I was struck by how dominant makeup and devices were in 2024, after years of skincare mania in the market. Saie, a fairly priced US makeup startup, stormed it. With the notable exception of its complexion products (improvement needed), the line is excellent. Dew Bronze (£20), an extremely easy, natural-looking bronzing liquid, was its best launch. I reached for it again and again, fluffing it into cheeks and temples with their now-indispensable Base Brush (£21). Saie could get away with less for the money, but mostly overdelivers.
Speaking of price, the high-street hits kept on coming. Elf’s non-smudgy, seven quid Lash XTNDR would have been my mascara of the year at any price.
Born-again Garnier is now so consistently good that I’m bored of my own eulogising. Suffice to say, 2024 launches Vitamin C Daily UV Brightening Fluid Sheer Glow (£12.99) and Soothing Hyaluronic Aloe Cream Cleanser (£9.99) are worth your cash. A bigger financial commitment, but well worth it for access to one of Britain’s best dermatologists, is Dr Emma Craythorne’s Klira, a bespoke subscription skincare service.
Hermès Barénia (£70), a grown-up, glamorous, quietly elegant blend of mellow woods and dry fruits, was my scent of last year – and only partly because it is so defiantly at odds with the trendy, pudding-sweet fragrances du jour.
There were more complexion launches (foundations, primers, concealers) than anything else. The best of them were the much-hyped Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Skin Foundation Stick (£35), a glow stick that is really not a foundation at all, and the almost entirely ignored Make Up For Ever HD Skin Hydra Glow Foundation (£38), which very much is.
I’m not usually given to expensive beauty gadgets, but 2024 had me on the turn. I bought the Dyson AirStrait (£449.99) fully intending to return it, but it is the best tool ever for straight hair – if one can get past the cost, James Dyson and a plug the size of a touring caravan. It gives a smooth, glossy, lasting blow-dry with no kinks, little frizz and minimal effort, without the need for damaging straighteners.
I’m even more devoted to my Ziip Halo (£379), the single most effective facial gadget I’ve ever used. Its immediate and day-long tightening and sculpting effect, especially around my jawline, is a big enough win for me and, unanimously, the many friends who now own one. I thought I’d lost mine last summer and immediately panic-bought another – that’s how much I’ve come to depend on it.