The CGD Team Reveal Their Favourite Products And Beauty Secrets

As you know, we’re always willing to share our lives with you girls on here, so we thought it would be fun to combine our love of beauty with our love of oversharing and share our favourite products and beauty secrets with you. Our team is so different, we all have different products for our needs and tips for anyone who might need them. Here are the CGD team’s fave products and beauty secrets:

Celina: Founder & Creative Director, CGD
“I use a flat iron and a curling wand a couple of times a week (always make sure to use a good heat protector!) so I really need to nourish and nurture my hair to prevent it from heat damage. I recently discovered this trick on Youtube and it’s amazing for girls with dry hair. Take some virgin olive oil and cover your hair with it. Massage it into your scalp and ends. You can decide to leave it on when you go to bed (make sure to cover your hair) and rinse it out in the morning or leave it in your hair for a couple of hours and wash it out later. Your hair will be soft, shiny and healthy!

If your hair is really dry like mine and you love to use flat irons and wands your hair needs some extra care. I use a hair mask every time I wash my hair. I don’t think you have to invest a lot of money in hair masks either. Just stick with what works for your hair. I’ve tried lots of products and my all time favourite hair mask is from John Frieda. It’s the best! John Frieda’s 3-day Keratin Spray is also a miracle. To survive the rainy weather here in London, I use this every time I’ve washed my hair.”

MAKE UP
“Somehow, when I apply my lipstick after a couple of hours all that’s left is a circle around my mouth. It looks hideous. I’ve tried all kinds of lipsticks and recently I’ve discovered Provocalips from Rimmel. Girls, run to the closest drugstore because this lipstick is amazing. It stays on the ENTIRE day (honestly it takes some time at night to actually remove my lipstick) and your lips won’t get dry and flaky after a couple hours. It’s the best lipstick I’ve ever tried and it’s super affordable too. Also for a perfect make-up application I love to use Laura Mercier Radiance Primer. I think it’s one of the best primers on the market and it makes your skin look silky smooth!”

Lois: Founder, CGD
“My beauty secrets may seem simple but it is very effective for a smooth and even complexion. I have an addiction to 3 products, It’s My Beautiful Skin Day Hydrating Serum from HEMA, Prep+Prime from MAC and Stay Perfect Superlight Foundation from No7. After I scrub my face gently, I apply the It’s My Beautiful Skin day serum on my face. This serum feels like heaven on your skin and smells really nice as well. You can use it twice a day, but I only use it in the morning. I always wait a couple of minutes to let my skin absorb the serum for a bit before I go onto the next step. I hate visible foundation on my skin and don’t really like it when you can feel it sitting on your face, but at the same time I love to have a flawless complexion. That is why I love No7’s Superlight Foundation because it is more like a nice moisturizer you put on your face that will even out your skin.

To make it even more natural, I mix it with MAC’s Prep+Prime, blend it together and then put it on my face evenly and smoothly with my fingertips. It is amazing how it covers my spots, but you can’t see I am wearing foundation and I don’t feel that I am wearing it as well. So whenever you want to go for a flawless natural complexion without anyone seeing that you are wearing foundation, this is definitely the way to go.”

Beth: Managing Editor, CGD
“I have dry skin, and sometimes my foundation clings to any dry patches which I hate more than anything, so I’ve invested in quite a few amazing products recently. They might not be ‘secrets’ more than they’re product recommendations but if you struggle with dry, and dull skin you might want to try some of these out. Firstly, I recently invested in Origins Ginzing Refreshing face mask to wake up tired skin and Drink Up Intensive Overnight mask to quench skin’s thirst. I’m in love. The refreshing face mask is perfect for early mornings and hangovers, it really feels cool and amazing on your skin and buffs away any dryness, plus the overnight mask restores hydration to my dry skin. For extra hydration, one beauty secret of mine would be to create an edible face mask in your own home and use it once every two weeks. Things like honey, oats and avocado are perfect for dry skin. If you’re pushed for time (like I usually am) try the Oatifix face mask from Lush – it’s a game changer!”

MAKEUP
“I like to think I’m pretty makeup savvy (thanks YouTube), so when I was scrutinising myself in the mirror the other day and lamenting the fact that my foundation doesn’t seem to be working after running to the office Celina laughed at me and told me I needed primer, stat. I’d considered buying primer before but literally didn’t think it was worth it (neither did my friends and they laughed at me for spending money on a product that they deemed inessential) however, I went out and bought Benefit’s Stay Flawless Primer to compliment my favourite foundation (Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow) and I was blown away. Definitely something I overlooked before, but the compliments have been rolling in about my smooth looking skin. Yay!”

Emilie: Intern, CGD
“I tend to have very dry facial skin, especially during the winter time. Hair oil has been my go-to for many years and has cured my split ends for good, but now I use the leftover hair oil that’s on my palms on my face before I apply any day cream or makeup. It sounds weird but it’s my new favourite tip!”

A selection of our favourites!