I attended a lovely beauty dinner organized by Sainsbury’s and it reminded me of when I used to do some kind of supermarket beauty line.I don’t remember the title of this particular series, but I’m sure it will use puns because I can’t resist them, or there will be some kind of alliteration, eg Supermarket Skincare Deals or Best Buy Beauty For Your Basket…
Oh wait: just searched my own archives, which is something I should have done before starting this post. It’s called – drum please – Best supermarket beauty products to buy. Well, I’ve decided to revive the series because there are some pretty amazing products in supermarkets now – much more than when I first shot them.
But back to Sainsbury’s dinner, they’ve recreated the beauty aisle in the restaurant so you feel like you’re sitting in the restaurant in A real supermarket. There are mini shopping baskets as placemats and the menu is printed on the Sainsbury’s cash register receipt which I absolutely love. Top marks for inventiveness and simple old fun.
What’s more, I had the opportunity to scan the aisles for new products. Anyway, I do this quite often (I shop at Sainsbury’s 98% of the time) but it’s nice to see new launches put together, it also reminds me of something I haven’t shown you guys before ever favorite.
Here are five of the top beauty products from UK supermarkets to pair with beans, broccoli and biscuits.
L’Oreal retractable mascara (Ocado £8.80 here*)
I know I risk turning you off with this product, but it’s truly one of my all-time favorite makeup products and it doesn’t show any signs of being usurped anytime soon. A fine, flexible comb that fits directly on lashes with good length and spacing and easy removal.It doesn’t flake or smudge on me, but mind you, it’s no waterproof. There is a waterproof version, but I don’t need it, and would rather remove faster than the extra smudge safety!
No Knot Co Gentle Detangler (£15 at Sainsbury’s here*)
I absolutely love knotting brushes. They’re special brushes designed to glide over your hair (whether wet or dry) to detangle it without breaking, and they’re the stuff of magic—you’ve no doubt heard of wet brushes and Tangle Teezers.I love this product from the new brand knotless company; their tool for creating waves, curls and coils, and the simplicity of this brush is genius. It’s the lightest brush I’ve ever held and it’s great for travel, but it’s just a molded piece with the bristles on it so you can wash the whole brush and there’s nothing in the bristles or handle to trap water. It’s flexible so it’s comfortable to use, even when it gets tangled, and pulls the hairs out and tucks them away in just seconds. There’s nothing I don’t like about this brush, and if you wash your hair after the beach a lot, I’d say it’s a holiday must-have.
Q+A Grapefruit Cleansing Balm (£7 at Sainsbury’s here*)
Finding an inexpensive cleanser with good ingredients and a luxurious, rich feel is surprisingly difficult. Most people gravitate toward a “cleanser” texture, so more of a gel to splash off, while I almost always go for a luxurious cream or oily balm. This grapefruit balm from Q+A is fantastic – removes all make-up, even eye make-up, massages in perfectly and then removes cleanly with no greasy residue. It doesn’t strip or dry the skin at all, and the fragrance is pleasant (fruity, as you’d expect) but not overwhelming. If you love balms but want something a little more frugal than Emma Hardy and Elemis products, this won’t disappoint. I also find the tubes more convenient than the tub because I can pop them into my travel bag if I travel. Pots and pans feel more troublesome!
Altruist SPF50 Facial Lotion (Available at Sainsbury’s, £9.15 on Amazon here*)
This is good. I’ve tried it once now and haven’t had any breakouts (which is pretty common for me when I get SPF tested), just solid sun protection with a non-greasy, near-invisible face lotion. It’s lightweight and has top-notch UVA and UVB protection, probably because it was created by UK skin cancer specialists. I need to start fresh with my high street SPF trials, as there are new contenders for best budget buy every year and the bar gets higher and higher – let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions or favorites.
Unicorn Glitter Hello Toothpaste (Currently £2.50 at Sainsbury’s here*)
One for the kids. We both love this. The packaging is bright and cute, and the toothpaste is bubblegum-flavored, which feels off-limits to my kids. They never got real bubble gum because they were too young, and we decided to follow in our respective parents’ footsteps and tell all kinds of overblown lies about bubble gum in order to keep them from buying it. why our parents do this? It’s hilarious. As the kids got older, I definitely spewed more and more gibberish, and much of that gibberish came directly from things I heard as a child. I need to make a list. Not turning on the interior lights because we’d get arrested is my favorite lie to tell.actually, I done Believe it is against the law to turn on the interior lights while driving. Until recently, this was embarrassing. My parents told such convincing lies to me.
Anyway, I’ve eaten a lot of this toothpaste as a taste test (you shouldn’t because [insert lie your parents told you re eating toothpaste]) and it passed with flying colors. Don’t say I never did anything for you.
Here’s a video of me standing in the bathroom saying all of the above:
