Altar candles, tortoiseshell combs and bath oils for every occasion: we present our wishlist of products from the beauty department
1. Everybody knows the potent allure of Le Labo’s Santal 33 – and now you can lather yourself in its musky glory with the accompanying shower gel, too. It contains vitamin E, aloe vera and flaxseed extract to leave your skin silky smooth, and nothing is quite so indulgent (or sexy) as applying such a scent in multiple layers – a practice which makes it last infinitely longer, and eradicates the need for carrying a bottle of it on you at all times (though we’re tempted, nonetheless).
2. Since time immemorial, clay has formed an integral part of beauty regimens the world over, its ability to absorb impurity from the skin as potent as it is natural. Composed from four natural earth clays and enriched with assorted minerals to promote optimum skin health, Immunocologie’s Vital Clay Mask is precisely what is needed when your complexion is as dull as the December sky. Radiance in a tub.
3. Azzi Glasser’s Sequoia Wood is the perfume that Tom Hardy wears, and it smells delicious on anyone. Need we say more?
4. Face rollers are one of the rare examples of a beauty tool that actually works; regular facial massage with such a device promotes lymphatic drainage, improves circulation and reduces inflammation. Supposedly jade also holds healing properties – a fact which justifies the slightly extravagant cost of acquiring one, such as this by Yu Ling – if you are a little suspicious about that element then rest assured that it will look really fabulous on your dresser.
5. Created by Lady Bamford, her namesake Bamford line ought be a lesson to organic skincare brands industry-wide: the words chic and ethical need not be mutually exclusive. We enthusiastically endorse the Geranium Bath Oil: it smells delicious, makes you feel great and there is absolutely no associated guilt no matter how liberally you use it.
6. When Into The Gloss launched skincare brand Glossier in 2014, it acquired cult status almost overnight for its combination of exceptional branding with great products. Those of us in the UK might not be able to invest in the Moon Mask (amazing) or get our hands on a Haloscope (also amazing) but, through the powers of Net-A-Porter, we can order their multipurpose Balm Dotcom: a cure-all salve for chapped lips, ragged cuticles, and grazes alike.
7. When Le Metiér de Beauté created its Precision Liquid Eyeliner, it was under the guidance of none other than a Montblanc calligrapher. It’s a collaboration which, on reflection, seems to have been foolishly neglected until now – and once you try a winged eyeliner with its perfectly-formed nib, you’ll never be able to go back. The endless streams of cat-eye YouTube tutorials have immediately been rendered redundant. Thank the lord.
8. Dr Sebagh’s Deep Exfoliating Mask is one of the beauty industry’s truest saving graces. Its gloopy orange formula is practically miraculous: four minutes, and you’ll be a new person (or, at least, will have shed any dead skin clinging to your complexion).
9. In the bleak midwinter there are few luxuries as satisfying as taking a bath. Thus, Susanne Kaufmann’s Winter Bath Oil – a remarkably appealing blend of cinnamon, clove and orange oils – is the greatest addition to any bathroom cabinet or bathing ritual. We feel confident that the (particularly festive) joy it will bring can counterbalance all sorts of Vitamin D deficiencies.
10. The acquisition of a Mason Pearson hairbrush is practically a rite of passage on the way towards glamorous adulthood. Originally invented in 1885, they have been proving their worth ever since – and they basically last forever. Hair worthy of a slow-motion commercial awaits.
11. It is a fact universally acknowledged that a Byredo candle is the most immediately effective way of transforming interior ambience – and the brand’s new Saints collection, inspired both in fragrance and form by veladoras, are the simplest way to introduce festive spirit to the season. Inspired by creative director Ben Gorham’s Catholic upbringing, prayer candles are traditionally lit during times of reflection, when seeking guidance from saints who help deliver messages to God – but these versions are equally useful as decorative objects, or ideally to be lit just before hosting guests for mince pies.Â
12. Frederic Malle’s Carnal Flower, created by the renowned Dominique Ropion, is the perfect blend of fresh, sweet florals with animalic spice; a scent it’s almost impossible not to crave. We’d bathe in it if we could afford to – but the complimentary body wash is a good alternative.
13. With each shade named after one of the most important men in Tom Ford’s life, his Lips & Boys lipsticks not only possess every quality you’d want in a waxy tube (nourishing, highly pigmented, long-lasting, etc.) but they are a little bit smaller than their ordinary counterparts, meaning that you need never choose between your cigarettes and your lip colour again.
14. Everything made by L’Officine Universelle Buly is pretty wonderful, but perhaps nothing more so than the series of 70 different acetate combs that they have produced to suit any possible grooming need. From fringe combs to afro picks, each tortoiseshell incarnation is more covetable as the next. And imagine how they’d look all lined up side by side on a shelf.
