With a new year beckoning we're SWEARING we'll be better to our bodies, both inside and out, in 2014. Good food, plenty of exercise, sleep and water - and a beauty regime we actually follow. Looking good helps you feel good, so it's worth the time and effort if it gives you a big confidence boost. Here are four beauty buys we loved this year... maybe worth treating yourself to in the January sales?!
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Curl Up & Dye
The Curl Secret, €159.99, has been the buzziest product in the beauty world this year, and we can understand why. The consumer version of professional tool the Perfect Curl, which hit the market early this year to acclaim, looks nothing like the curlers, or indeed straighteners, we’re used to seeing. Atop the handles sits a barrel-like chamber where the magic happens. You simply separate your hair into small sections and taking one, clamp down on the section near the root. The rest of the selected strand is then automatically drawn into the ceramic curl chamber where it is held and heated from all directions to form a curl. When it’s ready, you hear a trio of short quick beeps, and release to form a perfect curl. BaByliss brought this product to market with a view to making curling as easy as straightening. While this might still be a piper dream (you wannabe straight-haired ladies have it so easy, this is without doubt the easiest and most effective means we’ve tried yet in our search for the perfect curl.
Nailed it...
There are few things that make can make you feel grubby as quickly as unkempt nails. Skip the manicures this summer though, and instead create professional salon gel nails at home. We put the Red Carpet Manicure system, (starter kit €65), to the test at home and were hugely impressed. The RCM creates salon-like looks that are ready in mere minutes, and which last for up to three weeks without chipping or peeling. It's come in very handy since we first bagged one in the summer, and now we wouldn't be without it!
Buzzed Up
At €149, the Clarisonic Mia 2 is one of our best investment purchases this year. The Clarisonic Cleansing System uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second, working with the skin's natural elasticity to thoroughly remove the impurities that come between you and smoother, softer, healthier looking skin. This baby cleanses six times better than manual cleansing and helps to reduce the appearance of pores, fine lines and wrinkles. We noticed a visible difference in our skin's appearance after only one week of use, and now we'd be a little lost without it...
