Avoid eating dairy products while hay fever symptoms are acute; they encourage mucus production and can exacerbate any allergies.
If you have limp, fine hair, consider colouring it. Colour is absorbed by the hair and expands the hair shaft, so hair looks fuller immediately – and will stay that way.
If you wash your hair regularly, it’s fine to use waxes, pomades, shine serums and leave-in conditioners. But if you like to leave longer than a couple of days between washes, use them sparingly (if at all). They can make hair look dull and grubby after a day or two. (Those instant enhancements come at a price.)
Don’t even think of applying concealer under your eyes without eye cream - but do give the cream a few moments to absorb beforehand. The dryness and thickness of concealer alone can make skin appear more wrinkled than it is.
Never rub wrists together when applying fragrance. You interfere with the top notes of the fragrance and alter the way it develops on the skin. Waft your wrists around a bit – it’s worth the wait, we promise!
As self-tan season beckons, VIP tanning expert Jules Von Hep has this advice: after applying fake tanner, run a dry washcloth over your body to buff off excess product and blend any potential mistakes.
We’re starting to think about getting our bodies out… And if yours is dry and flaky, look for a body lotion that contains AHAs (alpha-hydroxy fruit acids), which lightly exfoliate dead skin cells. Body oils and rich butters are great, but the key to optimum absorption is getting rid of the dusty cells on the surface, so they can penetrate better.
It’s time to refresh your make-up bag for summer, but go through anything that’s left over from last year and edit it. Throw away waterproof mascaras that may be flaky, cake-y tinted moisturisers and anything that’s changed consistency (gone runny or gloopy). And if a product has an SPF (such as a lipstick or protective sheer balm), be aware that the number on the packaging isn’t what you’ll get this summer, because SPFs can diminish when products are kept for a while.
Do you use make-up sponges to apply foundation? Be sure to dampen them beforehand. Add a few drops of water, then squeeze, and you’ll find that foundation glides on far more smoothly.
Feeling sluggish? Rather than reaching for a sugary snack or caffeine, head to the loo and run your wrists under cold water for a few seconds to increase alertness.
It’s Earth Day - so what will you be doing to honour it…? One of the most important beauty switches is only to use organic cotton wool: a quarter of the world’s insecticides are used to grow conventional cotton. What’s more, if your cotton wool’s not organic, the chances are it’s genetically modified, too.
Not a tip, but a quote from Jamie Lee Curtis that we love (as fellow refuseniks when it comes to cosmetic surgery). ‘Avoid quick fixes,’ she says. ‘Plastic surgery, fillers, injectables… they are simply a way for someone to make money – and you miserable.’
If you have sensitive skin, pare your regime down to a minimum. As Frauke Neuser, phD, principal scientist at Olay Skincare, points out: ‘If you’re using 10 products and each has 10 ingredients, you’re coming into contact with up to 100 different substances each day. Any one of them might be fine on its own, but if the combination overloads the skin, it will react.’
Foundation shopping? Foundations always need to be checked in daylight to ensure the colour matches where the jaw meets the neck. But if you have a more mature complexion, when you think you’ve found a winner, apply some of the foundation to the webbed area between your forefinger and thumb. That skin is extra-wrinkly, so it is an easy way to see how it’s going to settle into expression lines.
If you’re prone to slouching at your desk or slumping forwards while focusing on your phone or tablet, this can actually lead to energy dips. Sitting up straight with your hands behind your head can initiate changes in your energy levels in just two minutes, according to research by Harvard Business School.
Eat your lunch silently and mindfully and you may find that you enjoy it more. Look at what’s on the end of your fork or spoon. Smell it. Appreciate it. And it will taste better…
When you go for a department store makeover, make like a sponge. This is your big chance to soak up what you’re being told, so that you can recreate the effect at home. To really master a technique, ask the consultant to make up half your face – and then you do the other half, as they watch and guide. Always take notes and ideally, have the make-up artist make you a face chart.
For a healthier gut, leave 12 hours between dinner and breakfast. The guy lining consists of a single layer of cells that replenish every 72 hours, but this repair cannot take place effectively if your gut is working hard on digestion at the same time. Leaving 12 hours between meals gives a clear period for the gut to focus on repair and replenishment. But don’t fast for long periods for the sake of your gut – it can overburden the liver.
Here’s Pat McGrath’s signature ‘FMA’ trick – ‘Finger Method Application’ – for longer-lasting lipstick: ‘Swipe a bullet on the back of your hand, and using your fingertip, firmly push pigment onto the lips. Patting makes layers of lipstick rather than one heavy coat, which means more staying power, says McGrath, whose hotly-anticipated make-up collection just landed in the UK.
When you go for a department store makeover, make like a sponge. This is your big chance to soak up what you’re being told, so that you can recreate the effect at home. To really master a technique, ask the consultant to make up half your face – and then you do the other half, as they watch and guide. Always take notes and ideally, have the make-up artist make you a face chart.