Cult beauty brands… Sigh! While I do love a great bargain beauty find (for proof of this, see: 4 of the Best Budget Beauty Buys Revealed! and Six Aldi Products we all need in our lives right now… ), almost nothing makes me happier than a high-end beauty product splurge.
It’s not so much the reality of what these products will do for me, but their potential to make me feel, however fleetingly, like a movie star goddess…
Or, even, a supermodel…
It’s all a game of beauty product make-believe, of course, but on those days when the humdrum routine of daily life is wearing me down, I like nothing better than to wander around my local branch of Space NK (a UK cult beauty product mecca), Sephora (while in France or Germany) or, simply, just hop online and luxuriate in the wonders of the most beautiful beauty products the world has to offer.
Then, my biggest dilemma is what to choose out of all these beauty product delights, and the simple act of making a choice becomes an almost impossible feat, as …
Fortunately, or unfortunately, as the case may be, budget constraints usually have a mildly sobering effect and force the issue. Reluctant decisions are made, and repeat splurges are planned to soften the blow of the realisation that most of us just can’t have it all! 😢
Once those perfect products find their way to my front door, the beauty buzz is at an all-time high as this beauty product junkie carefully unwraps the delicate tissue paper that envelopes them…
My latest stash! 💓
And finally finds a semi-permanent home to house them. (What can I say? I get bored easily! 😳)
#shelfie – the best of the rest! 💖
At the moment, my top cult beauty product choices, Glossier, Drunk Elephant and OUAI, have been heavily influenced by the Insta-Influencers. These beautiful beauty brands seemed to be all over my Instagram feed of late, and suffering from a severe case of FOMO (i.e. Fear Of Missing Out), I just had to try them out to see if all the hype was justified…
1. Glossier
I first dipped my (pedicured) toes into the world of Glossier a few months back when I ordered their mascara of the moment, Lash Slick. For my review of this product, click The Mascara of the Moment… Unwrapped!
The signature millennial pink of this brand is a hit with the Millennial generation
And while I wasn’t ready to fully commit to a brand that is primarily targeting a slightly younger generation, I was intrigued.
First of all, I loved the sleek pink packaging.
Glossier, you had me at ‘hello’
Packaging is really important if I am shelling out a considerable amount of money for a beauty product – it has to be worthy of pride of place on my bathroom shelf. 😉
Better still, to open a run of the mill cardboard box to find a smooth pink interior and the words ‘you look good’, I am seriously impressed! Glossier obviously know that flattery will get them everywhere!
Then, there is the not so small matter that their online service is flawless; quick and easy to order and, to top it all, super speedy to deliver. In today’s fast-paced world, where online services are all too often anything but reliable, that means a lot!
Finally, and most importantly, Glossier products are really, really lovely 💕 High quality, cruelty-free and affordably priced, it’s impossible to resist them. While not a replacement for my Mac, Chanel or Dior mascaras, the Lash Slick (around £12) was a hit for the all-natural, yet polished, makeup no makeup look.
And with winter around the corner, I just had to have the deliciously rose scented Rose Balm Dotcom Universal Skin Salve (around £9).
But the absolute star of this beauty show is the Milky Jelly Cleanser (approx. £14), a 2017 Allure Beauty Award winner that every beauty Influencer worth her salt has featured in one of her #shelfies. With its versatility – it can be used on wet or dry skin – conditioning power (it contains not just one but all of five skin conditioners!) and exceptionally gentle cleansing ingredients, I just can’t fault it! A BA (beauty addict’s) star product, if ever there was one! ❤️
Should you wish to invest for yourself, check out: http://www.glossier.com. (Not an ad! 😊)
2. Drunk Elephant
The second brand on my latest must-buy list, Drunk Elephant, is a really, really new discovery for me. It was probably only in the last couple of weeks that I became aware of these candy coloured shelfies popping up in my Instagram feed.
Behold the beauty of it all…
No beer goggles needed here! We’re naturally drunk on Drunk Elephant!
Aside from the Insta-worthy, candy floss cuteness of the packaging, Drunk Elephant is a high quality beauty brand that goes beyond the realm of the natural beauty product by eliminating all ‘Suspicious 6’ toxins (Essential Oils, Drying Alcohols, Silicones, Chemical Screens, Fragrance/Dyes and SLS) from their ingredient list. And in a world of ever-rising cancer and infertility rates, that can only be a good thing in my book.
But almost as soon as I made this all-American Wunder brand discovery, I felt the waves of disappointment wash over me as I read that Drunk Elephant would not be launched in the UK until October 2 and 3, at http://www.cultbeauty.co.uk and http://www.spacenk.com respectively.
I know, I know, that is literally only a day or two from now, but a couple of weeks ago, that felt like an eternity to a beauty junkie like me…
So, I did a bit of furious eBaying and managed to bag some precious samples to preview, the Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser in Cantaloupe and the T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum.
And the verdict?
I am now a total Drunk Elephant convert! Only two problems remain…
How do I battle my way to the top of the UK waiting list? And at around £30 for a new Jelly Cleanser and approximately £70 for a serum refill, how will I ever afford to stay ‘drunk’ on Drunk Elephant?! 😧
3. OUAI Haircare
Oh. My! OUAI Haircare! I hardly know where to start! From the chic, Insta-worthy (uh-oh! I think I’m turning into a Millennial with all this Insta-speak!! 😳) minimalist packaging, to the winning, sulfate-free formula to the Parisian-inspired name – ouai, or, ouais, is the Parisian, casual pronunciation of the word ‘oui’, a bit like ‘yeah’ in English – I just cannot get enough of this haircare brand by celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin. 😍
A beautiful product, inside and out 💕
My only issue with stocking up on this brand (available online at http://www.theouai.co.uk) is that I am so busy at the moment that it is difficult for me to snatch the spare time required for a proper, OUAI-worthy hair pampering session, which at an average of around £20 per product, is a pricey affair!
So, for now, I am mainly investing in the OUAI Dry Shampoo (£20), which not only works a treat, it just takes a few seconds to apply, leaves no white powdery residue and smells beyond divine!
Best of all, I feel a bit like this, after using it…
Poised, confident…
And ready to face the world, come what may!
Who says, ‘confidence can’t be bought!’?
If you have any favourite cult beauty brands, please tell me all about them in the comments section below!
Until next time,
💋 Mostly Mum
*All Gifs are via GIPHY