Numerous studies have shown that how much time you spend sedentary is a risk factor for ill health. The benefit of a morning run will be wiped out by sitting for 10 hours. So get up and move every hour, work from a standing desk and be a life-long exerciser.
‘Over-clean hair is the enemy of a good updo,’ New York hairstylist John Barrett once told us. ‘I always tell brides or celebrities not to wash their hair on the day of a big event. Any style will last much longer if their strands are a little dirty.’
We’re all for hitting the gym. But be aware that the addictive nature of stair-climbing machines can provoke overuse injuries like tendinitis. To stay healthy, never increase the duration, intensity or frequency of your workout by more than 10% at a time.
If you have coarse, wavy hair, beware of complicated, multi-layered styles because they’ll turn your hair bushy and shapeless. Likewise, avoid the opposite extreme of blunt cuts, which can make thick hair hang around the face like a heavy, unflattering veil. Your best bet is a style that falls either above your ears or below your shoulders, to capitalise on your hair’s tendency to curl. For example, a few judicious snips can create a frame for the face, while angling along the bottom can create some flip at the ends. This is a definitive case for discussing with your hairdresser what will work with you, rather than heading salon-wards with a cutting from a magazine of your ‘dream’ style.
For a D-I-Y skin softening milk bath, take a cup (or a mugful) of full-fat powdered milk, two tablespoons of almond meal and two tablespoons of oat flour, together with a few drops of rose essential oil. Add two tablespoons to a bath, lie back and relax. The blend will keep in a glass jar at room temperature for a couple of months (though do always beware of glass in bathrooms, of course).
Love this, from our old friend Bobbi Brown: ‘The fewer clothes you wear, the less make-up you wear.’
Looking forward to an extra glass or two this Bank Holiday weekend, to celebrate the last of the year before we all ‘go back to school…’? It’s well known that if the stomach is empty, alcohol passes straight to the intestines, where it’s absorbed at an accelerated rate. The higher the blood alcohol level, the more devastating the hangover. But not all foods are created equal, in terms of hangover prevention. Best bets are protein-rich or high fat foods like meat, fish and dairy, which the body absorbs more slowly.
According to a study at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami, simple techniques like the following can reduce production of cortisol, a stress hormone. First, pull hair gently, tugging the scalp, for 30 seconds. Secondly, hunch your shoulders as high as they will go, then let them drop abruptly. Repeat five times.
If your foundation doesn’t look its best after you’ve applied a primer, check the ingredients. It may contain silicone (often written as dimethicone on the ingredients list), which can sometimes affect coverage. Some people get on with silicones, some don’t (and it interacts differently depending on your foundation choice).
Avoid deep lip colours till autumn kicks in. Heat can make deep reds, burgundies or browns run, feather or change colour when you sweat. Apricots, pale roses and other sheerer shades know their place.
Self-tan fading on your face faster than it should? According to Amanda Harrington (tanning guru to Sienna Miller, among others), ‘Retinol or any enzymatic skincare can accelerate the face time of self-tan on your face and body.’
A good hairstylist will ask you to uncross your legs, if you have a tendency to do that. It virtually guarantees an uneven cut.
Don't let a high SPF lull you into a false sense of security. An SPF30, reapplied frequently (and combined with time in the shade) is better than an SPF50 applied once.
Don't lie in bed awake. Advice from sleep author and expert Matthew Walker is that if you find yourself awake after being in bed for more than 25 minutes, get up and go to a different room. 'The brain is an incredibly associative device. It can very quickly learn that you bed is the place of being awake, not asleep. It is often the reason people tell me they fall asleep on the couch watching TV, but feel wide awake when they get into bed. Instead, do some relaxing activity such as reading. Only return to bed when you feel very sleepy. There's no time limit. This way, your brain will break the old association and relearn.
When you're at the hairdresser for a trim, show the stylist where you want your cut to fall, rather than quoting inches or centimetres. 'Oh, just an inch' is often misinterpreted, in our (painful) experience, so this is one occasion where it isn't rude to point.
Rinse cleanser with tepid or warm water, not-too-hot – and don't bother with a splash of freezing cold water unless you really want to wake yourself up (and don't have a tendency to broken veins). It's a complete beauty myth that 'cold water closes pores' – pores are not lift doors, and neither open nor close.
Nudes aren’t always flattering for lips. Instead, advises New York make-up artist Mollie Roncal, consider a gloss that enhances your natural lip tone. ‘Look for something similar to the inside of your lower lip,’ she advises. ‘You’ll know right away if you’re more peach or plum.’ For a polished look with extra staying power (knowing that glosses are notoriously short-lived), apply a neutral pencil all over and then smooth gloss onto your lower lip only. Then say ‘ma’, to transfer it to the top.
By all means keep a spare make-up kit in your desk drawer – but never in the car. The emulsification will break down and products won’t have that smooth, luscious consistency if exposed to freezing or hot temperatures.
Do you suffer from bunions or hammertoes? This is a great exercise for restoring flexibility and offering relief: sit in a chair and rest your heels on the floor. Inhale and flex your toes so there is space between all of them. Exhaling, squeeze your toes in to form a toe fist. Repeat 5-10 times.
Self-tan wisdom from expert Amanda Harrington: 'Retinol or enzymatic skincare can accelerate the fade time of self-tan on your face and body.' Don't say you weren't warned.