The only six beauty products you'll ever need.

The average woman owns a cabinet-bursting 65 different beauty products – but a fifth of these products are never opened, and less than one in six are used every day.

But don’t panic – it IS possible to get the same glowy-faced results using fewer products.

How? With this capsule wardrobe of beauty essentials. Yep – these are the only six items everyone needs in their beauty cabinet.

1. A night cream and rose hip oil that lets you wake up looking better.

The great thing about using a night cream is that it’s the one time you can pop on a product, forget about it for eight hours and let it do its thing without any touch-ups or mirror checks. Night-time is also when our cells go crazy (good crazy) to repair the damage they’ve endured during the day, i.e. from UV. Your blood vessels dilate, giving nutrients and oxygen a toll-free road to your skin – so there’s no better time to ‘feed’ it.

After cleansing, massage Natural Instinct Restoring Night Cream into your face and neck because it’s plant-derived, it’s free from over 400 potentially harmful chemicals (such as toxic sulphates, petrochemicals and parabens), instead of using natural oils and antioxidants to hydrate skin for 12 hours (i.e. longer than you will even be asleep for). And hydrated skin is happier skin – smoother, brighter, and with fewer fine lines. It’s enough to make you look forward to getting out of bed (almost).

Rose hip oil reduces the signs of ageing and assists skin renewal, so if you are really worried about those fine lines it’s a great partner to your night cream.

2. A cleanser that doesn’t dry you out.

Cleansers mean well, but sometimes they lead you astray by stripping your face’s natural oils. If your skin immediately feels dry, squeaky or taut, then you know your cleanser has gone too far.

The best way to keep it in check is to avoid one with sulphates – essentially, detergents – which are too harsh for most skin types (hence why Natural Instinct leaves them out). A good cleanser will make your skin feel similar to before washing – just a little lighter, fresher and renewed. If in doubt, you can’t beat a cream cleanser removed with a lovely hot cloth.

3. A lipstick you don’t feel awkward in.

Because of a lipstick’s size, it’s easy to end up with way too many of them in your handbag. But the only one you actually need to carry around every day is the one you’d actually wear every day.

Not the one you sometimes wear in the evenings but actually feel a little self-conscious in.

Not the colour you like on everyone else and just need to get used to wearing yourself.

No, the good old favourite that makes your lips look like themselves – but on a particularly glossy, plumped day.

Gemma, Nicky and Jacqui had a play with some new products (post continues after post)….

4. A mascara that’s 50% through its life.

Mascara comes into its own when it’s middle-aged. When you know exactly how to wiggle the brush in for maximum oomph. And when it’s emptied enough so you get exactly the right amount per application – without doing that messy, scrapey action first.

5. A hairbrush that isn’t a torture device.

Your scalp gets a pretty raw deal in life: scorched by sunlight, attacked by hairspray, and then told that it still hasn’t produced a good hair day. Make amends by using a hairbrush that’s got its back: no scratching, no tugging, just easy-peasy knot removal. Happy locks, happy life.

6. An SPF that’s friends with your face.

It’s one of the greatest beauty stand-offs of all time. In one corner, there’s the SPF – desperate to drench your pores in its powerful UV-shield. In the other, there’s your face – gasping for air before the spot-inducing sun-cream smothers it. Well, guys, prepare for a truce.

Natural Instinct’s new Tinted Face Natural Sunscreen has spent some time in the lab and the result is a winning formula: zinc oxide SPF 30+ protection, a trio of antioxidants (rose hip oil, green tea and vitamin E) to protect against ageing, and – prepare to whoop – a light tint that lets you ditch foundation. We tried it on a sweaty run in summer and it didn’t budge. (And we’re the kind of runners who get very sweaty faces).

What do you think? What products are essential for you?

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