MY BEST OF BEAUTY IN 2015

Now that it's over I feel steeped in nostalgia for 2015; it was a hell of a year for Cult Beauty, especially when it comes to product discoveries. Here's my top 10:

{BECCA Backlight Priming Filter}

It's like someone took a daylight bulb and lit it in the centre of your head. I know the BECCA model I've chosen to illustrate this (above) is ridiculously good looking (I'm completely convinced that BECCA have an island somewhere where they genetically modify an alien race of beautiful mannequins), BUT this primer actually creates that glow you can see on her skin. I've never before found an illuminator that glows this resoundingly well, without looking a bit sweaty. This is pure light!

{W3LL PEOPLE Expressionist Mascara}

The 'wolf in sheep's clothing' of the natural world, this mascara performs just as well as its uber-cult synthetic sisters like Benefit and Chanel. It builds long, thick, jet-black lashes, without putting chemicals close to your eyes. Now you can be good to yourself and still look like a badass!

{By Terry Light-Expert Click Brush}Re-released this year with a better applicator (that you can take off and wash!), this has become my go-to foundation when I need more coverage than my usual, failsafe Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint provides. The texture is a rich cream and the finish I get from this is like a younger, second skin - radiant and even-toned.

{Kneipp Herbal Bath Devil's Claw}

I've spent a substantial amount of 2015 plagued by back pain and it completely blows! Our Buying Director Stacia told me this works a treat for her rheumatoid arthritis so I gave it a go, and now I'm addicted. It helps bring down the inflammation and comforts you through painful flare ups. It's a bathroom cabinet MUST for me now (I'm going to need bigger wall brackets for that thing soon).

{UMA Pure Bliss Oil}

Great, so another must-have I didn't know I needed till I tried it! This is a mood-changer, a de-stresser, a sensory experience that enriches your life - the breathing ritual that comes with it engenders the most calm and restful sleep you will find this side of a doctor's prescription. Pure Bliss is a very well named product.

{SimpleHuman Mirrors}

There is a make up look that happens to ladies of a certain age when their eyesight starts to 'soften', perfectly exemplified by the wonderful Barbara Cartland. Now I am not saying there isn't something absolutely fabulous about this look, I just don't think I could pull it off - so to head this off at the pass, I purchased a SimpleHuman Mirror and have not looked back. They are (sometimes frighteningly) magnifying and have a daylight bulb that highlights every hair on one's chinny-chin-chin.

{Skin Owl Eye +}A favourite of Caroline Hirons, Skin Owl joins Tata Harper, W3LL PEOPLE, Odacite and May Lindstrom - all brands which are part of America's so-hot-right-now 'New Naturals movement. Eye + is cooling, soothing and de-puffing for my eye area AND within seconds of applying it I can feel the whole area 'tauten' so that wrinkles are less noticeable. It smells of cucumbers and alpine walks in the spring.

{Pixi Glow Tonic}

One of the biggest run-away successes of the year, Pixi are on a roll. The Glow Tonic is one of the most reviewed products on the site and still has 5, highly sought-after stars; our customers love it and so do I for its gentle resurfacing qualities. It changes your skin's personality if you are prone to spots, exfoliates and gives sluggish skin cells a kick in the backside, which is how it achieves its namesake 'Glow'.

{Huda Beauty Alyssa Lashes}

Perfect for faux-lash-o-phobes, who mostly end up looking like they've sellotaped two caterpillars to their eyes (à la moi!), these individual lashes are so easy to slip in the side of your finished look for an imperceptible feminine-flutter-boost. They make you look so insta-pretty.

{DNA Renewal DNA Defense SPF 30+}

Even though more and more of us are using conventional SPF, the incidents of skin cancer just keep rising - we needed better technology, and it has arrived! The internationally renowned, 'Journal of Drugs in Dermatology' has recently published a study proving that SPF formulated with (2015 Nobel Prize Winning) DNA Repair Enzymes is more effective at protecting the skin than SPF alone. This product not only protects but 'undoes' sun damage as it's happening. Prepare to see a lot more of this brand this year.