God knows we love our glamour, but sometimes a girl needs beauty to be her guardian angel too. Meet the life-saving products that perform CPR on bad hair days and bad habits.
1. Problem: regrowth and oiliness
AMBIENCE DRY SHAMPOO
This multi-tasking dry shampoo helps you bluff between salon visits. Not only does the 100% vegan powder soak up oils and plump up flat, lifeless hair, each natural looking tint covers greys and regrowth. And unlike aerosol products, the kit with built-in applicator brush is easy to travel with. Sorted!
$34.95RRP, www.ambianceaustralia.com.au
2. Problem: dry lips
ANTIPODES Lip Conditioner
Kiwi seed oil is an Omega-3 packed, hydrating superstar that has been beautifully formulated in this lippie-style conditioner. Rescue dry, chapped lips by softening and plumping them back into their natural – and kissable – state. This conditioner is also a great beauty aid for priming before you apply dark lip colour to create a dewy ‘stain’ effect. Smooch smooch!
$19.50RRP, released February in Priceline
3. Problem: smudged eye shadow
BENEFIT Air Patrol Eyelid BB Primer
Think you’ve got your beautifully blended tri-colour eye shadow going on – then it starts sliding everywhere? Uh-oh, someone left your cake out in the rain. San Francisco based Benefit, one of the wittiest problem-solving brands out there, innovates with this fabulous little guy that locks on eyeshadow, just like skin primer keeps foundation in place. There are also BB colour correct benefits for days you go shadow-free, and SPF20 to protect delicate skin against the sun. We love the fun, retro packaging too.
$50RRP, adorebeauty.com.au
4. Problem: ponytail marks
LADY JAYNE Style Guards
Cheap, nasty hairbands leave telltale kinks and bumps in your locks when you wear it down again – and don’t talk to us about the split ends. No more hair skidmarks! Stock the car, beauty bag and gym kit with these flexi-coil bands that oh-so-gently hold hair in place, minimise breakage and never fall apart, no matter how thick the hair. Trust me, these coils are literally moshpit proof (hey, someone has to roadtest them…)
8-pack $7.99RRP, Priceline
5. Problem: sensitive and dehydrated skin
TOUCH IN SOL All in 1 Beauty Aid Cream
Too many late nights, martinis or – heaven forbid – nights spent sleeping in makeup? Your skin may be crying out for rich moisture but too delicate for heavy creams or fragrance. Korea, beauty’s hottest frontier, has formulated this hyper-moisturising Ceramide 3 cream especially for sensitive skin. Post-party, now it’s your skin that can drink up.
$39.99RRP, Priceline
6. Problem: skin breakouts
BLISS No ‘zit’ Sherlock Spot Treatment
Big date this weekend? This skin clarifier targets blemishes directly with salicylic acid to clear clogged pores and zap that zit. This gel hits the bullseye with an easy applicator so treatment application is only where you really need it. As well as addressing the symptom, this regimen also helps absorb excess oil to avoid future breakouts.
$19.99RRP, Priceline
7. Problem: dry feet and elbows.
ELIZABETH ARDEN Eight Hour Cream All-Over Miracle Oil
One of the original legacies of this iconic New York beauty house, the no frills Eight-Hour cream has been a cult classic since 1930. Victoria Beckham loves it and guess what Prince Harry packed in his kit bag when he travelled to the South Pole? Now the brand launches an all-over oil as a saviour for body, face and hair to quench thirst with Omegas 6 and 9, olive, avocado, sunflower and grape seed oil designed to apply like liquid silk – and lock in for 8 hours. This heavy hitter will give the driest elbows, knees and feet emergency intervention. And couldn’t we all use silkier legs?
$36RRP (100ml), davidjones.com.au, Stockist 1 800 015 500
8. Problem: shiny face
PAULA’S CHOICE Daily Mattifying Fluid SPF 15
This water-light, non-greasy sunscreen moisturiser applies without the slick gloss that creates an unattractive shine (#buzzkill). The soft-matte finish beautifully blurs away pores while protecting you from harmful rays as you flit around town. Although the final step in your routine, this fluid adds protection and ‘pats’ skin down, acting as a primer that will keep you looking crisper and fresher throughout the day. Powder can slide around the face in particularly hot weather so top up with this great alternative.
$35RRP, paulaschoice.com.au
9. Problem: limp, fine hair
L’OREAL PROFESSIONAL Serioxyl Denser Hair
There is one concern that hairdressers hear more than any other from women: fine hair. From big, beachy blowouts to the sexiness of tumbling locks on the Victoria’s Secret catwalk, many of the hottest looks require volume – which is incredibly frustrating when your own hair won’t play ball. Although girls with stick straight hair may have to let the Rapunzel fantasies go (unless they go to the time and expense of maintaining extensions) a scalp solution can stimulate faster growth and boost density. This superserum for hair, with actives Stemoxydine and Neohesperidin, is liquid fuel that promises 1,700 new hairs in 3 months. Start your engines…
$50RRP, L’Oréal Professional Salons nationwide (stockist 1 300 651 141)