5 Properly Brilliant Moisturisers for Summer - The Gloss Magazine

5 Properly Brilliant Moisturisers for Summer

Whether you have €30 or €300 to spend, here are five moisturisers we use regularly and really rate …

We all get distracted by new skincare launches. But at the base of every good routine is a decent moisturiser. As a teenager, I used to stay with my godmother in London and was always captivated by her fridge – it contained only champagne and Clinique, and ever since I’ve associated moisturiser with glamour. Now the choice is a lot wider than Clinique (who recently updated their Moisture Surge formula, €34, a good one for a dewy finish). And there’s a great option at every price point and for every skin type, from oily to very dry. Whether you have €30 or €300 to spend, here are five we use regularly and really rate:

THIS YEAR’S LOVE: for getting good glow

1 First things first. Yes, the Augustinus Bader creams are as good as you’ve heard. These much-feted creams (available as The Cream or The Rich Cream, which is ideal for mature or very dry skin; alternate between them with a Discovery Duo, €135) have taken on a “desert island luxury” status. And for me there’s no question – they make my skin look better, both stronger and more glowing, and you need less make-up. The bottles are my only reservation: they’re now glass, which is good – but they are annoying in that you can’t see how much you have left, and that you can’t dismantle it as you get near the end to scrape out every last drop – which at these prices I certainly want to do. There’s now a body cream, face oil (from €70), exfoliating toner (€90), cleansing gel (€65) and more – but if in doubt, stick with the original cream. It’s brilliant. From €75, at Brown Thomas.

LIGHTNESS OF BEING: for irritated skin

2 I have a soft spot for Dr Hauschka. I can’t help it. The products feel so nice and gentle, and smell so good – when I breathe in the Rose Day Cream, truly a cult classic (a much overused term, along with iconic), I always imagine sturdy German maidens in fields, picking the flowers at dawn. Hauschka’s new day range has just launched (available from April 26) and it includes a Revitalising Day Lotion (€29.95) replacing the Day Cream version), plus a Balancing and a Soothing Day Lotion (both €29.95 until May 31, and €32.95 thereafter). These creams are lovely and light for day time. Choose Soothing if your skin is sensitive or irritated by mask-wearing – wash your face as soon as you get home, and apply to calm it down – while Balancing is good for oily or spot-prone skin. Plus they’re available in your local pharmacy, as well as online at www.drh.ie.

A FIRM FAVOURITE: for mature skin

3 What about for more mature skin – say ages 65-plus? Clarins Extra-Firming Energy is a thoroughly robust moisturiser with a most appealing peachy tint (from organic apricot oil). It packs in various fruit and plant extracts to firm and plump the skin, and is good for restoring radiance, too. I’d combine it with Clarins’ outrageously good Double Serum for best results – we know 80-year-olds who would sell their grandchildren for a tube of it – as it really seals in the moisture, without clogging or feeling heavy. €68, from www.Clarins.ie.

THE IRISH ONE: natural-born winners

4 As for homegrown options, I’d plump for something simply nourishing like The Burren Perfumery’s Wild Rose certified organic face cream (€38.50), with its soft rose water scent and nourishing rosehip oil – the perfect face cream for 50-somethings; sensitive types should head for the Gentle Day Cream (€31.50), with lots of apricot kernel oil and no added fragrance. Both are Soil Association certified organic. You could boost all moisturising effects with a superior facial oil, such as Bare Chic Skin’s glorious Rose of the World, full of antioxidants and delivering an immense “inside out” glow, without a hint of greasiness.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA STAR: good-looking creams that deliver

5 Summer Fridays is a (cruelty-free) brand that does well on social media – it has great names for products, and photogenic tubes. The Jet Lag Mask (from €22) is a case in point. And yet it truly delivers – you don’t need to be leaving on a jet plane (we can but dream) to use it. It makes skin lovely and smooth for make-up, but you won’t need much – it’s a lovely softening cream with a slightly minty scent (no need to rinse off). A newer moisturiser is its just-launched Cloud Dew Gel Cream Moisturiser (see what I mean about the names?), which is refreshing, light and ideal for oilier skin types, with plenty of hyaluronic acid to pack in the moisture. €43, available from www.spacenk.com.

AND MORE …

Though not a moisturiser as such, I also want to mention Boots No7 Advanced Ingredients Squalane (€26.50 for 30 capsules), a booster that’s worth adding to your routine (as a first step after cleansing) – the single-dose capsules are a quick, convenient targeted addition, and contain only 100 per cent plant-derived squalane, brilliant for adding hydration. At www.Boots.ie.

Another pharmacy affordable that does a good job is Vichy’s Aqualia Volcano Drop Moisturiser (€26). It has nothing to do with volcanoes, disappointingly, but it’s quick to absorb, with a lovely light texture, and plenty of sodium hyaluronate (hyaluronic acid).

Finally, Drunk Elephant have just launched into Boots Ireland, so do try their excellent range of moisturisers, and not just because they look good in your bathroom – bestsellers like the Lala Retro Whipped Cream (who doesn’t love a whipped formula?), €57 at www.Boots.ie, come in very neat pump-action sealed pots and avoid added fragrances or filler silicones. Lala has lots of natural oils plus ceramids to really bolster the skin in a luxurious way. Try the mini pots to get an idea of the range.

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