GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME: BEAUTY & THE MENOPAUSE

Three women share the skincare strategies and wellbeing wisdom that has helped them through their hormonal rollercoasters – and may help you, too

Three insiders share their strategies

‘I’ve made peace with myself and know that ageing is a blessing’ Collagen supplements and lightweight cosmetics are among make-up artist Ruby Hammer MBE’S own favourite beauty buys.

I have experienced a resurgence of energy overall

Eight years ago, when I was 50, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. My periods stopped, which I thought was the result of the stress and grief, but I went to the GP as I had other physical symptoms. Blood tests confirmed that I was in menopause.

The night sweats were particularly bad. My temper was also terrible; as if a match were being struck inside me! Then there was the brain fog and the achy joints. I’ve never been a worrier, but suddenly I developed anxiety and palpitations. My mother would have been the person who I talked to about menopause, but I didn’t get the chance.

HRT was suggested, but instead I tried to do a little exercise and improve my diet. I know the importance of gut health, so I take the probiotic Symprove, £79 for a four-week pack. Lumity Morning & Night Supplements Starter Kit, £80, and collagen powders, such as Bobbi Brown Evolution_18 Beauty

Collagen (6), £25, have worked for me, increasing my energy levels, easing the joint pain and have had a beneficial effect on my skin, which suddenly became paper thin and crepey, yet I was also breaking out around my chin.

The skin on my body became very itchy, too, and although I switched to showering with fragrance-free products, it remained itchy until

I started using thicker creams after drying off. Products such as Kiehl’s Creme de Corps,

£28, and Weleda Skin Food Body Butter (2),

£18.95, made all the difference. Lightweight make-up formulas are your friend during

menopause, anything thick and heavy will just slide off with hot flushes. I play with two concealers to get my desired coverage – I love Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer (5), £24. You also need a translucent powder, such as Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting

Powder (7), £32, applied lightly with a brush to set your concealer, and a waterproof mascara. Tight-lining your eyes so they don’t disappear is essential, too. I apply a soft gel pencil, Hourglass 1.5mm Mechanical Gel Eye Liner (1), £16, into my upper lashes and smudge it out. A complexion without blusher can look lifeless – Daniel Sandler Watercolour Liquid Blush (4), £16.50, doesn’t move and gives a gentle flush of colour. A setting spray is a good buy, too. They can deliver skincare benefits, fix your make-up and keep hot flushes at bay. Jurlique Lavender Hydrating Mist, £23, and Caudalie Beauty Elixir (3), £32, are two of my favourites.

Thinking back, I had lost confidence in how I looked, but post menopause I have regained my buoyancy and experienced a resurgence of energy overall. Sure, I get a little tired after a long day, but that’s just a natural tiredness. There are days when I look at myself and consider surgery and, ultimately, I’ll do what it takes to feel good and confident, but for now, that’s about putting on Spanx, having a facial and wearing make-up. I’ve made peace with myself and know that ageing is a blessing.

‘My yoga practice has changed dramatically’

For psychotherapist, yoga teacher and sleep expert Lisa Sanfilippo, natural oils and calming the nervous system are key when it comes to mental and physical equilibrium.

I was in psychotherapy training, a very emotional process, when my cycle started to change. During that time, I felt raw, which I put down to the training, but later it dawned on me that the turmoil could be hormonal. The main issues I’ve faced are night sweats and lack of sleep, for which I’ve used many of the same strategies I teach in my book Sleep Recovery, my yoga therapy method for overcoming insomnia and improving sleep, and in my videos at Movement for Modern Life (movementformodernlife.com). I’ve adapted the ‘drop breath’ technique that I teach, a nervous system-soothing long exhale and a cooling breath variation for hormonal heat: inhale with a ‘Ttth’ sound, sipping air through your teeth over your tongue, and exhale through your lips with ‘Ffff’ sound. It’s very cooling. When we’re tired, we feel less resilient and more prone to high emotions, which makes us less resourceful. I often ‘put energy back on the grid’ with a mini restorative yoga pose during the day (even just five minutes of lying on the floor, legs up on the sofa or a chair). Daily meditation has helped me to smooth out the hormonally induced sensitivity in my mood.

Both are better than turning to more coffee, tea or sugar in the afternoon, which sabotage sleep. My yoga practice has also changed dramatically.

I used to enjoy deep back bends and, sometimes,

fast-moving sessions, but now it’s centred around calming my nervous system. For any woman who wants to sleep better, I suggest learning some simple yoga – and doing it daily! Also, having the right kind of therapy helps. We get to a point in our lives when we all have baggage: it’s so important to learn to lighten our load a bit in order to literally stop losing sleep over miscommunications, misperceptions and projections. The hormonal swings don’t manufacture problems, but they do amplify the intensity with which we feel them. While my hair has improved thanks to using the right shampoo

and hair masks (Davines OI Hair Butter (6), £25, Minu Hair Mask (2), £23, and Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector (3), £26, are my favourites), my skin has become thirsty! I’ve added evening primrose and rosehip oils to my routine, combining them at home and rolling them into my skin with the Herbivore Rose

Quartz Facial Roller (1), £36. Using REN Glycol Lactic Skin

Renewal Mask (5), £36, weekly, gives my skin glow. I also use retinol every other night during the winter months, alternating with the oils, and mix Lixirskin Night Switch Retinol 1% (4),

£28, in with my night cream. Lipstick feels like jewellery for my face, so I wear it more now. I also wear more eyeliner than when I was younger to emphasise my eyes – Chantecaille Luster Glide Silk Infused Eye Liner in Amethyst (7), £25, is incredible. Other than that, it’s a five-minute face always. If it takes longer than that, I’m not interested. Age has changed my relationship with my

appearance. I’ve learned what works for me and to accentuate the positives. I’ve also really enjoyed feeling less sexualised; by no longer being looked at the way men look at younger women. At first, I found it strange and felt invisible, but now I feel I’m more appreciated for my mind, heart and inner beauty. Having said that, I think that the right person still finds me sexy!

I feel more appreciated for my mind, heart and inner beauty

‘I’ve shifted my mindset and reframed midlife’ A lack of help and information inspired perimenopausal consumer researcher Rebekah Brown’s supplement brand – and her new-found optimism.

My experience of being perimenopausal is very typical; my company’s research showed that 75% of women will go to the GP with symptoms only to be turned away with nothing. Mine told me I was probably overworked, too young to be menopausal at 45 and should come back when I was 50.

Meetings at work left me wracked with fear as my anxiety levels had increased. I wasn’t sleeping well, my temperature was fluctuating and I suffered an outbreak of acne, which I’d last had as a teen. So, I started my own journey of education, culminating in the launch of Mpowder (mpowder.store).

I introduced more plant-based foods to my diet, including soya, which is rich in isoflavones (phytoestrogens). Increasing my water intake and cutting down on alcohol helped hugely. When hormones fluctuate, we really struggle to process alcohol. I became very committed to cold water swimming, too. Mentally, it’s amazing: it brings me complete joy. I also do hot yoga. I love balancing the two extremes! As well as breakouts, I noticed other changes in my skin, which led to me including Moldavian dragonhead extract, an ancient botanical remedy, in our first blend, Mpowder Peri-boost (2), £69. It has a positive effect on skin elasticity and density and seems to impact hair and nails, too. The powder, which you can mix with drinks or food, also contains vitamin D, protein, calcium, soya and cacao for its energy boosting and antioxidant properties, as well as plant extracts and fibre, all designed to target perimenopausal symptoms. By a method of elimination, I’ve found the beauty products that suit me. Eve Lom Cleanser (1), £55, works for me, and

I don’t need a moisturiser after using it. I also like Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-melting Butter Cleanser (6), £29, and

slather on The Body Shop Coconut Nourishing Body Butter (5), £16. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (3),

£34, is my go-to foundation. It’s so dewy and sits beautifully on my skin without going tacky. During perimenopause, my skin has oscillated between being very dry and very oily and this seems to wear without getting cakey or drying the skin.

Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer (4), £24, gives my skin a healthy glow. Magnesium spray is another real find and is so useful for tiredness. I keep Ancient Minerals Magnesium Oil Ultra, £18.95, by my bedside and spray it on my feet before going to sleep. To accept the label of perimenopausal feels unappealing, yet all women go through it. We don’t all choose to be mothers, but we are bound together by menopause because we all experience one. I needed to reframe midlife, actively let in new references, role models and sets of beliefs, which culture is helping to amplify. For example, I’m thinking of Phoebe Waller-bridge scripting such a liberating description of the menopause in Fleabag for Kristin Scott Thomas to deliver (worth googling if you haven’t seen it). Consequently, I’ve embraced things that bring me joy, played with make-up, stayed curious and shifted my mindset, and have emerged from the process feeling so much more optimistic.