Old and new beauty 2023
2023 hasn’t been a massive beauty product year for me. Since trialling Renude’s skincare advisory a while ago, I’ve stuck to a few regular trusted skincare products. Plus, I don’t get sent nearly as much PR stuff to try these days, which is something of a relief. But here’s an end-of-year rundown of new-ish products I’ve been enjoying and old ones that still deliver.
1/ SHISEIDO REVITALESSENCE SKIN GLOW FOUNDATION. After being a Chanel Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint* girl for a few years, I tried the Shiseido Revitalessence Skin Glow Foundation, SPF 30 with fermented Kefir and Niacinamide* (below) at the end of summer. It’s perfect for autumn and winter. Part of the new breed of skincare-infused makeup, it’s billed as the first Shiseido foundation containing the same amount of skincare as a Shiseido serum, with the benefit of new technology that boosts the skin microbiome and improves moisture levels. (It also plays nicely with my Byoma Moisturising Gel-cream.) As the name suggests, it has a beautiful sheer-to-medium coverage with a natural-but-glowy finish and is satisfyingly long-wearing. I’d particularly recommend it if your skin leans to dry at this time of year. The shade range is impressive for a Japanese brand – I use number 360 “Citrine”. A bonus mention here goes to the new Burberry Beauty counter at Selfridges*. I really rate Burberry beauty and have missed seeing it on counters. The foundations were always excellent, so I may revisit.
2/ DRUNK ELEPHANT B-GOLDI BRIGHT DROPS. More skincare-infused make-up. I use this Drunk Elephant Illuminating Serum* (below) under my Shiseido foundation. Illuminators are obviously nothing new, but I like the subtleness of this formula. It’s a squeezable liquid (shake well first), you just need to warm one drop between your fingers and pat onto the area you want – e.g. the tops of cheekbones. The skincare element comes when you add a drop to your regular serum, oil or face cream. Its blend of 5% niacinamide, diglucosyl gallic acid, and mulberry leaf extract help to fade hyperpigmentation, dark spots, and post-breakout marks.
3/ SKIN ROCKS THE CREAM CLEANSER. I’ve been pretty faithful to my balm cleansers (Clinique, Byoma) this year, but if you’re looking for a super-rich and decadent make-up removing cream cleanser, Skin Rocks The Cream Cleanser* (below) is your guy. The texture and citrus-floral fragrance in particular are sublime, on a par experience-wise with Japanese cleansers like Cle de Peau, but slightly less expensive. There’s also a fragrance-free version* for easily aggravated skin.
4/ CERAVE SA SMOOTHING CLEANSER. This is the polar opposite to the above cleanser. Where Skin Rocks is indulgent and sensorial, this is a basic, unsexy wash-off gel cleanser. It’s interesting to note that there’s been a backlash lately to actives overload. Cerave is known for its skin-pampering ceramides, while the addition of salicylic acid here is ideal for gently exfoliating and smoothing bumpy skin. Buy it here*.
5/ JONES ROAD BEAUTY. Another reason I’ve not tried much new make-up this year: I’m still hooked on two stalwarts. Jones Road Beauty The Lip Tint in Just Peachy* is actually my go-to blusher. Its sheer, ultra-emollient, Vitamin e-infused stick formula is easy to blend on the go. (It’s officially a lip product, so effectively a two-in-one.) I wear it over the Jones Road Miracle Balm in Bronze* all year round.
6/ MAYA NJIE X TAYĒR STUDIOS. I love this intoxicating new fragrance collaboration from Maya Njie (below). A project with London cocktail bar Tayēr + Elementary, Liquid Amber takes cedar wood as its main note, an ingredient featured in both Maya’s perfumes and Tayer + Elementary cocktails. Balanced with pink pepper, cardamom and sandalwood, it’s a boozy, spicy and smoky scent for winter afternoons cosying in candlelit bars. Spray sparingly!
7/ WOULD YOU USE A TOOTHPASTE-LESS TOOTHBRUSH? My dental health obsession knows no bounds. The latest is a toothbrush with a couple of twists. Soladey brushes are a range of Japanese ‘ionic’ toothbrushes that use patented technology to harness the chemistry between light, water and a titanium oxide semi-conductor rod in the upper shaft of the brush. The twist: no toothpaste. Instead, the cleaning happens when the titanium oxide rod converts light (from daylight or a bathroom light bulb) into negatively charged ions, which are also generated by a solar panel in the base of the brush. The negative ions travel to the brush bristles when water is added to the rod, blending with saliva to attract positive ions from the dental plaque acid – kind of magnetically sucking off and disintegrating the plaque. The Soladey Rhythm 2 brush* is a battery-operated electric toothbrush – so no charger required. It also has smaller-than-average replaceable heads (good for small mouths), a small, lighter handle (for small hands), two speeds of vibration and a 2-minute timer. You can use toothpaste if you crave that minty-fresh feeling, but the brush does its job fine without it. The manual Soladey5 brush* (below) is the simplified version. It still uses the ionic technology, but without the battery-powered vibrations – a good handbag, camping, or travelling light option.
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WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Kees van Dongen – L’Ecuyere Rosa; Shiseido, Drunk Elephant, Skin Rocks; Maya Njie; Soladey
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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