insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 20 - October 2016 | Page 56

FASHION+BEAUTY

Fabulous at 40
(and beyond)

Read any celebrity magazine these days and you’d be forgiven for thinking that the world
may have gone a tiny bit bonkers. ‘Beauty’, sadly, has become a bit of a cliché, characterised
by nips and tucks galore, and layer upon layer of makeup – and that’s just women in their
20s. On the flipside, though, in the ‘real’ world, there are oodles of more mature women who
are flying the flag for looking fantastic in their 40s and beyond - right here on home turf in
fact, one need only glance at Sussex’s own Helen Mirren to know that youth doesn’t have
to be wasted on the young. We’ve put together a little black book of secrets to help you look
fabulous at 40…and beyond. B Y P O L L Y H U M P H R I S

Cosmetically
Match your makeup to your skin

Consider how your skin has changed from two
decades ago. If you’ve been wearing the same
makeup looks for years, opt for a professional
makeover, so you can work out whether you
need more hydration, or a less powdered
finish - as we age, our skin gets drier and piling
powdery makeup on top of dead cells ain't
pretty, which is where creamier foundations
and concealers step in helping skin look dewy
and glowing.

Use an anti-ageing cleanser

Any anti-ageing regime worth its salt begins
with a cleanser that’s packed full of nutrients,
and a good quality cleanser (which does often
equal a more expensive one) gives to your skin
instead of taking away. Avoid skincare that
contains mineral oil and petrolatum ingredients
as they act like a plastic wrapper that
suffocates your face allowing neither nutrients
in, nor toxins out.

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Get a new do

It’s very rare to see women in their 40s+ dying
their hair a deep, dark shade of Morticia Addams,
and for good reason - lightening naturally dark hair
makes skin appear to have more pigment, so you
don't look washed out. As we get older, our skin
becomes more sallow and our hair grows darker,
but the key is to lighten up with honey tones,
which warm up the skin and give an instantly
more youthful look. Also, the whole ‘mums have
short hair’ thing is a myth; some length to your
locks will frame your face and keep it soft.