A £386 hairbrush, Amazon Prime beauty deals, get rid of eye bags, and is chemical SPF toxic?

Each week I share a mix of beauty launches, explainers and articles that stick in my head. It’s a slower, calmer way to keep up with beauty – and a bit of a diary of what’s going on behind the scenes at mamabella.

💉 Trying to get rid of eye bags? Volufiline is the latest ingredient trend that promises needle-free filler

☀️ Chemical vs mineral sunscreen: What’s the truth?

🛍️ Prime Day is this week – here’s how to get the best beauty deals

🎁 New launches: Charlotte Tilbury’s Unreal Highlighter, P.Louise’s Signature Scent collection, and a new Pureology hair mask

👌 What I’m loving this week: Collagen and Lion’s Mane coffee

📖 If you only read one thing: Would you buy a £400 hairbrush?

If you’ve seen the Medicube Collagen Balm doing the rounds on TikTok, you may well be familiar with the Volufiline, the ingredient dubbed a “needle-free filler.” Search interest is 860% year on year, and it’s increasingly being used for tired eyes and under-eye hollowing as much as lips.

Volufiline is a plant-based ingredient from French ingredients company Sederma, taken from a root used in Asian herbal medicine for centuries. Rather than pulling in hydration like hyaluronic acid, it encourages the fat cells already in your skin to hold onto more lipid.

The results are more subtle than the marketing or influencer claims suggest, and most of the evidence comes from Sederma’s own testing. In my experience, it works really well but you need to give it six to eight weeks, and even then don’t expect it to replace filler. That said, it’s worth it in my opinion!

👉 Read my full Volufiline guide →

With another heatwave on the way, I’ve had a few people ask me whether they should be switching to mineral sunscreen, so I thought it was worth explaining the 👉 differences between chemical and mineral sunscreens →

The short version: chemical sunscreens absorb UV rays and convert them to heat, mineral sunscreens sit on the skin and reflect or absorb them. Neither is inherently better. Chemical filters aren’t proven harmful, despite what you might have seen online, and mineral filters cause white cast, particularly on deeper skin tones (although newer formulas are improving.)

Sensitive and rosacea-prone skin tends to do better with mineral. Oily and acne-prone skin usually prefers chemical. But the single biggest factor in how well any sunscreen protects you isn’t the filter type – it’s whether you actually wear it, every day, in enough quantity.

I’ve gone through how both types work, what the genuine evidence says, and which to choose by skin type in my 👉 full explainer.

While you’re there, my 👉 best sunscreen for face UK guide has the products I’d actually recommend across skin types and budgets, and if you want to understand what the SPF number is doing in the first place, that’s covered properly in 👉 what is SPF and why is it so important.

There’s also a lot of myths still circulating about sunscreen – bloodstream absorption, white cast, photostability – so I’ve debunked the most common ones here 👉 Read the sunscreen myths guide

👉 Read the full chemical vs mineral sunscreen guide →

👉 Amazon Prime Day runs 23–26 June this year, which means it’s worth getting ahead of things if you’ve been eyeing up any beauty tech. Also, some of the early Amazon Prime deals are already live.

Hair tools and LED masks are two of the categories that see worthwhile discounts during Prime Day rather than the usual inflated-then-reduced pricing trick. So does K-beauty, so if you’re planning to buy it’s worth knowing what’s actually good before the deals land.

I’ve tested a load of the big categories already:

• 👉 Best hair straighteners – from GHD to Dyson and Remington

• 👉 Best hair dryers – cheap and luxury options

• 👉 Best LED masks – face, red light therapy, cheap to luxury

Bookmark these now so you’re ready to compare prices the moment the deals go live. 👉 Shop Prime Day on Amazon

Here are some of the beauty launches that have caught my eye this week:

Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Highlighter Glazed Goddess (£32): This highlighter sits alongside the Unreal Skin foundation stick and Blush. It comes in one shade and contains hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and vitamin E. Available now at 👉 Charlotte Tilbury

P.Louise Signature Scent Full Collection (£55, worth £126): A new head-to-toe set built around a dragonfruit, orange blossom and tuberose scent – cleanser, moisturiser, micellar water, shampoo, conditioner, hair and body mist, and a hand cleansing spray. Available now at 👉 P.Louise

Pureology Hydrate Hair Treatment Mask (£28.15, RRP £37.50): A new conditioning mask for dry or colour-treated hair that claims up to 72 hours of nourishment. Available now at 👉 Lookfantastic

I want to get more collagen in my system but hate the fishy taste of pouches so I’ve been trying (and loving) the Reformed Collagen Black Coffee (£39.99). It tastes like proper coffee rather, thanks to its Colombian coffee base, and I mix it with an espresso shot for an extra kick. It also contains protein and functional mushrooms (you can’t taste them, I promise!)

This Vogue Business piece on the 👉 rise of the luxury hairbrush is a properly interesting read. Brands like Mason Pearson and La Bonne Brosse are turning what used to be a £5 pharmacy buy into a £100+ status object, and the “skinification” of haircare is a big part of why. Worth five minutes even if you’re not in the market for a £386 brush.

👉 Read the full piece on Vogue Business

Until next time,
Vicky xx