Beauty Clinic: Brightening dull ageing skin
Q. I’m in my 50s now and feel my face looks a bit grey and pale and dull. In recent photos, I just look flat! I realise I need to add colour to my skin but what else?
A. Our motto for looking gorgeous as the years go by is ‘not fade away’. A major part of this, as you suggest, is adding brightness to your skin – and also generally, with clothes and jewellery too. Earrings are a great instant face brightener.
So your complexion first: a regular light scrub or peel could really help by removing the dulling layer of dead skin cells on the surface so your skin glows. One of the easiest ways to start is to use This Works Multi Acid Pads/£33.00 for 60 pads, which give you an instant result – we’re always amazing at the immediate brightness - and are gentle enough to use every day if you wish. (Don't forget always to use a good facial sun prep, at least SPF30.)
On days when Sarah’s face looks pale and pinched, the answer is gua sha – Chinese facial massage (or face scraping literally) with a jade or rose quartz tool and a few drops of facial oil. Just a minute’s work can bring about a small miracle as the blood rushes to the skin. Do look at Katie Brindle’s Seven Secrets of Wellbeing, here, where she explains all about it. It’s quite addictive…
Make up becomes more important as we get older. “Use fewer products better,” supermodel Lauren Hutton once told us. Foundation is fantastic for evening out skin tone. The most vital thing is to get a shade that really matches your skin tone. Take a mirror with you and get the consultant to try stripes above your jawline then go in the daylight. Do NOT buy a shade based on the light in store. It is invariably wrong. You need to see it in bright cruel daylight...
Liquid foundation brands we buy ourselves include Giorgio Armani Beauty and Guerlain. Both of these won Awards in our latest Beauty Bible round up, as did Oxygenetix, Dr Hauschka (for green goddesses) and a fab Beauty Steal No7 HydraLuminous Moisturising Foundation. See what our testers said here.
Always moisturise well and let it sink in before you apply foundation. If the consistency is a bit thick, add a drop of serum. Apply with warm clean fingertips for the best blending, or a sponge or brush if you prefer (but make certain you clean these daily).
If you feel like trying mineral make up, BareMinerals have some excellent counters where you can go and get a free makeover. There's also a stick foundation they do (like the old Pansticks) that we love for touch ups on the road.
And concealers – those genius products! Light reflecting products can actually transform your face by, for instance, covering up those violet nooks in the inner corners of your eyes. See the 2020 Beauty Bible Award winners here. And if you want to cover, say, a brown patch, consider a matte concealer; find our winners here.
For a bit of warmth, you can't beat a pop of blush, which we wrote about recently in Beauty Clinic.
If you still think you need a bit more brightness, a drift of translucent tinted powder can help a lot. Guerlain Meteorites Pearls/£38.25 per 10g, is an old friend.
Finally, take a risk and try a warmer bright(er) lippy shade than you usually wear. We always love the fabulous range by Lipstick Queen and also Chanel.
