Beauty buys you shouldn’t live without

Hello, Hyaluronic face cream

Acid and face cream don’t sound like they should go together, so what on earth is hyaluronic acid – and why do we need it on our visage?

Hyaluronic acid is naturally produced by the body to elasticise the skin and give it its youthful appearance. But as we age, our natural ability to produce hyaluronic acid reduces and skin starts to become dull and dehydrated, which is when fine lines and wrinkles form.

Hyaluronic acid-infused creams penetrate the upper layer of the skin, boosting hydration and elasticity – making it plumper – while forming a protective barrier to lock in the natural moisture from the skin and visibly reduce lines. It has come into mainstream beauty products in the past few years and has high-profile fans – The Guardian beauty writer Sali Hughes swears by it. 

CC’ing into the future

Love BB cream? Then you’ll adore the new super-charged complexion perfector

“CC creams are lighter in texture and feel than blemish balms,” says Ni’Kita Wilson, YouBeauty.com cosmetic chemistry expert. “They focus more on improving skin tone, hence the name colour correction, but they’re also supposedly more nurturing and suitable for oilier types thanks to the lighter texture.”

Some benefits are the same as a BB cream – CCs also act as an anti-ageing repair product with SPF factor, a moisturiser and a primer – but the newest and most vital addition is the increased coverage and colour corrective properties that promise a flawless complexion, minus the need for foundation.

“CC Creams offer added benefits such as treatment for uneven skin tone or anti-ageing, in addition to immediate colour correction and SPF protection,” says Mary Johnson, the principal scientist for P&G Beauty. “The instant and long-term benefits leave skin luminous and even-toned, with the reduced appearance of discolourations, fine lines and wrinkles.”

Coveted by A-listers including Blake Lively, Victoria Beckham and Rihanna, CC creams from Chanel, Max Factor, Olay and Clinique are already being rolled out across the region’s beauty counters, with offerings from more brands hot on their heels.

Perfect for those looking for a one-step skin-perfecting solution, we’re already hooked.

Misty must-haves

More than just a cooling spray of water, hydration mists are your perfect hot weather beauty companion

Perfect for summer in Dubai, hydration mists are more than just a handy way to keep your cool. Packed with essential oils, botanical extracts and glycerin, these moisturising mists balance the PH level of the skin while priming, making them a super-simple step in your existing beauty regime at any time of the day.

A few spritzes on a completely cleansed face in the morning allows for better binding and absorption of your serum and moisturiser, while a few sprays after you’ve finished your make-up will set a newly painted face.

Make-up looking cakey midway through the day? A misting of a spray hydrator will leave you with a dewy glow instead. We love how our face looks radiant and hydrated with a spritz or two – so much so that we take it wherever we go.

Do hair oils really live up to the hype?

Whether your locks are dry from styling or always losing the fight against frizz, hair oils offer a non-greasy solution to bad hair days.

Kicking off with the now-cult Moroccan hair oil, which was launched back in 2009 and is Google’s most searched-for hair product, hair oil is now a multi-million dollar business. L’Oréal reported that its Mythic Oil is the fastest-selling L’Oréal Professionnel product to date, with over 1 million sold in Europe in the first 12 months after its launch last year, while Kérastase’s Elixir Ultime sold over 200,000 bottles a year after its creation.

A step up from standard hair serums that typically just coat hair with silicone for that glassy gloss, these are usually based on the essential fatty acid vitamin E and anti-oxidant-rich argan oil, which penetrate the hair to treat, condition, protect and nourish, while offering glossy, swishy shine, without greasiness or heaviness.

Supplement savvy

Pills that make you prettier? Yes please!

Who said beauty was only skin deep? Beauty supplements are big news for those looking for an easy way to help to slow down the visible signs of ageing and boost the benefits of their existing skincare regime.

A must in the anti-ageing arsenal of celebs including Naomi Campbell and Jessica Biel, these power-packed pills contain a cocktail of vitamins and minerals to nourish the skin, hair and nails from the inside out, in one easy-to-swallow step.

But if pill popping isn’t your thing, how about a supplement-rich drink to help keep you looking young and beautiful? “The natural berries and plant extracts found in Ocoo have various active ingredients that have been shown to work from within,” says Martin Speer, founder of the latest beauty-boosting drink to hit the shelves, Ocoo. “The beauty of it, literally, is that you can see results in six to eight weeks.” 

Clean sweep

What’s the big deal about micellar waters?

A long-standing cult favourite with models everywhere and once only found in the teeniest of Parisian pharmacies, micellar water is an essential in the beauty bags of the biggest make-up artists in the business.

A one-step product designed to whisk away all traces of make-up and dirt in seconds with minimum irritation, micellar water is made of ‘micelles’, which are tiny oil molecules suspended in water that grab on to impurities on your face and dissolve them, without leaving an oily residue.

Beauty skills brush up

Farewell flannels. Sonic face brushes are the new super-powered cleansing tool

Think of it as a giant electronic toothbrush for your face. Working at the speed of sound, battery-powered facial brushes clean far better than conventional washing and, with daily use, leave the complexion more youthful and radiant looking with minimised pores, and fewer wrinkles and fine lines. As well as providing mechanical exfoliation, this gadget also increases circulation with oscillating technology, massaging the face to regenerate cells and help skin look more youthful and plumped.

Use twice a day wet, with your regular cleanser, to thoroughly remove dirt and make-up or, for a more thorough exfoliation, use on dry skin to really slough off any dead skin cells.