Your AUTUMN glow
We all want to start the new season with a radiant, healthy complexion. Red Senior Beauty Editor Alexandra Friend tells you how
Much of what we do when it comes to our beauty regimes is in the name of fresh, luminous skin. Give or take a preference for a matte finish over a gleaming one, or bare skin over base, we all want pretty much the same thing: a radiant canvas that instantly prettifies, helping us look healthier, fresher and more youthful for longer. This can be harder to achieve as we head into autumn and winter, but is never entirely out of reach – especially if we commit to making a few easily sustainable changes across our skincare, make-up and lifestyle. At Red, we champion a natural luminosity that lasts even when the make-up comes off. Here’s how it’s done…
OILS, INSIDE AND OUT
The first step to maintaining radiance is to understand that what happens on the outside is an indication of what’s going on inside. Skin that doesn’t stay plumped up and glossy is probably struggling to hold onto water
– a greater likelihood through the autumn months as temperatures drop and central heating comes into play. The answer lies not only in replacing lost moisture (the gold standard here is skincare rich in hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring molecule that can hold 1,000 times its own weight in water), but also in preventing further water loss by building up the skin’s protective barrier. To do this you need oil, both in your skincare and in your diet.
Massaging in a good-quality plant-based facial oil daily will restore your glow almost instantly. Clarins Blue Orchid Face Treatment Oil, £34, is made from 100% pure plant extracts and is powerfully rehydrating. To reinforce from the inside out, make sure you incorporate healthy fats into your diet. Try avocado, nuts and seeds, and oily fish (flax seeds are a great alternative for vegetarians).
KEEP SKINCARE LAYERS LIGHT
While it’s tempting to upgrade your moisturiser to something extra-rich and buttery through the colder months, anything too thick will simply sit on the surface of the skin, protecting but not hydrating it. Instead, look for lighter creams that contain nourishing plant oils rather than heavy mineral ingredients – these are closer to the skin’s own natural oils and so more helpful in rebuilding its barrier. For greater glow-giving potential, layer a hydrating serum underneath. Lighter in weight than moisturisers, serums sink into the active layers of the skin to promote long-term improvement of its healthy functioning.
Finish with a facial mist – these are helpful not only for sealing in your previous skincare layers but also for topping up hydration levels throughout the day, especially if skin is starting to look tired and flat. Look for products that include hyaluronic acid and natural oils. Try not to apply in air-conditioned environments, where the mist can evaporate too quickly, taking some of your skin’s own water content with it.
‘RADIANCE CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN YOUR FOUNDATION’
‘THINK “LESS IS MORE” WITH MAKE-UP AS WELL AS SKINCARE’
CLEVER MAKE-UP CHOICES
Finding hard-working products that you can use over and over again applies as much to make-up as it does to skincare. Luminising primers immediately bring light and life to dull skin, while also smoothing and prepping its surface for make-up, making it easier to achieve an even coverage – all the better if you’re looking for a ‘real skin’ finish. The same radiance can also be found in foundation. Clarins Everlasting Youth Fluid, £35, contains soft-focus pearl particles for instant illumination, but also active plant extracts to ensure skin’s condition improves over time. In the quest for that sought-after autumn glow, argan oil is especially helpful in nourishing dry, dehydrated skin, while chicory is a potent radiance booster, and an anti-pollution complex protects skin from additional environmental stress as it contends with harsher weather conditions.
A GENTLE TOUCH
Dehydrated skin is on high alert – treat it kindly and you’ll not only sustain the glow you’ve worked hard to put back, but also stave off redness, tightness, sensitivity and roughness. Swap soap for nourishing balms and comforting, creamy lotions – these remove make-up and impurities without stripping the skin of natural oils. Make sure any water you use to remove your cleanser is lukewarm-to-warm, to avoid stressing the skin with too much heat. This also applies to baths and showers because, as delicious as it feels to sink into a hot bath, extreme temperatures can contribute to dull, dry skin. Now’s the time to convert to bath oils rather than foams, and to start using more gentle lotion-style body washes.