Today is the true first day of the year. We’re back at the grindstone, whatever our particular grindstone is. Time to emerge out of holiday slouch mode, and avail ourselves of the new-broom spirit. I’m talking about using January’s clean slate to focus time and energy on a beauty area that could benefit from your attention.
This is a moment for projects over purchases. The point is energy and enthusiasm. Pick a zone and work at it until the end of next month. This gives us about eight weeks. With a spot of targeted obsessionalism, by the beginning of March, you will have achieved a small but significant goal to put a spring in your step.
I’m starting with hands and nails because this is my project: the grooming aspect I have let slide. My nails are puny, my hands parched. I refuse to Shellac my way out of it. Instead, for six weeks, I will be taking a couple of Vitabiotics Perfectil Plus Nails (£18 for 60, Boots.com) tablets daily, its selenium boosts keratin for stronger talons (Brazil nuts are also a great source).
Still, this is more about attitude than investment. True, I’ve stocked up on a big bottle of Mylee Sweet Almond Nail and Cuticle Oil (£9.99, amazon.co.uk), along with empty Twist Nail Pens (£4.98 for six) to fill and keep everywhere I go. But, this is about a commitment to anointing my claws, massaging and moisturising them. I will also be exfoliating my nails to encourage cell turnover, thus growth, with any physical or chemical incarnation that I’m using on my face or body – from scrubs via glycolic toners to retinol.
Any leftover face cream will be slathered on my hands. Meanwhile, I’m painting what scant nails I have with nourishers to improve appearance – currently the French girl colour/care hybrid Manicurist Active Bright (£16, sephora.co.uk). The aim is to plunge into your project to the point at which you’re actively fussing: doing it when you wake up, after lunch, while watching TV, and before bed.
I’m starting with hands and nails because this is my project: the grooming aspect I have let slide, writes HANNAH BETTS
You may want to recommit to a skincare routine, if you’ve felt this slipping. Seek out a French pharmacy brand such as Avene, Bioderma or L’Oreal, or try M&S’s Formula range (from £6), or Sali Hughes’s products for Revolution (from £7).
As basic kit, you’ll need a cleanser, an SPF 50 for day, and some sort of nocturnal restoring serum. As it’s winter, you will also need a good, hydrating moisturiser.
If you’d like more protection by day, add a vitamin C. If you’re keen to tackle lines and the like at night, consider a retinol.
Massage your face as you feed it. Enjoy the process. If you’d enjoy it more with the odd luxurious perk, then, by all means, knock yourself out. Tatcha’s light, but velvety, Indigo Cleansing Balm (£40, spacenk.com) is my fix for transforming a chore into a joy.
Perhaps your make-up fell by the wayside over Yule and it’s time for a reset? If so, head to a cosmetic counter where they’ll create you a five or ten-minute face and see what they recommend. Jones Road, Bobbi Brown and Trinny London are excellent places for tips on minimal effort, maximum result guises.
You may wish to focus on body bolstering, with dry-skin brushing, a shower scrub, then some decadent unguent. Or maybe you need to concentrate on nourishing your locks. A couple of months’ massaging conditioner into my arid middle layer turned my tresses around.
A few weeks brow and lash boosting will register an impact by spring. Olaplex Browbond (£48, spacenk.com), combined with Eylure Dybrow Permanent Tint (£5.29, amazon.co.uk), then conditioning (try lip balm) rejuvenated my sparse brows.
The trick is tenacity – and that’s something we midlifers can handle.
Race you to it!
Apparently 91 per cent of us are dehydrated at this time of year. The Inkey List Hydro-Barrier Serum (£15, Boots.com) is an ectoin, hyaluronic acid, ceramide and oat cocktail delivering hydration up to ten layers deep, while boosting the skin barrier in just 15 minutes. Run, don’t walk.
My icon of the week: Lisa Eldridge MBE
Make-up artist and brand founder Lisa Eldridge, 50, has been awarded an MBE. Her favourite lipstick is neutral pink Lisa from her Rouge Experience range (£49, lisaeldridge.com). She loves Ultra Violette Queen Screen SPF 50 (£38, cultbeauty.co.uk) and Dieux Forever Eye Masks (£22) applied over The Inkey List Caffeine Eye Cream (£10).
Cosmetic craving
Clarins Tonic Treatment Oil (now £29.25, escentual.com) is a classic body – and mood – lifter. Launched in 1965, this bestseller has long been the go-to formula for women to use during pregnancy and other physically challenging periods.
It is concocted with 100 per cent pure plant extracts, including rosemary, geranium and mint, known for their ability to firm, tone and improve elasticity, while hazelnut oil locks in moisture to render skin silky smooth.
Best applied sparingly to damp skin, its fine molecular structure means that it is readily absorbed.
Tonic Treatment Oil is one of the few body products that actually appears to have a firming effect, while being an aromatic joy.
Energising exfoliators
MakeUp Eraser in Black (£21, makeup eraser.com).
A micro-fibre flannel: the shorter fibre side cleanses, the longer side softly exfoliates.
Ishga Exfoliating Face Wash (£31, uk.ishga.com).
An exquisite, non-drying, vitamin-rich rinse with fine seaweed grains to exfoliate.
Yo Glow Wishful Enzyme Scrub (£34, Boots.com).
Make-up artist Huda Kattan created this dead-cell-shifting bestseller.
UpCircle Coffee Face Scrub – Floral Blend for Sensitive Skin (£17.99, upcirclebeauty.com). Coffee grounds to scrub and plant oils to soothe.
Revolution Skincare x Sali Hughes Placid 5-Acid Daily Exfoliant (£9.80, revolution beauty.com). Exfoliating and brightening toner to decongest complexions.
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