"What beauty products do you think are the best?" is one of the most common questions I get asked and it usually comes from beauty-virgins or beauty-beginners looking for guidance. But this question recently got me thinking...what do you gift girls who are new to the beauty scene? Well only one thing came to mind...cult classics. The world is blessed with some amazing beauty products and if I could carry these cult beauty classics around with me 24/7, on the off chance I get washed up on a desert island, I would! So if you are considering gifting a girl who doesn't know her AHAs from her illuminators, I would recommend the below...
...starting with Thierry Mugler's Angel 50ml (£64.50 mugler.co.uk). Angel is a cult fragrance considered to be the world's first gourmand fragrance. It is a sweet and warming scent that is packed full of interesting notes, including tops notes of jasmine, coconut, cotton candy and bergamot, middle notes of honey, red berries, apricot and plum, and base notes of tonka bean, chocolate, vanilla and caramel. It is a very intricate and interesting scent that many women have fallen in love with, me included!
The Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate 30ml (£36.00 kiehls.co.uk) is worshipped worldwide by practically all beauty lovers. It is a great entry level product for those nervous about experimenting with face oils. This is because it is incredibly lightweight and doesn't really feel like a 'normal' face oil at all. In fact, when it comes to texture, I would say the Midnight Recovery Concentrate feels like a cross between an oil and a serum. The morning after you apply this cult beauty classic, skin is radiant, refreshed and super smooth. I've never known a face oil to produce these type of results so quickly. I just can't stress it enough, this midnight miracle is a serious must have!
One of the oldest cult beauty products around is the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream 50ml (£26.00 Boots). This skin-protectant is not only award-winning but legendary; helping women across the world since the 1930s. It is a multipurpose emollient that helps to soothe, heal and treat a variety of different skin problems. I use the Eight Hour Cream for a crazy number of things, including soothing sunburn, conditioning my cuticles, treating dry skin and shaping my brows. I've never known a woman not to love or need this skin saviour!
The next cult classic, similar to the Eight Hour Cream, is Egyptian Magic 118ml (£29.00 Liberty); another multipurpose skin cream that is loved by millions. Don't be confused by its name though, it may call itself a cream however it has a balm-like consistency that melts into an oil when rubbed onto the skin. Like Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream, Egyptian Magic is a multitasking miracle. It helps to heal scars and bruises, relieve chapped skin, smooth skin and even treat dry hair ends. And that is just a few of its many uses...
Moving on to makeup, the next cult classic is the NARS Blush in Orgasm 4.8g (£23.00 narscosmetics.co.uk). Orgasm is a highlighter blush that has a warm, pink shade with a strong golden shimmer-sheen. It is probably one of the world's most famous blushers - likely due to the fact it compliments most skin tones, sits beautifully on the skin and has great lasting power. If my skin is ever looking dull or tired, I apply Orgasm to perk it up and it does the trick every time. This blusher really is a great gift for any girl...I mean, who wouldn't want an Orgasm this Christmas!?
Next up we have a cult favourite among all bronzing beauties, Benefit's Hoola! Hoola 8g (£23.50 Boots) is a medium to dark bronzer that flatters a variety of different skin tones. It is highly pigmented, long lasting and provides a gorgeous natural glow to the skin. I am a huge Hoola fan and what I love most about it is its matte finish; there is nothing I hate more than shimmery or sparkly bronzers. Because of its finish and builability, Hoola is also the perfect product to use when contouring. It is the UK's best selling bronzer, so you really can't go wrong with gifting this beaut!
The final makeup product on the list is the Dior Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara 10ml (£25.00 Boots). Considered to be one of the greatest mascaras in the world, the Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara creates longer, curler lashes without any clumping whatsoever. The wand is shaped in such a genius way that you can really work the mascara into the base of the lashes, helping to lift and curl them even more! The wand's shape also makes applying mascara to the bottom lashes an absolute dream; it covers every lash with one swipe and also prevents mascara mishaps. The results of this iconic mascara are long-lasting; lashes never flake and their gorgeous shape stays intact for hours and hours after application!
The last cult classic worthy of gifting this Christmas is the OPI Lincoln Park After Dark 15ml (£12.50 Selfridges) Nail Lacquer. This shade is an OPI classic that most mani-obsessed girls will have in their nail kits, in fact, it's a crime if they don't! Lincoln Park After Dark is very dark purple, so dark that it is verging on black. However the shade suits everyone and, being an OPI polish, it is uber glossy, long lasting, easy to apply and all-round amazing!
Next up we have a cult favourite among all bronzing beauties, Benefit's Hoola! Hoola 8g (£23.50 Boots) is a medium to dark bronzer that flatters a variety of different skin tones. It is highly pigmented, long lasting and provides a gorgeous natural glow to the skin. I am a huge Hoola fan and what I love most about it is its matte finish; there is nothing I hate more than shimmery or sparkly bronzers. Because of its finish and builability, Hoola is also the perfect product to use when contouring. It is the UK's best selling bronzer, so you really can't go wrong with gifting this beaut!
The final makeup product on the list is the Dior Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara 10ml (£25.00 Boots). Considered to be one of the greatest mascaras in the world, the Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara creates longer, curler lashes without any clumping whatsoever. The wand is shaped in such a genius way that you can really work the mascara into the base of the lashes, helping to lift and curl them even more! The wand's shape also makes applying mascara to the bottom lashes an absolute dream; it covers every lash with one swipe and also prevents mascara mishaps. The results of this iconic mascara are long-lasting; lashes never flake and their gorgeous shape stays intact for hours and hours after application!
The last cult classic worthy of gifting this Christmas is the OPI Lincoln Park After Dark 15ml (£12.50 Selfridges) Nail Lacquer. This shade is an OPI classic that most mani-obsessed girls will have in their nail kits, in fact, it's a crime if they don't! Lincoln Park After Dark is very dark purple, so dark that it is verging on black. However the shade suits everyone and, being an OPI polish, it is uber glossy, long lasting, easy to apply and all-round amazing!
