We all need good foundations…

And these multitaskers deliver natural coverage plus a sun-kissed glow    

As bronzers go (and I’m an avid fan of them), the Soleil Tan de Chanel is up there in the beauty hall of fame. In truth, though, I’d always shied away from it, partly because I love a matt powder bronzer and partly because I was convinced that its creamy formula would give me obvious lines and any slight ineptitude in my application would leave me with splodges of colour like a bad self-tan. Well, how wrong can a girl be? As it turns out: very.

Though to cut myself some slack Chanel has slightly reformulated it, with coconut oil to make it glide more easily during application, and has added it to the brand’s successful Les Beiges range so it now also goes by the name of Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream (£42, chanel.com). Anyway, like a heroine in a cheesy romance novel who resists the charms of the hero for at least a good half of the book then falls head over heels, so too have I come late to the undeniable perfection of this little number. It’s easy to use: simply swirl a brush around the contents of the pot then buff it in. Its genius lies not just in the flattering shade that will give anyone a sun-kissed glow, but also in the naturalness of the finish: it fuses with your skin rather than sitting on top so you really look as though you’ve caught the sun. Frankly I’m happy wearing it on its own with no foundation underneath; it doesn’t give much coverage but it makes my skin look so good I don’t feel I need anything else. It’s also great worn over sunscreen. And if you drop it on the bathroom floor there’s no smashed powder. Bliss!

I have two other great skin finishing products to wax lyrical about. The first is L’Oréal Paris Skin Paradise Tinted Water-Cream (£10.99, nationwide). This is sort of a very light foundation and moisturiser hybrid: it delivers a lovely wash of dewy colour, feels like nothing on the skin, and also seriously hydrates, so you keep looking fresh. There are ten shades but they are light coverage so each one can work for several skin tones.

Max Factor Miracle Second Skin Hybrid Foundation (£12.99, boots.com) also delivers a very natural finish while providing decent coverage. It is enhanced with coconut milk and aloe vera for added hydration, and has pre- and probiotics to aid skin health. The creamy and hydrating formulas of all three of this selection are especially good for drier skins and I really highly recommend them all.

High-tech skincare? Here’s the buzz  

If you’re looking to ramp up your beauty routine then it could be time to consider going down the home beauty gadget route. Certainly that’s what the team at John Lewis are thinking as they’re just about to launch a beauty tech category. And statistics from market research firm Euromonitor International suggest they’re on the right track, as personal care appliances have been performing steadily over the past ten years with an average growth of four per cent year on year.

‘During lockdown customers have really engaged with the whole at-home [beauty] ritual and skincare has been booming,’ explains Amelia Kendrick, beauty buyer at John Lewis. ‘So they’re rebooting their buy to include more gizmos to enhance those DIY routines.’

The selection is about helping customers ‘prolong the benefits from your [clinic] treatments, whether it was a facial or microdermabrasion,’ says Amelia. The three areas they’re focusing on (they already have home hair removal) are cleansing, toning and LED (light therapy) devices for anti-ageing benefits.

Hero gadgets include Foreo UFO 2 Heated LED Power Mask (1, £249), which, says Amelia, ‘takes masking to the next level by stimulating skin’ to absorb more product. BeGlow Tia Mas Facial Toning and Cleansing Device (2, £279) combines a cleansing tool at one end with a micro current at the other to tone. MZ Skin Light-Therapy Golden Facial Treatment Device (3, £385) is an LED mask to help with pigmentation, blemishes and boost radiance. Foreo Bear (4, £279) emits sonic pulses to help tone the face and neck.

For now the offering will be online but there will be plenty of videos and information to help to educate customers both before and after purchase. johnlewis.com from Wednesday.