I walked into the Telegraph offices 17 years ago, aged 20, having been accepted as an intern mid-way through my journalism degree. I fully intended to carve out a career as a news reporter; I had worked on my local paper most weekends as a student and never went anywhere without my dictaphone and notepad.
However, a few weeks in, I was asked to cover the assistant on the weekend supplement. This was within the “lifestyle” department, a buzzy section off from the main newsroom, tucked away one side of the building. I had never been anywhere like it; there were rails of dresses ready for a fashion shoot, cakes packed and stacked for a Victoria sponge taste test and on the first day I overheard a discussion between two editors about whether the next big “it” cream was worth the £100 price tag. (It was not.)
I found my calling on the beauty desk and have worked in the same office ever since, as beauty writer, beauty editor and my current role as the newspaper’s beauty director. In my job I speak to dermatologists and make-up artists more than I do my own friends, I have tested hundreds of products against their usually inflated claims and try wacky treatments to see if they make any difference to the skin. I read ingredients lists and white papers for fun and I’m so obsessed with beauty I even have my first book coming out on Thursday called South Asian Beauty (August 1st, £25, HarperCollins HQ).
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that when it comes to skincare you really don’t need much. A great cleanser, one or two effective serums and sun protection have you covered. The basics really do count for a lot, especially if you want long-term skin health. If you want to get your skin into great shape, these are the golden rules I’ve learnt along the way.
Wear sunscreen every single day
No posh serum or expensive face cream is going to make one jot of difference if you don’t protect yourself from the sun. Sun protection is the ultimate future-proofing skincare to prevent new pigmentation and lines and wrinkles from forming. Every single dermatologist will advise this, especially if you’re using active ingredients in your skincare which can leave you vulnerable to sun damage.
The key is to make sure you’re using enough. For your face, I usually go by the two-finger rule, so apply your sunscreen across the lengths of two fingers and that’s usually enough. You’ll then need more for your neck and ears.
Establish a good cleansing routine
I keep my morning cleansing routine light and simple – just a pump of a gentle cleanser will do. In the evenings, try a cleansing balm, which is great if you have balanced or dry skin that doesn’t have any active conditions. Every single evening, I massage a ten-pence piece of cleansing balm onto my skin and around my eyes.
Once it’s been massaged for a few moments, I run a little face towel under some hot water, squeeze out the excess and remove the cleanser with it. I prefer a flannel over a muslin cloth because I think you get a better gentle exfoliation. Just make sure you use a new flannel every night (you can get a multipack on Amazon for a few pounds).
Use an antioxidant serum
I get it: the topic of serums can be hard to navigate. There are so many different types of serums that all claim to improve the look of your skin, but it’s hard to tell what actually works and what doesn’t. As a general rule, I think having a good-quality antioxidant serum in your morning routine makes sense.
Antioxidants, which can be in the form of vitamin C, help to protect the skin from pollution and the sun (although it obviously doesn’t replace your suncare). While you’re not going to see an immediate difference in your skin overnight, antioxidants are like playing the long game in skincare: they can improve cell function, increase collagen production, reduce sun damage and create healthier cells. I consider an antioxidant serum and sunscreen my “T-shirt and jeans” for everyday skincare.
Supercharge your evening routine
You’ll need one good problem-solving product. This could be a retinoid (a vitamin A-derivative which is the gold standard of skin regeneration) or simply a nourishing face oil if your skin needs some de-stressing. I go by the alternating rule: one night I will use a retinoid to help with smoothing and clarifying my skin, and the next night I’ll use a rich, skin-calming face oil massaged in for a few minutes. And then back to the retinoid.
Of course, not everyone gets on with oils, or likes using them. In this case I would opt for a hydrating serum at night, or a face cream if you prefer richer textures. Most products can be used right around the eyes, so unless you want to correct deep lines around the eyes, I wouldn’t bother with a separate eye cream.
Make-up is a whole different matter indeed. But these are the seven best pieces of make-up advice I’ve picked up over the years.
Prep is everything
It’s not unusual for a make-up artist to take longer on preparing the skin for make-up than on the make-up itself. Taking the time to properly moisturise and hydrate the skin before application makes for a much more natural and long-lasting finish. A primer can help too. While I’m not one to advocate many unnecessary steps, I really do see the value in a good primer, as it should leave the skin hydrated and slightly tacky, to help fix base make-up in place.
Pat in your concealer
When applying concealer to the under-eye area, work the product into the skin with a tapping motion from the pad of the ring finger, rather than sweeping the product across. It will considerably improve how long your concealer stays put. By tapping the product, you are working it into your skin using the warmth of your finger, which allows for a much more natural-looking finish.
‘Pat and roll’ your powder
This is another application technique I swear by. Although I’m not a big fan of fixing my whole face with setting powder, I still use powder often to set my under-eye makeup or on shiny days. I use a soft powder puff sponge with some translucent setting powder, place the puff under my eye and ‘roll’ the product on. Lift and repeat, until each desired area is powdered down. This really fixes make-up in place in a targeted way, without having to sweep lots of product all over.
A cheat’s smoky eye
Even after working for so many years in the beauty industry, I still struggle to do a full-on smoky eye with lots of blending and shading. I’ve made peace with that! Most of the time if I’m wearing eyeshadow I just sweep one colour across my lids and be done with it, but there are occasions when I want something a bit more dressy.
With a dark brown gel-pencil eyeliner, create a “V” shape at the end of your lid by drawing a line down your eye line and back up again. Blend with a small eyeshadow blending brush, then apply a black gel-pencil eyeliner along the lash line and “V”, thick-ish and messy is fine, and blend again to soften any hard lines. Finish with mascara.
Tightline your eyes
This is a technique that enhances the eyes without looking like you’re wearing lots of eye make-up, because all it does is make the base of your eyelashes look thicker and more dense. You may already apply liner to your lower waterline; this is simply applying it to the upper waterline. The best way is to use an ultra-fine eyeliner and pencil on the top waterline and in between the top lashes. It takes some practice but the trick is to take it slowly and apply little strokes at a time.
Brow tinting makes all the difference
For me, good brows are the crux of good makeup. As well as threading to shape my brows, I get them tinted, too. This bolsters up any fainter hair and will make your brows look defined without make-up.
When in doubt, go tonal
Working out what colour blush to pair with a lipstick or an eyeshadow can sometimes be overwhelming. Start with lipstick and stick to the same “colour family” for blusher and eyeshadow. So if you’re wearing pink lipstick, pair it with a similarly pink blush and eyeshadow. The same goes for corals (in fact, pinks and oranges on the eyes are my favourite). If you’re wearing more of a nude or brown-y shade on the lips, you can go for more bronzy tones on the cheeks and eyes.
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