In the first instalment of our Beauty Editor's Top 3 series, let's take a look at the best skincare of 2020. Everyone loves an end of year list, don't they? Or perhaps us journalists enjoy writing them more than you lot do reading them. Either way, I was very excited about knocking together this little list of the best skincare of 2020, let me tell you.
Let's begin with the caveat I'll put on all of my end of year top threes, which is the admission that the headline is a lie. Not a great whopping porker, just a white lie to make things a bit a more exciting - like the whole Father Christmas thing (apologies to any eight-year-olds reading this)
Of course, of the thousands of skincare products launched this year these aren't unequivocally the three very best, forsaking all others. What they are is my subjective personal picks, the ones that I feel most deserve a shout out amongst many, many brilliant new beauty innovations that also could have made the list. And - let's be honest here - they are also the ones that made enough of an impact at some stage in the year that I am able to call them to the front of my foggy end of December brain.
Formalities over, you are now ready to discover my three best skincare launches of 2020. These are the products I think you need to know...
Faace Masks, £22.50
Oh no I'm already cheating - this is actually three products, but I hope you'll understand why I've done what I've done.
This brilliant new British brand launched with a trio of excellent, considered face masks designed to tackle not the usual oily/dry/combo skin type but far more relatable lifestyle needs.
There's Tired Face, Period Face and Sweaty Face, all of which speak to me but particularly so Tired, which combines exfoliating lactic acid, brightening Vitamin C and a collection of juicy moisturising ingredients. It's my go-to Sunday morning skin reviver (I might have named this one hangover face) but would work equally well before an evening out should we be embarking on those again in 2021.
View Faace Masks, £22.50 each, Cult Beauty
CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser, £12.50
Anyone who knows me knows I get unreasonably excited about cleansers. So of course a shiny new CeraVe launch combining the refreshing lather of their Foaming Cleanser with the skin nourishing powers of the Hydrating Cleanser would be right up my combination skin street.
As with all CeraVe products the joy of this lies in it's straightforwardness - a gentle grafter of a cleanser that would suit any skin type in a giant shower-friendly tub at a very democratic price.
What more could you want?
View CeraVe Hydrating Cream to Foam Cleanser, £12.50, LookFantastic
Drunk Elephant F-Balm Electrolyte Waterfacial, £44
I know, I know, another mask. I actually didn't consider myself someone who particularly loved face masks until I started researching this list - the heart wants what it wants I guess.
In this case what the heart wants is the most beautifully silky, ultra-hydrating mask that does away with the faff of being a mask as you don't need to wash it off. It's got squalane, niacinamide, ceramides and a cocktail of other non-irritating nourishing actives, I slather it on before bed a couple of times a week between acid and retinol nights and it keeps my face soft, calm and happy. Typically appealing packaging and product name from Drunk Elephant too - a modern classic.
Drunk Elephant F-Balm Electrolyte Waterfacial, £44, Cult Beauty
