Girl Meets .... Hero Products

In my first post I encouraged you to ditch the full coverage foundation and embrace barefaced beauty, something which I found surprisingly easy; plus it saved me so much time in the morning! This week I've had a few emails asking me how to achieve that flawless skin that doesn't need make up, so today I'm going to reveal my top five hero products that leave my skin glowing and my concealer in my make up bag!

5. Vaseline Lip Therapy

A classic beauty staple, great for taming brows, highlighting cheek bones and of course giving beautifully glossy lips! This isn't, however, a skin care product as such, it may feel like its hydrating chapped lips but its simply sat protecting them. You don't want to use too much of this on breakout prone skin as it is potentially comedogenic (clogs the pores), instead use it lightly to highlight and ALWAYS make sure you thoroughly double cleanse it off at the end of the day. 

4. Dermalogica Triactive Cleanse

Triactive Cleanse is one of my secret weapons when my skin is looking dull and tired. Developed to brighten and improve skin tone, particularly in pigmented skins, this cleanser will also exfoliate and moisturise at the same time. Ingredients such as Lactic Acid will lift away dull skin cells revealing beautifully glowing skin, and Shea Butter helps to moisturise and increase luminosity. This is an absolute must throughout the winter months when skin starts to become dehydrated and tired. 

For those who suffer from breakouts and acne, Triactive Cleanse is amazing at brightening Post Inflammatory Pigmentation (discolouration left over from breakouts). For a super charged treatment combine this cleanser with Daily Microfoliant (see my number one product!)

3. Water

This may not be a beauty product but its one of the most effective ways of treating the skin, and its virtually free! The skin is the largest organ in the body and is primarily made up of water, protein and lipids, therefore replenishing hydration levels is crucial to maintaining skin health and reinforcing the skins natural protective barrier. The daily recommended amount of water is around two litres a day, but don't forget foods such as vegetables have a high water content therefore they will also help to hydrate the body. Other foods that help to maintain the skins lipid barrier are oily fish, nuts and flaxseed, so you really can eat yourself beautiful! 

2. Dior Addict Lipstick - '959 Rouge Sex Appeal'

No matter how run down I look and feel the one thing that can alway perk me up, both physically and mentally is a slick of bright red lipstick! This is the influence of my Mother who has always taught me no matter how undone you look, lipstick can bring an outfit together (she even applies this rule to her Zumba outfit!) 

Take inspiration from the great classic beauties like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and my modern day icon Dita von Teese and pick vibrant reds, or  go for deeper berry colours for Autumn/ Winter 12. My personal favourite is Dior's Rouge Sex-Appeal, a perfect go to colour whether I'm in Black Tie, jeans or my bikini on the beach.

1. Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

I must recommend this hero product to people hundreds of times a week, thanks to the amazing results I have seen on my skin over the past three years. Due to severe adult acne in my early twenties I was left with a lot of pigmentation and very uneven skin tone. Growing up with good skin throughout my teens this knocked my confidence greatly, refusing to go without foundation, even on holiday and in the gym.

The natural Rice Bran Extract actively brightens uneven pigmentation, and Salicylic Acid chemically exfoliates the skin leaving it absolutely smooth and glowing. For those concerned with breakouts and blackheads this is the perfect targeted exfoliator, as the Salicylic Acid works not only on the surface of the skin but into the pores to clear out the build up of dead skin cells. 

This is one of the few products that I have been so impressed with that I have wanted to tell all my friends and family about. Infact, if you snooped round their bathrooms you will most certainly find a bottle of some size that has been gifted to them from me.

So there you have it Girl Meets Product's top five tips to help you go au naturel(ish) over the festive period; well I wasn't going to give up all my indulgences a girls got to have a few tricks up her sleeve! 

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