Duty Free – is it me, or is there magic in the phrase? I can think of more than one expedition where half an hour’s spritzing and sniffing was the most enjoyable part of the trip.
Duty Free is a heady Neverland in which I am transformed into the kind of fragrant, silken-skinned globetrotter to match her statement lip to her statement nail, eternally in need of another pair of cat’s eyes sunglasses. I am no longer allowed surplus time in any terminal boasting a Chanel or an Hermès. The lure is simply too beguiling.
Still, a new Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof kohl, for £20.80, rather than the usual £26; or a 50ml flacon of the sublimely soothing Hermès Terre D’Hermès Eau de Toilette Spray for £55.30 rather than £72, is the kind of exquisite essential that could make or break a holiday.
World Duty Free appears in most UK airports. It also pops up ahead of the Eurostar at St Pancras, at Eurotunnel on the British and French sides, and on P&O ferries sailing to and from Europe.
There’s a reserve and collect service that can be deployed between a month to 24 hours before you travel, should you be a prepper (worlddutyfree.com/en/reserve-and-collect). Alas, there’s no pick-up-on-return service.
Perfume savings are at least 20 per cent off the High-Street figure, up to 40 per cent on selected scents. Skincare and cosmetics will also cost 20 per cent less, plus an assortment of duty-free exclusives. I’ve scoured this summer’s 200+ offers and here’s what I do — or don’t — recommend.
Don’t bother with posh cleanser, deodorant, sun, body, or hair care when none of these things actually needs to be expensive. Stock image used
Don’t buy lip colour sets unless you’re undiscriminating about the shades you sport. They’re uninspiringly lowest common denominator — a token red, coral and nude.
Ditto eye palettes. I once unearthed a minuscule Clarins eyeshadow octet that is absurdly flattering. However, typically, the offer is yawn fawns. Better to buy one perfect mascara than a multi-pack of branded bargains that don’t precisely meet your needs.
Don’t bother with posh cleanser, deodorant, sun, body, or hair care when none of these things actually needs to be expensive. Boots has your bases covered in minis. Nor should you purchase retinol-based skincare when headed for the sun (you’ll merely render your complexion more exposed).
Now what to snap up What I always opt for is a bottle of Estée Lauder’s sterling Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-recovery Complex (£71.65, normally £89). You may prefer the Dior, Lancôme, Shiseido or Clarins equivalents. Regardless, what I’m talking about here is a super-serum. I’d also seek out Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Capsules Face & Eye Serum set (£61.70 for 30 capsules of each, when the face element alone is normally £48), ceramides being a waxy, skin barrier-proofing substance midlife skin begins to lack. And I’d lob in an Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Heroes For Lips And Skin (£17.45), a tube of the original balm (normally £17) and a tin of lip salve I use for lips, brows, lashes, hands, cuticles, elbows, knees and feet.
Make-up wise, work out what among your regular fixes needs replacing. Other than this, invest in a Dior Addict New Lip Glow Lip Max Set (£52.25, normally £64), a Dior Addict Lip Glow Lip Balm with a Dior Addict Lip Maximizer Gloss, in a (very) sheer rose that even the warm-toned will look fabulous in.
I also find it difficult to resist Guerlain Météorites Pearls Harmony(£42.45, normally £51). These candy-coloured illuminating spheres come in a rosette-stamped, embossed metal pot.
Perfume wise, hunt out the greats by the greats at 20 pc off: Terre d’Hermès, Guerlain’s Mitsouko, Vétiver, or Héritage, Chanel’s No 5, No 19, or Coco, the original Eau Sauvage, Diorissimo, or Miss Dior, Lauder’s Youth-Dew or Clinique’s Aromatics Elixir (the latter £49.95, usually £87).
The sole airport exclusive I would invest in is the Diptyque Fleur De Peau, Eau Rose and Orphéon Eau de Parfum sprays and pouch (£74.20 for three minis, usually £148 for 75ml of Orphéon).
Pre-ordering is such genius — it takes away spur-of-the-moment temptation so you can make calculated purchases that will save you from an accidental spree.
RACE YOU TO IT!
Like all of her Jones Road range, Bobbi Brown’s new Jones Road The Brow Gel (available from tomorrow, £32, jonesroadbeauty.com) is brilliant, lending midlife arches natural-looking luxuriance. In five shades and a sheer, brow icon Brooke Shields’ daughter acts as the poster girl.
FIVE SHEET MASKS
Charlotte Tilbury Instant Magic Facial Dry Sheet Mask (£18, charlottetilbury.com) A Fussfree, 15- minute, pre-make-up plumper.
Monu Skin Allantoin and Cucumber Sheet Mask (£14.95 each, monuskin.co.uk) Soothing on sensitive skin, apply this straight from the fridge.
111SKIN Celestial Black Diamond Face Mask (£24, 111skin.com) Uses science behind wound-healing to firm skin and smooth wrinkles.
Zitsticka Press Refresh Hydrogel Exfoliating Mask (£30 for four, cultbeauty.co.uk) Spotty types will love this non-strip, lactic acid whiz.
Nivea Cellular Elasticity Cryo Sheet Face Mask With Hyaluronic Acid (£5.99, feelunique.com) Hyaluronic acid and collagen hydration.
MY ICON OF THE WEEK
KATE BECKINSALE
The star, pictured, uses Cetaphil Cleanser (£6.67, boots.com), and 111SKIN Sub-Zero De-Puffing Eye Masks (£65 for eight, sephora.co.uk)
The Hollywood actress turned 50 last month and says she greeted it with ‘no thread lift, no Botox, no laser, no filler’. Instead, she uses Cetaphil Cleanser (£6.67, boots.com), and 111SKIN Sub-Zero De-Puffing Eye Masks (£65 for eight, sephora.co.uk). She’s the face of America’s MRVL Skin Solutions, adoring its Retinol Repair Night Cream ($136, mrvlskin.com)
COSMETIC CRAVING
Celebrating its 20th birthday, This Works Skin Deep Dry Leg Oil (£44, thisworks.com) is an essential for legions of older women.
A multiple award-winner and never not a bestseller, it was the brand’s first product — championed by its founder, former Vogue beauty director Kathy Phillips. Business types scoffed that no one would buy such a bluntly named product — only they did, in their droves.
Powered by 19 botanical oils, its high omega content, plus antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties rebuild the skin barrier, improving resilience and making limbs look less weathered.
And the scent! I don’t even have dry pins, still its rose and sandalwood aroma makes it irresistible.
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