2018’s New Beauty Rules

Was one of your New Year’s Intentions (we don’t do resolutions, remember!) to ramp up your beauty regime and evolve to a bone fide beauty aficionado? Well you’re going to have to know the new beauty rules before you set off. Buckle up, because here’s the lowdown…

Use a cleanser in the morning, too
No, not just at night. That lovely sheen you see on your skin after sleeping, whilst nice and glowy, is oil and excess sebum. And it needs to be escorted off the premises before you begin with the rest of your regime as to leave it on the face would impair the good work your other products need to do.

Double cleanse at night
Yes, that does in fact mean you are cleansing three times per 24 hours, but just do it. It’s essential for good skin. At night the first cleanse can be with a micellar water or milk to take makeup and grime off (yes, there’s grime on your face, just try cleansing when you’ve no makeup on and you’ll see). The second cleanse is the one that matters as it gets in deep and cleans pores, delivers acids, vitamin C, or whatever therapeutic ingredients you’ve gone for. Some skins may need a foaming gel cleanser depending on type, but go easy here – more often that not, they de-hydrate and a good looking skin is hydrated to the max. Skin with limited oil looks older, so don’t strip it all in the name of ‘a good clean’ – if you’re cleansing three times per day with appropriate products, all is well. Personally, I use the Garnier Micellar water to take eye makeup off and Biologique Recherché Lait VIP O2, which is oxygenating milk that helps to brighten skin whilst also fighting impurities. It has helped change my skin immeasurably over the past few months.

Get Your Vitamins
Both internally and externally. Applying a good quality Vitamin C product to your face via a serum or by having it present in a moisturiser, is now no longer a luxury, it’s law. Just check your levels though – it must be potent, as with all things in skincare, percentages are key. If it’s a cheaper product, it probably has less of the good stuff, as the good stuff is expensive. For C’s I look to Lixir Skin or SkinCeuticals for great performance. Lixir’s Vitamin C Paste is a really interesting mask-like proposition where you apply the paste and leave it on for a few minutes, as long as you can, and then wash off. The percentage of C is high in this, hence the need to take it off. It leaves skin looking glowy and eats up all the nasty free radicals on the skin surface and helps collagen production.
The SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic serum is a multi-award winning product and deservedly so. Utterly scientifically sound, this product costs some coin, but is so, so worth it. Also it lasts for ages, so that cost per wear concept so oft-used in fashion purchases works here too! Last of all, take Vitamin C, D and some nice B’s to look good and feel great too. Also, get some fish oils and a decent pro-biotic while you’re at it – they all form a cocktail of goodness your entire body, mind and skin system will thank you for.

Wear A Mask
No, no, not to hide behind – to amplify your skincare. You won’t have missed the major trend for facemasks in 2017, well; they’re not going anywhere fast as the big brands are still launching them for this year. In my opinion, I think clays are best for drawing out impurities and refining skin texture, just don’t do them right before an event as they have become even better at drawing out skin’s inner gunk and that means SPOTS. But a week or so after that, you can expect skin clarity only known by babies.
The L’Oreal suite of masks is well defined for skin type and need.
If it’s a pampering mask you feel you need, then head straight to Sisley for the Black Rose Mask, it’s pricey, but by God you look amazing afterwards. Just what our post-Christmas dreary complexions need.

Get The Good Stuff
If you need to see a radical change in skin that is aging at a rate you don’t welcome, all skin professionals swear by one thing: Retinol. And yes, it is a wonder ingredient for anti-aging, but one you need to tread carefully as many can be sensitising for the skin. Look to SkinCeuticals, Murad and The Ordinary for superior efficacy.

SPF, SPF, SPF
Every day, factor 30 plus, no excuses. There is no greater anti-ageing commitment you can undertake.

Lighten Your Base
Speaking of anti-ageing; there is nothing more refreshing to your complexion than going for a lighter foundation, both in terms of colour and formula. Regarding shade, it’s winter; we are all meant to be pale. Add a perfectly blushed cheek and you look fresh and healthy. Trying to add colour via a darker foundation looks wrong – possibly fine for viewing via Instagram filters, but we’re not doing that this year – this year we’re doing real skin, thank you.
Also when it comes to formula, leave the heavy, matte layers to Kim Kardashian and her millennial army. Go dewy, light and glowy and watch ten years drop off…

Get Some Pink
A deep berry pink lip is to 2018 what orangey-red lips were to 2017. There is something very fresh about this tone now, where previously it could veer towards looking dated, it looks super fresh and relevant now. Most of the Golden Globes beauty looks featured pink lips, some very berry and some just like lips but deeper. Think of the stain on your lips when you’ve eaten a load of raspberries – that’s what you’re looking for.
Pair it with a slick, simple liquid liner on top, softly defined brows and a gentle flushed cheek and that screams ‘2018, I’m ready for you!’

Charge Up Your Voice…
… and think about the story you have to tell.  This isn’t a beauty tip per se, more a life tip, but learning to raise your voice and speak your truth, as Oprah told us, is one of the most beautiful things you can do. Run that through your mind as you take time to look after yourself. Self-care is key to making the changes we need to see in the world, so take time for both. Be beautiful inside and out.