Hot on the Highstreet Week 111

My beauty essentials change with each season… in summer I choose products that nourish and protect while encouraging tanning: rich moisturising hair serums and sprays to avoid dry split hair and simple make-up that accentuates sun-kissed skin and adds a warm glow.

With new products on the market all the time, it is difficult to find the best, so I have selected a few fail-safe favourites to pack in your suitcase this summer.

HOOLA – This famous Benefit essential is a beauty bag must have. Easy to apply, ensuring all over even coverage, it lasts well, giving a deep honey brown rather than an offensive orange hue. The bronzer comes with a super cute mini brush that fits conveniently in the box, enabling easy application and storage. Buy here.

INSTITUT ESTHEDERM TAN ENHANCER – I love any product that safely helps me tan. Recently I discovered the Beesline collection in Beirut and now I’m delighted to have found the Institut Esthederm range of luxurious summer lotions that protect and enhance, helping you achieve a natural healthy tan. The tan enhancer doubles up as an aftersun and tan extender; it should be applied directly after sun exposure to repair and soothe the skin and everyday after your holiday to extend your tan. It will calm down redness and helps deepen your colour. The product also contains very subtle shimmer adding an extra glow. Another Esthederm product worth trying is the Bronz Repair, the best-selling sun care lotion for beautiful bodies. This cream protects the skin as it tans and cutaneous tissue is restructured, allowing the body to maintain its youthful appearance in the sun. I found that applying this product once every few hours while sitting in the sun prevented me from burning whilst intensifying my tan. Buy Institut Esthederm products here.

KERASTASE is my favourite for all year round haircare, and their range of sun specific products are particularly effective. This professional brand understands what your hair needs, protecting your precious tresses in harsh damaging sunlight and adding moisture and shine. Aqua Seal and Huile Celeste are both summer holiday essentials. The Aqua Seal hair oil smooths and calms unruly dry, weathered locks, and you only need a tiny drop so it lasts for ages! Huile Celeste contains a beautifully subtle shimmer perfect for glamorous sunbathing excursions…rub a little bit in your hands and evenly run your fingers through the lengths and ends of your hair… avoid roots to prevent unwanted greasiness. Finally the Kerastase Elixir oil is great for intensive recovery of dry wiry hair, making it feel and look softer and shinier immediately. Buy here.

My last product will help you achieve wavy natural summer hair and volume even in the heat of summer. The new SHU UEMURA ‘VOLUME MAKER’ is magic… a truly unique and innovative product. The invisible texturising powder lifts the hair from the root and instantly transforms the look. Better still the dust comes with an easy to use brush for easy application and it’s perfect for handbag storage. Beach ready hair in a flash. Buy here.

Now that you’ve got your beauty bag for summer sorted, you just need to book your flight to an exotic beach.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 96: Spring Beauty Must Haves

The clocks have gone forward and spring is upon us… I have found and tried some of the best beauty products designed to prep, prime and plump your skin, face and hair ready for the new season.

I love the Shu Uemura make up range so it is no surprise that I found the ART OF HAIR care equally effective. These high end products are results driven and will not let you down… you can rarely purchase them in high street stores, instead the brand prefers to be stocked by the salons that use them and they can also be bought online. Shu Uemura hair care is expensive but worth every penny. The Silk Bloom restorative shampoo (£24) and conditioner (£32) are the perfect way to start your hair routine. Before blowdrying apply Satin Design Polishing Milk (£22) which will create a gorgeous shine and fluid movement. I also love the Shu Ample Angora (£16.75), a voluminizing light foam which adds a graceful wave to my hair.

For further styling, use your little black bottle of Nicky Clarke’s newest product, the backcombing dust ‘Tease Me’ (£14.50) to create a messy hairstyle with texture and volume. Simple apply to the roots and fluff up.

Thalgo is not a brand I’ve heard of before now. Leaders in marine beauty, they use active sea ingredients to create transforming skin products. I was very pleased to discover their Energising Vitality Cream (£33.20) which is ideal for my dehydrated skin providing an instant moisture lift and, thanks to the enriching vitamins, leave the skin dewy and vibrant. I adore the Thalgo Reviving Marine Mist (£24.50) too because it is so easy to apply and to use wherever whenever. It is a refreshing spray that will ensure your skin receives the therapeutic benefits of the sea, without leaving home.

The SUPER range by Dr Nicholas Perricone substitutes the toning step of your skin routine with activating. These revolutionary products use the power of superfoods to give your skin an essential boost, hydrating and ensuring a springtime glow. Displayed in stylishly simple bottles, I have tried the Brightening Activator, a treatment prep with Melon Carotenoids (£28.50), it gave my skin a healthy glow all day, and seems to improve with each day you continue to use it.

The most appropriate spring product though is Perricone MD No Sun Tanner (£54). This product naturally smooths, tones and develops sun kissed skin. The products promises to avoid the usual self tanning dilemmas – no stickiness, unpleasant odours nor streaks. Presented in a very smart glass bottle, it is a luxurious designer self tanner that will prepare your pasty legs for their first uncovered spring outing. I love the coconut smell and found after a few days of use I had a lovely sun kissed colour. This is my favourite spring must buy product.

I’m sure I don’t need to introduce you to the Philip Kingsley products, as this famed hairdressers range is known amongst beauty lovers as the vital hair products. Kingsley is a leading authority on hair health, his products have had miraculous effects on my bleach damaged hair. The carefully concocted products sooth and energise tired hair and scalp. The Scalp Toner (£17.90) is a particularly wonderful product which supplies the scalp with stimulating stringent and antibacterial benefits, hoping to promote growth. The leave in formula applied after washing has a relaxing effect. With my blonde hair I prefer to wear it curly, which is when the Philip Kingsley’s weatherproof hairspray (£9.50) comes in handy. This multi-purpose hairspray is perfect to prepare for unexpected spring showers and has a flexible lasting hold.

Geilly Green are one of my very favourite salons, offering wonderful treatments and their own range of luxurious products. I recently tried their natural hand and body wash, an indulgent grapefruit and cassis flavoured shower gel (£12) that will leave you feeling silky and smooth and smelling delicious.

These are just a few of my favourites for spring, I’d love to hear about what you use to prepare your skin and hair for the warmer months!