From hi-tech skin perfecters to DIY haircare, here are the best beauty products of 2020 that you may have missed
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2020: A year of intermittent highs and plenty of lows. But one thing is for sure: we became ambassadors of our beauty regimes.
Michelle Obama said she perfected her at-home waxing and we have been our go-to therapists, manicurists, hairdressers and the like, in a bid to remain mildly presentable when leaving the house or for those Zoom calls.
So here's a look-back on the best beauty products and trends from this epic year that saved our skin, hair and sanity…
Gone are the maximalist make-up trends – we returned to a more straightforward routine with our make-up from the first lockdown, but amped up our skincare routines. Consumers searching for specific ingredients, like vitamin C, bakuchiol and hyaluronic acid, and terms such as 'what does retinol do' were hits.
We embraced online tutorials on specific regimes for at-home facials, along with clean skincare and the best skincare lines to buy, along with personalised virtual appointments.
CBD skincare searches have grown by 71% and searches for products with blue light claims have increased 170% while, according to NPD's VP Larissa Jensen, 'facial devices were up by 16%'. Click our edit of the best in beauty tools here.
So it seems it was a year of lipstick out, skincare in. Here's a selection of the best products you may have missed.
Ole Henriksen Banana Bright™ Vitamin C Serum, £53 – buy here
This Works My Wrinkles CBD Booster + Bakuchiol, £38 – buy here
Elemis Ultra-Smart Pro-Collagen Enviro Adapt Day Cream, £185 – buy here
Natura Bissé C+C Vitamin Sheer Fluid, £97 – buy here
Some of us mastered the art of cutting our own hair; for those who didn't, it was a tortuous growing-out phase or the very patient wait for the salons to re-open.
Soaring sales of home hair colour, plus a surge in Pantone shades of pastel and neon colours gained momentum, and there were launches of colour-preserving and pigmented sidekicks of tinted shampoos and treatment lines.
Of course, there were also search peaks for 'how to colour grey hair' and 'colouring hair at home', with salons being pretty quick responders to the pandemic's first wave. Some of our favourite colouring brands, such as Josh Wood and Bleach London, sprang into action, offering appointments via Zoom to help us out of a rut. Not quite the same without the lovely dimmed lighting and head rub in Windle London, but needs must.
Products that helped keep split ends at bay, masks and serums all proved popular, and made hair last a little longer between appointments.
Living Proof Perfect Hair Day (PhD) Triple Detox Shampoo, £24 – Buy here
Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector, £24 – buy here
Sachajuan Ocean Mist Hair Cream, £23 – buy here
Charles Worthington Grow Dry Shampoo, £5.99 – buy here
Grow Gorgeous Defence Anti-Pollution Spray, £23 – buy here
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