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From dry, bumpy legs to slouchy posture, these are the eight mistakes making your body look older - plus our beauty expert tells how you can smooth and lift skin
When it comes to beauty, we often confine ourselves to the neck upwards. The face is our focus and what lies beneath barely gets a look in.
We may be able to get away with this in winter. But as we approach the spring strip-off, the horror will be real.
When people talk about bodies ‘looking their best’, it’s often a euphemism for ‘thin’. I do not mean this. I’m talking about giving our below-the-collar zones some of the care we lavish above. Here are some the blunders we make — and what we can do to mend our ways...
Failing to scrub up
The first trick for 40+ bodies is to exfoliate. Dry body brushing is the cheap, easy and mess-free way to lose dead cells. The Organic Pharmacy Skin Brush (now £16, debenhams.com) has natural-bristle fibres and a (detachable) wooden handle for all-over reach.
If you prefer a grit, Weleda’s Birch Body Scrub (£10.95, boots.com) contains natural wax pearls to buff away spent cells gently.
Hannah Betts explains that the aim with moisturising is not to lard on a dense film, but to layer on nourishment
Being a suds dud
Some people don’t feel clean without a luxurious lather. However, foam is the product of soap-based surfactants that have a higher pH than skin and can cause irritation, stripping its oils and proteins, and leaving it parched.
I love Bioderma Atoderm Cleansing Oil (now £14.40 for 1 litre, boots.com). Full of nourishing lipids, it’s so gentle you can use it on face and body. I’m also keen to try Dove’s new Advanced Care Body Wash (from £3, ocado.com), launching today, billed as being as mild as water.
Greasing up
The aim with moisturising is not to lard on a dense film, but to layer on nourishment. This needn’t be costly. The sublimely scented Marks & Spencer Apothecary Warmth Hand & Body Lotion (£5, marksandspencer.com) wins my vote.
But splash out, if you need the incentive to moisturise: Nude- stix aromatic NudeBody Peptide Body Creme (£29, lookfantastic.com) is rich, yet ungreasy, with natural acids to exfoliate, and natural oils to deliver softness.
No ‘second face’ routine
Your neck, decollete and arms form a sort of ‘second face’— an area that can prove just as beguiling when looked after. Ignore it at your peril.
You don’t need any site-specific products — but do carry your skincare down at least as far as your cleavage. Give the zone extra care with Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Moisturising Body Serum (£24.95, boots.com).
For subtle highlighting, French women favour Nuxe’s classic Huile Prodigieuse Golden Shimmer Multi-purpose Dry Oil (from £18, lookfantastic.com). I’d rather add sheen and a shield with Supergoop’s Glowscreen Body SPF30 (£35, cultbeauty.co.uk), a shimmering sunscreen in four shades with a golden-pearl effect.
Legging it
Middle-aged calves tend to be either: horribly dry, spotty (with infected hair follicles), or horribly dry and spotty. For the former, seek out This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle (from £10, spacenk.com). For the latter two, Ameliorate Transforming Body Lotion (£22.50, boots.com) eradicates bumps of all sorts.
Getting Tango’d
If you feel ashamed to expose your limbs without fake tan, just remember, pale is beautiful, just as dark is beautiful.
If you love faux bronze, exfoliate and moisturise prior. Apply with a glove like St Tropez Tan Dual Sided Luxe Tan Applicator Mitt (now £4.50, boots.com). And use Isle of Paradise Over It Magic Self-Tan Eraser (£15.95, boots.com) before reapplying.
Slovenly slouching
Your grandmother was right: good posture costs nothing.
Perfume parsimony
Many women spritz fragrance above the shoulder only, when it could be an all-over indulgence.
Where should you apply scent? Wherever you would like to be kissed, and/or wherever you emit most warmth.
RACE YOU TO IT!
(£34, cultbeauty.co.uk)
This is causing a riot among tinted moisturiser fans, who can’t believe its natural-looking, no make-up, make-up genius.
If you hate foundation, yet require a little extra, this is the concoction for you — a moist, realistic, Parisian glow with skincare benefits.
APRIL FRIZZ FIGHTERS
(£39.50, lookfantastic.com)
Cleansing duo to accompany its Frizz Shield Spray.
(£29, cultbeauty.co.uk).
A rinse-out treatment powered by glycolic acid for hair that’s twice as polished.
(now £7.30, boots.com)
Powered by keratin bond-repair tech, this oil is proven to battle frizz from within the hair.
(£6.99, superdrug.com)
Now containing ceramides, this smoothes the hair cuticle, for 86 per cent less frizz.
(£26, boots.com)
Apply this plant-packed potion to damp hair to block humidity without weighing down.
MY ICON OF THE WEEK
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst, 41, wore Lisa Eldridge’s Velveteen Liquid Lipstick in Ribbon for the Oscars
For the 41-year-old’s dewiness at the Oscars, make-up artist Melanie Inglessis blended Gucci’s Éternite de Beaute Foundation (£47, sephora.co.uk) with Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Glow Serum (£37.50, cultbeauty.co.uk). She finished with a flourish of Lisa Eldridge’s Velveteen Liquid Lipstick in Ribbon (£21, lisaeldridge.com).
COSMETIC CRAVING
At this budding and blooming time of year, I start wondering whether there is life beyond my beloved Diptyque Feu de Bois Classic Candle (from £56, libertylondon.com).
The brand provides some ravishing spring options: the honeyed blossom of Mimosa, or sprightly green Muguet (lily of the valley). My choice has traditionally been the powdery Iris, but this year I have branched out into a Diptyque Violette Classic Candle (from £56, libertylondon.com), which boasts a similar elegance, plus the sweet, velvety, caress of this tiny wild flower. For its 60-hour smoulder, this conjures Parma violets, Guerlain’s cosmetics, and my violet-loving mother. Bliss.