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Double-duty beauty: the rising trend for hard-working cosmetics

A host of time-saving, all-in-one multi-taskers are hitting the market and Sarah Young investigates why when it comes to your make-up bag sometimes less can be more

Sarah Young
Monday 18 July 2016 12:32 BST
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Versace Spring/Summer 2016
Versace Spring/Summer 2016

Mastering the art of doing everything at once we find ourselves multitasking constantly in our daily lives. With more and more expected of us we too have come to anticipate more from our beauty buys and with summer calling for effortless good looks the do-it-all, multi-purpose product is a seasonal must-have.

Take a look at your beauty stash – Do you really use all of those products and just how much is too much? Us beauty fanatics can often lose count and as impressive and wonderful to look at a vanity of never-ending makeup can be, in reality, it’s not the most practical of pursuits. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to leave the house without an arsenal of cosmetics in your handbag? We think so and thankfully a whole host of beauty companies do too. The era of the over-achieving beauty product has arrived with multi-use mainstays saving us both time and money; from eye shadows that craft the perfect brow to nifty lip-cheek combos - they truly can do it all.

Beauty with benefits guarantees to make your routine as low-key as possible and our favourite go-to all-in-one has to be a bronzer, especially at this time of year. While we’re all familiar with its typical uses the right shade can double up as contour and even an eye shadow; dust the bronzer along the hollows of your cheeks for sculpting power and outline your eyes by applying it to the top and lower lash lines for an all-over sun kissed glow.

Next on the agenda is blush, and while dabbing a little lipstick on your cheek bones can work well the beauty world has bestowed a host of ready-made lip and cheek duos upon us so there’s no need to ruin your favourite lippy after all. On-the-spot make-up also means tool-free application so make use of your fingertips to press these products onto the apples of your cheeks and lips.

Achieving the perfect brow is testing at the best of times let alone when a cut-back is on the cards but thanks to a surge in brush-on brow compacts products are working twice as hard so you don’t have to. From shape and highlight double acts to pencils that correct and perfect creating a flawless arch has never been so easy but for ultimate do-it-all rule using a matte brown shadow works surprisingly as well on your eyebrows as it does your lids.

These hard-working products are a rising trend that proves less really can be more. Their ability to do several things at once means the stress of packing for a getaway or the unnerving reality of doing your makeup on the tube are now a thing of the past; it’s time to embrace double-duty beauty.

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