Cult brand of the month: Honest Beauty

This February’s Cult Brand of the Month is the one and only {Honest Beauty}! Boasting good, clean – and, well – honest beauty, this is the brand behind Jessica Alba’s genius. Cruelty-free and boasting a looong list of ‘no no’ ingredients to ensure your health is never compromised, (with each ingredient going through a three-step process of research, assessment and risk management before it's either chosen or vetoed) this brand features products that work without compromise – meaning no harmful chemicals, planet-friendly packaging and pure, performance-driven formulas. Made with the snazziest (read: most knowledgeable) team of cosmetics chemists and make up artists, each {skin care} or {make up} hero uses only the very best, verified ingredients. With Honest Beauty transparency is a given, and this month you can grab FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING on the entire collection. Plus, you'll get a {Lip Crayon-Demi Matte} in 'Melon' for FREE with your spree! So, without further ado, let’s dive right into the essential Honest routine…

TO MASK

The {Prime + Perfect Mask} is adored by Jessica Alba herself, and – as it brightens, tightens and diminishes pores – we're inclined to admit: we adore it too. Functioning as a pick-me-up prior to make up application or a big event (as well as a calming ritual after a long day!), the formula floods skin with moisture and nourishing antioxidants like vitamin E. The result is fresh-faced and luminous, and the super-sweet pink packaging doesn't hurt either.

TO CLEANSE

The first step in any ritual worth its salt, a good {cleanser} is key. Enter: the {Calm On Foaming Cream Cleanser}, which boasts a deliciously thick, creamy and comforting formula that quickly and calmly whisks away dirt without stripping skin. Ideal for easily-irritated skin that won’t listen to reason – from teenage, hormone-riddled foreheads to stressed, dehydrated {complexions} symptomatic of adulthood in a winter Covid-19 lockdown – the clever formula uses a unique, hyaluronic acid-rich ‘Phyto-Blend’ charged with amino acids like arginine to bolster your natural proteins, draw in moisture from the environment, strengthen the skin barrier and reverse the look of skin damage. Pretty neat, if we do say so ourselves…

TO TREAT

To really treat and target your skin care bugbears, a {serum} is non-negotiable. The {Calm & Porefect Serum} boasts a super-gentle blend that’s perfect for über-sensitive complexions in need of their bounce back – fuelling skin with a dermatologist-approved, hypoallergenic formula that supports your natural barrier, enhances texture, improves tone and gives glow. Again formulated with hyaluronic acid, this serum marries the industry-lauded humectant with strengthening niacinamide and a marine-derived amino acid, plus the brand’s own Calming Phyto-Blend, which is made of a lipid complex to fortify the skin barrier, improve moisture retention and ease sensitivity to environmental aggressors – parrying the common effects of city-living like dryness and irritation.

Working overtime while you catch your much-needs zzz's, the {Beauty Sleep Resurfacing Serum} uses a complex of five fruit-derived alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic, lactic, citric, malic and tartaric, to be precise) that's designed to gradually resurface and brighten as you slumber, without sensitising your skin. Hyaluronic acid even imparts intense moisture, so you won't have to contend with any dryness or peeling.

TO MOISTURISE

{The Daily Calm Lightweight Moisturizer} is like a Marvel superhero but in skin care form. Here to heroically save irritated skin from the likes of scratchy {masks}, central heating and bitingly cold weather, this exclusive launch offers a wave of soothing, strengthening and hydrating ingredients – much like a comforting hug on a really bad day. Fragrance-free and recognised by the National Eczema Association for easing redness and inflammation, this kind-to-skin {moisturiser} is also bursting with hyaluronic acid and the brand’s Calming Phyto-Blend (you know the one, but see above if you’ve forgotten). And that’s not all – alongside this, liquid crystal moisture-seal technology locks in the key ingredients for up to 24 hours of hydration! Think: cool, calm and collected.

TO SPRITZ

A versatile (and essential!) addition to handbags/bedsides/bathroom cabinets etc., the {Calm & Go Face Mist} can be used with or without make up, under or over, for an instant shot of cooling, calming, redness-reducing goodness. How? With an intelligent medley of pro-vitamin B5 and the brand’s Phyto-Blend – supercharged with hyaluronic acid, healing squalane and nourishing shea butter extract – that allows you to simply spray away dehydration, redness and stress. Spritz this all over your visage to feel deliciously renewed (both with vigour and hydration!).

TO HAVE FUN

And now for the best bit: make up! Encouraging you to experiment, create and have fun, the {Magic Beauty Balm Stick} can be used on lips, lids, cheeks, or wherever else you fancy a luminous highlight. It fuels skin with fruit and botanical oils that not only hydrate, but replenish, calm and protect against environmental stressors – helping you to beam from within. Also helping to streamline the content of your handbag, the {Creme Cheek Blush} too leads a double life, also working as a juicy lip tint – so you can apply an au naturel whisper of buildable pigment wherever and whenever you need.