While I haven’t bought any skincare this year, I’m not entirely without new goodies, as I pre-ordered The Cult Beaty Box by Caroline Hirons in December and it arrived a week ago. The fans of Caroline Hirons (there are quite a few here) would know that this is British skincare guru’s third box for Cult Beauty: a selection of products she personally values, with a significant price break.

The boxes sell out extremely fast and you cannot buy one any longer, but all the items are of course still available separately, so I thought I’d do quick mini-reviews of them all.

1. Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm. This was the only item in the box that I had used before, but fortunately it’s one of my all-time-favourite cleansers: a trusty, lovely, effective stand-by. I can always use a travel size version of this (all the other items in the box are full size). If you are only now getting into balms and/or double cleansing, this is a great place to start. It suits almost everyone and is not crazy expensive.

2. Zelens PHA Bio-Peel Facial Resurfacing Pads. I use a mild acid toner in liquid or pad form every day and these are my favourite pads. They are effective but non-irritating, have the right moisture level (for example Rodial pads seem too dry for me) and I even like the smell. If you need to watch your budget, go for something like Nip & Fab or Pixi, but these are lovely.

3. Tata Harper Rejuvenating Serum. Despite all the raves, I didn’t expect too much of this: I love Tata’s cleansers, but some other stuff I’ve tried didn’t work quite as well for me. I was wrong. This is a very good serum, a great all-rounder that keeps my face in a good condition for the entire day. It’s too early to say anything about long-term effects (and I rotate my serums anyway), but considering the impressive ingredient list, I trust they will be positive. It’s also 100% plant based and organic, in case this is important for you.

4. Dr Dennis Gross Ferulic + Retinol Eye Cream. I have used the gel version of this in the past and it was good, but this is better. It’s a light but nourishing cream and the only eye cream I use at the moment. I’m picky about eye creams and the only ones I’ve liked as much as Ferulic + Retinol are Sunday Riley Start Over and StriVectin Advanced Retinol Eye Cream. This one seems to help with every issue you might possibly have – dark circles, dehydration/dryness, fine lines – without any annoying side effects.

5. May Lindstrom The Blue Cocoon. Despite all the positive things I’ve already said, we have only now come to my favourite product of the box. I really didn’t want to like The Blue Cocoon, as it’s prohibitively expensive and I don’t actually need it on a regular basis – my skin is not sensitive or dry nor exposed to the ire of the elements that often. It was, however, going through a bad period with constant breakouts that I couldn’t leave alone. Very mature of me, I know. So I applied this ridiculously soothing balm in the evenings to calm my skin. And it worked. Already after the first night, I woke up with much improved, less upset skin. The balm is rich and nourishing, so you don’t need to apply anything else, but miraculously it feels very light and doesn’t cause any trouble for pores. The quality is exquisite. I hesitate to recommend it because of the price, but if you are someone with sensitive, dry skin going on a skiing holiday in Lapland, do look into it. You don’t need much and as it’s not for everyday use, the jar should last a long time.

6. Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts. This is the only item in the box I’m not particularly excited about – not because it’s bad, but because I generally only get excited about salt in food. But if you are a person who appreciates luxury bath salts and likes invigorating scents (it smells of lemongrass and juniper, in a nice way), this might be for you. My sister, who has extremely dry skin, said she hardly had to moisturize after she used these salts in her bath.

These are all very brief reviews of expensive luxury products, so if you consider buying any of them, of course do your own research and assess everything based on your own needs and circumstances. But as far as recommendations are possible in this tricky world of skincare, these seem like serious contenders to me.