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This column is called ‘Better, not Younger’ – and I mean it. I genuinely prefer my face – and my life – in my 50s to my 20s.
From my late 30s, I started acquiring bone structure and I liked it. Still, to be honest, it’s also because I hadn’t aged that dramatically. My sunscreen addiction, and a spot of luck, meant I hit my half-century in fairly good nick.
Well, I turned 54 at the weekend and ageing is finally beginning to happen. But, as my birthday gift to you, this week I’ll be revealing exactly what steps I have taken and products I have used to pass muster thus far, and what I will – and won’t – be doing to keep looking as sprightly as possible into my sixth decade.
Hannah Betts: My sunscreen addiction, and a spot of luck, meant I hit my half century in fairly good nick.
1. Great foundation
People tell me I have good skin. In fact, I have excellent foundation. If you haven’t tried base for years, do investigate: the technology has radically moved on. Lisa Eldridge’s Seamless Skin Enhancing Tint (£37, lisaeldridge.com) is pure witchcraft: light, luminous, yet providing ample coverage. I also veer slightly paler rather than darker with my shade, which creates a nipperish, less sun-sullied impression.
2. Compulsory SPF 50
Regular readers will not be surprised by my first and foremost youth-preserving strategy: SPF 50. Nothing ages us like the sun – not stress, not diet, not years of hard living. Up to 90 per cent of skin ravaging is attributable to sun exposure, and sunscreen is the only proven ‘anti-ageing’ product. Yet only 22% of Brits apply it daily. My obsession? Heliocare’s gleaming 360° A-R Emulsion SPF50+ (£32.99, lookfantastic.com).
I’m pretty low maintenance: not even a regular user of that power duo for midlife maintenance, vitamin C and retinol. Still, I do have Botox every year or so with Dr Michael Prager (from £595, drmichaelprager.com). Michael uses his needle to restore youthful structure, focusing on the lower face, rather than spookily freezing the top. As a jaw grinder, I am less pained – and less jowly. The man’s a genius.
4. Fab face oils
I love a face oil by night, and layered under my SPF. My budget favourite is Q+A Superfood Facial Oil (£8.50 for 30ml, hollandandbarrett.com). To splash out, see this week’s Cosmetic Craving (below).
5. Cunning cosmetics
I’ve learnt to use make-up to create trompe de’l’oeil. My miniscule eyes are enlarged via Victoria Beckham Instant Brightening Waterline Pencil (£30, victoriabeckhambeauty.com) with Lisa Eldridge Kitten Lash Mascara (£29, lisaeldridge.com) lifting up the outer lashes.
Vanishing lips are made bigger using a slight overline of Refy Blur Liner (£16, refybeauty.com) plus Beauty Pie Super Healthy Skin Nourishing Lip Balm SPF 30 (£10 for members, beautypie.com). Meanwhile I concoct a pair of cheekbones with a swipe of Byredo Colour Stick in Purple Zinger (yes, it’s blue – warmer complexions will prefer a tan (£35, spacenk.com) at a slant under my blush: Chanel Les Tarots de Chanel in Lavender – try Blood Orange if warm-toned (£54, chanel.com).
6. Keeping current
I embrace trends in make-up, less so in tweakments, where being an early adopter means ‘guinea pig’. Still, as I swing into my mid-50s, I have decided to switch up my approach from low to middle-maintenance, or middle-maintenance curious at least. First up, beauty tools. Watch this space!
Spring budget hits
Race you to it!
Cosmetic craving
Annee de Mamiel’s face oils are a cult buy – an ‘if you know, you know’ purchase beauty obsessives are prepared to budget for.
Every three months, a new concoction appears – spring, summer, autumn or winter – to address each season’s needs. The latest, De Mamiel Spring Facial Oil (£90, demamiel.com) is a rejuvenating delight with cloudberry to plump; calendula to reduce post-winter redness; plum kernel, blackcurrant and grapefruit to brighten; and elderberry and prickly pear to boost the skin barrier. It’s also full of uplifting frankincense, tangerine and fennel.
My glorious glow-giving birthday present to myself.
