I tend to buy more niche beauty products than well known bigger brands. Many of you have been asking where you can purchase a lot of the niche products I feature. One of my favourite sites that ship internationally, cult-beauty.com is a good one. Being the expert herself, I asked Cult beauty founder, Alexia Inge which niche beauty brands we need to know…

The Wet Brush

When hair is wet it is terribly exposed and vulnerable to stretching and breakage, but this is the time when most people – especially those with curly or corse hair – prefer to brush out the knots. The Wet Brush glides through even the most hedge-backwards-sideways-and-back-again hair like hot tongs through butter. This brand came out of nowhere and it’s so unquestioningly good that it’s now the number 1 selling detangling brush in the US. Most people are unbelievers when they are handed one and very tightly gripping the handle when having to give it back… It makes the perfect gift AND it’s really affordable.

Kevyn Aucoin

The man who made up the original super models, he was the connoisseur of contouring back in the 90’s when no-one was doing it. Everyone who worked with him adored him and he was a huge make up pioneer (he even designed the uber-cult Shu Uemera Eyelash Curlers). His make up range unfortunately outlives the man, but his genius shines through in everything they do. These are the products those in the know put on show!

Anastasia Beverly Hills

For the past 18 years, Anastasia Soare has been the Hollywood A-List’s go-to brow specialist and her eponymous range has now reached cult status. Always ahead of the curve (or should we say arch!) Long before professional brow shaping became an essential part of every woman’s daily maintenance, Anastasia was at the forefront of facial enhancement with her outstanding brow-shaping skills, and is now the most famous brow expert in the world and an ambassador for symmetry.
Her avid fans include Jennifer Lopez, Amber Valletta, Brooke Shields, Kim Kardashian, Charlize Theron, Cara Delevingne, Heidi Klum, Elle MacPherson, Eva Herzigova, Eva Longoria, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Deneuve, Lucy Liu, Madonna, Megan Fox, Michelle Rodriguez, Michelle Williams, Naomi Campbell, Oprah Winfrey, Penelope Cruz, Sharon Stone and Victoria Beckham.

May Lindstrom Skin

This is my hot tip for next year, it’s going to be the next Sunday Riley. When it comes to skin food this is the haute cuisine of the beauty world. A stand-out range – with names like Youth Dew, The Blue Cocoon, Honey Mud Cleansing Silk and The Good Stuff – May Lindstrom is beautifully packaged, properly natural (Epicurean even) and the skin blossoming results are hugely addictive. It is still made in small batches by the founder and the care and quality used is evident at first touch/smell.

May Lindstrom, an ex-model, was plagued with allergies, eczema, psoriasis and contact dermatitis and couldn’t find any skincare products to help, so she started making her own. While modelling she gave her products to make up artists and fellow clothes hangers like Cindy Crawford, who are all huge fans of the range. Using ingredients like Blue Tansy, Sweet Sage, Cinnamon, Turmeric, Sea Buckthorn, Raw Cacao, Nutmeg, Clove, Gotu Kola, Cayenne Pepper and Raw Honey it’s no wonder skin drinks this stuff up.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Lip Tar

Designed to work well under the intense scrutiny of a high definition lens, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics combines hard-wearing textures with high-density pigments and the finest, 100% vegan ingredients. Bold, daring and innovative, this professional range was founded by make-up artist David Klasfeld and has since acquired a loyal following of die-hard cosmetic junkies. A true beauty insider secret, Lip Tar is the most pigmented lipstick in the world with a most beautiful finish.