Beauty INSIDER

This week’s model Helene shares her beauty secrets with us…

What features have you had to learn to love? My lips, which I was hassled for mercilessly as a child and a teenager. I used to try and make them look smaller by biting down on them when I was a child and then drew lip liner inside the line as a teen – how ridiculous is that? Then when I got older and more comfortable with having a generous mouth, lip plumping was hitting the news and I was accused of doing that – you can’t win! I have to say the older I get, the less I worry about my looks, which is a really nice feeling.

What beauty advice would you give to your 20-year-old self? Stop putting so much slap on your face and stop tying jumpers around your waist. Wear a bikini with pride and step away from the foundation – you look great just the way you are.

What would you say is your biggest beauty dilemma? Of late, rosacea. I was diagnosed with it after a severe skincare reaction towards the end of last year and it was devastating. I had just had surgery for breast cancer and was due for another one and the last thing I needed was terrible skin. Now I’m just trying to find the best way to calm it down and hopefully clear it up. I have so much more empathy for people going through skin issues now

– it can be so disheartening. What’s your stance on grey hair? I personally don’t have many greys, so I cover what

I have for now but who knows further down the track? I see amazing women, such as

Linda Rodin, rocking silver like a boss and one day, I hope to do the same.

What’s your opinion on appearance medicine such as Botox and fillers? I think if it makes you happy and no-one gets hurts, then why not? But choose your practitioner carefully and start small. I love the work of people like Dr Teresa Cattin who practises the French style of

Botox – small amounts distributed just where they are needed to soften, not erase. She is amazing and a fountain of knowledge when it comes to skin.