Beauty Knowhow: Lip balm glams up
The humble lip balm is having a bit of a makeover. The biggest news comes from Bkr, the brand of glass water bottles that has recently launched its Paris Water Balm (£20): a lip-conditioning vegan offering with 16 plant actives and without parabens, sulphates and phthalates. Buy it on its own or get the alternative Compact Cap (£8), which has a neat little slot in which the pot can nestle, so you can attach it to the Tutu Black Cherry Lip bottle (£28, all available from mybkr.co.uk). Then, drink and perform lip care on the move. Good times. A strange leap from beakers to balms? For founders Kate Cutler and Tal Winter, it isn’t: their brand has always been about beauty – drinking water is a key part of a skincare routine. ‘We tried every treatment on the market, but couldn’t find our cosmetic soulmate: a moisturising, protecting, nourishing balm that actually improved the quality and condition of our lips. It had to be clean, but it also had to really work.’ The result certainly is good.
Ramping up the glamour is Givenchy Le Rouge Perfecto (£28, debenhams.com), which nourishes lips and adds a burst of colour from four different shades of pink – Perfect, Intense, Sparkling (pictured) and Blue. The colours adapt to your lips’ pH to look natural with a punch.
For cuteness, go straight to Paul and Joe and its Lip Treatment Balms in the Christmas-themed Stollen and Vin Chaud (mulled wine, £14, both available from feelunique.com). Housed in adorable little screw-top tins, these balms have a base of lavender and organic olive oil. Urban Outfitters’ vegan Ohii Lip Jelly (£8, urbanoutfitters.com) comes in a dinky tube, is hydrating and has a choice of Rose, Agave and Mint scents.
Paul and Joe Lip Treatment Balms in the Christmas-themed Stollen (left) and Vin Chaud
BYE-BYE BRASSY! THE DIY DYE WITH PRO RESULTS
Josh Wood, one of the beauty biz’s top hair colourists, is on a mission to transform home hair dye. Because the reality, he says, is that it’s where about 70 per cent of colouring is done and what’s currently on offer isn’t up to par. Too much of it ends up ‘looking like a helmet. I want to support the women who don’t go to the salon’. His latest offering is Shade Shot Plus: the result of two years of work and, essentially, a way to add a more customised tone to your hair. ‘There are four shades – cooler or warmer for blonde or brunette – which use a special complex made up of different sizes of colour pigments that you add to your base to personalise your experience so you don’t end up with standardised off-the-shelf results,’ he explains. This blend means it will react differently on light and dark hair so that your end colour is unique to you. ‘So no two look the same,’ Josh says. If you’re confused about what hair toner to get, send an image of your hair to hello@joshwoodcolour.com, where a colourist will offer advice. Shade Shot Plus is only £5, but must be used with the Permanent Colour Kit (£10, both from boots.com from tomorrow).
Speaking of hair toners, when it comes to the salon, look out for metallic and opal shades. Zoe Irwin, UK colour trend expert for Wella Professionals, says, ‘We now want cool and warm tones together. We like to see a reflection of both. As colourists, we have gone past adding one toner – it is two or three together. Cool and warm tones create dimension with a soft, metallic ethereal glow.’ So step away from the highlights and tone your way into the future.