Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in Build Me Up Buttercup, £16 Harvey Nichols
We’ve lost count of the number of compliments we’ve received when sporting this gloriously sunny shade. As the name would suggest, it’s an unintrusive creamy, buttery yellow as opposed to a neon lemony hue – part of the Spring Reveries Collection of breezy pastels.
Leighton Denny Slick Tips Touch and Go Cuticle Pen, £12 johnlewis.com
Your cuticles need moisture. Lots of it. Dry, raggedy cuticles which are growing halfway up the nail bed are definitely not de rigeur. Plus healthy cuticles will result in strong, long healthy nails. This handy pen means you can hydrate them on the go, moisturising with essential oils including lemongrass, peppermint and jojoba.
Penhaligon‘s Quercus Liquid Hand Wash, £19
Ok so possibly not a “necessity” as such, but Penhaligon’s hand washes are our guilty pleasures. There’s something luxuriously Cleopatra-like about turning a luxury scent into a hand wash (Quercus has warming notes of moss and patchouli), which makes us want to linger in hotel washrooms and turn our own bathrooms into a five-star suite. A refreshing change from the many banal floral scented hand washes out there too.
Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream £18.40
Anyone who despises “greasy” hand creams, this will be your cup of tea. Intensely softening and moisturising with macadamia oil and grape seed extract, this handbag-essential from Bliss absorbs into hands quickly, leaving a pleasant soft lemony scent in its wake.
Fresh Therapies Nail Polish Remover, £8.99
If you become a tad unsettled by strong industrial smell emitting from your nail polish remover, this is a far more pleasant – not to mention natural – alternative. This award-winning remover doesn’t strip the nail bed of its natural oils and leaves a happy scent with a hint of lime in its wake.
by Viola Levy