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.
🪞 What your skin actually needs, decade by decade (plus our new quiz)
🎁 New launches: The Body Shop SPF for your hands, a Selena Gomez Rare Beauty 3-in-1 lip oil, and the £45 Glossybox Summer Bag worth £124
👌 What I’m loving this week: e.l.f’s SPF Mist
📖 If you only read one thing: Is it time for us to finally ban tanning?
Boots has 👉 confirmed → Charlotte Tilbury counters are opening in selected stores across the UK, from Aberdeen to Truro, each offering personalised makeup and skincare appointments with a beauty expert.
It’s part of a push to get the brand closer to where people actually shop, rather than flagship stores and counters in major cities. Around 30 stores are on the list so far across Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.
👉 Find your nearest Charlotte Tilbury Boots counter
I’ve just given my mamabella 👉 menopause hub → a refresh with some advice on how to tell when your menopause symptoms are likely to start and some updated science around the safety of HRT. There’s also data I hadn’t seen before with one study finding that a year of oestrogen supplements can improve skin thickness by 30% and another linking a year of HRT to a 6% rise in collagen – both of which are also good for tackling signs of ageing.
👉 Full menopause hub – stages, timing, symptoms and HRT explained
I’ve already got a whole host of advice on what happens to our skin as we age, split up into decades and now I’ve taken all of the changes – plus my tried-and-tested product recommendations – and put them into a 👉 mini quiz.
Enter your age and it will tell you what changes you might be experiencing, what to expect and 👉 how to build a skincare routine → to match with exact product recommendations.
I get asked constantly whether an expensive straightener is worth it over a £20 one and as I’m very lucky to be able to trial lots of hair tools, I thought I’d put all of my reviews in one place.
My 👉 best straighteners guide is divided by hair type and needs and there should be something here for every budget from the likes of GHD, Dyson, Shark and more. I’ve also put all the recommendations on my 👉 TikTok if that’s more your thing.
👉 Full straightener guide – GHD, Dyson, Shark and more, tested →
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Here are some of the beauty launches that have caught my eye this week:
Body Shop Skin Defence Hydrating Hand & Body Protector SPF50+ (£16): Hand SPF is one of those categories that gets forgotten until the backs of your hands start ageing faster than your face. This is a lightweight hand cream built with Pro-Tech SPF50+. Available now at 👉 The Body Shop
Beauty of Joseon Dayscreen Moisturizer SPF 30 (£22, 60ml): A skincare-first sunscreen with a Green Tea-HA complex and ceramide, designed to feel like a moisturiser rather than a separate SPF. Available now at 👉 Sephora
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Lip Oil Stick (£23): Selena Gomez’s brand has turned lip oil into a solid stick – a “juicy” 3-in-1 hybrid of oil, gloss and colour. Available now at 👉 Sephora
GLOSSYBOX Summer Bag (from £45, worth over £124): A limited-edition edit of nine full and travel-size products including a Sol de Janeiro hair and body mist and Rodial Bee Venom. Available now at 👉 Glossybox
The 👉 e.l.f. SKIN All Set For Sun SPF 30 (£15) has become my go-to for topping up SPF over makeup without wrecking it. It’s a clear, weightless mist with watermelon extract and prickly pear seed oil that dries fast and sits invisibly.
👉 Shop it here · 👉 Pinned here if you want to save it for later · Get more 👉 SPF mist recs
Vogue’s deep dive into the UK’s under-regulated sunbed industry is worth ten minutes – it lays out exactly why a “healthy tan” is a myth supported by nobody in oncology, and where the push for a ban actually stands right now.
👉 Is it time for us to finally ban tanning?
Until next time,
Vicky xx
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