Over the course of 2022, I've tried and tested dozens of beauty products for the Manchester Evening News - some better than others, and some I've even gone on to repurchase time and time again. I like to think myself as your friendly, honest beauty guru, with friends and family often asking for recommendations - especially at this time of year.
Many beauty retailers are gearing up for the biggest sale event of the year - Black Friday - with sales already live on a number of sites.
And so, there's never been a better time to top up your cosmetics kit, snap up some discounted gift sets, or sort yourself out with stocking fillers that will put a huge smile on the face of the recipent.
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I've taken a look back at some of my favourite tried and tested products for 2022 to see if they're included in the sales, and many are, some at a whopping 40 per cent off!
Makeup, skincare and well-known dupes are featured in sales across Boots, Beauty Bay and their own websites - including one notoriously never-on-sale moisturiser that's finally been reduced. Here are my top beauty sale picks for Black Friday 2022 - the question is, which to buy first?
L’Oreal True Match Foundation
Boots are holding a huge Black Friday sale which sees a number of cosmetics reduced by up to 30 per cent, which includes our favourite L’Oreal True Match Foundation, which is down to £6.99 from £9.99.
Available in 40 shades, ranging from Porcelain Rose to Ebony, the L’Oreal True Match foundation had a satin finish, catching the light naturally where it hits the skin for a dewy look.
Reviewing the product, I said: “After moisturising, I applied one pump of foundation to my skin and found that a little goes a long way with this fairly thin formula. The colour match was really good, and it offered a natural, bare to skin look that would be ideal for those ‘no-makeup makeup’ days.
“Not only that, but it felt really healthy and my skin felt bouncy thanks to the hyaluronic acid, and lasted throughout the day without feeling oily or flaky.”
As well as the 30 per cent off deal, Boots is giving shoppers a free gift filled with five makeup products worth £25 when they spend £20 on selected self-selection cosmetics, meaning you can get more than £50 worth of products when you combine the freebie with the retail value of the discounted beauty buys.
Skin Proud Frozen Over Gel-To-Ice Hydrat
Dubbed as a ‘skincare must have’ by Love Island’s Kady McDermott, the viral Skin Proud Frozen Over Gel-To-Ice Hydrat is so popular, it’s already sold out online at Boots.
Usually £16.95, the moisturiser is enriched with hyaluronic acid, and is currently down to £11.87 on the Skin Proud website.
The secret to supercharging this moisturiser is to put it in the freezer for about three hours, activating the gel-to-ice texture for a real cooling effect to combat tired, dull or puffy skin.
The cryotherapy treatment comes as ice skincare, or skin icing, has proven popular in recent months due to its supposed skincare benefits.
As well as offering up to 30 per cent off sitewide this Black Friday , Skin Proud are also offering free delivery on all orders over £25.
Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser
This Black Friday, Liz Earle are offering up to 25 per cent off skincare , haircare and their popular Superskin range, as well as a massive 40 per cent off Christmas gifts. Their cult-classic Cleanse and Polish hot cloth cleanser is a best-seller, having won over 150 awards, selling a tube every 18 seconds.
We once tried comparing it to the £3.99 Aldi dupe, and Liz Earle STILL came out on top.
One thing the Liz Earle range is renowned for is its unique fragrance, which comes from cocoa butter, rosemary extract, chamomile extract and eucalyptus essential oil. It’s dreamy, spa-like and totally luxurious.
Usually, a 200ml tube comes in at £30, but it’s reduced to £22.50 on the Liz Earle website, while 100ml is £12.75 down from £17.
The product deeply cleanses and gently exfoliates for radiant, clearer-looking skin, so you can give the gift of self-care this Christmas. Or treat yourself to one, we won’t judge.
The site is also offering free delivery on all orders over £25.
Lottie London x Gossip Girl range
Hey Upper East Siders, know someone that’s obsessed with Gossip Girl ? We’ve ‘spotted’ a fab deal from Lottie London that will go live ON Black Friday. But there is a way to snap it up sooner.
If you sign up to the Lottie London app and enter your details, you’ll be able to get 30 per cent off a week early - there are a handful of exclusions, but the deal is mostly site-wide and the Gossip Girl collection is included - though The Vampire Diaries is not.
Products, including eyeshadow palettes, blush tints and lip duos are usually priced between £6.95 and £7.95, but the sale will see every single one priced below £6. Bargain.
The It Girl palette is a firm fave, and sees a combination of rich gold blends, highly pigmented metallics, and blendable warm browns and bronzes to achieve a flirtatious Fifth Avenue ‘evening glamour at the plaza’ vibes - or Christmas do, you decide.
Illamasqua Gel Sculpt
Luxury makeup brand Illamasqua is well known for being bold, daring and generally anti-conformist. So it might surprise you that one of the brands’ faces was none other than a member of the royal family.
Back in 2018, Lady Amelia Windsor - now 42nd in line to the throne - became the face of Illamasqua’s Reign of Rock collection , which celebrated the brand’s 10th anniversary.
The brand’s contouring sticks are a fantastic water-based formula which leave an almost transparent sheen that blends out effortlessly. It’s usually £25, but with an up to 30 per cent off offer, it’s down to £17.50, saving £7.50 on the usual price.
I know pop-ups can be frustrating, but Illamasqua does often send extra discount codes for another 5 per cent off here and there, so be sure to take advantage of these. When searching for this offer, I got an extra 88p off at the checkout for signing up to the newsletter.
Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré
Loved by the likes of Michelle Keegan and Georgia Toffolo, this sell-out celeb-loved moisturiser is now 20 per cent off at Beauty Bay ahead of Black Friday.
Toff's makeup artist Izabela Pagano revealed on Instagram that she used cult-skincare product Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré as skin prep to create a flawless base, while Michelle’s MUA Emily Clarkson told The Mirror that the one product she uses on all of her celebs, including Perrie Edwards and Nina Nesbitt, is the Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré Moisturiser.
#Embryolisse is also trending on TikTok with 28.9 million video views, and UK Google searches for the product are at breakout - up by 5,000 per cent.
Dubbed the ‘24-hour miracle cream;, the creamy lightweight lotion acts as a primer, moisturiser, make-up remover, repairing mask and an after-shave cream. It's enriched with a combination of natural ingredients, including essential fatty acids and vitamins, which help balance, protect and nourish the skin. I reviewed the moisturiser myself back in March and have since gone on to repurchase it in the bigger size.
Now, a 30ml tube is down to £10.35 instead of £12.96, while 75ml is down from £19.95 to £15.95 . We recommend going large and saving some pennies in the long run, too.
Boohoo liquid to powder blush
Boohoo have got up to 42 per cent off their popular own brand beauty line, which we previously reviewed here.
One of my favourite products from the range was the liquid to powder blush, which comes in five shades and is priced at £6.
It comes in a recyclable tube, and is said to be a dupe for the £29 liquid blush from luxury beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury, and has been compared to Selena Gomez’ RARE range too.
The blush is currently reduced by 33 per cent down to £4 , with money off eyeshadow palettes, skincare and more as part of their big Black Friday sale. You can shop all of the Boohoo cosmetics range here.
Revolution Pro Miracle Cream
The Revolution Pro Miracle Cream moisturiser is said to be a dupe of Charlotte Tilbury's £75 Magic Cream - and you can get your hands on it for £7 after it was slashed by 30 per cent off for Black Friday.
The moisturiser had a waiting list of 10,000 people and has sold out three times this year, so beauty fans are going to want to jump on this deal FAST.
On the Revolution website, the cream is priced at £10 for 50ml, and always states that it's excluded from promotions and discount codes. However, high street favourite Debenhams is now offering the miracle cream for just £7 for a 50ml tub.
Similar to Tilbury’s Magic Cream, the £68 cheaper Revolution Pro Miracle Cream is full of skin-loving ingredients such as Niacinamide, Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid and Shea Butter. The ‘supercharged formula’ works to transform dull complexions in just four weeks, instantly hydrating and plumping it from the first use.
Previously, we've tried both the budget beauty buy and the high end Charlotte Tilbury cream, comparing them side by side, and could barely tell the difference.
Dr Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Colour Correcting Treatment
Shoppers can save more than £10 on the largest pot of Dr Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Colour Correcting Treatment at Boots this week . Of course, so many brands have tried to dupe this skin smoothing, redness reducing skincare saviour, but none I’ve tried so far have been as successful. Primark's budget alternative wasn't a patch on the real thing.
A small 15ml pot of this coveted product will set you back £16, but you can get more than double the product for less than double the price, so it’s a proper steal. A 50ml pot of the colour corrector is now only £25.90 at Boots, instead of £37, saving customers £11.10 this Black Friday week.
The Dr Jart product is a multi-tasking green-to-beige cream that adapts to skin’s natural colour to neutralise redness and even out skin tone. It can help cover blemishes, correct redness, and create a smoother, more even skin tone. The opaque cream never fails to baffle me when it’s applied.
You can shop the offer online at Boots here.
Collection Gorgeous Glow Filter Finish
It’s not often I’m completely blown away by a beauty product - least not one from what’s considered a ‘budget’ beauty brand. However, there’s an incredible glowy primer that’s launched at Boots and my only regret is that I didn’t get my hands on it sooner.
The Collection Gorgeous Glow Filter Finish comes in at £6.99, and is said to be a dupe of the Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter , according to shoppers’ reviews. Now, it’s down to £4.89 on the Boots website as part of their Black Friday sale, and also qualifies for the free gift worth £25 that I mentioned earlier.
The Gorgeous Glow Filter Finish is available in four shades “Fair”, “Fair Medium”, “Medium” and “Tan”, and can be used alone, or under and on top of makeup.
I was really surprised that such an affordable beauty product was so versatile and effective, and can certainly see why some shoppers have said it’s ‘just as good’ as the Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter product , which comes in around £30 more expensive.
You can shop the Gorgeous Glow Filter Finish here.
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