In my many years writing about beauty, I’ve been very conscious not to pick items that are too luxurious, in case readers’ eyebrows raise while they think “well, you can get the same thing for £2 in Superdrug blah blah blah.” But dear reader, I refuse to feel guilty anymore. Recent dismal global events oblige us to push the beauty boat out. Don’t get me wrong, I love finding a bargain that gives you decent bang for your buck. But beauty products are about more than just results, just as fashion is about more than keeping warm, and going to nice restaurants more than solving a growling stomach. It’s the experience, the variety, the quirkiness — and the sheer, inherent joy of beauty products cannot be underestimated.
|
Plus I’ve worked behind the scenes with small beauty brands. I know what it takes to try and bring a product to market — the investment needed is huge, the financial risk immense. The amount of time and creativity involved in telling the story behind the brand; coming up with engaging content on social media; liaising with customers; creating PR stories and entertaining diva journalists like yours truly. Not to mention finding a retailer willing to stock it for you — all the while trying to pacify investors demanding to know when the brand is going to turn a profit. Brand founders aren’t going to white-knuckle ride it through all that without any kind of reward.

So no, you’re not just paying for the ingredients and the bottle — you’re paying for all the blood, sweat, tears and sheer gumption it took to get that bottle into your hands.
I’m not talking about some overpriced £300 ‘miracle cream’ (now those are a waste of money), I’m talking about quirky beauty products that were a labour of love for the team that created them. Small brands have taken a big enough hit over the past 18 months. So given that the possibility of going out to restaurants is looking less and less likely, it’s time to ‘dine out’, so to speak, on beauty products instead.

Not that the product I’m about to mention is wildly expensive, but the latest perfume Gourmand from Jewish perfumer Olivia de Costa’s line Olfactive O ticks all the boxes in being sufficiently indulgent and mood-lifting. With notes of fig (my favourite), honey and dark chocolate, it is satisfyingly rich and sweet as a slab of chocolate babka on a cold afternoon. The label on the bottle says it all “I am sensual, nostalgic and indulgent” and I think this is what every beauty product should aspire to be. It’s £60 for 30ml eau de parfum, which packs a fragrant punch, so a little goes a long way.

And before you think I’ve gone full-on Marie Antoinette, I haven’t forgotten my humble roots. My love of beauty began age 11 in Superdrug, and their Layering Lab Body Mist in Blossom body spray is one of my favourite finds of 2021. For just £2.65. you can mist yourself in a scent which smells uncannily like a certain Alien perfume by a certain Thierry Mugler. Pure coincidence I’m sure.