If December’s excesses have taken their toll, pretend the party season never happened (what cocktails??) with these brilliant, dullness-dispelling essentials. Whether it’s an opalescent base to scatter light and counteract the tell-tale signs of Quality Street-withdrawal, or bronzing powders to bestow a post-holiday glow (even though you’ve been holed up in rain-sodden Suffolk), we’ve cherry-picked the best glow-giving heroes to ensure you look ‘alive’ instead of like you’ve just shrugged off a Christmas chrysalis… Let’s start the new year as we mean to glow on, shall we…?
Always leading the charge when it comes to creating the world’s most sought-after make up, {Charlotte Tilbury} has triumphed yet again with her incredible {Brightening Youth Glow}. A skin care confection with instant and long-term effects, this sheer, silvery veil contains colour-correcting actives, antioxidants and fortifying rosehip seed oil to help bolster skin’s strength and maintain moisture levels, while magical, ‘anti-shadow’ pigments scatter light to guarantee a stunning ‘soft focus’ finish. It’s effectively ‘dew’ in a tube – a brilliant base for your everyday make up, as well as a great way to gradually brighten dark spots, acne scars and diminish persistent redness.
A key trend for 2018, luminous ‘outdoorsy’ skin is about to be big news in beauty – that über-healthy, ever-envied ‘glow’ that comes with early-morning runs and always drinking all the water: think a baby Kate Moss meets the family von Trapp if you’re still in need some sk-inspiration… A featherweight fluid, BECCA’s brilliant {First Light Priming Filter} has a subtle lilac hue which helps to neutralise the sallow tones and counteract the ‘greyness’ that goes hand-in-hand with winter. Phenomenally dewy and enriched with spring water, hyaluronic acid and ginger, to boost moisture levels and energise cells for a plumped-up and fresh-faced effect.
If you’re really in need of a luminosity leg-up, look no futher than Cover FX’s clever Custom Enhancer Drops. Phenomenally glimmery, these molten metal liquids can be added to your day cream, blended with foundation, used to highlight or applied strategically to ‘lift’ a lacklustre complexion – sandwiched between skin care and your base to lend a gorgeous, lamplit radiance to faces showing signs of S.A.D… What’s more, with a spectrum of colours to choose from – from cool holographics to sun-soaked bronze tones – you’ll find something that’s certain to suit you.
For that gorgeous, came-in-from-the-cold look, a dusting of blush is the ultimate foil for complexions that look a little worse for wear… faking that post-workout flush (without having to lift a limb). Perfectly pink and laced with iridescence to lend ‘life’ to lifeless skin, Benefit’s cute Dandelion Twinkle is adorable… it’s like a filter for your face, granting flattering, pinched-your-cheeks prettiness – irrespective of your skin tone.
Feeling frustratingly sun starved? Perricone MD’s {No Bronzer Bronzer} is as realistic as its name implies, bestowing a beautiful, olive-toned tan to your mid-winter skin. Dispensed via pipette, just a drop blended from cheek to cheek will instantly inspire countless ‘you look well!’ remarks from jealous co-workers, or add a few drops of this dewy elixir to lotion or your {BB cream} to lend soft, honeyed warmth to your pasty pallor.
If you want an instant lift, look no further than RMS Beauty’s be-a-oooootiful {Luminizer X Quad}, which boasts a quartet of soft, shimmering creams to exaggerate cheekbones, lend light to eyelids and help widen (and brighten!) your sleep-deprived peepers. With all four shades of best-loved {Living Luminizer} in a sleek and slimline palette, this kit is essential for all those who’re keeping things ‘clean’ throughout 2018 (RMS has a strict ‘no synthetics’ stance) and will leave your skin looking ethereal *goalz*. After all, if something’s good enough for Ms. Bündchen it’s more than good enough for us…