Hannah Betts’s Better…not younger: Skint? Blitz wrinkles and get great skin… for free!
- UK-based beauty expert Hannah Betts says that by midlife, we’ve learnt a few tricks, and our complexions’ idiosyncrasies tend to be one of them
- READ MORE: Martha Stewart’s skincare secrets, revealed! As 81-year-old wows with her ageless complexion in candid selfies
How are your finances? Mine too. January hit the Betts coffers hard. As a consequence, I am reminding myself that the one thing that really makes my skin sing is free.
A face massage is the key to looking firmer, fresher and fabulously a-glow and it costs nothing.
A few people may want to avoid it. Those with erupting acne will prefer to steer clear. Ditto the violently reactive or allergic. You are your own best expert in this respect.
I was reminded of this last week, when I met an industry authority who informed me that — SPF50 apart — everything I do skin-wise is wrong, including loving face oil, not religiously deploying vitamin C or retinol, and forcibly evicting the odd blackhead.
A face massage is the key to looking firmer, fresher and fabulously a-glow and it costs nothing, says Hannah Betts
And, yet, my skin is deemed winning. My conclusion: by midlife, we’ve learnt a few tricks, and our complexions’ idiosyncrasies tend to be one of them. Personally, if I do ever have a facial, it’s the massage, not the unguents, that make the difference. Meaning if I’m striving to impress — or want my phone’s facial recognition to work before 8am — I always allow time for a few minutes’ laying on of hands.
The benefits are evident. As our skin functions as an extension of our nervous systems, a massage calms and relaxes us. Second, it stimulates muscle tone, the scaffolding on which our skin sits. Gentle kneading gets our lymphatic systems moving, depuffing the complexion, and making it more receptive to lotions and potions.
Most glow-givingly, circulation is boosted, flooding blood into the face. You suddenly look lit from within or, at least, alive.
The cultures we admire for their skin obsession — the French, Japanese and Koreans — all indulge in some form of facial manipulation.
Last October, Chanel brought out the world’s chicest facial massage kit in the form of its Le Lift Pro Concentre Contours (£144), Chanel Le Lift Pro Creme Volume (£135), and Chanel Le Lift Pro Massage Tool (£70, all chanel.com).
This tightening serum, plumping cream, and lifting tool received instant acclaim, with fans declaring they could feel the serum’s elevating effect in minutes. The massage device sold out online (it’s still available, in-store only).
A travel-friendly square in silver and black, it clicks open into two halves: one a triangle with a chrome tip to attack wrinkles; the other a square with a central groove for lifting and sweeping along the jaw and cheekbones.
UK-based beauty expert Hannah Betts (pictured) says that by midlife, we’ve learnt a few tricks, and our complexions’ idiosyncrasies tend to be one of them
I also enjoy dragging both elements across the back of my neck at moments of high stress.
Elegant as this is, you don’t absolutely need to spend £70 when you can use your hands and fingers. You will need something to provide slip. This might be your usual cleanser, or some women raid the kitchen for olive oil.
In terms of budget options, I prefer The Ordinary 100pc Organic Cold-Pressed Borage Seed Oil (£4.20, boots.com). The star – flower in this boasts an exceptionally high amount of fatty acids, that will soothe dryness and irritation. Or, for night, friends rave about the soporific and softening effects of Garnier Organic Lavandin Smooth & Glow Facial Oil (now £5.98, superdrug.com).
If you’re prepared to invest, Meder Beauty’s new VitaLong Oil (from £30, mederbeauty.com) promises a bio-hacking shield to overcome free radicals, prolong cell life, and restore cell DNA. When it comes to the actual massage, I like to pretend I have a method, but I really don’t. Sometimes I’ll start by running an ice cube over my features.
Then, it’s whatever oil I fall upon, warmed between my hands. I use the saddle of my palms to lift upwards from the chin, poking and grabbing the bits that should protrude rather than sag and swooping everything else upwards.
If I’m making a more concerted effort, I’ll follow massage genius Su-Man Hsu’s two-minute skin rejuvenating self-facial on YouTube or Lisa Eldridge’s leisurely guide at lisaeldridge.com.
If you don’t have time to go for the glow, then fake it till you make it with Trilogy’s Instant Glow Rosehip Oil (£36.50, trilogy products.co.uk).
This cult salve loved by the Princess of Wales, Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow now comes gleaming pigment. Verdict: winning.
RACE YOU TO IT
From Wednesday, Clarins’ Hydra-Essentiel range boasts a nocturnal incarnation: Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Night Cream (£40, clarins.co.uk). As with the rest of this seven-product line, skin is plumped in 60 seconds. Think of it as a bedside glass of water for your face.
clarins.co.uk
MY ICON OF THE WEEK
MICHELLE VISAGE
Michelle Visage, 54, (pictured) favours 111 Skin Sheet Masks, de Mamiel’s Altitude Oil, and has been using MAC Lip Pencil in Stone
The 54-year-old ex-Strictly star and Radio 2 presenter favours 111 Skin Sheet Masks (from £20, 111skin.com), de Mamiel’s Altitude Oil (£30, demamiel.com), and has been using MAC Lip Pencil in Stone (£18, maccosmetics.co.uk) for 20 years. She is de-brassing her grey streak with Charles Worthington Glowing Grey Shampoo and Smoothing Grey Conditioner (£8.99 each, boots.com).
5 HAIR REVIVERS
A skincareinspired, liquidgel exfoliant to fight the look of scalp ageing.
aveda.co.uk
Now in 30ml, this serum increases the thickness of each strand.
growgorgeous.co.uk
Contains ultrathin lamellas that coat the hair fibre to polish locks.
superdrug.com
Years in the making, this is the fashion favourite’s soft, workable pomade to define, defluff and defrizz.
sammcknight.com
Ultra-fine rice starch absorbs oil for clean, weightless body, without pore clogging or any white residue.
spacenk.com
COSMETIC CRAVING
‘I wanted my eyeshadow palettes to be a closely edited wardrobe of shades, inspired by the self-created palettes I’ve always carried in my kit with the shades and textures I absolutely rely on,’ declares star make-up artist Lisa Eldridge.
The resulting arrays are chocolate-box joyous: Cinnabar is warmly earthy; Muse rosy; Vega smoky; Sorcery all jewels & metallics, while my favourite, Lisa Eldridge The Eyeshadow Palette in Myth (£49, lisaeldridge.com) features six refillable shades from lavender grey and smoked amethyst to pure violet.
If you’re longing for spring, then this is just the ticket.
lisaeldridge.com
Source: Read Full Article