Kathleen Baird-Murray 

Health and beauty

Kathleen Baird-Murray tests eyebrow enhancers, plummy glosses and spot zappers.
  
  


Most wanted

Soap & Glory

Clean of England Spa Body Wash, 500ml, £7, available Boots nationwide

If you like well-worded packaging, and cleverly concocted fragrances, this one's a real treat.

Cult product

Timothy Han

Wild Rose Body Cream, 250ml, £22, www.thenaturalstore.co.uk

Packed full of essential oils and nourishing ingredients, this smells and feels divine.

Gel cream eyeliners

MAC

Fluidline Eyeliner Gel in Macroviolet £10.50, www.maccosmetics.co.uk

Gorgeous shade of on-trend metallic purple. Love.

5 stars

Bobbi Brown

Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Hunter Ink £13.50, 0870 034 2566

Sludgy olive green, long-lasting consistency.

4 stars

Clinique

Brush-On Cream Liner in 01 £12, 0870 034 2566

A hint of shimmer, comes with its own brush which is most convenient.

4 stars

ScreenFace

Luxe Cream Liner in Fresco £9.95, 020 7221 8289

Copper bronze, beautiful on brown eyes.

4 stars

Spot zappers

Zeno

Acne Clearing Device £129, 0845 070 8090

Most intriguing, and it works even if it does look like a mobile phone. Zaps spots by heating them up.

5 stars

Mario Badescu

Drying Lotion £15, 020 7235 5000

Satisfyingly old-fashioned, this paste dries out spots overnight.

4 stars

Burt's Bees

Herbal Blemish Stick, £9.99, 08456 049 049

Very pocket-friendly, stinks of tea-tree oil, effective.

4 stars

Aveda

Outer Peace Blemish Relief Pads £19, 0870 034 2380

Felt like a gentle 'get better' hug for spots, but I'd rather something a little more sadistically punitive.

2 stars

High powered cleansers

Alpha-H

Micro-Cleanse Exfoliant, 200ml,£39.95, 08456 049 049

Big granules, pleasant minty smell, skin looked smooth and felt soft.

5 stars

Philosophy

The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash 8fl oz, £20, 0870 990 8452

This was great. It didn't strip or over-dry my skin and left it smooth.

4 stars

Natura Bissé

Facial Cleansing Gel + AHA 200ml, £25, 020 7 730 1234

I like this. It smelt pretty, removed make-up, and didn't dry out my skin.

4 stars

Murad

AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser 200ml, £23.50, 0800 035 2682

Smell not so great, but very good overall, skin texture improved.

3 stars

Eyebrow enhancers

Laura Mercier

Eyebrow Pencil in Soft Brunette £15, 0800 123 400

Very natural colour and easy to apply texture.

4 stars

Christian
Eyebrow Makeup Kit £19.95, 0845 230 1087

Scrappy instructions, and stencils don't stick to skin, but weirdly, they gave a very precise result.

4 stars

Shavata

Eyebrow Shapers, £12, 020 8993 8333

Daunting. Needs practice, but great if you're growing back brows.

4 stars

Talika

Eyebrow Extender in Dark Brown £19, www.talika.com

You comb on fake hairs to fill out thin eyebrows - but they don't stick where you want them to stick.

1 star

Metallic eyeshadows

Barry M

Dazzle Dust in DD11 £4.50, available in Superdrug

This is gorgeous. Gun-metal grey with a very slight mauve. Perfect for a smoky eye.

5 stars

Ruby & Millie

I-Metal in Mink, £9, 08450 708 090

Metallic taupe in a very easy to apply texture. Stunning.

5 stars

Becca

Jewel Dust in Mazikeen £16, 020 7225 2501

Very pretty metallic violet in ultra-fine texture. Apply carefully or you'll look bruised.

4 stars

Daniel Sandler

Eye Delight in Silver £9, 01923 845 370

Pretty pale metallic grey, use close to the lid for fantastic highlighter effect.

4 stars

Plummy lip gloss

Estée Lauder

High Gloss in Jewel 06 £13, 0870 034 2566

Dark plum with plenty of drama and mirror-like gloss finish. Wonderful.

5 stars

Laura Mercier

Lip Plumper in Wild Berry, £24, 0800 123 400

Incredibly flattering. Made lips look bigger instantly, although it does fizz a little when first applied.

5 stars

Versace

2000 Lights on Lips in V2065 £15, 01273 408 800

What it lacks in colour it makes up for with bling. Fun, sheer plum.

Nars

Gothica £17, 0870 837 7377

Very wearable plum, but a little sticky.

3 stars

Hair straighteners

Corioliss

C2 in Zebra, £119.99 www.corioliss.co.uk

Titanium plates give a great finish and are very light. A bit narrow though - mind your ears.

4 stars

GHD

IV, £119, www.ghdhair.com

Curved styler means you can curl or straighten easily. Not quite as light as they could be though.

Braun
Satin Hair, £69.99, widely available

Shiny finish. Easy to control, but a little clunky looking.

4 stars

Tresemme

SalonStraight Nano-Silver, £29.95, www.johnlewis.com

Good but not quite as brilliant as others, less smooth over the hair.

3 stars

 

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