Facial Acupuncture & Fancy Shower Gels

Here's what the beauty desk have been up to this week...

This week the beauty desk have been battling weary skin, boring showers and thinning brows. First world problems and all, but someone has to take them on... 

THE TREATMENT / The John Tsagaris Signature Beauty Acupuncture Treatment I get it: facials can be a little bit fluffy and it sometimes seems like they’re not actually doing an awful lot. If that’s how you feel, this is the treatment for you. After a consultation, John employs a combination of facial shiatsu, acupressure and acupuncture (yes, even on the face – it’s surprisingly comfortable) to – in my case - calm overwrought adrenals, stimulate oxygen flow and encourage the production of collagen. The total sum of the treatment is a calm mind (I left so relaxed I was slurring – don’t plan a big night out post) and seriously glowing complexion.

THE SHOWER GEL / Korres Waterlily Shower Gel, £8 The generally accepted rule of thumb among we beauty addicts is to shower cheap, bathe expensive. It’s a strategy that works well to, you know, free up funds for food and the like. But every now and then a shower needs to do more than just clean – it needs to refresh, to rebalance after a tiring day and just feel like a treat. If you want the latter kind of shower, get this gel – not only does it smell of wild flowers, but it will also help to maintain hydration thanks to wheat proteins. 

THE MASK / Fresh Limited Edition Rose Face Mask, £46 Fresh’s Rose Face Mask is perfect at this time of year: soothing, hydrating and cooling, it’s pretty much a one-stop shop for slightly frazzled skin. How could it be improved, you may wonder? By making the outside of the pot as pretty as the inside – yep, to celebrate Fresh’s 15th anniversary, the Rose mask comes in a beautiful limited edition pot designed by artist Jo Ratcliffe. So that’s that, then: a beauty inside and out.

THE CLEANSER / Tata Harper Purifying Cleanser, £45 Scrubbing the skin is a seductive prospect when you feel greasy and grimy, but refrain – it’ll often do more damage than good. Instead, use this gentle purifying cleanser: the fruit enzymes and exfoliating sugars will help to control excess oiliness. Use after an oil cleanse in the evening to really leave skin clean, not stripped.

THE CORRECTOR / Freedom Pro Correct Palette, £5 We know it looks scary, but colour correcting can make an enormous difference when it comes to making your skin look good. Here’s what you need to know:

- a corrector does just that – corrects. Most of the time you’ll need to pop a really thin layer of concealer/foundation on top to make your skin look uniform. - Yellow diminishes blue tones – use it under your eyes - Lilac adds lustre to skin – pop a fine layer on sallow patches - Green corrects red – use that one for spots - White highlights, so isn’t strictly a corrector – lift areas with it - Brown can be used to recess areas – use as a contour cream - Peach corrects bluey/green – use under eyes along with the yellow

THE BROW BOOSTER / Eyeko Brow Magic, £25

Filling in brows is not a foolproof process and can be a little time-consuming if you’re going for the naturally bountiful brow look. Thickening them, however, is easy as can be – just tap excess fibres off this wand and run it through sparse patches – not only will brows look boosted, but the vitamin E and caffeine will encourage growth.