Beauty memo

Hourglass, Westman Atelier and midget bathrooms

I always suspected that my Dermatica Azaleic Acid 15% was very effective at keeping my skin clear and bright, but it was only when I left it behind in order to streamline my washbag for our 2 week UK staycation that I knew it was.

The places we stay on our annual 2 week staycation are okay, but the bathrooms are universally awful. Midget bathrooms, for toddlers. With barely enough space to turn around, let alone actually wash your face, or anywhere to balance a product. Our second cottage, in Devon, was also permanently damp and all the towels smell of wet dog.

So my careful skincare routine was gradually worn down and I ended up just dashing my face with water and slapping on Aveeno. I came back to London with a clutch of stubborn zits along my jawline.

So I hit them with the Dermatica, which I have mentioned before, and also for good measure The Ordinary Lactic Acid, which halted the nightmare and now, 10 days later, order has been restored.

I am now in Bavaria. We came because I believe that summer is a time for adventures. And that’s all very well but it has rained every single day and our hotel is literally full of screaming children and babies. It’s also not on the lake that we came specifically to visit, but about a 20 mins walk away.

I am so bad at holidays.

I was talking to Dominic Sandbrook about how he books his vacations and he said “I am a monster when it comes to holidays. Spreadsheets. Agendas.” He has a rule that for every hour that you spend in a hotel you should have spent two hours reading internet forums about it. I think he said this to make himself sound ridiculous and unattractive but literally that is my dream man. I do love Giles but we are both so spoiled and lazy we show up to holidays having done zero research and then fall about weeping and gnashing our teeth when we discover that there is no AC and the children aren’t allowed to use the nice pool.

I also left my face wash at home (CeraVe Gentle Hydrating Cleanser). I hit the apotheke in the last hotel we were at, which was one of those spooky super-hotels that feels like going on holiday to Brent Cross Shopping Centre, and was relieved and pleased to see a Clarins concession.

Clarins! My old friend. New and whizzy cosmetic lines, such as The Ordinary and CeraVe, let alone Drunk Elephant or Sunday Riley, have pushed old ladies like Clarins to the side. But while the apotheke freulein was trying to up-sell me some unfamiliar German brand, I reached determinedly - nein, danke! - for the Clarins Hydrating Gentle Foaming Cleanser. Cleaning my face with it is honestly as reassuring and delightful as sitting down to tea with my grandma Sylvia, who was Swiss German and Clarins ran through her veins. God rest her soul.

If you have skin very prone to breakouts like mine, then you can’t do much better than CeraVe, but cleansing with it is not a luxury experience. It feels more like taking your medicine. On the subject of this, I have been using Cetraben moisturiser on this holiday, which is specifically for “problematic, dry, sensitive or eczema prone skin” and although yes it’s like taking medicine it’s also absolutely gorgeous stuff.

I had to take Sam to a dermatologist for a mole on his wrist and while I was there I casually got the Doc onto the subject of retinols and the best moisturiser for problem skin. “Everyone should use Cetraben,” she said absent-mindedly. “Interesting,” I said, making a note of the name in my phone.

I’ve banged on at length about problem teen skin, (as I suffered so badly with it), but CeraVe Gentle Hydrating Face Wash + Dermatica Azaleic Acid + Cetraben is a really great place to start when you are tackling an entry-level teen breakout situation.

On to Hourglass. I haven’t actually had much luck with Hourglass, which I know is a sacrilegious thing to say, but I just haven’t. I have tried the primer and the mascara and I wasn’t blown away. Someone told me that I shouldn’t bother using their famous highlighting powders unless I know what I’m doing - and I never know what I am doing - so I stayed away from them.

But then my friend Krishna, who works with Hourglass, offered me two products: the Glossy Balm and also an Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Bronze Light. As a rule I don’t take freebies as they are just massively corrupting… but I’m also not stupid. Anyway these are both amazing. Oh my god. The Glossy Balm is so so so glossy and I don’t know what that dumb bitch was talking about not using the powders unskilled, as this bronzer is just fabulous and I am clumsy as hell.

I don’t know what they put in this bronzer but it’s sort of blurring and flatteringwhile also being super subtle. Do NOT buy off the internet, make sure you try out the colours at a concession stand, because this shit is not cheap and you don’t want to make a mistake.

A quick note: Cult Beauty do a good line in mini or travel versions of things. In a pre-menstrual fit of profligacy I purchased the wee version of the Westman Atelier Blush Stick in Petal, because I am sick of seeing it everywhere and not owning it. The travel size was £23, as opposed to £44, but more than enough to last me for a good 2 years I’d say. Tremendous staying power and a great colour.

How about you? Have you bought any beauty items recently that the group ought to take note of?

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