For all its emphasis on inclusivity, this has been a divisive year for the beauty industry in general. Love celebrity beauty launches? Hate celebrity beauty launches? Do highly edited photos and videos from influencers harm our mental health? Should brands be transparent about their ingredient sourcing? Is gender fluidity the new norm in makeup?
In a more microcosmic sphere, my beauty closet has also been full of contradictions this year. Products that I looked forward to for months turned out to be a total letdown (here’s looking at you: MAC Skinfinish Sunstruck Matte Bronzer, Merit Single Shadows, Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder, and the Haus Labs Foundation).
And the stuff I swore never to touch in a lifetime has become my staple. Reminds me never to say never! So, I’ve rounded up nine of my favorite beauty purchases this year. Have you tried any of them?
Lancôme Absolue Soft Cream Revitalizing & Brightening Moisturizer & Serum
This year, I’ve completely fallen for a beauty launch that’s become my absolute favorite: Lancôme’s Absolue lineup featuring their exclusive Grand Rose Extract. This includes the remarkable Absolue Perpetual Rose, a variety that blooms throughout the year and is cultivated in the South of France. It’s a true wonder, blooming season after season!
Along with the rose — handpicked early in the morning at the peak of its bloom — the serum and moisturizer also pack a punch with Pro-Xylane, a molecule derived from natural sugars. It’s been a game-changer for my skin, enhancing hydration, firmness, and elasticity.
Applying the Lancôme Absolue Serum feels heavenly. It strikes a perfect balance, neither oily nor watery, with a delicate fragrance of roses and vanilla that’s utterly soothing.
But it’s more than just sensory delight. The serum includes a team of exfoliants that accelerate cell renewal, even out skin tone, and dispel dullness within ten days!
Then there’s the Lancôme Absolue Soft Cream Moisturizer — akin to enveloping your skin in the most tender, softest embrace. Despite its airy texture, it’s intensely hydrating, courtesy of ingredients like shea butter and meadowfoam seed oil. They deeply moisturize, protect against pollutants, and bolster your skin’s defenses.
Together, the serum and moisturizer form an unbeatable team, combating the signs of aging, enhancing elasticity, and imbuing my skin with a radiant inner glow. Having nearly finished my current supply, I’m already hitting ‘Order Now’ for more.
Clarins Cryo-Flash Cream-Mask
The cool, rejuvenating Clarins Cryo-Flash Cream Mask stands out in my 2023 beauty discoveries! It taps into the revitalizing benefits of cryotherapy, known for its skin-tightening and rejuvenating effects.
This cream mask doesn’t waste a moment. As soon as it touches your skin, a cool wave washes over you, perfect for perking up tired skin in the morning or unwinding after a long day. It swiftly targets signs of fatigue, reduces the appearance of pores, and smooths fine lines, delivering a revitalized look instantly.
Applying this mask is a delight, with its luxurious, creamy texture that smoothly transitions from cream to mask, indicating the start of the cryo effect. The experience is both tactile and indulgent, turning your skincare routine into a sensory journey.
In true Clarins fashion, the Cryo-Flash Cream Mask is infused with natural plant extracts, each chosen for their firming and smoothing benefits. These botanicals complement the cryotherapy technology, ensuring your skin is not only cooled but also deeply nourished and strengthened.
After using this mask, you’ll notice a more radiant and youthful complexion. The cooling action visibly reduces puffiness, particularly around the eyes, and the firming effect tightens and contours the skin, enhancing your natural beauty and imparting a luminous glow.
More than just a mask, it’s a frosty elixir that promises to revitalize and transform your skin. Imagine the thrill of diving into this icy skincare wonder, experiencing both chill and thrill as it works its magic.
CurrentBody Skin LED Light Therapy Face Mask
Another 2023 revolutionary skin tech discovery? The CurrentBody Skin LED Light Therapy Face Mask employs LED light therapy, providing a non-invasive route to address various skin concerns and guide you toward a glowing complexion.
Utilizing clinically proven red and near-infrared light wavelengths, the mask delves deep into the skin to stimulate cells, boost healing, and rejuvenate your complexion. The red light targets aging signs by reducing wrinkles and ramping up collagen production, while the near-infrared light delves deeper to ease inflammation, enhance circulation, and even out skin tone.
What sets LED light therapy apart is its gentle approach. Free from pain, downtime, or discomfort, it’s a serene treatment that many find warming and pleasant.
Those like me who’ve welcomed the CurrentBody Skin LED Light Therapy Face Mask into their routine report numerous benefits: wrinkles smoothed away, firmer skin, lessened acne, and a general uplift in skin quality. It’s more than a fleeting solution; consistent use paves the way for enduring skin vitality.
The mask’s ergonomic design ensures a comfortable fit, allowing you to kick back and relax as it works wonders. It brings the luxury of advanced skincare into your home, eliminating the need for costly clinic visits. This is professional-level treatment on my terms!
Prada Monochrome Hyper Matte Durable Weightless Lipstick
These new Prada lipsticks are everything I’ve ever wanted in a lip color! They’re creamy, hydrating, and pigmented and come in a range of simply stunning shades. I’ve been wearing the shade “Auburn” (shown here) all day, and it’s perfect to dress up or down!
Another thing I love about these lipsticks is that they’re so long-wearing. I applied it this morning, and it’s still looking perfect hours later. I’ve eaten, drunk, and talked all afternoon, and my lipstick has not vanished.
Instead, it has faded gently and evenly, leaving a light stain, which makes my lips look gently kissed! That’s down to Prada’s patented Micro-Fit Technology, which fuses the color with your lips while feeling weightless.
Plus, unlike other matte lipsticks, these are not drying — thanks, I guess, to the Bifidus extract and jojoba oil. They look and feel like velvet on the lips, with a sophisticated finish. There are mornings (and evenings) when I have had no time for a full face of makeup, and these tubes pull everything together!
And there’s the superb attention to detail. The V-shaped bullet tip calls to mind the Prada logo while ensuring easy control and definition. The criss-cross finish of the iconic Saffiano leather used in Prada handbags on the lipstick bullet itself. The sleek, modern design with a chrome casing. The refillable credentials.
Chanel Sublimage Le Teint Foundation
This is a brand that can’t usually count me as a fan. I love Chanel handbags but find a lot of their beauty offerings overrated. So, when I grabbed the Chanel Sublimage Le Teint Foundation at the Paris Duty-Free because my desert-dry skin desperately needed a creamy foundation, it wasn’t with much hope. But a few months later, I was in love.
Sublimage Le Teint goes on like butter, making my face GLOW. Every time I wear it, people ask what I’ve been doing to make my skin look so beautiful. My super-dry complexion is transformed to luminous, with just the right amount of medium coverage to cover imperfections without seeming mask-like.
One thing, though: Ignore the brush that comes with it and use your fingers to blend the foundation. This particular formula works better with the supple heat of bare fingers. And the brush itself is rubbish!
Olly Sleep Gummies
I’ve always had sleep problems, and they have gone further downhill recently with all that life has been throwing up. So, this year, I brought back the unique blend of melatonin, herbs, and botanicals (think chamomile and lemon balm) that’s Olly Sleep into my nighttime routine. I’m happy to report that they make things SO much better!
The regular gummies have 1.5 mg of melatonin in each blackberry-flavored piece of goodness, and the Extra Strength haver 2.5 mg each. Then there are the Ultra Strength Sleep Softgels capsules (my personal nirvana on the most topsy-turvy nights when my brain doesn’t get the memo) with 5 mg of melatonin each.
The serving size is two gummies or capsules, though I find it better to mix and match according to what that particular twilight zone holds. Most nights, just two of the regulars have me sleeping soundly in about an hour, as long as I remember to switch off the lights in my room and read on my non-blue light-emitting Kindle.
Remember: Melatonin is suppressed by exposure to lights, so having a gummy or a capsule and continuing in a brightly lit environment is counter-productive (which is why your melatonin may not be working!).
What makes these Ollies better than other melatonin I’ve tried and not loved? They don’t give me crazy dreams, and there’s no grogginess in the mornings. And you seriously don’t know how crazy melatonin-led dreams can become unless you’ve had them!
WelleCo The Super Elixir
I have chronic problems with acidity. And not only does acidity cause heartburn, but it also results in fatigue, sluggishness, lackluster skin, poor digestion, and weight gain.
This year, I came upon cult model Elle McPherson’s WelleCo The Super Elixir, which combines 45 cold-pressed bio-live ingredients (including kelp, turmeric, aloe vera, shiitake mushrooms, barley grass, psyllium husk, and grape seed extract) into a water-soluble green powder that’s full of alkalizing vitamins, minerals, and probiotics.
The formula has zero synthetics, and the proof in the pudding is that when I skip the Super Elixir, my body immediately knows the difference. It’s the best investment I’ve made in my health for a long time.
Manuka Honey UMF22
If there is any one-size-fits-all ingredient in skincare, it’s honey. It busts acne, deflates bumps, lightens scars, sloughs away dead skin cells, promotes collagen growth, and works as a potent antibacterial.
But only if you pick the right honey: the processed version resembles sugar syrup more than anything the bees have produced – and is more likely to increase acne and other infections.
What you need is raw honey.
Or even better, Manuka honey, with a minimum UMF of 14. It’s pricier than the other version.
But the one jar I picked up ten months back is still just half over, even though I use it at least twice a week. And if it’s real, unprocessed honey, you’ll be surprised how easily it emulsifies and slips off with just a bit of water, sans any stickiness or residue.
I am such a fan that jars of honey get piled onto any suspecting friends who even hint that their skin needs help. Here’s my poor vegan mother sitting with Manuka honey that’s been forcibly plastered on her face to deal with dry and sensitive skin!
Yves Saint Laurent Libre Le Parfum
Wrapping up with Yves Saint Laurent’s Libre Le Parfum, this fragrance is more than just a scent; it’s a declaration of freedom. A dynamic mix of lavender essence, orange blossom, and musk accord offers a bold and captivating aroma that doesn’t just linger; it captivates.
It’s not merely a perfume; it’s a personal statement.
Libre Le Parfum is rooted in freedom — the freedom to be yourself, express yourself unapologetically and seize life’s limitless adventures. Yves Saint Laurent captures this ethos in a bottle, delivering a fragrance that vibrates with the contemporary woman’s boldness and grace. This isn’t just any perfume; it’s an emblem of independence and empowerment.
Diving into the layers of Libre Le Parfum is like embarking on an olfactory voyage. It starts with the unexpected twist of lavender essence, delicately reimagined. At its heart, the orange blossom absolute blooms, providing a sweet, sensual pulse. And finally, the musk accord anchors the fragrance with its deep, enduring whisper. Together, they create a rich tapestry of scent that’s both intriguing and enduring.
The ingredients in Libre Le Parfum are chosen with the utmost care and precision. The French lavender exudes a crisp freshness, the orange blossom a luxurious richness, and the musk a smooth sensuality. Each element combines to cloak you in a warm, inviting, and utterly unique scent.
Libre Le Parfum stands out for its versatility. It’s the perfect companion for both the bustling workday and the glamorous evening out. Its true beauty lies in its adaptability, blending seamlessly with your natural scent to create a fragrance that is unmistakably yours. It’s not just a perfume; it’s a personal accent unique to every wearer.
Which were your best beauty buys this year? And the worst? Help me build my bucket list.
Anubha Charan is a powerhouse in the luxury beauty industry, with over 15 years of expertise shaping the global beauty narrative. As the former Beauty Director at Marie Claire, she worked with the magazine's French headquarters to craft cutting-edge beauty content for international audiences.
Anubha's bylines have appeared in some of the world’s most prestigious publications, including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Travel + Leisure, WebMD, and Architectural Digest. She is also the co-author of Paris Bath & Beauty, a Simon & Schuster book on French beauty rituals.
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