Tricks of the Trade

Few products warrant the accolade of being a beauty bag must. But there are some that scale to these dizzy heights and achieve cult status. Why? It’s simple - because they do exactly what they say they will.

Here’s our top ten beauty classics

Please click on the product for more information:

1. Touche Eclat, Yves Saint Laurent, £23
2. Carmex lip-balm, £2.50
3. Shu Uemura eyelash curlers, £19
4. Benetint, Benefit, £22.50
5. Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effect Mascara, £19
6. Elizabeth Arden, Eight hour cream, £13
7. Stila Lip Glaze, £15
8. MAC Strobe Cream, £18.50
9. Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, £22.50
10. John Frieda Frizz-Ease, £5.95

Touche Eclat, Yves Saint Laurent, £23

Beauty editors gush breathlessly about this legendary concealer from Yves Saint Laurent. Make-up artists, A-listers, and Z-listers for that matter, everybody, anybody who has used this magical, light reflecting concealer knows that a few dabs will brighten even the tiredest eye.

Carmex lip-balm, £2.50

This menthol tinted lipbalm is one of the best on the market. It’s not fussy, it’s not overpriced and it does exactly what it is supposed to. It will cling to your lips through drinks and dinner, staying on longer than most brands.

The menthol makes your lips tingle on application and keeps them soft, supple and helps prevent chapping in the winter months.

The retro inspired packaging is simple and chic.

Shu Uemura eyelash curlers, £19

From heat-up implements to gadgets that frankly look like they should be in a torture chamber: over the years a numbers of odd contraptions have been marketed as the ultimate eyelash curlers.

But it’s these traditional curlers that are simply the best. They have a generous silicone pad that never catches or pulls out lashes, and a patented hinge that sculpts a beautiful sweeping curl. Perfect.

Benetint, Benefit, £22.50

Benetint recreates the sort of rosy glow you get when you have been outside enjoying a crisp winter morning. It’s a liquid blusher that stains your cheeks a delicious shade of red.

Dab three dots on the apples of your cheeks and rub in immediately for a lasting red-hued glow. Alternatively, use it to stain your lips.

Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effect Mascara, £19

This mascara laughs in the face of its contemporaries. As the wand glides over your lashes, separating and coating each one - clumpy lashes are banished. The packaging, as with all YSL products, is luxurious.

Lashes are uplifted, creating a voluminous look. The wand contains nylon brushes of different length to increase volume. And apparently the secret is a triple film complex that creates a curl, fixes it and guarantees it will last. But who cares about the science, all we want to know is that is works. And it does.

Elizabeth Arden, Eight hour cream, £13

A mainstay of beauty top-tens, Elizabeth Arden’s Eight hour cream has earned its stripes. The bright orange colour can initially be slightly alarming, but this balm really, really works. Its applications are endless. It works for dry skin, chapped lips, dry heels, scars - you can even use it as an eye and lip gloss. And a tube lasts for ever.

Stila Lip Glaze, £15

This cult lip gloss launched years ago now and garnered an instant celebrity following. It comes in an almighty array of fruity flavours, Cameron Diaz wore the Raspberry (apparently specially created for her) and Lindsay Lohan loves Papaya.

Available in all shades of the rainbow the only problem with the product is that we want them all.

MAC Strobe Cream, £18.50

You’ll find this radiance cream, made by MAC, in every make-up bag of every make-up artist worth his or her salt. This product hasn’t had a big, flashy ad campaign, instead garnering a following quietly, by word of mouth.

You’ll also find it backstage at every show, every season, year after year after year. Strobe Cream creates a fresh-faced glow. Subtle enough to convince friends and family, it’s all down to mother nature.

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, £22.50

This gel-cream really packs a punch. Apply a thin layer and watch your skin glow radiantly before your eyes. For tired, dehydrated skin a quick slick of Flash Balm transforms it, making skin moist and fresh looking.

It has a delightful flowery smell, and for that Monday morning feeling – it’s nothing short of a miracle.

John Frieda Frizz-Ease, £5.95

A bottle of John Frieda’s Frizz Ease is sold every 16 seconds in the UK. And here’s why: for those of us with dry, frizzy hair this hair serum smoothes, tames and turns a unruly barnet into glossy, manageable locks.

Hair serums became all the rage when Jennifer Anniston and Courtney Cox, at the height of their Friends fame, lead the way with ultra glossy hair. But the truth is this product does more than just create high shine. Dry, coarse hair, a typical hair type for those of us with curly hair, is transformed.

Work a couple of drops through damp hair before blow drying, or leave to dry naturally and watch your hair texture transform. Mr Frieda – we salute you.