Whether you're dealing with pesky dry patches or are prone to irritation, having one, multi-tasking treatment in your arsenal can be a real godsend and luckily for us, Helen Mirren has the perfect recommendation - at just £12 a pop..

When it comes to our beauty bags, the best face moisturisers and best hyaluronic acid serums (and the like) often take pride of place, thanks to their ability to deliver a daily dose of nourishment and hydration to our skin. But there's another product type that can be equally as essential on days when your skin needs an extra helping hand - especially when you're travelling and don't have access to your full bathroom stash. A multi-purpose soothing and reparative treatment can be a true saviour when irritation emerges and according to Helen Mirren, there's one silver-infused gel, in particular, that she never travels without.

So, if you're looking to ward off dryness and soothe blemishes, or just want something on hand in case any of the former arise, here's the budget-friendly gel Mirren keeps in her own bag...

The £12 'magic' gel Helen Mirren always travels with

After regaling us with her go-to manicure look (yes, Helen Mirren's nail polish pick is as chic as you would think), the actor has since let slip a particular gel that also features in her beauty collection, and is as versatile as it is affordable...

Sharing her makeup and skincare staples with Harper's Bazaar for the publication's Inside My Beauty Bag YouTube series, Mirren revealed that she's a big fan of the Active Silver Colloidal Silver Magic Gel. The star said, (upon retrieving the pot from her 'Swagger bag,' as she calls it), "This is very interesting and I do like to travel with this because...you know when you’re travelling, all sorts of things can happen to your skin - you can get a rash or you know, something can go wrong - and this is called Active Silver.

"A little dab of that, if you have a rash or something going wrong with your skin - a dry patch - this stuff just magically sort of resolves it."

This gel is formulated with colloidal silver (small pieces of silver suspended in a water solution), aloe vera and vitamin E and is described as being gentle, antibacterial and 'brilliant for soothing' and helping with skin irritations - making it ideal for keeping in your at-home first aid kit or carrying on the go for whenever the need arises.

And, in case you're looking for a slightly more luxe alternative, this Silver Skin Saviour mask from Omorovica (at Look Fantastic) also boasts the ingredient, along with niacinamide and salicylic acid, as a treatment for acne and blemishes.