Whenever you wash your make-up brushes (which should be once a week, NB!), reshape them with your hands, then place them on the counter so that the bristles hang over the edge. (Laying brushes on a flat surface won’t allow air to circulate through them – and on natural brushes, that can cause mildew.)
Remember: concealer isn’t just for under-eye shadows. The darkest area is between the eyes’ inner corner and the sides of the nose. Dot concealer there, to brighten.
As spring beckons, it’s time to hit ‘refresh’ on your beauty regime. Book in for a facial, where the aesthetician can manually slough away flaky skin and unclog pores. Or for an at-home version, look for the peel-off variety of masks, which remove dirt, oil and dead cells.
We’ve often heard the myth that fizzy drinks cause cellulite. Well, relax. (Though we’d rather you drank fizzy water than a Coke, readers.) The bubbles come from carbon dioxide, a gas that is either expelled orally or absorbed into the gut. Under no circumstances does it take up residence in fatty tissue.
Do you hit the snooze button regularly? Those extra moments of sleep aren’t doing you any favours, energy-wise, leaving you feeling groggy for hours. It’s better to listen to the alarm, wake up – and once you’re up, stick with it.
Yay, it’s rhubarb season! Rhubarb’s rich in polyphenols, giving it antioxidant properties. But it needs a lot of sweetening. Instead of adding copious quantities of sugar, try adding a handful of chopped dates which offer natural sweetness and fibre – and finish with a dash of lemon juice. It’s also delicious with natural yoghurt.
Communal changing areas at a gym or a pool can put you at risk of verrucas or athlete’s foot. Take your own flip-flops and wear them to avoid infection, and be sure to wash and dry feet thoroughly after exercise. Take clean socks to change into, too.
Blue light from phone and laptop/iPad screens can interfere with our sleep patterns. If you find it hard to turn yours off, ask someone you live with to stage a gentle intervention at 9 p.m. In a perfect world, sleep hygiene experts would like us to place them outside our bedrooms. It certainly reduces temptation to scroll late at night…
Blue light from phone and laptop/iPad screens can interfere with our sleep patterns. If you find it hard to turn yours off, ask someone you live with to stage a gentle intervention at 9 p.m. In a perfect world, sleep hygiene experts would like us to place them outside our bedrooms. It certainly reduces temptation to scroll late at night…
Cleaning products can be a major source of indoor pollution. We’re big fans of Method and Ecover, but check how your cleaning products rate at ewg.org.
There’s no easy way to blitz blackheads, but a good clay-based mask can help to draw out impurities. Use once or twice a week. (If you have combination skin, multi-mask with a nourishing version on areas unaffected by blackheads.)
If you know you ought to be drinking more green juices but you can’t somehow get your tastebuds around them, as a rule, adding lots of lemon, apple or pears will make any vegetable medley taste more palateable. Be aware that according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, however, we should still be drinking soup rather than juices till the weather warms up.
Don’t be a desk slave. Try to stand up and move around for 30-60 seconds every 20-30 minutes, and focus on something more than six metres away to rest your eyes.
Insider wisdom from make-up artist Lisa Eldridge. ‘I am never without a hyaluronic acid serum in my routine.’ Her favourite is La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Hyaluronic Acid Serum. ‘It leaves skin just the way it promises – firm, supple and hydrated.’
It really can be very dangerous to fall asleep in the bath. If you get drowsy while bathing, get out immediately.
To quote make-up genius Tom Pecheux: ‘When it comes to make-up apply the tiniest amount and skim the skin rather than use a heavy-handed motion. Light layers of product will always look better than one thick coat.’
If you simply want shiny, natural-looking nails, use a top coat and lose the base coat. If you want to apply coloured varnish, use each for its intended purpose.
We love coconut oil for dry skin – but in a cold bathroom it goes rock solid. Fill a plastic basin with warm water and pop the jar in; in no time it’ll be lusciously liquid and perfect for massaging into skin. Alternatively, if your radiator has a flat top, a few minutes on a hot radiator does the same trick.
Don’t wipe your mascara wand on the neck of the tube to remove any excess. It’ll end up on the bristles in one big clump. Instead, press it between a tissue to wipe away any excess.
If the central heating’s making the air in your bedroom dry, invest in a humidifier – or try the D-I-Y alternative, by draping a damp towel over the radiator at night.