My six steps to mastering all-day summer beauty when you're 60+: HANNAH BETTS
Once upon a time, I didn’t know what The Season was. Now, I’ve got an April to October crammed with parties, weddings, races, picnics, opera and exhibitions.
I’m basically an ageing Bridgerton heroine. Plotting one’s cosmetics for such occasions requires strategy, not least in midlife when heat is enemy number one. Still, there is hope, and help, to make your face keep going as long as you do.
1. Glow
I had to take a speedy selfie last week. ‘Your skin looks incredible!’ cried the recipient. It was broiling and I was sans powder, so its gleam was a combination of SPF, raw foundation and humidity. There’s a lesson here. Don’t strive to make things too perfect. Real skin has dewiness.
2. Layer
Leaving time between each layer of moisture, primer, foundation, powder and beyond is key to ensuring that each product is properly absorbed.
This ensures you get the stay-all-day summer face which is both sun and sweat resistant. Take the time to learn how long your particular skin needs to absorb each step (more time for oilier skins, less for dry). My complexion is combination-ish – an oily t-zone, parched elsewhere. The upshot: I require a moisturising layer under my primer/SPF.
The secret that both I, and women in the tropics, swear by is Sisley Ecological Compound Advanced Formula (from £108, sisley-paris.com).
There’s a reason why this moisturiser has been a bestseller since 1980, a bottle selling every five seconds. With its microbiome-bolstering plant actives, it saves skin from hot-weather shine, just as it magically protects it from glacial extremes.
3. Prime
Primer comes after, or instead of, moisturiser, adding grip, blurring pores and fine lines. Oily types find it vital to make make-up last. My tester has tried endless iterations, rating the ‘amazing’ Dior Forever Velvet Veil (£40, dior.com) and Dolce & Gabbana Secret Veil Hydrating Radiant Primer SPF 30 (now £29, sephora.co.uk), inspired by sultry, southern climes.
I’d rather use an SPF that is a great primer, than a primer that may not be a sufficiently protective SPF. Not all work well at this, however a couple make outstanding primers — Australian smash hit Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face SPF50+ Superscreen (from £16, meccacosmetica.com) and Heliocare 360° A-R Emulsion SPF50+ (£26.39, lookfantastic.com). Both pass the stay-all-day test fabulously, looking just as good as when first applied as one staggers into evening.
4. Paint
Long-stay no longer means mask-like.
I find it impossible to use anything other than Glossier Stretch Fluid Foundation (£34, ukglossier.com), but my greasy-skinned friend craves equally supple matte formulas: ‘If you have blemishes and large pores, the ones that do that trick are Erborian’s ultra-light CC Crème SPF 25 (£32.80, boots.com) and Dolce & Gabbana’s denser VelvetSkin Natural Matte Foundation SPF 30 (sephora.co.uk, £30).’
While Maybelline’s budget Super Stay 24H Skin Tint (£13.99, boots.com) is also ‘a corker’.
Race you to it!
You heard it first here: Beauty Pie’s cult LED Mask (members £120; non-members £250, beautypie.com) – the best budget LED - will be back in stock at 9.30am on Monday July 8th.
This manically sought-after device boasts a notification-alert waitlist in excess of 7,000. On your marks, get set...
5. Set
It amazes me how few women use powder compacts. Do they possess magically shine-free noses? I always dust a little powder all over to set my base – very little on a big, fat brush.
No need to (literally) mess about with the loose stuff, a finely-milled compact version will do. I carry Charlotte Tilbury’s best-selling Airbrush Flawless Finish (£22, charlottetilbury.com) in my handbag. Then, there’s a By Terry Mini To Go Hyaluronic Pressed Hydra-Powder (£20, sephora.co.uk) in my travel kit. Both also blur — the latter having the edge for 60+ faces, being packed with hyaluronic acid for a radiant, exquisitely unclogging effect. Top up your t-zone with its puff.
6. Fix
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray (from £20, charlottetilbury.com) will take your face that extra mile. Emma Hardie Protect & Prime SPF 30 (£52, emmahardie.com) offers hold plus an SPF top-up.
The trick is to spritz both at an 8-10-inch distance to fix not drench. Powder SPF can look a tad heavy – save it for the beach.
7. Freshen
Blotting papers work: slip some into your pocket; powdered ones for the greasier among us. A tiny pot of your moisturiser or SPF is a must to de-cake before re-applying foundation and liquid concealer under-eyes. Then, party on!
Hot hair help
Aveda Sun Care Protective Hair Veil (£22.95, lookfantastic.com)
A lightweight, water-resistant, UV-defence mist forming an invisible protective screen.
L’Oréal Elvive Glycolic Gloss 5 Minute Lamination Treatment (£15.99, boots.com)
Combats sun-struck frizz, split ends, breakage and colour fade for glass-like shine.
Batiste Dry Shampoo & Volume (£3.67, lookfantastic.com)
For fine hair that goes limp in the heat, this lank lock-lifter is an essential.
WetBrush Mini Detangler (£6.99, sephora.co.uk)
The best knot loosener, on wet or dry hair, that doesn’t pull or snag.
Accessorize Thick Towelling Hair Bands (£3.50, for 5, accessorize.com)
Normal-sized hair bands in black and brown made more gentle via towelling padding.
Cosmetic Craving
I am never more comatose than on summer mornings in the wake of sweltering nights. The solution: Original Source Mint & Tea Tree Shower Gel Body Wash (£1 for 250ml, boots.com).
I’d always assumed the potency of this concoction had artifice at its core – and could not have been more wrong. With 7,927 handpicked, menthol-dense, Indian mint leaves in every bottle, its fragrance is 100 per cent natural.
Original Source washes are paraben and microplastic-free, and vegan to boot. In fact, this is the UK’s best-selling vegan shower gel. It’s also made in Britain, using 100 per cent renewable energy, then packaged in 100 per cent recyclable bottles. Behold, a virtuous wake-up call.
My icon of the week
Bo Derek
From her breakthrough role in 1979 hit film 10, 67-year-old Bo has spent much of her time outdoors. Like many, she is a religious user of La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF 50 (£16, lookfantastic.com).
She also adores Biotherm Anti-Drying Body Milk (£23.24, amazon.co.uk) saying: ‘This just stays on. My skin is like a sponge.’
