It’s almost the end of the shortest month of the year, beauty pickers, which means it’s time for another top 10 beauty finds rundown. It’s also the last official month of winter – yahoo! – and we’ve now counted more than 48 consecutive hours with no rain so we’re feeling a bit spring-like in many of our picks this month. So, what are the chart movers and shakers for February? Read on, lip smackers.
Topping the charts in the Number One spot is Merit with its new Signature Lip Blush. It’s a lipstick that isn’t a lipstick, a balm that is no ordinary balm, a swipe of matte colour that’s emphatic yet still sheer. Yes, it’s like its very own riddle of the Sphinx. But whatever the answer is that you arrive at it should include trying it because this really is the next level, new gen, hybrid lip colour that nourishes and hydrates as it goes, and contains anti-feathering tech so it stays were you put it. Prepare to pucker up, buttercups. Shop here.
In at Number Two we’re revelling in thoughts of faraway shores, warmer climates and enjoying spritzing the brand new Hermès Un Jardin Sous La Mer fragrance. It’s inspired by the Polynesian island of Taha’a – that’s off the coast of Tahiti, peeps – so you won’t be surprised to learn that it’s plentiful on the Tiare flower front but it’s combined with the earthiness of tamamu nut alongside mineral notes to create a spritz that’s both exotic, aquatic and a little wistful. Shop here.
Number Three sees a return to the charts for Milk Makeup. This time it’s the Hydro Grip Gel Concealer that has us all agog. Housed in stick form, it’s a gel-to-cream formula and contains three weights of hyaluronic acid to really hydrate skin, agave for sticking power and a youth peptide so it doesn’t sit in fine lines around the eyes. But you can also use it to even out the complexion or cover blemishes, and it gives a really natural-looking skin finish. An easy makeup win, it’s available in 22 shades. Shop here.
Staying in the realms of dewy complexions we have Clarins entering the charts at Number Four with its new Double Serum Foundation. It’s the French brand’s first hybrid serum foundation and centres around its iconic Double Serum skincare and plant-derived technology. It delivers deep hydration, gentle skin exfoliation for a smoother and brighter complexion over time, and offers buildable medium to full coverage with a satin-y, dewy finish. It all feels and looks very lush. Available in 37 shades, shop yours here.
We’re sticking with new complexion heroes at Number Five as we welcome back a regular in the beauty charts: Reome. This time it’s for the brand-new Hydra Plasma Veil Bio-Cellulose Mask. The fully decomposable sheet masks (so much so they can go in with your food waste) are densely layered with serum, full of botanical and biotech actives that are designed to replenish and repair skin and deliver a surge of hydration while also refining texture and leaving a low-mollecular collagen breathable film that locks in the moisture and supports skin elasticity. In other words, this mask give skin an incredible super boost. You won’t look back. Shop here.
We’re back on the lip colour track at Number Six as we swoon over Dr Dennis Gross and his DermInfusions® Plump + Repair Lip Treatment. Choose from either clear or gently tinted colours such as a pale pink or a berry (there’s also beige and brown) and swipe over lips for a glossy finish – don’t think gloopy lip gloss here, this is more like a delicate layer of shimmer – and let the plumping peptides get to work. Don’t be mistaken: this is no alternative to filler or going to totally transform your lips, but you’ll feel it working, a tingling as though you’ve put a put too much chilli in a sauce so it’s noticeable but not uncomfortable and passes within 10 minutes or so. Then you’ll see a slight boost to the lip volume appearance. Plus this delivers some serious hydration and offers a delicate way to dress up lips as if they’re slipping into a silk negligee. Shop here.
This chart is definitely focused on keeping things simple as at Number Seven we bid bonjour to Jones Road and its new eye shadow sticks. The brand, founded by the MUA Bobbi Brown – in case you didn’t know – is all about easy options and natural looks, and this creamy, pigmented shadow can transform things with a swipe and a smudge and can go all day without creasing. It glides on, the colour is easily buildable and it contains no talc or silicones. Available in eight neutral matte shades ranging from a light bone to a cool chocolate, you can shop it here.
We’re showing some serious love to Simihaze at Number Eight as the brand launches in Space NK with its distinctive colourful packing much of which is reminiscent of stacks of slim and fun colour cosmetics with a skincare element included. Founded by Palestinian entrepreneurs and sisters Simi and Haze Khadra, who have also had successful careers in fashion and DJing, the cult picks include the hydrating Skin Suede Melting Bronze Balm and the Sun Flush All-Over Face Tint that give a sheer flush to skin delivered with a doe foot applicator housed in the chubby pot that looks like a Botero-style bon bon. Shop here.
It’s all about grey hair thinking at Number Nine as we give a very well deserved nod to Sisley and its excellent (and very luxurious) addition to its much-loved haircare line Hair Rituel by Sisley – Blonde, White and Grey Beautifying Haircare Mask to give it its full title. The mask helps to neutralise any yellow or brassy tones to make the hair colour shine once more and doesn’t leave purple residue on the hair – or anywhere else – and leaves hair feeling soft too. Joy! Rapture! Shop here.
And we’re finishing on another hair flourish with Space NK‘s own brand range of hair tools and accessories coming in at Number Ten. There’s a claw clip, a wide-tooth comb and creaseless hair clips that all come in a distinctive and very chic golden and cream marble-effect finish. Prepare to be flaunting these in a tote all summer long. Shop here.
Top image: photography courtesy of Simihaze.
