I haven’t bought a woman’s magazine for months – they are always full of the same rubbish…
“10 ways to spot if he’s cheating”
“Are you aging badly?”
“The best sex tips of girls EVER”
“Does he love you?”
“Will you die old and lonely? 10 ways to spot the signs”
All the general negative rubbish. But I digress. I bought InStyle which is one of the better magazines for not have loads of adverts (I know the US one has tons though) and steers away from all the Female psychology-self help mumbo jumbo rubbish. Life can be crushing. We get it.
Guess why I got it? The 2009 Beauty Awards Booklet was out!:
I used to worship this book – I still have my 2006, 2007, 2008 books.
The problem is, and I wrote about it a while back, that these Top 100s are just a load of typical, unimaginative products that are there to suck up to the big advertisers. So – what does 2009 list?
The top 100 book for 2009 is in a small booklet format and is more durable than previous years. It is interspersed with images of celebrities and pictures of the products in question. In my experience, they tend to love Clinique, Dermalogica, MAC, Chanel, Dior, YSL, Sisley… So let’s go through the list! *cracks fingers*
Creams/Moisturisers
1. Best Moisturiser for Normal – Oily Skin -Dermalogica Active Moist
2. Best Anti Ageing Cream – Sisleya Global Anti Age £199 (£199!!!)
3. Best inexpensive moisturizer with SPF – Olay Total effects (I quite like Olay creams to be fair…)
4. Best Night Cream – Issima Midnight Secret (Get lost! This cream is a million years old, isn’t there anything better around?)
5. Best Facial Oil – Decleor Aromaessence Neroli (Also not convinced by this)
6. Best inexpensive anti – ageing cream – Boots Protect and perfect cream (used this, was crap)
7. Best moisturiser with SPF – Estee Lauder Daywear Plus (This starts at £21.50, the Olay starts at £14.99 – there’s hardly a big enough gap for there to be ‘inexpensive and expensive’ SPF cream categories.
8. Best moisturiser for dry skin – Creme De La mer
9. Best Serum – Estee Lauder Night Repair Protective Recovery Complex (It’s always this – I think Suqqu’s, RMK’s or Emu oil is better than this).
10. Best organic range – The Organic Pharmacy (never tried their goods – lots of eco brand reviews coming up soon though).
Cleansers
11. Best Toner – Yon Ka Lotion Alcohol Free Toner (Interesting, will check it out)
12. Best Wipe of Cleaner – Ultracalming Cleanser by Dermalogica (they loveeee Dermalogica._
13. Best Cleansing Wipes – Simple (yuk, so sticky)
14. Best Wash off Cleanser – Chanel Mousse Douceur (I once bought the entire Chanel skincare range, it was horrendous)
15. Best Make Up Eye Remover – Lancome Bifacial (it is good but there’s plenty as good and cheaper)
16. Best Facial Exfoliator – Daily Microfoliant – Dermalogica
Skin Savers
17. Best Mask for Congested Skin – Eve Lom Rescue Mask (Nars mud mask is better)
18. Best Radiance Mask – Radiant Glow (Prefer Elemis Quartz)
19. Best Eye De-puffer – Garnier Roll On (this was awful! I looked everywhere for it and it was pointless)
20. Best age spot treatment – Even Better Than skin Ton Corrector
21. Best for dark circles – Str-vectin SD eye cream
22. Best Spot treatment – Overnight Clearing Gel Dermalogica
23. Best for crows feet – The Eye Concentrate, Creme De La Mer
24. Best Line Smoother – Super Line Preventor Xtreme, Prescriptives
25. Best Hydrating Mask – Express Flower Gel, Sisley
Base Make Up
26. Best skin illuminator – Armarni
27. Best Stick foundation – Bobbi Brown
28. Best Under Eye Concealer – Touche Eclat YSL
29. Best Mineral Make Up – ID Bare Minerals (even with bismuth oxychloride?)
30. Best inexpensive foundation – Mac Factor Miracle Touch (BLEH!)
31. Best Base Range – Bobbi Brown (it is good, but I prefer RMK or La Mer’s base range)
32. Best Tinted Moisturiser – Laura Mercier (still?)
33. Best Liquid Foundation – Chanel Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing (but so purfumed..)
34. Best Concealer – Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage (this stuff is dry beyond belief and I got over it a long long time ago)
35. Best Face Powder – Shu Uemura
36. Best Primer – Laura Mercier (I can think for 10 Japanese primers better than this)
37. Best compact foundation – Chanel Tient Innocence Naturally Luminous (once again, can think of 10 off the top of my had that is better than this, cream and powder based).
Eyelashes
38. Best Mascara – Diorshow
39. Best Waterproof – Lancome Hypnose waterproof (they obviously haven’t tried Shu or any other Janpanese mascara)
40. Best Eyelash Curler – Shu Uemura (prefer Nars’s)
41. Best Inexpensive Mascara – Max Factor Masterpiece
Shadows and Liners
42. Best Cream Shadow – Bobbi Brown (this is a nice product to be fair, colour range is a little limited)
43. Best eye pencil – MAC (what?! Not Urban Decay?!)
44. Best Gel Liner – Bobbi Brown (since it’s been reformulated, this is really nice)
45. Best Powder Eyeshadow – MAC (Noooooooooooooooooooo comment, but COME ON! A bit of imagination would be nice.)
Lips
46. Best Lipgloss – MAC Lipglass (it is, if you like having hair, crumbs and general debris stuck to your face forever)
47. Best Long Lasting Lipstick – Max Factor Lipfinity (seriously? Lipfinity?! That was a good idea for about 10 minutes 3 years ago, before people’s lips started peeling off from dryness).
48. Best Red Lipstick – MAC in Ruby Woo (it’s quite nice but I am quite partial to Givenchy for a nice red, or Chanel)
49. Best Lip Balm – Nutritive Lip Balm by Sisley
Brows
50. Best Brow Filler – MAC
51. Best Tweezers – Tweezerman (no chance, there are far better tweezers)
52. Best Bronzer – Guerlain Terracota (yeah about 5 years ago)
53. Best Brush Range – Shu Uemura
54. Best Blusher – Nars in Orgasm (love this but a dull choice)
55. Best inexpensive line – Ruby & Millie (mmmmmm…….)
Bath & Body
56. Best Body Exfoliator – Smoothing Body Scrub Clarins
57. Best Shower Gel – Ren Rose Otto (this is nice)
58. Best Inexpensive body lotion – Nivea Rich Care
59. Best Body Moisturiser – Kiehls Creme de corps
60. Best inexpensive firming/anti cellulite cream – L’oreal Body expertise
61. Best Firming anti cellulite cream – Sisley Celluli Pro Slimming Complex
62. Best Body Oil – Bio Oil
63. Best Bath Oil – Deep Relax Bath and Shower Oil Aromatherapy Associates
Tanning
64. Best self tan for body – St Tropez Whipped Mousse (if you like looking like a satsuma)
65. Best Suncare Line – Lancaster Range (if you can find it)
66. Best inexpensive suncare line – Soltan
67. Best self tan for face – Liquid Bronze Self Tanning Clarins
68. Best moisturiser with self tan – Johnsons Holiday Skin (this gives me a rash)
Nails
69. Best Base Coat – Seche Clear Crystal
70. Best Top Coat – Seche Vite Dry Fast Top coat
71. Best Nail Polish Range – OPI
72. Best Cuticle Oil – Solar Oil Creative Nail
73. Best Nail File – Kanga Board
74. Best Inexpensive Nail Polish Range – Barry M
75. Best Food File – The Conqueror Diamond from Bliss
76. Best Hand Cream – Sisleya Global Anti-Age Hand Care (£77!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
77. Best Inexpensive Hand Cream – Norwegian Formula Hand Cream Neutrogena
78. Best Foot Cream – Intensive Hydrating Foot Lotion Margaret Dabbs
Haircare
79. Best Shampoo for oily/combo hair – Bian Divalent Kerastase
80. Best Conditioner for oily/combo hair – Seaweed Conditioner Bumble and Bumble
81. Best range for coloured hair – Tech colour care Frederic Fekkai
82. Best Deep Conditioning Mask – Masquintense, Kerastase
83. Best Leave in Conditioner – Bumble & Bumble
84. Best Sun Haircare Range – Kerastase
85. Best eco/Organic range – MOP
86. Best Dandruff Shampoo – Bain Gommage – Kerastase (Kerastase really ain’t all that)
87. Best Conditioner for dry hair – Moisture Velvet – Shu Uemura
88. Best Shampoo for Dry Hair – Bain Satin – Kerastase
Hairstyling
89. Best Brush – Popular Bar Bristle & Nylon Mason Pearson
90. Best Volumiser – Thickening Spray Bumble & Bumble
91. Best Curl Enhancer – Curl Conscious Defining Cream Bumbly & Bumble
92. Best Curling Iron – Dial A Heat, Babyliss (I have this, it is a pile of utter crap)
93. Best Smoothing Product – Tecni.art Liss Control – L’oreal Professional
94. Best Texturiser – Playball Deviation Paste – L’oreal Professionnel
95. Best Flat Iron – IV Styler GHD
96. Best Hairdryer – Superturbo 3000 Parlux
97. Best Heat Protector – Tecni.art Hot Style Constructor – L’oreal Professionnel
98. Best for instant shine – Tecni.art Crystal Gloss – L’oreal Professionnel
99. Best Hairspray – Elnett Satin L’oreal
100. Best De Frizzer – Frizz-Ease Hair Serum John Frieda (Blah!)
So that’s the list. What do you think of it? I am disappointed to see the same old stuff in there, same as in my 2006 and 2007 beauty buys. Let’s face it – as a beauty junkie I am always personally looking out for newer and better and more cost effective products. Occasionally something with make me stop in my tracks and command loyalty and that’s great but it’s quite rare – which is why I find it hard to believe this so called beauty best buy bible is still stuck in exactly the same place as it was 4 years ago (up advertiser’s bottoms).
What a waste of £3. One cold dark day, when I am down to my last penny, there will be a double meatball sandwich staring at me from the shop window, costing £3.01p and I will damn the fact I could have kept those gold coins in my pocket and used it towards a juicy sub instead.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I totally agree with you! They are sooooo lazy with this, it’s pretty much the same every single year. The only difference is this year’s nail polish line is OPI instead of Essie and Clarins Beauty Flash doesn’t feature. And of course they only include brands by their advertisers or brands that send out tones of promo stuff to make up artists, etc. I can understand why they do it, it’s a mainstream magazine and they need to recommend stuff that is widely available. But Johnson’s Holiday Skin? Please! The stuff stinks, isn’t suitable for sensitive skin, is drying beyond belief and makes you look like you have patchy jondas! Dove one is so much better!
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Hey Media
That’s true – normal ladies won’t necessarily have access to lesser heard of brands although there are ways to get them (after all we beauty junkies manage it!). They should have a section with unusal brands, a kind o f guerilla section so at least SOME thought seems to have gone into it!
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very late comment, but… have you tried applying the Laura Mercier secret camouflage to your hand first? it needs warming to skin temp before you put it on your face. I used to agree with you about it being dry until someone told me this tip!
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