Ingeborg Van Lotringen Shares Her Beauty Heroes
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Welcome to my first column for The Gold Edition. After 25 years in the industry, you would think I’ve seen and tried it all, but there are plenty of new products that still catch my eye. In fact, the past decade has been a bit of a golden era for beauty, with cosmetic science and technology advancing exponentially and ingredients and formulas becoming far more effective, sustainable and kinder than they ever were before.
In this new column, I'll tell you about all the good stuff I’m spotting – and why it’s better than the rest. That includes products and treatments, as effective beauty takes an ever more hi-tech and clinical direction.
Who am I? Well, I’ve spent the last quarter of a decade interviewing the great, good and clever in the beauty world for glossy magazines, with 14 years spent as Cosmopolitan’s beauty director. Now I write for newspapers, magazines and websites, and have published a book called Great Skin on how to navigate the ever-more complex world of skincare.
It will come as no surprise to hear skin is my favourite beauty subject. Below, I've shared some of my desert-island staples, alongside some make-up, hair and body care picks. I want to pay for stuff that works, not for things that merely look good. I do sometimes get swayed by something pretty, but only if it works – having reached ‘gold’ status in terms of age and experience, I think that’s the least I, and you, deserve.
Peace & Quiet Coconut Cleansing Oil, £28.50 | Time Bomb
There are so many lovely and great facial cleansers out there these days and I always have about four on the go. But if I had to choose one, it would be this. It’s an exceptionally silky oil with a fresh coconut scent (not the synthetic approximation of ‘coconut’) and turns into a milk when it encounters water, so it rinses off easily. Most cleansing oils are not actually great at removing make-up (it melts, but you need a remover afterwards to get rid of the panda eyes) – but this is the exception. It leaves your face totally clean, comfortable and glowing, and is such a pleasure to use.
Available at TimeBombCo.com
Shower Oil, £28 | Aromatherapy Associates
Fragrance gives me itchy rashes, so you won’t catch me using or liking many scented products, which is a drag because Aromatherapy Associates Bath & Body oils are famously beautiful. However, when the brand came up with these shower oils, which deposit just a little oil on the skin but mostly emulsify into a lightly foaming milk before rinsing off, I thought all my Christmases had come at once. They offer all of the bliss and none of the irritation, and leave skin soft and conditioned to the point of not needing a body cream. Try their laundry detergents, too – expensive but so worth washing your delicates with.
Available at AromatherapyAssociates.com
Daydream Screen SPF50 Tinted Veil, £38 | Ultra Violette
I prefer a tinted moisturiser over foundation, and a serious daily sunscreen with a hint of colour over a tinted moisturiser with SPF in it, if you know what I mean. Options used to be limited but the past two years have seen the launch of so many good, multifunctional ‘hybrid’ SPF serums and lotions. A recent favourite is this one, which has a silky liquid consistency but does a very good job of evening skin tone while making it look like you’ve got nothing on. It’s broad-spectrum (essential), has some antioxidants for added protection and is deeply moisturising but not oily, giving skin a lovely glow. Best of all, there’s no pilling as happens so often with SPFs of this texture (they usually feature mineral sunscreens which cause this problem, but Daydream Screen doesn’t have those). What’s more, there are 16 shades to choose from – rare for a tinted SPF.
Available at CultBeauty.co.uk
Hair Cleansing Cream, £23 | Gallinée
If something foams like a bubble bath, it’s going to be harsh on your skin. Loads of bubbles equal sulphates, which are great at stripping your skin and hair of filth, but unfortunately also of its protective lipid layer. The result is uncomfortable dryness which, over time, can become chronic. I want all of my cleansers to be sulphate free and, for hair, this is my favourite. It’s a shampoo but it doesn’t foam (sulphate-free doesn’t have to mean no foam at all, but this creamy, grapefruit-scented wash is exceptionally low on it), yet it leaves hair and scalp perfectly clean. And it conditions too, making hair manageable enough to forego a conditioner if you’re in a hurry. In addition, it has probiotic technology, which builds a stronger, calmer, more balanced scalp surface. Gallinée specialises in this science, which is at the heart of all its no-nonsense, hard-working products.
Available at Gallinée.com
Youth Restore Serum, £165 | Cellderma
This is what I mean when I say I only want to pay for skincare that works. It’s not the bottle that looks impressive, it’s the formula, which is high in growth factors, peptides and botanicals, and clinically proven to work. Doctors use it to heal superficial burns and deep inflammatory conditions, as it gets skin to effectively repair itself. Behind Cellderma, a relative newcomer in the skincare market, is a doctor who's exasperated with empty marketing and false promises and wants to make products that change skin. It’s very expensive, but I can name products 50% dearer that are no more effective than anything you might buy in Boots. This will take away redness, restore elasticity and hydration, soften lines and bring skin back to life.
Available at Cellderma.com
r-Retinoate Day & Night Serum, £149 | Medik8
This is another expensive one where the money hasn’t gone into the glitzy pot, but into its contents. Medik8 has its own research and development labs and is one of the most honest skincare brands in the UK. Thanks to this breakthrough about a decade ago, I can use retinoids (still the gold standard in anti-ageing compounds). It’s powerful but it doesn’t irritate my skin, and they’ve added a big dose of stable, brightening vitamin C to this souped-up version. I’m sure it’s the main reason my skin still looks good at my age.
Available at CultBeauty.co.uk
Family SPF30, £42 | Ultrasun
Every time I try a body sunscreen that isn’t Ultrasun I end up with burnt patches or heat rash – and I’m scrupulous about applying it the stuff and staying under a parasol when I’m on holiday. Ultrasun simply does the safest, gentlest and hardest-working sunscreens in the world and it's constantly refining and updating the formulas with better, more advanced, and more eco-safe sun filters and other ingredients. Their unique lamellar technology means the filters sit just under the skin's surface where they offer maximum protection but also stay put. You must always re-apply sunscreen frequently but should you forget, these lotions are among the rare ones that keep you covered. They never irritate, protect against heat rash and are oil-free but still hydrating. I love the weightless, sticky-free texture of the SPF30 and so does my husband, so one or two of these mega-bottles are the first thing I pack before every trip.
Available at UltraSun.co.uk
Super Lustrous Creme Lipstick in Fire & Ice, £9 | Revlon
Much like fragrances, all my favourite lip colours keep getting discontinued. It’s a scourge with make-up: there’s such demand for ‘newness’ that brands have to constantly make space for it, while others simply don’t survive in an over-saturated market. A brand called Bagsy made the best cherry-red lipstick pencil which I still have found no equal for. And Korres Lip Butter in Wild Rose, a work of tinted-balm genius, is also out of production. As in fact, I believe, is this one – although there are so many out there we still have a way to go before they run out of stock. A classic 1950s red bang in between pink and orange, it lights up every skin tone. And it’s a sheeny, balmy (though highly-pigmented and long-lasting) cream texture is so much more flattering on the vast majority of people over 40.
Available at Sainsburys.co.uk
MacGyver Multi-Use Mousse, £21 | Evo
judging from the increase in mousse launches I’ve spotted, it's making a comeback. And it’s about time because a decent volumising mousse is underrated, having been given a bad rep by those mid-80s hair rock bands. Today’s mousses don’t make your hair stand crunchily on end but add bulk and fullness more effectively than thickening sprays can. None, however, do this as effectively and dramatically as this one. Without it, my hair just isn’t the same.
Available at EvoHair.co.uk
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