Top picks: lotions and potions

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Sugar and spice

Righter than right

Never had a feeling so nice, no, girl

I wanna tell the world

I found me a…. *

I found me a hair conditioner that is making my hair so soft and silky that I think I am in LOVE!  It’s melted my jaded heart and I can already tell that Grown hair conditioner and I are going to be together forever.

It got me to thinking: what else rocks my boat so much that I’ll be using it forever?   Oh, I may play the field a little, tease some other products, flirt in the cosmetics aisle, but there are always a few treasures that I’ll swear to love til death do us part.

So here are my top picks.  There are so many, many products out there and yet how many actually work brilliantly and do exactly what they promise to? So I thought the ones that do work deserve this shout-out.

Hair Conditioner

Conditioner is a good a place to start as any.  Grown (Damask Rose, Camomile & Lavendar Stem) is my new bestie. The only other that really stands out in the sea of hair products, adding shine, intense softness and bounce, is Sebastian evokative Full Volume Conditioner.

Shampoo

With a scalp that displays signs of a split personality (sometimes dry, sometimes oily – arrgh!), a good shampoo that meets its needs in every way is hard to find. These don’t dry my scalp out, and yet they leave my hair feeling so damn FRESH and CLEAN!

• Aveda Rosemary Mint Shampoo
• MOP Mixed Greens Shampoo
• Sebastian evokative Full Volume Shampoo

Face Cleanser

I’ve got a lot of requirements when it comes to cleansers.  The perfect cleanser has to leave my face feeling super clean, but not stripped of its natural oils in any way. It must be gentle and yet work thoroughly!  My skin must not feel dry and at the same time, I don’t want to feel any kind of leftover residue, as though the cleanser has yet to totally wash off.  I don’t usually use a separate eye make up remover, so it must be kind to the delicate skin around my eyes.  These cleansers have the Little Red Fire Engine Stamp of Approval:

• Korres White Tea Facial Gel Cleanser
• L’Occitane Olive Tree Organic Cleansing Foam
• Priori Gentle Facial Cleanser

Face Moisturiser

Glowing, dewy, soft, hydrated skin is GO with these moisturisers.  No more dryness, nor the opposite – you know, where your skin is a little too oily or it feels clogged up.  I like my skin to BREATHE!  Moisturiser has to feel Just Right. Like these do!

• Aesop Mandarin Facial Hydrating Cream
• Aesop Camellia Nut Facial Hydrating Cream is a richer cream, so it’s great to use during winter (it’s also good as a night cream)

• Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion, the tried and true moisturiser
• Korres Wild Rose 24 Hour Moisturising Cream

Body Lotion

• Aveda Rosemary Mint Body Lotion is reserved for those times I need a little bit of luxury in my life. It’s SO creamy and thick, and soaks deep into my skin. I feel totally moisturised with no moisturise-y residue. It truly works.
• L’Occitane Grape Beauty Milk. It smells divine and feels divine and yes, it works too.
• And for everyday use, there’s Redwin Sorbolene Moisturiser. You cannot go past this moisturiser for value and quality.

Sunscreen

A great face sunscreen must not feel heavy, gluggy, greasy or as though it’s blocking my skin from breathing. You don’t want any pimples. The sunscreen should be totally effective in blocking out those damaging UV rays while feeling light, fresh, nice smelling and pretty much unnoticeable.  It’s difficult to find sunscreens that tick all the boxes but these two definitely do!

• Kit Cosmetics spf 30+ Face Sunscreen is a gem of a sunscreen. It’s perfect in every way, although it’s not water proof so you do need to reapply reguarly if swimming or sweating.

• Pevonia Botanica Hydrating Sunscreen spf30, at the other end of the price scale, is also brilliant although it’s not water proof either.  This sunscreen can block the strongest of rays.

Lip Balm

Apart from hand cream, lip balm is the only other product I apply all day long and carry everywhere. Lucas’ Pawpaw Ointment is the biz-nass when it comes to lips.  Anything else I’ve tried seems to leave my lips actually feeling drier! Weird but true. If you have any suggestions, let us all know!

Hand cream

My love affair with hand cream goes way back. I can remember, as a six year old, sitting in the front seat of the car next to Grandma, on our way to church. She’d be wearing a lovely floral number (possibly pleated and definitely in polyester), a hat, a hairnet and gloves. She would smell of talcum powder, which doubled as her perfume and deodorant (its called Being Frugal, folks!).

She’d take a little tube of hand cream out of her hand bag, and always offer some.  We’d sit there in the front seat and rub hand cream into our hands. I would watch her and rub my hands the same way.

These hand creams are the ultimates:

• L’occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream Body
• Shop Hemp Hand Protector
• Vaseline Intensive Care Healthy Hands & Nail

* ‘Sugar and Spice’ – Luther Vandross

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