Beauty: I’m getting fruity
…and zinging up my springtime routine with these juicy new launches
There’s a decidedly fruity theme among some of my favourite recent launches. And though I wouldn’t begin to suggest that using fruit as a beauty ingredient is a new concept, there are some fun approaches around and it’s a nice way to give your routine a springtime uplift.
Watermelon is definitely having a moment in the spotlight with Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Pink Dream Body Cream (£25, cultbeauty.co.uk). I didn’t think I would like to smell like a watermelon, but it turns out I do. Perhaps because the cream’s aroma isn’t too strong or sweet but feels refreshing and full of the promise of sunnier weather (though the smell lasts all day, so I often use it when not wearing a perfume). The cream also has a wonderful texture, which sinks straight in and leaves skin feeling plump and moisturised (thanks to vitamin C-rich watermelon seed as well as hydrating hyaluronic acid) and comes housed in a pretty pink bottle.
In Garnier’s new Ultimate Blends Plumping Hair Food Watermelon & Pomegranate collection the superfood is teamed with pomegranate to create a boosting shampoo and conditioner (£6 each), and mask (£6.99, boots.com) – think volume but without weighing hair down (the formula is also silicone-free). The collection smells wonderfully fruity but not overpowering.
Grapefruit takes centre stage with Q+A Grapefruit Cleansing Balm (£9, qandaskin.com), which adds a lovely fragrant boost to a morning routine. You simply apply it to dry skin, massage in and rinse off with warm water – it will lightly emulsify when the water hits. It also contains (vegan) squalane for an extra dose of hydration with your cleanse.
Also on the facial skincare front is Ole Henriksen Lemonade Smoothing Scrub (£25, boots.com). It really does smell more like lemonade than lemons – in other words, it’s a bit sweeter than a freshly sliced piece of fruit. It gives a nice gentle exfoliation thanks to some lemon peel extract as well as AHAs and also contains holy basil and camomile to soothe.
Greek brand Korres has harnessed the Santorini grape for its wonderful-smelling Santorini Grape Renewing Body Cleanser (£14, feelunique.com). It comes with added wheat proteins for an extra moisture boost.
And, on the fragrance front, there’s the new limited-edition offering from Malin + Goetz simply called Strawberry Eau de Parfum (£75, libertylondon.com). This isn’t just about a ripe juicy strawberry but meant to take in the whole life of the berry including the bud and the unripe stage, so there are crisp notes of bergamot in there as well as cedarwood and pink pepper. The result is a unisex sort of sparkling, fruity, fresh but still sweet concoction.
@edwinaingschambers