Love your recommendations Karima. I have tried more than half of your recommendations and love them too, particularly Koh Gen Do. Allow me to share a few of my favourite things:
1. Ren face cleansing gel – light and effective.
2. Neal’s Yard Frakincense Refining Cleanser – removes makeup thoroughly and gently.
3. Tata Harper Replenishing Nutrient Complex – a face oil that feels luxurious and so nutritious on the skin
4. Aesop’s Fabulous Face Oil – granted it has some undesirable ingredients and smells queer but it really plumps up the skin.
5. Oceopin Maritime Pine Seed Oil – available only from France (order online). A single ingredient oil that feels beautiful, moisturises and heals parched skin.6. Skinceuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense – not matte and not oily, sits well beneath most foundations.
7. Laura Geller Baked Balance in Brighton Color Correcting Foundation – bought on a whim but astounded me. Applies like a powder but is a foundation with superb blurring and brightening effects. It’s so skin like too, beautiful finish.
7. Revlon lipstick in Rose Nectar – peach with a hint of pink so it goes with any makeup/blusher look. Perfect for when you want some colour without thinking too hard.
8. RMS Beauty Lip Shine in “Sacred” – the perfect red that applies with a finger and is not too intense. A fuss free red.
9. Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick – Korean lippie with great colour payoff that moisturises so well
10. Korean cushion foundations – these sit so well regardless of what you have underneath in terms of serum, moisturiser or SPF. Some liquid foundations just don’t agree with your skincare and their textures but that’s never a problem with cushion foundations.
11. Urban Decay Perversion Mascara – I judge a mascara by how easily it is removed. Hate those that continue to cling to your lashes. This one removes like a dream and performs well too.
12. “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo. Believe the hype. This book is life changing. I got rid of 50% of my stuff (including makeup) without any guilt or regret.

Hey Karima,
I’d be really curious to hear your thoughts on the new Illamasqua contouring palette. It’s really pricey compared to other contouring palettes, but it looks like there are good colours in there for pale skin. Have you tried it out?

Regarding nails, have you tried “instant press-on nails” (a name I totally made up BC the actual term escapes me)? A brand called Kiss makes them. They’re slap-and-dash press-on nails. They’re made out of hardish but flexible plastic so they look like acrylic nails but they’re really just stickers. I have a friend who says she has difficult nails and buys boxes of these and they come in all sorts of different sizes and designs. And for the longest time, I just thought she found time for manicure appointments. She says the nails need to be clipped as short as possible or won’t adhere correctly