I’m always pleased to see the January beauty collections, those welcome palate-cleansers after the rich, velvety, glittery textures and tones of party season. The industry invariably rings in the new year with natural-looking complexion products to restore glow and evenness after weeks of overindulgence and sleeplessness have left their mark. There’s a sense of clearing the decks, returning to basics – and yet, ironically, this is often when the most interesting formulas launch.
This month’s is a particularly good vintage. Smashbox is a brand I recommend often as a dependable choice for primer (its speciality: it makes more than a dozen, all of them good except Primer Oil, which I still don’t understand). Its new Photo-Finish Foundation Primer Radiance with hyaluronic acid (£30, out this month) is the best yet. Ostensibly, it’s just the old luminising primer squirted into a posh jar (at least, that was my instinct), but in practice, it’s a much thicker, more moisturising and flattering formula that smooths skin, blurs and softens lines, subtly plumps up crépey-ness, and adds a glowy, peachy tone to any skin between white and latte coffee. It works wonderfully on its own with a little concealer spot-applied over blemishes and circles; or, if you prefer, as a lasting undercoat to a fuller base. It does, however, contain moisturising shea butter, so if you’re oilier of skin, you’d be wise to opt instead for Nars’ excellent new Radiance Primer (£27), part of a three-strong collection catering for all skin types. It has a wetter texture than the Smashbox, and consequently gives skin that lovely, dewy look that feels just right for this time of year. What I particularly love about it is that you can be quite careless and slapdash with makeup application over the top, and the formula doesn’t peel, bobble or streak, which is rare in the primer category.
Related: The 40 best beauty buys for all ages
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