Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic

Welcome to our new weekly column on the YOU magazine website, www.you.co.uk  Below you will find the current question and our advice, with a list of where to source the products mentioned.  To look at past columns, click here. And for lots more solutions to your beauty dilemmas, visit Q&A, just click here.

March 8th, 2009:  Camouflaging Red Cheeks

Q  I have quite red cheeks anyway and tend to go lobster-scarlet in hot environments. What can I use to camouflage this please?

A Since we both have pink cheeks and some broken veins (due to our outdoor lifestyle…), we know a bit about this scenario.  Sarah is very grateful to Giorgio Armani’s Master Colour Corrector (Shade 3), £22.50 for 4.4ml, which is yellow-based.  (Conventionally, green has been the colour to tone down redness but make up artist Lauren Hersheson swears by yellow.)  Lauren, who is based at Harvey Nichols, showed Sarah how to put three tiny dots on each cheek then blend them in before applying foundation with a dedicated foundation brush, topped with a soft-toned blusher and a whisk of translucent powder.  Result: no flaming cheeks!  And it lasted all day…  You can use this same technique for the high colour that comes with rosacea.

Jo has for ages sworn by Giorgio Armani Hydra-Glow Foundation SPF15, and is shattered that this is being discontinued (she actually just bought four bottles from Selfridges’ stock), but thinks that when that stash runs out, she’ll switch to Clinique Even Better Makeup SPF 15,  £19.09 for 30ml, which launches on 1st April and is specifically designed for women with uneven skin tone.  (Sarah has tried this too, and it’s absolutely fabulous so put it in your diary!)

Just a thought: for lasting make-up we do think a primer helps. Sarah uses the Giorgio Armani Fluid Master Primer, £32 for 30ml, but there are lots of others on the market. Jo likes Cosmetics A La Carte Skin Veil, £30 for 13ml, which comes in a ‘clear’ shade, as well as Vanilla or Honey.  (We know some of the products we’re recommending in this answer are pricey, but in our experience cheaper products just don’t cut it when tackling this problem.)

Dehydration is a big problem so do remember to drink plenty of still water, mainly between meals (so it doesn’t flush away the nutrients from your food).  Facialist Vaishaly Patel, who has just expanded her clinic in Paddington, London (tel: 020 7224 6088, www.vaishaly.com), has this tip for anyone troubled by flushing when it’s hot - or they’re bothered…:  ‘drink lots of Chinese green tea, peppermint or mint tea, to cool down the heat in the bloodstream - and eat more raw tomatoes, cucumber, watermelon and pears.’

We . . .

Highgrove Rose & Tuberose Lebanese Soaps, £11.75 for two.  This duo of chunky bars of Lebanese soap are really fragrant with essential oils and packed with shea butter, so they don’t dry out hands.  Made at one of the oldest soap factories in the world, visited by the Prince of Wales during a Middle Eastern trip, there’s an extra feel-good factor:  all profits go to the Prince’s Charities Foundation. A delicious bar of fragrant soap is one of those ‘simple pleasures’ we’re all seeking right now.

WHERE TO FIND PRODUCTS:

Giorgio Armani Master Colour Corrector Shade 3) £22.50 for 4.4ml
Giorgio Armani Fluid Master Primer £32.00/30ml; just click on the product names to be whisked off to the website, www.giorgioarmanibeauty.co.uk. Stockists include Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Harrods, in London, or visit the Store Locator on www.giorgioarmanibeauty.co.uk

Clinique Even Better Make-Up SPF 15 £19.09 for 30ml, available nationwide (tel:  0870 034 2566 for stockists) or from www.clinique.co.uk

Cosmetics A La Carte Skin Veil £30 for 13ml, online from www.cosmeticsalacarte.com (go to the ‘skin basics’ section), or mail order: 020 7622 2318; or visit the Cosmetics A La Carte shop at 19b Motcomb Street, Knightsbridge, London, for appointments, call 020 7235 0596

Highgrove Rose & Tuberose Lebanese Soaps £11.75 for two chunky bars, from www.highgroveshop.com  or mail order: 0845 521 4342

Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic - Archive

March 8th, 2009 - Camouflaging Red Cheeks
March 1st, 2009 - Hair Colouring in Pregnancy
February 22nd, 2009 - Thinning Eyebrows
February 15th, 2009 - Acne