The Luxe List

If I had to choose a desert-island beauty product, chances are it would a lip balm. I cannot stand the feeling of lips which are dry or chapped. It grosses me out, and it really is one of the worst sensations I can imagine, not to mention, it doesn’t look great.

In my quest to keep winter lips at bay, I’ve been turning to Lush’s Sugar Plum Fairy Lip Scrub. Part of the brand’s Christmas offerings, it’s a super festive choice, which smells absolutely divine, and works a treat too! Lush have a surprisingly huge range of scrubs, but this scent might just be my favourite.

After cleansing, I take a little of the scrub on my finger, and work it into my lips. It’s a mostly sugar formula, which is fortified with Wild Sweet Orange Oil and Jojoba Oil, so it moisturises as well as exfoliates. It’s the perfect thing to use pre-lipstick application, and I’ve been using it pretty much every second day to keep lips smooth despite dropping temperatures.

Lush Sugar Plum Fairy Lip Scrub is priced at £6.50 and is available here

When it comes to winter beauty, it feels pretty much mandatory to switch up your perfumes. During the summer I’m a big citrus girl – I love the freshness of orange blossoms, vetivert and anything soapy, so when the seasons start to change, it feels natural to retreat into lush gardenias and tuberose. Those big florals can be a little much for daytime wear, so I’m always on the hunt for a gorgeous option which I can rely on daily. Clean Reserve is a brand I’ve been pretty much obsessed with for a few years now – I love the ethos behind the brand – they don’t produce scents you’re going to identify. Instead, they just smell great.

Warm Cotton was the first Clean Reserve fragrance I tried, so when I saw the brand had updated it in their Avant Garden Collection with the addition of White Amber, I couldn’t resist trying it out, and honestly, I am so glad I did. White Amber & Warm Cotton is a cosier take on the original, and it feels tailor-made for colder temperatures. When first applied, the tops notes feel exactly like the original Warm Cotton – it’s soft, and fresh and really does feel quite special.

Once the fragrance settles, the notes of White Amber come through – they’re soft enough not to feel overwhelming, and add a little depth to the scent. The longevity of the perfume is surprisingly great – I love spraying it on sweaters and scarves, as it just smells so gorgeously cosy. As if the perfume wasn’t great enough – Clean Reserve is a brand which have the environment at the heart of their production. They only use sustainable ingredients for the perfume, and the packaging is completely eco-friendly too. As you can probably tell, I’m in love with it – it’s perfect for wearing to meetings and for days out, and I’ve not stopped wearing it since it arrived!

Clean Reserve Avant Garden White Amber & Warm Cotton is priced at £129 and is available here (UK) and here (US)

If it was socially acceptable, I’d wear glitter all day, every day. I love the stuff. I love how it twinkles and glints in the light. I love it in lipgloss, in shadows and in powders, and it’s a continual struggle not to ask for glittery nails every time I’m in the salon. So, when Too Faced’s Tutti Fruity range landed on my desk, and a whole lot of it was pure sparkle, you can imagine how excited I was!

One of eight available shades which range from silver to aqua, the Twinkle Twinkle shadows are a new liquid formula, which the brand describe as a ‘multi-dimensional, high-glitter liquid glitter eye shadows (which) cover lids in full-coverage Tutti Frutti glitz.’

I’m not sure I’d agree with the full coverage claims – it’s definitely bold and very sparkly, but the glitter is held in a sheer liquid, so it feels more like a glaze than a full-on shadow. It’s a gorgeous effect though – I love it over a taupe powder shadow which gives it a bit of depth. If you’re looking for a product which will take your look from day to night – this is the one for you! I take the doe foot applicator, and wipe it onto a finger, then pat it onto the lid. The effect is a bold one – it’s seriously glitzy, and it feels perfect for my up-coming festive events!

Too Faced Twinkle Twinkle Liquid Glitter Eyeshadow is priced at £18 and is available here

There are Christmas traditions, and there are Christmas traditions, and this one is certainly part of the latter. When the clocks go back, I pretty much make a beeline for Lush. Their winter collections are the stuff of legend, and I’m not are that there are many beauty products which are quite as iconic as Snow Fairy. It’s the sweetest, pinkest, most festive line you can imagine. And honestly, I’m obsessed with the stuff.

I’ve got a review of the Snow Fairy shower gel lined up (which is a good thing, since I’m currently the proud owner of about three bottles of it) but one of the surprises of the season has been the Snow Fairy Body Conditioner. I feel like I might have tried it in the past, but oh my god, if you’re looking to banish winter-dry skin, this is the pot for you.

Much like the conditioners you use on your hair, Lush’s Body Conditioner is designed to moisturise and nourish skin. A particularly useful product, if, like me, you suffer from winter skin. The formula contains avocado and mango butters to deeply hydrate, and it smoothes on like silk. As you would expect from the Snow Fairy lineup, the Body Conditioner smells divine – all sweetness and candy floss. It’s the perkiest way to start each morning, and guaranteed, your skin will thank you for the addition to your routine each morning!

Lush Snow Fairy Body Conditioner is priced at £8.95 and is available here.

Sometimes it’s the products that you never even knew you needed which completely blow your mind. Case in point? Bobbi Brown’s Dual-Ended Bronzer/Face Blender Brush which was included in a PR parcel a few weeks back, and I’ve used it daily since.

Combining pretty much the only two brushes I use regularly, the brush combines a Bronzer Brush with a Face Blender, which can be used for baking powders, blushes or even highlight. Considering brushes are an investment, the combination gives you real bang for your buck – you’re getting two full sized brushes for pretty much the price of one. Before receiving Bobbi Brown’s version, I used a huge fluffy brush for bronzer, but this version is oh-so-much better. Big enough to give skin a beautifully diffused look, it’s small enough to use in cheekbones and under the chin to provide a subtle hint of definition. It also fits into smaller pans (Benefit Hula is normally a nightmare to dig a good brush into) so it’s incredibly versatile.

Quite a few years back, Bobbi Brown’s Face Blender Brush used to be my go-to. So much so that I literally wore it out, and I’m not quite sure why I didn’t get a replacement. I’m overjoyed to have one back in my collection, because it’s one handy tool to have around. If you’re a fan of baking or finishing powders, this one works well. It also sweeps blush on like a dream, and I’ve been loving it to apply subtle powder highlights.

The brush could not be more useful, and it slips right into my makeup bag for easy touch-ups on the go!