DECEMBER FAVOURITES
Northumberland finally feels like the winter I've been waiting for - sub-zero temperatures and beautifully sunny, but bitterly frosty mornings - and because I foolishly took my foot off the life-accelerator, I've become an incubus of viral plague.
Cue steaming baths laced with Aromatherapy Associates' {Inner Strength Bath & Shower Oil} - a soul-soothing, spirit-lifting, ache-relieving elixir, that has helped me breathe more easily and resist giving in to the cold-induced gloom. It helps that the bottle looks fancy (warning: keep 'out of reach' of curious paternal units).
I've scraped the last, velvety remnants from my mammoth pot of Emma Hardie's {Moringa Cleansing Balm} - the perfect cleanser for all types and seasons, it's especially gentle on sensitive, cold-and-tissue-ruffled winter skins; melting make up and dissolving grime without leaving your face feeling stripped.
And because my skin had been rebelling (the grossness on the inside is reflected on the outside), Eve Lom's {Rescue Mask} has, quite literally, come to the rescue. A thick, clarifying clay-based treatment with camphor to decongest skin (and sinuses), and honey to calm irritation and accelerate pimples' demise, harmony should be restored in time for New Year's Eve (please Eve!).
December has been all about the 'faux glow' - my face has been illuminated like the Blackpool Tower thanks to all-over pearlescent primer, {Luminizing Moisture Tint} and more highlighter than my GCSE text books. Beautyblender's ADORABLE {Micro Minis} are neon for easy retrieval from make up abysses, and allow effortless diffusion of creams and powders, to do-away with tell-tale tidelines, and mimic that sought-after, soft focus finish.
And to fake a healthy flush, I've been relying (heavily) on NudeStix {Lip & Cheek Pencil} in 'Blush' - a warm, apricot-y shade to counteract a pasty pallor...
And because red lipstick clashes with my Rudolphine nose, bold brows are the only other option. {DipBrow Pomade} in 'Dark Brown', painted on with the {#12 Brow Brush} looks sufficiently distracting, and makes me feel a little bit more Audrey (and a bit less Bridget).
Cult Beauty’s Content Editor and a Cult Beauty OG, Verity loves nothing more than the marriage of language and lip balm. A quintessential Libran, she’s a self-professed magpie for luxury ‘must-haves' and always pursuing the new and the niche — from the boujee-est skin care to cutting-edge tech. Balancing an urge to stop the clock with her desire to embrace the ageing process (and set a positive example for her daughter), Verity's a retinol obsessive and will gladly share her thoughts about the time-defying gadgets, masks and treatments worth the splurge...
