Beauty Watch: Tried and Tested

In the dock this month: red lipstick, hand cream and eye makeup remover.

Giorgio Armani Rouge Ecstasy CC Lipstick in Gio, €28 

I love the new Rouge Ecstasy CC lipsticks. The formula contains an emollient cocktail that makes lips voluptuous and soft.  I’ve picked Gio, a gleaming true-red that suits all skintones. This gives you “power lips.”

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick in Red Muse, €32.50 

This balm-lipstick hybrid contains brown-toned red pigments and lots of lovely emollients, but is easily smudged. Use a neutral liner if you don’t touch-up often.

  Maybelline New York Color Sensational Lipstick in Pleasure Me, €10.49 

This is a glossy cranberry lippy that provides sheer-to-medium coverage. It is quick to smudge.  This is a bargain price for a colour you may only wear on the odd night out (or on Halloween).

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Rich Girl Red, €10.50 

This shade reminds me of Julia Roberts laughing manically as Richard Gere tries to trap her hand in a jewellery case.  The price is great, and if you lose it you can probably pick up a new tube on your Diet Coke run.

The Body Shop Wild Rose Hand Cream SPF15, €17.50 

The label indicates this cream is for mature skin but there is nothing age-specific about it. Disappointingly, the formula contains more artificial fragrance than conditioning rose water or rose oil. ! The SPF is too low, but there are some nice emollient  ingredients.

Clinique Even Better Dark Spot Correcting Hand Cream SPF15, €31 

SPF15 is very low, especially for an anti-aging formula.   It has a helpful natural exfoliant (salicylic acid) but decent sun protection would give dark spots a better chance of healing and prevent new ones.

Strivectin-MD Volumizing Hand Cream, €30 

The cream is fragrance-free and does a terrific job of softening the hands without residue. No sun protection, though the label does advise following up with Strivectin Age Protect SPF30. The “volumising” promise is questionable — this isn’t dermal filler! This ingredient is compatible with several prescription treatments for atopic skin conditions and is believed to enhance their efficacy.

Vaseline Intensive Rescue Hand Cream, €4.69 

This is a good, moisturising blend of glycerin, emollients, oil and antioxidants. It is fragranced with the artificial musk ethylene brassylate but not heavily so. It provides no sun protection but is so cheap that you could buy an additional cream and still have change from €20.

The Body Shop Chamomile Eye Makeup Remover, €13.50 

Chamomile appears pretty low on the ingredients list, which is a pity (it’s a wonderfully soothing anti-oxidant). This is otherwise a great remover lotion for a very reasonable price. It is fragrance free, gets rid of even long-wearing eye makeup and contains no potentially irritants.

Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Dual Action Eye Makeup Remover, €27 

LM’s offering is a fast, fragrance-free remover. This one has cucumber extract (again quite low on the ingredients list, though the brand could stand to be generous with the skin-soothers at this price). I liked that I needed so little of this to fully remove my mascara, but there are cheaper options that do just as good a job.

Nivea Double-Effect Eye Makeup Remover, €4.52 

This fast-acting remover contains a nice blend of anti-inflammatory and emollient oils. I’m less happy with the preservative methylisothiazolinone, which is potentially irritating and sensitising , though this is present in a relatively small quantity. Cleanse again with a face wash after using this.

  Bobbi Brown Instant Long-Wear Makeup Remover, €23 

This product contains some very nice soothing ingredients, including rose, aloe and cornflower extracts. I can’t fault the performance. If you’re the type that only uses luxury products on her face, you can’t go wrong.