I went to a lovely beauty dinner hosted by Sainsbury’s and it reminded me of doing some sort of supermarket beauty line at one point. I can’t remember the title of that particular series, but I’m sure it would use a pun, because I can’t resist them, or there would be some kind of alliteration like Skincare Savers Supermarket the Best beauty shopping for your cart…
Oh wait: I just looked through my own files, which I should have done before I started writing the post. It was called – drumroll please – Best supermarket beauty buys. Well, I’ve decided to bring this series back because there are some pretty amazing products in the supermarkets these days – a lot more than when I first came back.
But back to Sainsbury’s diner where they had recreated their beauty aisles in the restaurant so it felt like you were sitting inside a real supermarket. There were mini shopping baskets as placemats and the menu was printed on a Sainsbury’s to the receipt and I loved it. Top marks for ingenuity and plain old good fun.
Most importantly, I got a chance to scan the aisles for new startups. I do this regularly anyway (I do my food shopping at Sainsbury’s 98% of the time) but it was nice to be able to see new releases grouped together and it also reminded me of some favorites I haven’t shown you before.
So here are five top beauty buys from the UK supermarket, great bits to pick up with your beans, broccoli and biscuits.
L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara (£8.80 from Ocado here*)
I know I’m in danger of boring you with this, but it really is one of my favorite makeup products of all time with no sign of it being usurped at any point in the near future. Fine, flexible comb that reaches right to the lashes, has good length and separation and is easy to remove. It doesn’t tend to flake or smudge on me, but note that it does not waterproof. There is a waterproof version but I don’t need it and would prefer faster removal over added smudge insurance!
No Knot Co The Gentle Detangler (£15 from Sainsbury’s here*)
I’m a big fan of detangling brushes. They’re special brushes designed to glide through hair – wet or dry – to detangle without breaking and they’re magical things – you’ll no doubt have heard of the Wet Brush and the Tangle Teezer. I like this offering from a new brand No Knot Co; they make tools for waves, curls and coils and this brush is genius in its simplicity. It’s the lightest brush I’ve ever held, so great for travel, but it’s just one molded piece of bristles so you can wash the whole thing and there’s nothing to trap water in the bristles or handle. It’s super flexible, so very comfortable to use, even when hitting tangles, and it’s a matter of seconds to get the hair out and wipe it away. There’s nothing I don’t like about this brush, it’s a holiday must-have I’d say if you usually struggle with washing off after the beach.
Q+A Grapefruit Cleansing Balm (£7 at Sainsbury’s here*)
Finding inexpensive cleansers with good ingredients and a luxurious, rich feel is surprisingly difficult. Most people lean towards the “face wash” texture, so more of a splashable gel, whereas I almost always go for a rich cream or oily balm. This Grapefruit Balm from Q+A is great – it removes all makeup, even eye makeup, massages in beautifully and then removes cleanly with no greasy residue. It doesn’t strip or dry the skin at all, and the scent is pleasant (fruity, as you’d expect) but not overpowering. If you love a balm but want something much, much less expensive than the Emma Hardie and Elemis offerings, then this won’t disappoint. I also find tubes more handy than tubs as I can fit them in my overnight bag if I’m travelling. Pots and jars feel more bulky!
Altruist Facial Fluid SPF50 (in store at Sainsbury’s, online at Amazon £9.15 here*)
That’s good. I’ve had it for quite a while now and no breakouts (strangely common for me when doing SPF tests), just solid sun protection from a non-greasy, almost invisible facial fluid. It’s lightweight and has top-notch UVA and UVB protection, probably because it was created by a skin cancer specialist in the UK. I have to bring it back with my top SPF tests because every year there are new contenders for the best budget buys and the bar keeps getting higher – let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions or favourites.
Hello Toothpaste in Unicorn Sparkle (currently £2.50 at Sainsbury’s here*)
One for the kids. I both like this. The packaging is bright and cute and the toothpaste tastes like bubblegum, which seems very illegal to my kids. They have never had real gum because they are still very few and we also decided to follow in our respective parents’ footsteps and tell all kinds of exaggerated lies about gum to prevent them. Because our parents did this? It’s hilarious. I definitely come up with more and more absolute bullocks as the kids get older and the majority of this claptrap is directly from things I heard in my childhood. I have to make a list. Not turning on the car’s interior light because we’ll get arrested is a favorite fiber of mine. me basically He made believe it was illegal to turn on your interior light when driving. Until relatively recently, which is a shame. Such a convincing lie was told to me by my parents.
Anyway, I ate a load of this toothpaste as a taste test (which you should never do because [insert lie your parents told you re eating toothpaste]) and passes with flying colours. Don’t say I never do anything for you.
Here’s a video of me saying all of the above while standing in my bathroom:
