8 hours. Not many products costing ten times this product that could claim that. Likewise it will help heal sunburn, spots, chapped skin, grazes.