The Makeup Mole

I didn’t think that Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturiser could ever be superseded, but I have to tell you, it has. I had firmly removed myself from the tinted moisturiser category, finding that much as I loved it on younger skin than mine for work, it just didn’t offer enough coverage for my skin now (although I was a faithful personal devotee for many years).Enter Liz Earle’s Sheer Skin Tint, the incredible cult skincare brand’s first (and I hope not last) foray into colour. This has knocked my socks off, quite frankly. It’s super rich and moisturizing, with shea butter, Vitamin E and avocado – so not dissimilar to their Superskin moisturiser which I use religiously in the colder months. It glides on with the tiniest amount of product and spreads perfectly and evenly, as if your skin was supermodel perfect underneath (even if that’s far from the truth). It’s just rich and buttery and delicious, and the coverage it provides is significant for a tinted moisturiser. More importantly, the coverage is undetectable. It stays all day and when you clean your face at night it’s still coming off on the cotton pad or towel. This is all-day coverage with more guts than it’s chemical counterparts.

The only drawback with it is the shade range which only comes in three tones. This I’m sure will be increased in future, as great skin lovers come in all shades of the skin spectrum. Also as it comes in only three colours you might find you are somewhere in between and need to blend two together – I’m a Bare 01 but only just and as I get subtly darker over the summer (it’s impossible to prevent, even if you use Wednesday Adams as your role model with regards to sunscreen, like I do) I will probably end up wearing a mix of my current one and the next step up. Oh, did I mention that it has an SPF of 15? So for those who dislike wearing separate sunscreen, that part is done for you. Love a multi-tasking product!

And for my oily ladies – please do try this before you buy as it’s super glowy due to being very emollient, and if you’re already channeling the greasies I think it will be too rich for you. I would try Laura Mercier’s Oil-Free Tinted Moisturiser instead.

So if you’re in the market for natural, perfect skin and the product that can deliver it, Liz Earle Sheer Skin is my new top rec.

lizearle.com

Also on the subject of Aesop, I need to tell you about sunscreen. For a lot of you guys, freezing your butts off in sub-zero Northern Hemisphere temperatures you’ll be thinking “is she crazy? I need a radioactive heated slankie, not a lesson on sunscreen!”

But for my friends in the Southern hemisphere, this is the first of many, MANY lectures on the Evils of Going Out Without High Protection Sunscreen Every Day Because You Will End Up Either Dead From Skin Cancer And/Or Very Very Wrinkled. I can’t believe I haven’t trotted out this particular little soapbox yet as it’s a personal mission to make people wear sunscreen every day of their lives (alright, maybe not you lot with 10 inches of snow outside your window, but when the weather warrants it.)

And aiding me in this personal quest? Aesop Sage and Zinc sunscreen. This is my go-to every day sunscreen as it’s non-comodegenic so it doesn’t make you break out like a lot of cheaper supermarket products, and it has plant derived vitamins, including Vitamin E, and sage leaf and sandalwood extracts. Aesop are justly proud of their first moisturiser with sun protection, and it’s been many years in the making.

But the real winner for me? It’s matte, so it can go under makeup and not make you start your hot day looking like a greasy chip, requiring a truckload of powder to absorb all the oil. It is only a factor 15 but as you need to reapply at lunchtime anyway I’m quite happy with a factor of 15.

And for the rest of you, shivering under those slankies? I have a cold weather post for Winter Radiant skin coming up (and yes, definitely no sunscreen in sight).

www.aesop.net.au

I think I mentioned before what a skincare orgy it is at the moment at MM HQ. From being distinctly unimpressed about most skincare and sticking to my faves, I have discovered some absolute gems lately – Aesop as you all know, and also Biotherm’s Aquasource moisturizer, new to my kit.

I actually worked on the commercial for this in London, with Kay Montano doing makeup on the unbelievably gorgeous Biotherm spokesmodel, Russian Sasha Pivarova. Statuesque, gorgeous and glamorous in towering boots, Sasha was everything you’d like your supermodel to be. At lunch I discovered she was lovely as well – very down to earth and nice, an unexpected bonus. Two things I will tell you – she loves her coffee, and yes, her eyes really are that blue!

When I got a chance to try the new Aquasource moisturizer I was slightly trepidatious as often moisturizers that have offered a high water content actually leave your skin feeling drier than it started, as the water evaporates and seems to take more water from the skin. But new technology has radically improved these and Aquasource not only feels like water on the skin (which is lovely and refreshing in summer), but my skin really retained the moisture and in the morning it still felt hydrated, and not like a dried up old walnut. And happily, no breakouts which I can sometimes get when I switch skincare. In addition, it’s such a nice base for makeup that I’ve slipped some in my kit (sorry Kiehl’s, for the first time in nearly a decade, you’ve been relegated!)

Here is the lovely Sasha P in one of her European Biotherm campaigns (I love it when she talks about kung-fu! So awesome with her Russian accent.)

www.biotherm.co.uk

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser

I’ve had this post kicking around in my head for a long time, and in the meantime I’ve tried at least four other tinted moisturizers, and not one of them has come close to beating the original and the best – Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturiser.

Calling a product The Best Ever is a big statement, but when I do it’s because I feel pretty confident that I’ve tried a lot in that category, and this is the best on the market. There is a reason why this turns up every single year in the Allure and Instyle Best of Beauty Awards!

Tinted Moisturiser was one of Laura Mercier’s first products in her eponymous line, and it’s wonderful for just giving a light touch of something for those who don’t really need full-on foundation. In Foundation Land, a very confusing place most women are obligated to visit at least a few times in their lifetime, a place filled with unhelpful sales assistants trying to take your money – it’s the lightest coverage, the first step on the foundation ladder. It’s for those with good skin naturally, and it’s particularly awesome when it’s hot (as it’s a lighter product and won’t slide off your face so much), and on holidays as you can just whack it on with your fingers and be out the door and off to the beach. Because it is such a light coverage, I like to go a shade darker in Tinted Moisturiser – it gives your skin a sun-kissed glow without being too much.

It has an SPF of 20, comes in  2 formulas (normal and oil-free), plus an Illuminating one for dull, dry skin (great in winter, although not for those with oily skin), and comes in 10 shades, from very pale to pretty dark. I’ve used it myself and I’ve used it at work for upwards of ten years, and no other brand comes close to getting the right creaminess, range of shades and lovely texture that evens your skintone and gives your face a much-needed lift in the morning.

Laura Mercier’s range specializes in products that make your skin look perfect, and of her foundations, this is my favourite. That’s why Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturiser is the best one ever.

I have to admit to being a bit of a sucker for organic skincare – I like the advantages it has over its chemical counterparts and the general organic ethos of being kind to the planet whilst we’re kind to ourselves (and what’s more beautiful than that?)

Nude Skincare is one of the original players in this new and burgeoning market – they have an extensive range of pre and probiotic plant based botanical products, and the Age Defense Moisturiser is the one that has crept into my kit, replacing my old faithful Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturiser.

I love the Age Defense because it leaves skin soft but not slippery, providing quite a nice matte base for makeup. It has orchid and the new wonder oil, argan to reduce wrinkles (not that any of my clients have those!), and hyaluronic acid keeps water in the skin where it belongs. And best of all it does it without parabens, sulphates or mineral oils, so none of the usual skincare nasties. I also love it because it is carbon neutral, ethically responsible with the ingredients it uses, and doesn’t test on animals (and with the recent surge in laboratory experiments on animals, this is increasingly becoming a concern of mine – there’s nothing uglier than unnecessary suffering).

The smell at first is a little earthy for those of us used to all the chemical stuff coming out of the lab, but actually now I’ve been using it for awhile I quite like it. And once you try organic skincare, I promise, you’ll be hooked. Kay is a huge advocate of it, regularly using the lip balm on her celeb clientele, and silkening Claudia Schiffer’s famous and endless legs in the Body Moisturiser. It just might be going on my wish-list for Santa this year – after all it is October, and I have been good!

Nude Age Defense Moisturiser – BAG IT!

www.nudeskincare.com