skin

This is a bit more complex that others on the list, but it’s a very common theme amongst science-led skin experts that facial oils are best left untouched if you’re not totally clued up on them. A huge number of skincare products contains oils to help nourish our skin, or in the case of essential oils, give a product more of a luxurious user-experience. However, when oils are formulated within other products, dosage is significantly lower than they might be in say, a straight-up facial oil. The truth is, the most expensive face oils are those that contain essential oils (they are extremely expensive for brands to purchase, making the mark-up on the product even larger), and essential oils in high volumes are seriously bad news for skin. They can turn skin red, dry and angry. Other non-frag...

The cynic in me used to believe that asking a supermodel for their skincare tips was counter-intuitive because to be a model you must have amazing skin already, right? Well, in a word, no. The truth of it is that models at the top of their game are likely to have a whole team of people dedicated to helping them achieve that glowy complexion of dreams. Nutritionists, dermatologists, facialists, makeup artists… You name it, and they’ve got the best in the business on speed dial. Yes, with direct access to the very best skincare experts in the world, models are actually the perfect candidates for a chat about all things skin. After all, they’re armed with insider tips and tricks to keep their skin looking its absolute best at all times—their job depends on it. ...

When some new resurfacing pads from Indeed Labs landed on my desk a couple of years ago (remember desks?) my interest was immediately piqued. What the heck is bakuchiol when it’s at home, anyway? A quick google informed me that bakuchiol is a plant-derived, 100% natural alternative to vitamin A, aka retinol. Oh, and if you’re not sure how to say it, you pronounce it “buh-koo-chee-all” or “back-uh-heel”—whichever floats your boat. After experiencing a nasty reaction to a dermatologist-prescribed retinol late last year, I was somewhat sceptical. Retinol is a particularly tricky skincare ingredient to get right. Too much and your skin can become sore, flaky and irritable—as the red patches on my face once testified—but strike the right balance and fine lines will be diminished while your...

We’ve picked up many new habits these past few months, and running a bath at 6pm is probably one of our favourites. There’s just something about soaking at the time you’d ordinarily be fighting for a spot on the tube or making a dash for the last seat on the bus that makes it even more blissful. And while there are many things we can’t wait to bid adieu to once lockdown is lifted, our twilight baths aren’t going to be one of them. So, in an attempt to make the most of them, we’ve been looking for ways to help elevate our tub-time; which is when we stumbled across bathscaping. Chances are you’ve been bathscaping without even realising it. Following in the footsteps of tablescaping, the bathscaping trend is all about curating your bath and its s...

If, like me, you consider yourself to be a night owl, you’ll understand the perils of early mornings all too well. When you wake up in the morning and pick up your phone to scroll through Instagram only to see how all of the morning people out there have already done a full workout, made fancy porridge, curled their hair and applied their makeup, the pang of guilt can make for quite a negative start to the day. However, after years and years of pushing my snooze button to the limit and giving myself the 34 minutes of getting-ready time that I know I need, I’m frankly fed up of starting my day off in a flap. Consultant psychologist and co-founder of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic Elena Touroni explains, “If you have a rushed morning, your stress levels are likely to be heightened b...

It’s fair to say that I have made no secret of my scepticism about eye cream. They are usually eye-wateringly expensive when you look at the cost per millitre and come with a whole host of unwarranted promises about their ability to reverse wrinkles and eradicate eye bags. In fact, until I discovered The Ordinary’s Caffeine Solution back at the start of 2019 I basically didn’t use eye cream at all—and this one really only changed my mind because it’s pleasingly affordable at just £6 and didn’t make any ludicrous claims that it then failed to deliver on. Fast-forward two years, however, and oh how times have changed. I am now in my early 30s with a one-year-old baby and contending with dark circles and under-eye puffiness has become a daily challenge. If an eye cream lands on my desk these ...

Ask anyone what type of skin they have and most of us will reply with sensitive, oily, normal, or dry. And traditionally, that’s the way that many of us still shop for our skincare products. However, consumers are becoming increasingly aware that this general approach to skincare just isn’t delivering when it comes to results. After all, our complexions are, well, complex.  “We are all different and so is our skin… One size does not fit all,” says Ben Esdaile, MD, consultant dermatologist at Skin + Me. Esdaile believes that 2021 will be all about “tailor-made and custom-blended skincare prescribed for the individual based on their skin type, life stage, skin concern, and lifestyle.” That way, consumers will truly get the results they are looking for. For this to work, skincare needs t...

And while there is a whole bunch of questionable advice out there that could have skincare experts debating for days, there are recurring pieces of false information on social media that they are growing increasingly frustrated over, and as a result, I am too. Crucially, it is important to remember that in skincare, there is no one-rule-fits-all answer to anything, however experts argue it’s important to have a basic understanding of the extra information that often gets left out. So, in a bid to help debunk some of the skin-shaming myths doing the rounds right now, I reached out to some of the most straight-talking skin experts in the game to uncover the social media skincare lies that rile them up the most. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reima...

According to Jeanniton, WOC are commonly charged with caring for some specific skin conditions. “My approach to skincare for women of colour has two priorities: optimising skin health and keeping hyperpigmentation at bay,” she says. “Physiologically speaking, the skin needs of women of colour are the same as anyone else: UV protection, reduction of oxidative stress, preservation of a healthy skin barrier, and encouragement of cell renewal. But because of heightened sensitivity to inflammation, issues of hyperpigmentation factor prominently into the considerations for this group.” Sounds familiar, right? Hyperpigmentation is likely the first skincare term you ever learned. “It can take a significant amount of time to restore the skin barrier once compromised. G...

For as long as I can remember I’ve passed as being a few years younger than my actual age. When I was 22 I was mistaken for being 16, and on my 27th birthday I was asked for ID when buying alcohol. Why am I telling you this? Well, since becoming a parent, I’ve wondered if I have still retained my youthfulness. I can’t deny that there are now bags and dark circles under my eyes when they weren’t before. As I type this, I feel very tired. The sort of tired that’s only caused by long-term sleep deprivation. And what were once tiny, almost non-existent lines on my forehead are now becoming deep grooves.  Now firmly in my 30s (I’m 35), I decided to canvas my colleagues to see how old they thought I was. Over Slack I asked them how old they thought I looked and asked them to be genuinely ho...

Well, team, we’ve officially made it to 2021. Congrats all around! To be standing here, on the other side of the hardest year ever, is an accomplishment worth celebrating. Although the challenges of yesteryear trolled the hell out of us, they also taught us a ton of new skills to keep in our beauty arsenals. Maskne? We know how to handle her. Overgrown roots? Not for long. But one of the biggest lessons we learned is that a lot of products we’ve been using don’t deserve to accompany us into the New Year. Harsh but true. While we’re not totally out of the woods with all of the craziness we faced last year, we’re certainly moving in the right direction toward a much more peaceful new normal. As such, purging our beauty routines of any dead weight is a must. Than...

“The Ordinary is an evolving collection of treatments offering familiar, effective clinical technologies positioned to raise pricing and communication integrity in skincare,” the brand states on its website. “It was created to celebrate integrity in its most humble and true form. Its offering is pioneering, not in the familiar technologies it uses, but in its honesty and integrity. The Ordinary is born to disallow commodity to be disguised as ingenuity. The Ordinary is ‘Clinical formulations with integrity.”‘ So when we were discussing the brand and five of its top-selling formulas during a recent editorial meeting, I couldn’t help wondering what my 73-year-old mum would think. Even though she loves a good bargain and does swear...