Beauty Clinic: What's the neck's best thing?
Q. I have a lowish-cut party dress but the top of my chest needs a bit of help. It looks a bit dull, wrinkly and bumpy and doesn't feel smooth and nice to the touch. Please help!
A. Many of us lavish TLC on our faces but miss out ‘neck and dec’ as the area from jawline to cleavage is known in the trade. Your décolletage is a vulnerable area of skin, which is often bare and after a hot summer tends to be a bit rough and dry, with uneven skin tone.
But take heart! Start now, be diligent and you’ll see results pretty quickly – in plenty of time to do the full Cinderella in your party frock.
Begin by exfoliating the expanse of chest with a gentle scrub, twice a week to start with. Use your facial scrub or concoct your own DIY with a mix of granulated sugar (white or golden) and sweet almond oil: about 150g of sugar to 37.5ml oil. Add in dried fennel seeds if they’re to hand, and fragrance with your favourite essential oils.
Because the skin here is a bit different from your face and the rest of your body, it is worth trying a dedicated product - warning though: they often come in at somewhat eye-watering prices:
• Clarins Super Restorative Décolleté and Neck Concentrate/£58 for 75 ml, is a much-loved classic.
• Institut Esthederm Lift & Repair Absolute Smoothing Cream/£69 for 50ml, is a new contender, which Sarah has tried out and likes a lot.
• CULT51 Neck and Décolleté Firming Cream/£90 for 30ml, was such a success with one of our Beauty Bible testers that she wrote an Ode to it…
Rather more moderately priced is PRAI Ageless Throat & Decolletage Night Crème/£30 for 50ml, from an American brand. We undertook dedicated consumer research for PRAI Beauty on this specific range and our testers loved it.. This product has a time-release retinol plus hyaluronic acid among the bunch of goodies it offers.
We couldn't leave out an old favourite from This Works, the aromatherapy skincare company founded by beauty editor Kathy Phillips. Perfect Cleavage Firming Lotion/£38 for 60ml, romped in to the Awards line up for our Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible.
Sanctuary Spa Supercharged Hyaluronic Face & Neck Crème boasts fantastic reviews and almost comes in as a Beauty Steal at £15.50 for 50ml. Fragrant with rose geranium, lavender and frankincense essential oils, this also contains shea butter alongside the hyaluronic acid to plump parched skin.
When you put on your party frock, stroke on a gorgeous soft glow with Pro Body Glow, our new fave from ethical beauty company BuzzBalm. It was developed with make up artist Armand Beasley, who is adamant about all the ingredients in the golden tin being natural. It’s £24.99 from probodyglow.co.uk. NB You just need a teeny bit so it lasts for ages.
