We may not be able to turn back the clock, but there are some basic rules we can follow to help us cheat the march of time, says Josephine Fairley
As the legendary designer Coco Chanel once famously said, ‘Nature gives you the face you have at 20; it is up to you to merit the face you have at 50.’ Of course, genes play a role. If your mother looked fah-bu-lous in her middle years, there’s a good chance you’ll have a head start on other women. But it’s true: looking good at any time after around 35, frankly, calls for just a little extra effort.
We should, however, all be saying a thousand hallelujahs to be living at a time when skincare, make-up and haircare offer such effective ways to enhance what’s God-given. Think of these as building blocks: simple steps, each of which on their own can make a difference – helping to turn back the clock. And if some of it’s illusion, who really cares? Keep adding them to your routine, one by one, and you are going to end up more polished, more glamorous, more attractive, and less tired-looking. That’s a promise.
1 Invest in anti-ageing skincare – and USE IT!
Diligence, diligence, diligence should be your watchwords. This is precisely why French women look so well-preserved: daily skincare is drummed into them at their mother’s knee, and they’re much too scared of the ravages of time to disobey.
You don’t need to spend a fortune, but you do need:
•   SPF15 moisturising day cream (yes, even in winter; yes, even when it’s cloudy.) You can pick up a lot of incidental sun damage outdoors from October to April just getting from A to B.
•   A night cream, or facial oil.
•   Neck creams are optional, provided you give your chest and neck zone a ‘double-whammy’, sweeping body lotions upwards and anything you apply to your face down to bra level.
•   An anti-ageing eye cream is a must: if it’s rich, apply it around the eye socket (it travels where it’s meant to be down the ‘train tracks’ of fine lines and wrinkles!). If it’s a lightweight gel, smooth it onto lids without risk of irritation.
•   Above all, track down a really good cleanser and take two minutes a night to work it into skin, before swishing away with a muslin cloth, which buffs away dead surface cells to reveal the gleamingly healthy, new ones. My tip? Get an egg timer. Flip it over and spend every last grain of salt on your night-time beauty programme.
2 Harness ‘light power’
The biggest revolution in the anti-ageing world in the past decade has been the harnessing of light-reflective ‘optical pigments’, which, when formulated into a skin cream, or make-up, or a primer, work by ‘bouncing light’ off the face. What makes skin look ‘old’ isn’t usually fine lines or even deeper wrinkles, it’s a lack of vibrancy. Seek out skincare and make-up which is subtly luminescent. We’re not talking disco-dazzly, just a sheen – it’ll give you back a youthful glow.
3 Invest in a primer
Nothing makes more difference to make-up application, as we reach un certain age. Primers generally contain silicones, nylons – and sometimes light-reflective pigments – which literally fill in fine lines and wrinkles. They are just brilliant for open pores, too. Some can even be reapplied over make-up as the day wears on. When shopping for a primer, smooth it into the back of your hand: if the fine lines and grooves there disappear, then you can trust that it will work the same magic on your face.
4 Update your make-up
Get thee to a marbled beauty hall. Pick out a sales assistant whose make-up you like. Book in for a free makeover: all the counters offer them. If you absolutely loathe the results, you can always go straight home and wash it off. At the very least, though, you are likely to pick up some new tricks. A make-up lesson’s vital because when the ‘canvas’ – ie: your complexion – starts to become less smooth, it calls for a different style of application. You may find that cream formulations for eyes and cheeks are kinder and look more flattering, and that using liner and mascara on top lids only draws attention away from dark circles.
When it comes to choosing lipstick, remember that some shades make teeth look brighter, while some have the opposite effect. Make-up genius Barbara Daly advises that pinks, reds and burgundies are often the best choices, and you should steer clear of colours with orange or yellow in them, including corals and brown-based shades, which can ‘pick up’ any yellow in tooth enamel. A more serious approach to making your pearly whites that bit whiter is to look into tooth-whitening treatments. At the very least invest in a tooth-brightening toothpaste, which can remove some of the staining from caffeinated drinks, red wine, etc., which age your smile.
5 Track down the right ‘tools’
In our teens, 20s and even 30s, we can get away with fingers to apply make-up. After this though, and in order to ensure make-up stays put, more precise tools are called for. The number one must-have is a foundation brush, with synthetic bristles. These are life-transforming; you literally use them to slap on the foundation, and then blend it seamlessly at the edges with little ‘patting’ actions. Forget sponges, let alone fingers; a foundation brush helps your make-up stay put, and look more flawless, than anything else you’ll ever come across. Meanwhile, if you’ve always reached for a big, fat powder brush, think of switching to something smaller – not more than 2cm wide. Powder has the effect of making skin look matt and flat, so if you can, apply only where really needed. This is usually around the shinier T-zone (nose, and perhaps the chin). An all-over dusting of powder makes skin look flat – and old.
6Â Massage your face with oil
Even complexions which are still prone to oiliness and shine can benefit from oils: grapeseed oil actually helps reduce sebum production – though in general, skin dries out as we age. The right balance of oils, combined with facial massage, can work miracles, with facial oils perfect as a night treatment because they help ‘trap’ skin’s natural moisture, preventing evaporation. As aromatherapist Germaine Rich explains, ‘Vegetable oils provide skin with nutrients, essential fatty acids, and have specific therapeutic properties.’ Evening primrose oil is regenerative and good for prematurely aged skins. Simply break open a capsule of evening primrose and massage into skin. Sweet almond oil is light and nourishing, rich in vitamin E and high in vitamin A. It’s good for ‘touchy’ mature skins as it helps to relieve itching and dryness. Wheatgerm oil is packed with antioxidant vitamin A and high in vitamin E: also good for scar tissue, as well as dry, mature skin.
To each 15ml of base oil, add three to nine drops of essential oils*. Try age-defying frankincense (it keeps mummies’ skin intact for 3000 years!), skin-brightening geranium, neroli or patchouli (to help speed up cell renewal), or sandalwood – especially beneficial if skin has become papery. Ideally, do a lymph drainage ‘pressure point’ massage: push fingers firmly into the centre of the brow-bone, the cheekbone, and a spot below this line on the jaw, but also gently move the actual flesh – not the skin – around, which encourages circulation, in turn delivering nutrients to the skin.
7Â Get a great haircut
You would spend money on a jacket or a lovely pair of shoes. Well, you wear your hair every day, so isn’t it worth an investment, in time and a bit of cash? It is so easy to get stuck in a hair ‘rut’, sticking with a style that worked for you once, but doesn’t do you any favours right now. Look around. The danger if you’ve been visiting your stylist for years is that he or she may have stopped ‘seeing’ you properly. A fresh eye can be what you really need, so book in for a free consultation with a new stylist.
Ask them to show you how to use straightening irons (shortish curls are instantly ageing), or Velcro rollers, if your hair’s lost its oomph. Remember, scalp massage does much the same for hair as facial massage does for your complexion. Follow their shampoo/conditioner recommendations; there’s a sea of product out there, but a stylist can help steer you through the haircare jungle. And don’t for a minute feel you have to cut off your hair and get a perm the minute you get to 40-/50-/even 60- something. Has Joanna Lumley cut her trademark blonde hair short and curled it? Has she heck! Nuff said.
One comment
-
I think this article is excellent, instead of trying to get everyone to buy expensive face creams it shows you how natural oils can work just as well and why
The same good advice I have come to expect from this magazine and Holland & Barratt
Comment by angela on 1 January 2010 at 11:26 pm
