To increase awareness regarding their Beauty Awards, Women’s Health magazine sent me a copy of their latest issue.

I’m always hesitant to get involved with any type of ‘beauty awards’ if it’s not a bunch of dermatologists doing the vetting. I have my own very rigid ideas about what’s ‘best’ in that I’m very formulation focused and detest jar packaging. I’m also a tricky customer in that I know certain products get a lot of love in the press due to the fact that three are sold every second or whatever it is and while that perpetuates their impressive popularity, it certainly doesn’t make them ‘the best’ in regards to performance.

But in saying that, Women’s Health’s selection is definitely more on the money than it’s not. I’ve also had the pleasure of using and reviewing every single item on their list save for the Woolworths body scrub and AMLA shampoo (Yep, as a beauty editor and blogger, I’m pretty spoiled) and found myself nodding in agreement with a large number of their top picks.

Of their choices, these are the goodies that also really float my boat. Clicking on the links will lead you the reviews I wrote about them back in the day:

• Batiste dry shampoo – I’ve used almost every dry shampoo on the shelf, including ridiculously overpriced ones from super fancy salon brands, and this boy hits it out of the park every time. Seriously amazing stuff!
• ghd’s Eclipse’s flatiron – This is considered the Ferrari of flatirons for a reason. Just don’t cry into your pillow at night at if you have baby fine hair and can’t afford one. In that case, your regular ghd will do the trick just as well. But, if you’ve got coarse or ethnic hair and flatiron it every day, please know the Eclipse is a very good investment.
• Davines OI All In One milk – This is a lovely product provided you don’t mind the smell of musk and pachouli in your hair all day. An antioxidant-infused spray-on conditioner, it hydrates, detangles, de-frizzes and offers heat protection too. I also like that it didn’t weigh my hair down.
• Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit facial wash – If you have oily to normal skin, this is the bomb diggity in that it does the job, smells good and contains salicylic acid to help exfoliate your pores. In fact, when I’m not using whatever I’ve been given via my blog, this is the product I buy. Anyone with a drier skin type, however, probably won’t like it as they’ll find it too ‘strippy’.
• Nivea Sun Protect & Refresh Invisible Cooling Mist SPF 50 is a joy to use as it feels like you’ve got nothing on and Eucerin’s Dry Skin Complete Repair body lotion with 5% urea is body lotion perfection from a formulation point of view if you genuinely suffer from dry skin. Anyone who’s doing okay in the hydration department might find it feels a bit ‘heavy’ though.
• Make-up-wise, Smashbox’s Liquid Halo foundation and Always Sharp eyeliner, Estee Lauder’s Disappear Smoothing concealer, Maybelline The Colossal Volum’ Express mascara and all by no means ‘the best I’ve ever used’ but they’re all very, very good at their jobs. I’d be happy to toss them in my trolley and actually have all of them rolling around in my make-up bag right now (told you, spoiled!) save for the Lauder concealer. (Sorry Lauder; we had to break up after I discovered Lancome Effacernes and Catrice Camouflage Cream.)

Anyway, beauty awards aside, I really enjoyed reading Women’s Health. It’s been a while since I’ve picked it up and clearly they’ve had some sort of revamp or something. Everything felt fresh, it was jam-packed with content which would’ve made me feel like I’d gotten my money’s worth if I’d bought it. It’s definitely not a ‘read and toss’. I’m now itching to try their Maize meal pizza recipe (gluten-free and just 543kj per 211g serving!) and maybe – just maybe – I’ll attempt their celeb-inspired red carpet body fitness plan. If you see me rocking arms like Sandra Bullock two months from now we’ll know it (and I) worked out.

To see Women’s Health’s full list of beauty winners simply pick up the mag. It’s on shelf as I type.

Love, love

Leigh