Triona McCarthy: Need a confidence boost? Slap on the tan, smooth your hair and cool your body with these beauties
A spray tan is brilliant but if I haven't got it together to book one, I have a secret weapon – AyuGlo Instant Tan (€14.50, ayucosmetics.com). This fast-drying tan is infused with truffle extract and allantoin. It blends effortlessly with your skin to deliver a beautifully subtle colour for covering up corned beef looking legs, veins and scars in a jiffy.
Another Irish instant I love is Bare by Vogue Instant Tan (€19, brownthomas.com). Just look at Vogue Williams, a great ambassador for her brand as she always has a perfect faux glow. This instant tan formula is enriched with goji berry, oatmeal, chamomile and pomegranate. So what else is out there that can give you a little confidence boost?
So what else is out there that can give you a little confidence boost?
What's Up, Buttercup?
As the days of covering up in handy layers are behind us, we need to keep our skin soft and hydrated. The Bellamianta Butter Me Up Body Butter (€20.99, boots.ie) is an oil-free product that provides intense hydration and also gives great results with your skin's tone, texture and even the appearance of cellulite. It contains shea and cocoa butter as well as hyaluronic acid, and is perfect for prepping your skin before you apply tan.
All a Blur
My new summer foundation is Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Blurred Matte SPF 30 (€50, spacenk.com). Inspired by her iconic original formula, this upgrade from Mercier has a skincare-infused formula and buildable sheer-to-light coverage. It also gives a natural blurred matte finish to make it look even and shine-free. A true gem, it improves the appearance of your pores and gives 16 hours of hydration to help balance skin.
Heart of Glass
We're always hearing about glass skin these days, but if you like the idea of adding glass-like shine to your hair, try Oribe Supershine Mirror Rinse Glass Treatment (€71, brownthomas.com). It's a conditioner you use weekly that smoothes the cuticle to give a vibrant glossy shine and a mirror-like finish. It works for all hair types and is perfect for the summer, where we put our hair through hell thanks to the sun, the sea and chlorine from the pool.
Voya Voyage
Created by Kira and Mark Walton from the fab Voya company, the new Voya Cryo-Cooling Gel (€37, voya.ie) is a great product for soothing and hydrating tired limbs and muscles. It contains organic seaweed, aloe vera and menthol, and as well as working to soothe tired, achy feet at the end of the day, it also helps to ease hot flushes and perimenopausal overheating. If you're a gym bunny, it's great for aiding the post-workout recovery.
Treat
Mask magic I feel like a superhero every time I wear this brilliant Brow Aid IllumiLift Eye and Brow Hydrogel Mask (€32 for five, brownthomas.com), as it supercharges my skin due to actives like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, caffeine and vitamin C. It boosts brow density, brightens dark circles and evens skin tone.
Treatment
Festival hydration This is the facial that every festival-goer needs to book this summer! The HydraFacial (€150, thewicklowstreetclinic.ie) is the ultimate pre-festival skin treatment that guarantees a gorgeous glow to go with your glow stick! From lymphatic drainage to boost circulation and eliminate toxins to unique Vortex-Fusion exfoliation and hydration along with LED light therapy to reduce redness, you will be ready to rock for those selfie pics.
Trick
Break on through While we're on the subject of confidence boosters, I was talking to Mini my ten-year-old about how to deal with having less-than-perfect skin, which will happen when hormones start hitting! I told her that you can't camouflage an insecurity, but you can emphasise something else to draw attention away from it. So those Starface Hydro-Star stickers are super for teen breakouts or winged eyeliner and bright lip gloss when she's older.
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