One of my earliest memories was being sat at my mother’s mirrored dressing table. I must have been around four years old, transfixed by her vibrant lipsticks, pots of rouge and her beloved Chanel No.5. She would have been 28 years old at that time and I was intoxicated by her sophistication. At her same age, I became Beauty Editor of Australian Vogue and finding my own beauty go-tos was a time of trials, errors and thrills a-plenty.
I am now a 56 year-old beauty expert and what worked back then has no place for me now (forever be gone razor thin eyebrows and brown lip liner), however my love of adornment shows no signs of abating. I have experienced many stages of physical change and one absolute nugget of wisdom I would impart – especially to those of us in middle age – is do not get stuck in a time warp rut.
By that, I mean do experiment, get playful, enjoy the joy of trying new things. I have a refresh of my make-up bag at the tail end of each summer, as I used to with my pencil case, adding a new eye product and lipstick annually to switch things up.
Each and every day is a time to look radiant and empowered, whatever the numbers on your birth certificate. This is the time of your life when you can be at your most unique, confident and powerful.
A swift word on nutrition and sleep
You cannot separate what you eat and how you rest with looking your very best. We all know the bedtime ritual rules by now but do make your bedroom your sanctuary, do have a bath in magnesium salts or lavender (so relaxing), and do turn off all those gadgets and gizmos well before retiring for the night.
In terms of what you ingest, nutritionist Emily English recommends a diet rich in vitamins A and C, plus anti-inflammatory anti-oxidants to give skin that inside-out luminescence. In practice, this means plenty of fresh vegetables, and red peppers have the highest vitamin C content of all varieties, carrots and butternut squash are wonderful for vitamin A but can only be absorbed with the addition of fat, so do have yours with lashings of olive oil.
And for balanced skin, add in protein and those pickles and fermented foods that are so good for our gut-skin axis.
Skincare and collagen
Collagen is the bedrock of great skin, it is the building block of elasticity – the bit that due to age, sun exposure, stress and inflammatory diets naturally reduces, which leads to wrinkles, fine lines and pigmentation. The wonderful news is that we can use fabulously unctuous products to inject some plumping and reviving elements back into skin. Try Elemis Pro-Collagen Day Cream first thing in the morning, and then use a roller like Nurse Jamie NuVibe RX Amethyst Massaging Beauty Tool, which uses sonic vibrations to help reduce puffiness and also helps absorb moisture fully. In the evening try Elemis Pro-Collagen Definition Night Cream, which has a rich texture ideal for drier skins. And a daily SPF is non-negotiable, try Ultrasun SPF 50+.
Give yourself a make-under
Less really is more when you are using high quality products and being minimalist can yield maximum results. There are four principle areas of make up enhancement: glow, shape, structure and colour:
Coverage and glow
Do start with a good primer – it acts as a canvas. Try Laura Geller’s Spackle formulation, which are a great investment and last for ages. Foundation-wise, go for radiance-enhancing formulas that even out the skin tone and apply with a brush to buff into place, as this gives a second-skin effect, which is eternally youthful. Try Sculpted by Aimee Second Skin Dewy Finish Foundation.
Flush and structure
An apricot or peach-toned blusher will transform all complexions. You want to use it on the apples and cheekbones plus lightly around the forehead and sides of temples before sweeping over the eyelids as a base for your eye colour. Use a brush to do this and see how the soft shade warms-up the skin as you apply it, infusing a subtle yet vibrant sheen. Try Perricone No Make Up Blush. You could leave your daily routine right here, and you will look polished and pulled-together.
Eyes and shape
Once you have a healthy-looking structure in place, brows and lips are literally the bras and knickers of the face! Starting with a defined brow, you want to line and shape yours following your natural contours. Brows naturally diminish with age so you simply want to add colour and beware of going too dark, go for the nearest to your natural shade. Use the pointed end of the brow pencil and fill in with regular strokes that mimic hair.
Lips and colour
As we age we tend to lose definition around our lips too so do use a lipliner and start at the bow of your then draw the pencil down for a fuller outline. Then add in your colour of choice. I urge you to try different ones regularly, a pop of colour enlivens your face instantly. I cannot recommend highly enough the superb quality and depth of colour you get at Code8.
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We understand there’s a lot of information out there on the menopause. You can read through the NICE guidance on menopause management, as well as the NHS overview on the menopause.
