Here’s how to lend your routine some multi-generational appeal
Did you see the headlines recently about certain habits that make Gen Zers instantly mark you out as old and over the hill? A poll by research firm Perspectus Global listed drinking a cappuccino as being a key marker of having lost your cool factor. Thankfully, I’m a flat-white-with-oat-milk kind of a gal, which I like to think means I’m still down with the kids (although using that phrase probably cancels out any of my remaining street cred – no doubt another outmoded term).
But nil desperandum. I can claw back some relevance on the basis that I’m a fan of the Kale + Green Tea Spinach Vitamins Superfood Cleanser from Californian brand Youth to the People (or YTTP; £12, cultbeauty.co.uk). This is a brand beloved by teenagers. So beloved that, since it launched in the UK last month, the cleanser sold out twice within three weeks.
Dr Barbara Sturm Hydrating Face Mist, £75, net-a-porter.com. Pricey, but teens are obsessed. Use before make-up or for a quick refresh; Charlotte Tilbury Rock ’n’ Kohl Eyeliner, £19, spacenk.com. Nothing tears teens away from black eyeliner – they love how long this lasts.
Nars Radiant Creamy concealer, £24.50, spacenk.com. Does what it says in the name but also hydrates as it goes and is buildable.
Why is it so popular with the younger generation? Well in part it’s because of its eco credentials: it uses glass bottles and recyclable certified FSC paper for boxes printed with soy-based inks, all of which are key factors for that demographic. Its formulations are also vegan, cruelty-free and biodegradable so they’re kind to the planet.
Drunk Elephant Sugared Koffie Almond Milk Scrub, £24, spacenk.com. Its Protini Polypeptide Cream is the teen dream, but this launch is lovely.
On top of that YTTP has a strong philanthropic mission with three funds: To the People Fund which works with Soul Fire Farm and Lunch on Me to empower women and BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of colour) communities; To the Future Fund which collaborates with Girls for Gender Equality, and To the Planet Fund which partners with Cool Effect and Climate Resolve.
But another reason I’m going so big on it this week is because it’s also just a properly lovely cleanser for anyone of any age. It smells wonderfully fresh and uplifting and good for you thanks to all those superfood ingredients. With a bit of water it lathers up into a really creamy texture and leaves my skin feeling clean, moisturised and happy.
On the panel to the right I’ve included a few other products that are a big hit with all the teenagers I know, but which I also love and think work for all ages. Just be warned that if there are teens in your house they’ll probably be stealing all of these – or at least taking them on a long-term loan.
And before I take my leave, there’s another beauty name you’ll hear the teens chattering about and it isn’t a brand: it’s Hyram, the new must-view YouTuber who’s all about skincare. You’ll score major points for not saying ‘who??’ whenever he’s next mentioned.
Give your hair some honey love
Influencer (and beekeper) Negin Mirsalehi launched the Gisou range which includes Honey Infused Hair Oil, £68 for 100ml, gisou.com
My new go-to for serious shine and smoothly sinuous waves
Another product new to the UK and already a hit across the pond and elsewhere is Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil. In truth, a whole haircare range from Gisou has landed and encompasses everything a modern hair regime requires including shampoo, mask and even perfume. But the oil is the hero product, and the only one I’ve tried and can therefore recommend from personal experience. And wow, it’s the bee’s knees – which is appropriate since, as its name states, honey is a key ingredient.
The range is founded by Negin Mirsalehi, an almost impossibly beautiful influencer based in Amsterdam who has 6.3 million Instagram followers. Negin is also a beekeeper – in fact, she’s a sixth-generation beekeeper, and the honey she uses comes from the family’s own Mirsalehi Bee Garden in Almere in the Netherlands.
She has always used her own honey-infused hair oil in her routine; her mother is a hairdresser and had long since created her own recipe when Negin was growing up. When Negin’s followers started asking about what she used on her own lustrous hair, she realised there was an opportunity and Gisou, which means ‘golden hair lock’ in Persian (her parents left Iran a few years before she was born), was founded. The Gisou oil is based on her mother’s original concoction.
Truly this oil is so good it has become a bit of an obsession for me. You only need a few drops – I’ve used three at most per application – and it works on dry (and wet) hair to add serious shine or can be applied overnight as a mask. When I do that and put it in a silk bobble, my hair tumbles out in the morning with lovely smooth waves (I do have a slight natural kink to my hair). It does contain silicone but it’s the only product in the range that does.
Because Negin is so passionate about bees and their welfare, every UK online order made on gisou.com until 21 August will be sent out with some wildflower seeds (while stocks last) so that customers can plant their own bee-friendly zones, be that in a flowerpot or garden.