My mother’s guide to beauty

 

Today I’m handing the reigns over to my beautiful mother. She gets complimented everywhere we go on her incredible skin, so I’ve finally pinned her down to do a guest post for all of you. In her own words –

“I am fairly fanatical about skincare and have been since my mother introduced my 16 year old teenage skin to a Clarins routine. Over the last 30 years I  have used so many brands and, like most people , never find that one skincare brand fits all so I cherry pick what works for me .

My concerns are ageing, dryness and pigmentation, which has flared up aggressively with all four of my pregnancies. This is a problem that can never be erased but just managed with careful understanding of what products are needed. I use Natura Bisse glyco extreme peel once or twice a week to keep the skin soft and exfoliated, and any brightening treatment that does the job without drying, Chantecaille’s vital essence with arbutin and the retinol intense are excellent. Of course, this is all a massive waste of time and money if you don’t protect your skin from the sun’s damaging rays and don’t be fooled into thinking that you’re let off the hook in the winter months. It is vital to use at least an spf 25 even on a cloudy day and I have found that around this time of year I switch to an spf of 50 all day every day.

15 or 20 years ago people would laugh at me as I wore my super large hats on the beach and slathered spf on my face continually but I believe it is the only way to to go  to preserve your skin;s youthfulness and capacity to regenerate and stay firm. It’s a small price to pay to not have to repair extensive sun damaged skin when you hit your late thirties and early forties. Good spfs are Elizabeth Arden Prevage, Chantecaille’s ultra sun protection sunscreen which smells delicious and rosy and La Roche Posay Anthelios, giving a lovely tinted dewy finish. Now, for a daily moisturiser you can’t beat Dr Hauschka’s rose day cream (not the light version if you have dry skin like me). Eye cream is a must for keeping crepey eyes hydrated and nourished and am never faithful to any one brand, preferring to switch as new products are launched.

Always ask for sample with eye cream and try first; you really can see results in moisture levels immediately if the product is doing the trick. I am currently using Nature Bisse’s Diamond extreme eye cream and it is wonderful.Night treatments for me are usually oils, Rens’ Rose 012 moisture defence oil is superb and smells divine. It  all requires dedication and hard work to keep the routines going but for all you younger readers of my lovely daughter’s blog if there is only one piece of advice you take away form this post please let it be – use an SPF!!!”