A beautiful mind (and skin)

My mother has always given me great advice and some of it has been life-changing: never smoke, marry a rich man and always apply moisturiser twice a day. I was seven when she first imparted those words of wisdom and I (eventually) listened. That’s why I can now boast an almost line-free face even though I’m a little bit older than I like to admit.

But she didn’t give me one invaluable lesson: always remove your make-up, and so as a student I thought it was a clever and time-saving way to get ready in the morning. All I had to do was clean my teeth, reapply lipstick and a bit more mascara along with some powder and I was ready. Of course, I didn’t realise then what a beauty regime no-no this was until breakouts, open pores and dull skin plagued me.

I soon learned to cleanse twice a day and tone, but I didn’t know that if you warm moisturiser in your hands before applying, it activates all the ingredients and makes it work harder. Same for overnight creams to eradicate dark circles under your eyes, age spots and blemishes – why not literally get your beauty sleep by applying these before you hit the pillow? It’s all sage advice given in our feature on page 50 on how to make your beauty routine work harder for you. It’s so good I’m going to share it with my mother! But the best secret of all is mine – smile. It makes you feel and look better.

Enjoy the issue!