Our pick of the products to boost shine and restore radiance...

Smooth Shine Shampoo – Trilogy

It’s best to start with the basics, so a soothing, shine-boosting shampoo is vital. This product cleverly combines gentle botanical extracts and wheat proteins that enhance the health of your hair, whilst helping it to dazzle. Suitable for the most fragile and dry locks, it will even work its magic on frizzy or colour-treated hair, leaving it silky soft and super light-reflective.

Nutritive Nutridefense Masque – Kerastase

For an indulgent, salon-esque treatment apply Kerastase’s wonder masque to freshly washed locks. Specially formulated for dry and sensitised hair this rich, nourishing cream contains glucose, proteins and lipids. These multi-tasking molecules not only work hard to revive tired tresses, but also provide protection against the onslaught of damaging external elements by reinforcing the hair’s surface. The result? Supple, gleaming tresses with shine that lasts.

Enrich Hair Oil – Aromatherapy Associates

This divine-smelling oil is the kiss of life for weather-beaten and generally stressed out locks. Brazilian murumuru butter encourages hair to retain its all-important moisture by creating a permeable barrier that locks it in. Other luxurious ingredients include patchouli, ylang ylang, geranium and coconut oil, which all work in harmony to leave tresses glowing with health. Work it through hair and rinse after 20 minutes, or leave in overnight for a serious injection of shine.

Brilliant Spray-On Shine – Aveda

If you’re looking for a quick fix or gleam on the go, spritz this fine mist of pure shine straight onto your finished style. Containing vitamin E, it tames frizz and frustrating flyaways for smooth, sleek finish. You can also apply it to hair just before using straighteners to ramp up an ultra glam look. It’s handily-sized and ideal for popping into your handbag as well, making it great for whipping out should you feel the need for an impromptu shine boost.

Glisten Shine Drops – mop

A powerful cocktail of organic oatstraw, horsetail, aloe and hair strengthening amino acids, mop’s Drops have creating high-gloss shine down to a low-maintenance art. This is potent stuff, so you’ll only need a couple of drops to transform lacklustre hair into shimmering locks. Its rich formula is also bursting with hair-loving vitamin E and UV protectors to prevent further damage.

Favourite essential products for summer

The world feels infinitely brighter in summer – it’s so exciting to swap chunky, snuggly jumpers for sexy slingbacks and cute, floaty dresses and that hint of a tan means you can wear next to no make-up without looking like you’ve had the mother of all weekends. But one area so often neglected yet just as crucial to looking hot is our hair! Humid weather and scorching sunshine can play havoc with our locks so here are our five favourite products to keep your tresses in tip-top condition all summer long…

Some Like It Hot Shampoo – Bed Head by Tigi

This delicious shampoo is designed to cleanse the hair leaving it resistant to heat and humidity. The sulphate free formula enriched with grape, avocoado, aloe and cucmber is lightweight so won’t weigh your hair down, smoothing the cuticle and protecting against UV rays, thermal damage and frizz. It also smells good enough to eat!

Masque UV Defense Active – Kerastase

Follow that with this nourishing after-sun for hair. It protects from future damage with a photo-defense filter and cationic silicones create a hydrophobic barrier. Ceramide strengthens the fibre structure to replenish even the driest areas to leave it soft and shiny. It also ensures long-lasting colour radiance. For an at-home salon style treat, apply to the hair then wrap in cling film to enhance the benefits.

Swim Cap – Philip Kingsley

As fetching as a silicone cap may be in your local pool, unfortunately it just won’t cut it on the beach. Enter Swim Cap from Philip Kingsley which shields your hair from the damaging effects of the sun, sea and chlorine. It’s an ultra-conditioning formula which acts as a treatment simultaneously and blondes can forever wave goodbye to the fear that they may emerge from the hotel pool with green hair.

Surf Spray – Bumble & Bumble

Sexy beach hair isn’t just a distant holiday memory with this iconic product. Surf spray is formulated with salts and sea kelp to capture that wavy texture from a day spent frolicking in the ocean. It has great hold without being too crunchy or stiff and adds body and texture to fine hair. Just spray, scrunch in and you’re ready to go!

Dirty Secret – Rockaholic

Having tested nearly all the dry shampoos on the market, this one comes up trumps and is a summer festival essential. It’s mattifying formula reduces the frequency with which hair needs to be washed and adds volume and texture at the roots so is perfect to rejuvenate that blow-dry or fix an up-do in place. It removes odours leaving hair smelling fresh and it’s near colourless so pillows remain in tact and you’re not left looking like an old lady.

Our favourite easy peasy summer hairstyle

Must-have skincare: Ila Face Oil

In a world where we are always chasing the next new must-have thing, the latest beauty product that none of your friends has heard of yet, that magical new find that will change your life, it’s a godsend to have a helping hand that you can trust.

And that’s exactly what the girls behind Cult Beauty have created.  Born out of a disappointed beauty junkie’s frustration to find beauty products that actually live up to the hype, ex-management consultant Jessica Moore got together with Alexia Inge and created the beauty website that is becoming a cult in its own right.

Experts in their field, who leverage their vast experience to tell us what really works, have recommended each and every product.  The website contains a mine of information too – with links to press reviews, experts and users telling you what they really think of the lotions and potions, plus you can even find out which celebs are fans. And as the ladies at Cult Beauty are well-versed in the art of beautifying, there are directions about how to apply and use whichever product you’re purchasing. There’s no excuse for lipstick on your teeth now!

Products are cherry-picked out of ranges, so you might find a cleanser and a serum from a range but not the whole line.  It’s because of this that Cult Beauty devotees can trust the website to sell only what REALLY works.  As Alexia says, “it’s a bit like fashion is today.  We don’t want to wear the whole range from a designer, we like to mix and match. It’s the same with beauty.  Pick what works from each range and don’t be a slave to any particular brand.”

Products are sourced from around the world.  Witness the sun and skin care lines from Australia, the facemask from Hungary and even the fab foundation from Canada! And there’s much more to come….look out for intensive new haircare ranges soon to come from Brazil and niche face products from Scandinavia.

And if the girls at Cult Beauty find a product that they think does the job better than a product already featured on their website, they might even replace it. So keep looking out for the newest, hottest products to join this “Beauty Hall of Fame”!

Ling's Oxygen Plasma Potion: Gisele Bundchen is a fan!

Alexia’s Top Ten Cult Beauty Must-haves

1. Ila Face Oil for Glowing Radiance: “Ila Face Oil has immediate effects moisturising and nurturing your skin’s natural bloom, establishing a lovely glow to your complexion. It wears beautifully under make up and is a great moisturiser for all skin types, even acne-prone. It is 92.52% organic and comes in a white, opaque bottle with dropper. The Rose Otto and sandalwood make this the best smelling product on the market.”

2. Smith’s Rosebud Lip Salve: “This beautifully packaged, multi-purpose lip balm has been the stalwart in every professional’s make up kit for decades. Rosebud Salve is a beautiful, lightly Cinnamon scented lip moisturiser to have in your handbag for application throughout the day. It has a natural sheen that enhances the lips when used on its own, or to create a good base canvas under lipsticks (esp dry ones like MAC). It also calms and heals irritation, soothes the sting of minor burns and relieves acute dryness anywhere.”

3. Acca Kappa Boar Bristle Hairbrush: “Acca Kappa cylindrical brushes are extremely sturdy, made with a mixture of boar bristle and nylon filament tufts set in Kotibe wood with a two-tier formation. The two bristle lengths allow the brush to sweep through the hair untangling, but without any breakages. The bristles are rounded at the tips so that they gently brush the scalp stimulating blood flow which helps maintain a healthy head of hair.”

4. Clarifying Pencil by 3 Custom Colour: “Three Custom Color Specialist Clarifying Pencils are a must-have for tired, hungover or red eyes. They instantly brighten and widen eyes when used on the inside bottom rim of the eye. The flesh colour of the pencil means it’s fool-proof to apply and works with all skin tones. More than just an eye pencil, this clarifying make up pencil is also perfect for covering small imperfections all over the face and body or to create the perfect cupid’s bow above your upper lip for lighter skin tones.”

5. Beautyblender Make-up Sponges: “The patent-pending, elliptical-shaped Beautyblender cosmetic sponge was created by two top Hollywood makeup artists to give a flawless airbrush finish to your complexion. The fuschia sponge’s unique shape means you can use it all over the face. It’s latex-free, non-irritating, non-allergenic and odourless. It’s both long-lasting and easily washable.”

6. Davines Hair Alchemic Shampoo: “Scientists at Davines distilled pure colour pigments and added them to precious creams to create the colour depositing Alchemic shampoo, which can be used to enhance both natural and coloured hair. This hardworking hair cleanser helps maintain colour between salon visits and enriches it with vibrant tones, all the while providing internal strength, protection and shine. Available for silver, golden and chocolate hair tones.”

7. Lash Venom Mascara by Duwop: “This mascara contains tiny fibres, which are temporarily bonded to your lashes by the highly pigmented, jet black formula. Lash Venom adds substance and length to your lashes without making you look like a drag queen. It does not define each individual lash, adding more of a soft focus, airbrushed effect, which defines your whole eye area. Lash Venom is water resistant and also impregnated with Sweet Almond Oil to moisturise and protect lashes, a perfect product for daily use.”

A favourite pro product: Face Atelier Ultra Foundation

8. Face Atelier Ultra Foundation: “The Ultra Foundation, This foundation is an underground, pro favourite that, thanks to a unique blend of silicones, builds a lightweight, breathable second skin effectively airbrushing your complexion. Its soft focus properties create an optical blurring that diminishes the appearance of fine lines and creates a more polished skin texture. It comes in 10 water resistant shades that really don’t shift. You can also buy a 0+ and a 0- shade in order to fine tune the foundation to your complexion.”

9. Ling Skin Care Oxygen Plasma Potion: “Oxygen Plasma Potion is a serum that transports large volumes of oxygen to tissues, helping to accelerate cell production and trigger formation of collagen and elastin for younger looking and feeling skin. Oxygen Plasma also relieves irritation and infection upon contact by penetrating skin cells and killing acne bacteria. This is a useful product for treating acne, pigmentation and the formation of wrinkles or dull-looking skin.”

10. Escentric Molecule 01 Perfume: “Molecule 01 is created solely from the aroma-chemical Iso E Super, which works as more of an effect than a fragrance. The scent has a subtle, velvety, woody note which will meld with your natural pheromones, vanish, then re-surface after some time, making it totally individual and personalised to the wearer. You will rarely smell this on yourself, Molecule 01 is more about the effect it has on others.”

The brains behind the site is British girl Tajinder Nanuwa, an enterpreneurial success story, having started off in the business as a perfume promotions girl. Nanuwa went from spraying fragrances to working as a Key Account Manager for a French bath and body brand at the tender age of 21, so it’s fair to say that she knows the business pretty well.  Urban Apothecary was set up to offer customers niche products which were not available in the UK, and the site’s stable of brands currently includes beauty treats from Australia, France, Canada and the US.

The site is ideal if you’re looking for a gift or would like to find something different to the products on sale on the high street. For a certain je ne sais quoi in the bathroom, Amélie et Mélanie offer a luxurious selection of gorgeously packaged bath, oils and foams which are bound to convert any shower devotees. Presented in elegant, decorative glass bottles with pretty matching tassels, these are products that will give any bathroom a boudoir feel. The only problem with Amélie et Mélanie’s range is choosing which fragrance to go for!  Eclat de Velours is a sensual concoction of vanilla and patchouli; Rosée des Matins is a girly mélange of lily of the valley, hyacinth and jasmine, whilst Blanc de Riz is reminiscent of fresh white linen.

Skeem is a brand hailing from Philadelphia which makes attractive and unusual scented candles. Long-burning and made with essential oils, the candles are sold in tall glasses(which can be washed out and re-used), each decorated with intricate artwork.  Fragrances include heavier aromas such as Moroccan Ginger and Amber Clove; ideal for a little bedroom ambiance, as well as lighter, fresher scents such as Tea Leaf, Cucumber and Sweet Balsam.

We’re big fans of Korres, and the Greek skincare company’s sister brand, Kings & Queens offers products which are every bit as luxurious and enriched with natural goodness. Fit for Kings and Queens in fact! The products are based on herbs and spices which were used by Royals, from Queen Nefertiti to King George III. Did you know that in times of harsh laws against smoking, Tsar Peter allowed his people to smoke freely and enjoyed a pipeful of tobacco himself? No? Well you can enjoy a regal treat in the shower with the Tsar Peter Tobacco Showergel. If you subscribe to the anti-smoking lobby, you could work up a lather with Queen Isabella (cinammon orange), the Sultan of Granada (Lemon Flower) or the King of Sumatra (Pepper Bergamot). The range also includes body butters and if you’d like to twinkle like the crown jewels choose one of the shimmering body milks.

There are a few familiar names on the site too; Burt’s Bees, Paul & Joe and Korres products can be found at Urban Apothecary. If you’re looking for a gift, the site is perfect for purchasing favourite products as well as some goodies from the more unusual brands. And you can also buy one of Urban Apothecary’s pretty gift bags so that your treats will come ready wrapped in tissue paper with a personalised message.

http://www.urbanapothecary.co.uk

It’s so easy for a cosmetic brand to jump on the eco bandwagon nowadays. “Natural ingredients”, “free of chemicals”; these claims and countless others are branded on so many beauty buys sometimes it can be hard to see the wood for the trees and determine which of these are truly organic and, more importantly which product is right for you. A website which has been hitting headlines in the beauty press recently aims to solve this problem…

Lovelula.com is the brainchild of organic goddess Claire “Lula” Braithwaite, a former City girl who retrained as a naturopath after a spot of travelling ten years ago reignited her childhood love of nature. A charming introduction from Lula on the website explains how as a child she was fascinated with mixing homemade lotions and potions made up of berries and petals which later inspired her to found an organic apothecary. The site’s policy is simple; they only stock beauty products which adhere to their strict ingredient policy. That means no products with parabens, artificial colours or fragrances, sodium lauryl sulphate or propylene glycol. They endeavour to check that no stock is tested on animals and that the majority of the products are vegan. One of the most unique features of the site is that you don’t have to rely on Lula’s word (albeit a very experienced and passionate one) as a full ingredients list is provided for every product stocked. This makes it ideal for those with allergies to specific ingredients.

Cosmetics, skin care, baby buys, hair products and fragrances are sourced from all around the world with little known brands rubbing shoulders with bigger names in the organic industry such as  Jo Wood. It’s a treasure trove for beauty addicts to discover new gems as well as stocking up on old favourites. For some great summer buys check out the natural sunscreens as well as other holiday essentials such as the Charles Jordi travel range. The fragrance section is also worth a look with some beautifully packaged gift ideas (the Florascent Aqua Aromantica perfumes are gorgeous), not fogetting the site’s huge aromatherapy section.

The personal touch of the website is lovely. There’s an excellent “Ask Lula” feature which allows you to ask an actual person on the team any questions you might have about their products and request recommendations. I asked for some advice on hair products suitable for my sensitive skin and received an informative reply within fifteen minutes.

Like big retail brands lovelula knows the value of rewarding customers. Their points scheme is relatively unique in the online retail world, setting them apart from the countless other online beauty stockists. For every £1 spent on the site you will receive five Lula Reward Points worth five pence which can be redeemed against future purchases. Another great little scheme allows shoppers to choose up to three free samples with every purchase made over £5; perfect for testing out future possible buys.

Lovelula has really tapped into our increasing desire for a healthy green lifestyle. I expected to find a site full of great beauty buys, what I didn’t count on was the personal service and devotion a green ethos that will be sure to make Lovelula stand out in the confusingly dense forest of organic beauty.

Opened late last year, the store’s physical concept by Lithuanian architects Plazma creates a feeling of weightlessness. The excellent use of space and simplified wall units ensure only the luxurious aromas occupy the air space.

Decorated in elegant and calming tones with blond wood fixtures, the store’s interior is undeniably Scandinavian inspired. Clean, minimalistic lines without being too sterile or clinical – on the contrary in fact, the setting is warm and inviting and actually a little intoxicating. Certainly not from an overwhelming scent but from the sheer array of perfumes and rare beauty finds on offer.

The boutique carries many advanced hair and skincare products using natural ingredients from Dr Sebagh, NY’s Malin+Goetz and check out Korres, whose new Black Tea and Verbena Anti-Cellulite Cream-Gel has already received rave reviews on its smoothing capabilities and dimple minimising effects.

Sophisticated fragrance lines from brands such as Mona di Orio, Etro, Annick Goutal, Acqua di Parma and Miller Harris are all here, alongside the leaders of niche; Escentric Molecules, Comme des Garçons, Nasomatto and unisex perfumes from interior designer Andrèe Putman. Oh and also a couple of my personal favourites; 10 Corso Como’s unique range of oils and scents and Juliette Has A Gun‘s incredible perfumes.

www.cremedelacreme.lt

Owner and manager Imelda Burke first became interested in alternative medicine when conventional medicine proved inadequate for her. She quit her job in fashion and began researching what other options were available. After curing herself and gaining a wealth of knowledge, Imelda was set on a journey that led her to open a store unlike any other in London.

Content Beauty has the range of a department store without the pushy sales girls. I am one of those people who regularly haunts the beauty aisles of health food shops and wonders what I am supposed to do with patchouli oil. But even with my vast knowledge of the beauty options available out there, I wasn’t prepared for the wide range of organic or synthetic-free beauty products on hand at Content Beauty. The boutique stocks everything from eyeliner to cotton wool pads, as well as handy travel-sized kits, to ensure you’ll be ethical abroad too.

This is very much a hands-on shop where you can test whatever catches your fancy. The shelves resound with the scent of niche British organic skincare brands like ila, Laidbare and Inlight, as well as international brands such as Dr Hauschka, Suki, and Dr Alkaitis. Content avoids big corporations and tries to source local products as much as possible, including the gorgeous Scent System perfume of natural fragrant oils at over £200 a bottle.

This may all sound a bit indulgent but when products like lead are used to make your eyeliner stay put, or talc (which has been linked to ovarian cancer) is found in everything from foundation to baby powder it really makes you think twice before you reach for your cosmetics. The majority of products in the store are all very reasonably priced, and when I passed by Liberty’s makeup counter on my way home, I was quite smug that my natural, organic (and rather jazzy) eye shadow cost less than big brand names that were jammed full of chemicals.

Burke is keen to point out that natural components to human life like oxygen and hydrogen are in fact chemicals, but what humans must avoid is an onslaught of synthetic chemicals. When, as Burke says, “an estimated 100,000 synthetic chemicals are currently registered for use in the US, and fewer than ten percent of them have been tested for their effects on human health”, we really need to know what we’re putting on our skin. What’s more, according to Burke, a staggering 89% of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have never even been evaluated for safety by the Food and Drug Administration. The good news? You won’t need a scientific dictionary to understand the ingredients on any Content products.

Little quirks like the 1920′s hand mirrors or retro customer book as well as Imelda’s friendly and knowledgeable service, all make it a distinctly pleasurable place to shop. This feeling is carried across to the website where they even offer free samples by post so you can try before you buy. And if you can pull yourself away from all the tempting products, they also have a friendly naturopath downstairs who will help you with any skin or body complaint by reassessing your lifestyle with a holistic healthy approach.

Content Beauty
14 Bulstrode St, Marylebone
London
W1U 2JG

www.beingcontent.com

The first approach is quite mysterious and surprising, especially if you’ve never been to a Frederic Malle shop before. The colonnes à parfum separate the concession from the rest of the bazaar floor. They are not decorative columns, but rather large glass cylinders in which you can spray any chosen perfume, liberating the full power of its scent.

The other specific traits of all Frederic Malle shops are on display: a big refrigerated cupboard to ensure perfect perfume conservation. Portraits of the nine parfumeurs-créateurs, the noses behind the Frederic Malle perfumes. Most important of all:  17 “perfumes without compromise” with names as romantic as Dans tes Bras (In your Arms), French Lover or as mysterious as Noir Epices (Black Spices).  All the bottles have the same strong yet efficient transparent and black design, reminiscent of the columns shape.

The shop is staffed by an incredibly competent personnel, who know their head note from their heart note. They will also know how to advise and direct you without pressurising you into buying. Whether you want a perfume similar to your current one or take a whole new direction they will be able to explain and suggest so that you leave with a purchase you’re entirely happy with.

Prices start around £50 for soaps or spray refills. Perfume bottles are priced the same as those big brands scents you can buy anywhere. Except for with Frederic Malle you get a chic and mysterious scent, artisan rather than commercial, refined and long-lasting, and truly unique.

In spite of the fact that these are “niche” fragrances, Nicolaï offers a wide range of perfumes – all with enchanting, exotic names that will make you want to purchase them even without testing them out. A dab of “Vie de Chateau” behind your ear is bound to bring out the chatelaine in you and who could help but feel seductive wearing the sensual “Maharanih“, which has amber and floral notes?

Nicolaï also sells a range of handmade candles and fragrances for the home, which make for individual and interesting gifts that you may find it hard to part with!

http://www.pnicolai.com/

Rose & Co was set up by mother and daughter team Patricia and Caroline Rose. When they bought an old druggists store, they wanted to create a line of products to go with the décor and originally cooked up the now cult Rose Petal Salve on their aga at home! Since then they have adopted more conventional methods of production but their preparations are still made using traditional recipes featuring wholesome old-fashioned apothecary ingredients.

Alongside their ever-popular balms and salves they sell a selection of handmade beauty products all presented in gorgeous, vintage-inspired packaging. Newest additions are the 1950s-style Strawberry Crush and Cherry Kiss ranges, every bit as covetable as the original Rose Petal products in their pretty pink packaging. Caroline Rose is a practicing aromatherapist and develops all of the charming concoctions herself with essential oils and natural ingredients. Their delectable cup-cake shaped cocoa-butter bath fancies make the perfect gift for friends. The boutique also sells super glamorous underwear, a selection of perfumes and various other desirable objects that you probably don’t really need – but when has that ever been a reason for not buying things?!

http://www.rose-apothecary.co.uk/