“Instagram brows” are polarising. Done well, they epitomise perfected polish: slick and beautifully defined. Done badly, they may as well be thick strips of duct tape plastered above the eyes. On a scaring-small-children scale, they are pretty high. Fluffy, youthful brows, as seen at Max Mara AW19, hold more appeal. Achieve them with light strokes of a brow pencil (define underneath, not above), a clear brow gel or Soap Brows. Dampen a spoolie, scrape across the soap bar and brush brows upwards. Resist overdoing the soap otherwise, when it dries, you’ll look like you’ve got dandruff.
Get the look
1. West Barn Co Soap Brows £12, beautybay.com
2. Anastasia Clear Brow Gel £23, cultbeauty.com
3. Benefit Brow Styler Eyebrow Pencil and Powder Duo £23, benefitcosmetics.com
4. BBB Nourishing Brow Oil £22, lookfantastic.com
5. Elizabeth Arden Prevage Clinical Lash + Brow Enhancing Serum £90, elizabetharden.com
I can’t do without: a cleanser that smells of dinner, but works a treat
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, £24, feelunique.com
Oil cleansers are something of an oxymoron. How on earth can oils produce clean faces? Surely it is counterintuitive to wash oily skin with oils. Won’t it clog my pores?
How well an oil cleanser works really depends on the formulation of the product. The best oil cleansers are non-clogging, water-soluble entities perfect for removing grime and makeup without stripping skin. All skins, even the breakout-prone, can benefit from them. You just have to choose the right one.
Japanese brands were the first to introduce the concept of oil cleansers to the western world. This one from DHC has a huge cult following, hence you will find it on every ‘best oil cleansers’ list. And yet when I first tried it many years ago, I didn’t take to it. It does contain a significant amount of olive oil (and smells as such) and also has a hint of rosemary. I love both but in the right context – salad and lamb respectively. And so I dismissed it.
I was wrong. I recently revisited and I am now a bona fide fan. It is balancing, removes makeup easily and quickly (I have no patience for a separate makeup remover), leaves no residue, softens and brightens my skin and cleanses so deeply that stubborn breakouts, which nothing else seemed able to shift, have been conquered. Yes, the scent is still the same but the results are so impressive, I’m totally willing to overlook it. Try it and you probably will, too.
On my radar: a night lipid, a slick salon and an incoming classic
While you sleep Say hello to one of winter’s most anticipated skincare launches. Brimming with algaes, amino acids and vitamins, it increases the skin’s elasticity and decreases the appearance of wrinkles. NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Lipid 1%, £70, niod.com
Well whipped This sustainability driven, gender-neutral hair salon-meets-music lounge caters to all hair types using only vegan, organic and cruelty-free products. If you can’t come to them, they’ll come to you. whiplondon.co.uk
French lessons Fans of the French brand Helena Rubinstein will be thrilled to hear that it is now available here. Try this smoothing, brightening serum – a global best seller. Helena Rubinstein Powercell Skinmunity Serum, £110.50, harrods.com
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