Beauty Clinic: help for more radiant skin

Q. I have really dull skin and don't know what to do to make it look brighter. I try different products but nothing seems to really make a difference. A. Lack of brightness is a common woe, especially at the end of winter. Our experience is that, as with most skin problems, you have to adopt an inside/outside approach: combining topicals with the right kind of food, plenty of water and nutritional supplements.

In general, healthy hydrated skin looks brighter. So as well as using a good day and night cream, you could add in a serum plus a weekly session with a very gentle exfoliator and mask.

There are many many wonderful ranges out there but to pick just a few:

Elemis Pro-Radiance products are loved by many. Beauty Bible testers are wild about Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser, £29 for 150 ml at www.timetospa.co.uk

(see below too).

Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare, www.uklizearle.com, includes Superskin Concentrate, a fab oil/serum £42.75 for 28 ml, and also Gentle Face Exfoliator, £15.75 for 70 ml, and a Brightening Treatment Mask, £16 for 50 ml, which they recommend for dull, lack-lustre skin.

Pai Skincare, www.paiskincare.com, offers a wonderful range of organic skincare for sensitive skin, including facial oils and serums for different concerns – and some seriously great moisturisers. Pai was created by Sarah Brown in response to her own skincare troubles.

Nude Skincare Radiant Day Moisturizer, £42 for 40 ml, comes from the all-natural brand launched by lovely Ali Hewson, who we interviewed recently for www.beautybible.com (do have a look, it gives you the philosophy of the brand).

Plus a special mention for Estée Lauder’s recently launched Resilience Lift Restorative Radiance Oil, which is genius, £50 for 30 ml,

As well as good skincare, there are quick fix boosts that we are very grateful for. In no particular order, here are products we love and use ourselves:

Charlotte Tilbury WonderGlow Instant Soft-Focus Beauty Flash Primer/£38.50 for 40 ml

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Radiance Balm/£5.99 for 100ml

Elemis Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm/£33 for 50 ml

Nearly finally, we just want to bang the drum very loudly for a diet majoring on vegetables and fruit, nuts (almonds are amazing sources of plant proteins), seeds and oils including oily fish, with plenty of still water. Not only will eating like this give you lots of vital nutrients but it will speed elimination (constipation is a short cut to dull skin…).

And finally…! A super-green supplement, such as Sun Chorella A (from www.victoriahealth.com), can work wonders for your skin, basically by alkalising your gut. We have a whole chapter about the nutritional approach to skin radiance in The Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible, called The Anti-Ageing Face Lift Diet. Hand on heart, it works.