NO SURGERY NEEDED: You do not need to go undergo an operation to have great skin – no matter how old you are
WHETHER you are 25 – or a little older – wearing the same thing in exactly the same order, day after day isn’t only dispiriting.
If it wasn’t very flattering to begin with, it’s self-sabotaging.
Sometimes an incremental tweak can be your ladder out of that rut. Other times, more radical action may be required. But however dramatic, it should never be painful. That would be aging.
1. Frame it. Your face, bless it, deserves decent glasses. Whether you only wear them when you’re in the middle of the Gobi desert or you need major ocular help locating your bedside table in the morning, glasses are as much a style investment as a health one.
Fashion is your ally here. Trends in glasses move at a glacial pace so investing in a fashionable pair will ensure you look current for some time to come.
Opt for bold statements – they hide a multitude of dark bags, if that’s your hang-up (see point 3) and cats’ eye frames especially, contour the face upwards. Dark, chunky frames should not work with pale or grey hair. But they do.
2. Flash some ankle. A little nude skin looks remarkably youthful. Temperatures don’t need to be tropical – ankles, though bony, are strangely temperature resistant and, with a good heel, they’ll make even jeans look elegant and evening appropriate. You can be in a thermal vest and leggings yet happily bare your ankles.
3. Switch your perfume. You may have worn Opium ever since your first boyfriend gave it to you, but a lighter (not sweeter) scent can affect your mood. Celine Roux, fragrance director at Jo Malone, which has just launched a zesty Earl Grey and cucumber scent says “women feel youthful and energised by uplifting scents”.
Two of my summer favourites are The Organic Pharmacy’s long-lasting Orange Blossom and Chanel’s Cristalle – an oldie, but not in spirit.
Something as fundamental as swapping perfume can nudge you into other changes.
If you love neutral and brown eye-shadows, take counsel from Chanel make-up artist Kay Montano and try a violet instead, which is “softer and more flattering – you can layer it to create a smoky eye at night”.
Move from tawny to pink blushes and dump the foundation, or at least only dab it on the areas where you need it – usually around the nose. As for dark eye-bags – go French and ignore them. It’s more effective than messing around with cake-y concealers.
4. Fray it or fringe it. These are fashion details your innate common sense and good taste may tell you to avoid.
Ignore your common sense – it sometimes lacks adventure. Deliberately frayed edges can have a remarkable softening effect on clothes, especially around necklines, and make an otherwise classic piece more playful.
Fringing should however, be confined to bags, or a swishy shoe tassel. Neither trend goes out of fashion for long. 5. Shoulders back. Current postural thinking also focuses on pulling the abs in and up and lifting from the waist.
Past the age of 12 or so, humans have an overwhelming urge to sink into their hips, culminating, as the years pass, in postural slump and chicken-neck, aka leaning forward to peer at your phone or screen – get that prescription updated.
6 Avoid haircuts based on The Toblerone. Not all bobs are equal. The Bad (aka choppy) Bob is youthful.
The Toblerone bob (aka the Pob, after Victoria Beckham, in her Posh days) is chin length at the front, yet barely grazes the tops of the ears at the back.
It’s also very wedgy. This is good for chocolate, but confusing for hair and, all things considered, supremely unflattering.
If choppy is not your thing, try a neat, boyish crop – excellent for cheekbones.
7. Do a jewellery audit. Another painless way to update your look; current jewellery can be as bold as a breastplate – a necklace statement – or as discreet as a teeny diamond ear-cuff.
Don’t wear anything because you feel you have to – occasionally it’s good to remove all your jewellery for a few days and see what you miss.
8. Get serious (but efficient) about your beauty routine. Two minutes in the morning and evening can make a huge difference.
Even if your grandmother swore by it, don’t slap the skin forwards under your chin unless you like the turkey neck look. Finally apply moisturiser.
9. Shine on. Duchess satin, good quality silks and even patent are all friends to the complexion, even if they add bulk to the body.
Wear them on the top half and keep the cut simple. A satin T-shirt is an excellent youth booster.
10. A word about trainers. Comfort-wise, they can’t be beaten. That in itself will take years off your face. Aesthetically they haven’t always made the heart soar, but recently trainers have had the full couture treatment.
– The Daily Telegraph
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