May's Beauty Products

Get your skincare routine off to a great start with our favourite cleansing, toning and moisturising products

A good skincare routine will help your skin look and feel its best. The best skincare products will help tight, dry skin feel more comfortable, rebalance oily skin, reduce fine lines and boost natural radiance. Whether you’re prepping your face for colour cosmetics or going with a more minimal makeup look, healthy and glowing skin is the foundation of beauty, and a daily skincare routine can also be a small ritual of self-care that marks the beginning and end of the day.

In recent years we’ve seen the Instagram-powered growth of multi-step, multi-product skincare regimes that can look intimidating to skincare newcomers. If you want to follow a 10-step process then by all means go ahead, but the most important skincare principles to follow simply come down to cleansing, toning and moisturising.

The best skincare products to buy

Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing balm: Best luxury cleansing balm

Price: £44 | Buy now from Amazon

A luxurious, rich cleansing balm that brings together moisturising almond and shea oils and the healing power of collagen, with soothing starflower, elderberry rose and mimosa. The balm gently dissolves makeup, leaving skin soft, clean and smelling wonderful. To use, massage over the face and neck with a little water, and remove with a muslin or cleansing cloth. The balm is so rich it can also be used on its own as a hydrating face mask by spreading on a thicker layer, then relaxing before wiping off. A gently powerful cleanser and skin treatment all in one.

Body Shop camomile cleansing butter: Best budget cleansing balm

Price: £11 | Buy now from The Body Shop

With moisturising olive oil, shea butter and calming camomile, this buttery cleansing balm has a light, pleasant, natural fragrance and is particularly suitable for dry and sensitive skins. The cleansing butter simply melts away even full-coverage makeup and leaves skin soft and clean, so it’s perfect for a nighttime skincare routine. This is part of Body Shop’s range of gentle cleansing and moisturising products with soothing camomile extract.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser: Best budget hot cloth cleanser

Price: £3.50 | Buy now from Superdrug

If you’re in the market for a hot cloth cleanser but looking for something a little more budget-friendly than Eve Lom’s luxury cleanser above, Superdrug offers this very serviceable cleanser as part of its Naturally Radiant range of skincare products. Like the Eve Lom, this cleanser has a base of nourishing cocoa butter, combined with skin-freshening kiwi fruit and mulberry extracts to gently exfoliate and boost radiance. Vegan and cruelty-free, this is a great alternative hot-cleansing ritual on a budget.

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Toner: Best toner for dry skin

Price: £18 | Buy now from Space NK

This alcohol-free toner with avocado oil, squalene and vitamin E is suitable for all skin types, and particularly for dry skins that will love the hydrating ingredients. The milky toner won’t dry the skin or strip out natural oils as more astringent toners can do, instead helping gently sweep away the last traces of dirt and makeup from the face to allow the skin to better absorb your choice of moisturiser. Simply apply to the face with a cotton pad after cleansing and before moisturising, to freshen and hydrate.

Best moisturiser for oily skin: Clinique Dramatically Different Hydrating Clearing Jelly

Price: £20 | Buy now from Clinique

Oily skin needs hydration that doesn’t add extra oils into the mix. Clinique’s water-based hydrating jelly offers just that: a lightweight, non-greasy gel that sinks beautifully into the skin, moisturising without adding shine or slip. The clearing formula also contains salicylic acid to help unblock pores and keep skin clear, while hyaluronic acid keeps moisture where it needs to be. This is a hero product for oily skins, and suitable for use on sensitive and combination skins, too.