Last year was all about the following: kale, the 5:2 diet, and the Kardashians. This year, however, it's a big hello to swiss chard, protein-packed meals and the Jenners. That's right, with the new year marking a change in our health and pop culture tastes, it's high time to mix up our hot beauty favourites, too. While we may have all raved about coconut oil in 2014, this year, we've managed to pin point a few skincare ingredients that are going to rock your world. With new discoveries (or in fact, extracts and essences that have been used for years coming back into vogue) happening all the time, everyday brings a new must-have ingredient. To sort the wheat from the chaff for you, we've come up with a hot list of three ingredients you need to keep an eye out for to give your skincare a new year makeover. Hello, beautiful.
1. Golden Silk Cocoon Extract
Clever bods at P&G Prestige realised there wasn't one ingredient out there that could simultaneously even skin tone, smooth the texture AND plump the skin. So they set about finding one. The result? They honed in on silk cocoon thread and it's innate ability to protect life, and found a lot of its power came from something called 'Gold Silk Sericin' in golden silk. Thanks to its high amino-acid and flavonoid content, skin is nourished, firmed up and protected.** **
Find it in: Dolce & Gabbana Aurealux Cream, £89.00
2. Blue Tansy
Bold (and almost smurf-like) in colour, this vivid extract comes from a flower that's actually poisoned if ingested. However, through careful rendering, blue tansy can be worked into skincare, and boasts some pretty impressive antibacterial, antihistamine, and general anti-inflammatory results. That's spot-busting, reaction-soothing and anti-redness, to you and I. Neat blue tansy can be used mixed with shampoo to calm an itchy scalp, or blended with other oils to soothe minor aches and pains.
Find it in: Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil, £85.00
3. Prickly Pear
****The sure successor to argan oil, prickly pear extract is big news for 2015. High in essential fatty acids (like the much-loved avocado) as well as omegas and Vitamn E, it helps stimulate collagen production and kickstart your cell turnover. Oh, AND there's Vitamin K which is one of the few things that can do anything about dark circles. So that's brighter, more supple and more radiant skin. Yes please.