I was doing a woman's makeup the other day and I couldn't help but notice that her skin was beautiful. It was glowing. The woman was in her late 40's and I had to ask her what she used or did to her skin, and she said the only thing that she did really was red light therapy. ( Red light therapy was discovered by NASA astronauts when they were attempting to grow plants in space! ) It involves LED lights (light emitting diodes) . It is a light source that emits heat from an infrared light. And this light jump starts the process of increasing blood flow, the skin producing collagen, and basically rejuvenation of the skin. Its great for fine lines and wrinkles, improved complexion and skin tone, and has even been known to help with rosacea. It works by the infra red light penetrating the skin and repairing any damaged nerves or cells under the skin. You can get this treatment done at a salon or you can buy the small handheld units and do it yourself. Being the beauty junkie that I am , I have an endless supply of creams and gadgets to smooth and tone, and I remembered that I actually had the NuFace Trinity that had the red light attachment on loan to a friend! Time to get that back and start using it again I thought. So I have been using it every other night (while I watch Netflix ) for two weeks now and my skin is starting to look better ! It takes that long to start noticing a difference. My complexion looks smoother and the fine lines are less noticeable. (never going to disappear tho I know that .) I have a few sunspots that I'm hoping will fade and I am also trialling it on my chest as well as it is meant to be good for fading sun damage... I would be so happy if I could erase some of the damage of a youth spent lying on the beach for hours! That is still a work in progress as I have just started but will add a postscript in a couple of weeks to report any change. Definitely a treatment I would recommend . I just want to add that the Nu Face Trinity comes as a pack with a firming attachment as well as the infra red attachment.... click on products for deets . :)

As you can tell by my last post and now this that I am obsessed with keeping my skin looking dewy! I refuse to let age get in the way of great skin ! It's no great secret that as we age we lose the dewiness in our skin. There are a lot of factors involved... lack of sleep , poor diet, alcohol , and as we approach menopause we start to lose our hormones , oestrogen especially being needed to keep our skin plump and dewy. Sebum production slows down too due to the lack of hormones and this starts to make our skin dry. 
Fortunately it is not all doom and gloom and we can reclaim our  dewy with a few products and a few tricks. 

1. Stay hydrated. Keeping our bodies hydrated is important to flush out all the toxins. The first place that shows a build up is our skin, so if we want to keep it clear looking keep up your intake of water. I drink alkaline water - Kangen water - and I swear by it. It is not only alkaline but it also contains hydrogen ions that act as an anti oxidant  to fight the free radicals in your body that cause it to age.

2. Use Retinol products. They can help speed up production of new skin cells and collagen production. A few of my favourites  Sunday Riley Good Genes , Chantecaille Retinol Intense and Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel.    ( I swear by the Dr Dennis Gross peel pads. They leave my skin looking brighter instantly!  I use them twice a week. ) Used in conjunction with Glycolic products which slough the dead skin cells and leave the skin looking brighter.

3. Use cream products on your skin instead of powders. Powders on the skin as we age tends to settle in the lines and exaggerate them , leaving the skin looking dry. If you have to use a setting powder over your foundation I prefer to use a very light no pigment powder that doesn't cake. My two favourites are the Mac Prep & Prime powder in the compact and By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra Powder. 
For blushers I use Hourglass Illume Sheer Colour Trio. This pack has a cheek blush, bronzer (which I often use as a blush ) and a highlighter all in one. Perfect for keeping the skin looking dewy. Another fave is the RMS Beauty Lip2cheek , which as it says can be used on lips too.

4. Mix a tinted moisturiser and a foundation together. This is my winning combo these days. I was finding that my foundation was making me look old. It just wasn't sitting right on my face - and I had tried 3 different foundations to see if it was the formulas but they all made my face look dull. So I decided to mix in my tinted moisturiser one day. The tinted moisturiser was just not lasting enough on its own anymore. I would find by lunch time it had all but disappeared and I was reapplying ... so it was sat with all the other unused beauty products in my bathroom until I stumbled on the winning formula. Now I get comments on my skin and I swear it is because of these two products together. I use Shu Uemura Petal Skin and Eve Lom Tinted Moisturiser.  And for the record, I have no problem mixing different products with different brands. Sometimes there are no rules!

5. Use serums and oils on your face. Because serums are made up of finer molecules and penetrate deeper into the skin to do their magic. And oils hydrate the skin deeper too and leave it looking more plump and juicy. Try the Darphin range of oils... chamomile and the 8 Flower Nectar are divine. ( My last blog post talks about them ) or Josie Maran 100% Argan Oil .
And serums... Drunk Elephant C Firma Day Serum , Codage Serum No.1 Intense Moisturising Serum & Nude Skincare ProGenius Omega Treatment Milk.
 (scroll over products for deets. :)

 I don't know about you but my skin seems to age 10 years once winter hits. After the humidity of summer that plumps out the lines and wrinkles and gives the skin that beautiful dewy look, it's quite a shock to discover that actually your skin is quite parched!  Having the heating on does nothing to help the situation either . One of the hardest things as we age seems to be trying to maintain that dewiness that our younger skin had naturally .I have a few go to products that I use to try and rehydrate and nourish the skin so that it can regain that dewiness all through winter. One of them is using oils on my skin, which soaks it up and helps the skin fight the dryness. A lot of women are hesitant to use oils on the skin , afraid that it will cause oiliness and break outs. Not the case. Oils are great at protecting the skin . Some contain antioxidants which fight free radicals that damage the skin , whilst others have healing, calming properties. Also they work great under a lot of foundations to give the skin that dewy look. My favourite range of oils are the Darphin . Not only do they hydrate really well without leaving the skin feeling greasy, but they smell divine too. My favourite is the camomile and the niaouli which both calm and detoxify. I use them in place of a moisturiser and over a serum, or if my skin is looking particularly dry I use them as well as my moisturiser. You can use them in place of a serum as they are lipophilic and penetrate the skin deeper to moisturise and keep the toxins out.

Below are my top picks for moisturisers that work for me in combatting the effects of winter on my skin. My skin is quite sensitive so I like to go for products that don't have too many additives . My favourite at the moment being the Codage Day Cream. It has Vitamins A C & E that protect and repair the skin . Its also a light but rich cream that is not greasy on the skin.  And for night time I love their Night Cream that has hyaluronic acid ( our best friend!) that plumps the skin leaving it looking juicy when you wake. 
So heres to regaining the dewy!  :) x

This weeks style was gingham, oversized shirts and summer sandals. And even tho its now going into winter here, I'm dreaming about my wardrobe for when summer returns. 

 There is always some sort of makeup fad. Red lips, nude lips, highlight, no highlight. But the contouring one seems to have hung around ... thanks to the Kardashians. All that layering of highlighting and shading looks great in a photoshopped pic but often frightening in real life. Yet a little sculpting of the face to give light and shade can make the features really stand out. But is it something that we can only pull off if we're young?? 
The answer to that is no but we just have to be subtle about it. I am a believer that less is more as we age, so we only need to apply makeup lightly and with contour  only placed it where you need it. And for that you need to know what shape your face is . For example if you're like me and your face has become gaunt - my cheek bones are like lethal weapons when I kiss someone on the cheek these days - then you don't need to sculpt in cheekbones. But if you have a round face then shading in the area below the cheekbones and under your blush will give you a nice sculpted look. If your nose is wide then placing contour either side of the nose and blending in will give it definition and make it appear smaller. If you want a more defined jawline then applying it around the jaw will accentuate this area .See below .
The products you use can make the  difference between looking natural or looking like Halloween too. I use both creams and powders , often using bronzers to create a more natural look based purely on the colour of the product. Too dark and the contour appears unnatural. The aim is to make your face glow , but no-one can quite figure out how you have achieved it. Using a foundation stick that is a couple of shades darker than your skin works really well. Hourglass Vanish Seamless Foundation Sticks are great for this. I also like Nars Laguna in powder form as the colour is subtle and blends well with most lighter colour skins. Applying with a beauty blender too can be really helpful to blend the edges in properly so it appears seamless with your foundation and blush. Also a lot easier to control than using the wrong shaped brush. If your skin is dry I would recommend a cream contour. 
See below for favourite products. :) x

Pic courtesy of Pinterest

Take inspiration from this simple Saturday look....perfect for casual lunching or shopping.

Pic: courtesy of @figtny

This week's style goes from the feminine to the masculine. Mens style suits for me never go out of fashion. This beautiful Dolce & Gabbana suit is stunning, acessorised with the flower. A perfect look for winter.
Isabel Marant's peasant style tops are also timeless. Worn with jeans or skirts, sandals or boots, the look is always stunning!

I'm back! I took a break for a while and worked on a project with someone else . Some of you might have seen it. , it was a great experience. I loved the journey of pushing myself out of my comfort zone and putting myself out there. And it made me realise that I am who I am , no apologies for that , and I became clearer about what it is I want to do.
So I am back to talk about beauty , and fashion and all things relating to ageing gracefully ... or disgracefully. Which ever you choose!

And today its about a new skincare range I have found that my skin seems to love more than anything else I have tried lately - apart from Codage, but that is another story for another time. It's called Drunk Elephant... not a name I would be drawn to in a skincare range normally but I saw that there was a Vit C and  Glycolic product in the range and I felt the need to give it a go. And am I glad I did, I love it. ​My skin is sensitive to a lot of skincare and I know within a couple of days if I can use it (or not) as I get breakouts around my chin. These products caused no breakouts or reaction, they just made the texture of my skin look glowing. Something that as I'm ageing is getting harder to attain. 
It is a brand founded by Tiffany Masterson, a Texan woman with four children.  "Drunk Elephant was born out of a desire to learn about toxic ingredients, the effect they have on skin health and get to the root of what causes sensitive skin." - Quote

Why such a strange name you might ask... it is said to be rooted in the myth that the elephant eats the fruit of the marula tree and it ferments in their tummies causing them to get drunk! The Marula oil , which is found throughout the range, is said to be loaded with fatty acids and antioxidants.... something we know is great for slowing down the ageing process . The products are all non-scented and non-irritating. And I can attest to that. Nothing has irritated my skin and I have now tried half of the range.

The standouts for me are the TLC Framboos Glycolic Night Serum , C-Firma Day Serum , B-Hydra Intensive Day Serum and the Shaba Complex Eye Serum. These are all very light products so the skin does not feel heavy when you apply them , and because they are so light I feel that they are penetrating deeper to work their magic. I also love that these products are sealed so no oxygen can get to them (this makes them lose their potency ). So you either twist the lid and pump it out or push the bottom and it comes out the end in a very small amount which is another great thing about these products... a little goes a long way. AND for a skincare that gives you results, you do not have to sell your first born to buy it! Winning all round really. :) x  

Clink on the products for more info...