Surrey Homes | SH50 | December 2018 | Health & Beauty supplement inside

Fresh Black
Tea Firming
Overnight Mask,
£29 for 30ml
Vichy Mineral
89 Serum, £16
for 30ml.
Skin deep
After decades as a beauty editor Josephine Fairley
has a healthy scepticism about skincare ‘miracles’
– here she shares the ones she does rate
The world of skincare moves on apace. Almost
every day news of an innovative ‘wonder
molecule’, or a jaw-firming gadget, or a weirdly
shaped sheet mask lands in my Beauty Bible
(beautybible.com – my beauty website) inbox.
Some of these rainbows are definitely worth chasing,
but I generally wait till the frenzy’s subsided a bit before
embracing a new ‘miracle peptide’ or face-vibrating gizmo.
The innovations detailed here, as far as this beauty editor is
concerned, will survive the test of time – rather than falling
from skincare fashion faster than you can say ‘ra-ra skirt’.
Vitamin C
Topical vitamin C is a weapon we all need in our skin arsenal:
it’s anti-inflammatory and can help to guard against several
different kinds of radiation (including UV), as well as the
ageing free-radical damage caused by pollution and blue light.
(Who knew that our computers were actually ageing us?) It
can also help to tackle the challenge of uneven pigmentation.
Vitamin C is actually very tricky to formulate in a
way that remains effective (it’s a fragile molecule) and
is pleasant to use – but a few products that tick that
box include: LixirSkin Vitamin C Paste, £32 for 50ml
(victoriahealth.com), Vichy LiftActiv Vitamin C Brightening
Skin Corrector, £28 for 10ml, and Clinique Fresh-
Pressed 7 Day System with Pure Vitamin C, £25.
At-home ‘cryotherapy’
I am a great believer in cooling or even chilling skin.
(Provided you’re not excessively prone to broken veins,
which can be exacerbated by chilling the skin through
Garnier Moisture
Bomb 3-in-1
Hydrating Day
Cream, £7.99
for 50ml
LixirSkin
Vitamin C Paste,
£32 for 50ml
victoriahealth.com
Vichy LiftActiv
Vitamin C
Brightening
Skin Corrector,
£28 for 10ml
splashing of cold water, or blasting icy winds.)
I’m incredibly impressed by a new gadget that enables you
to do ‘at-home cryotherapy’ treatments. 001 Eyecicles have
scooped a Beauty Bible Award in the past: two water-filled
globes that you keep in the fridge and use to massage away
under-eye puffiness. (Pretty darned miraculous they are, too.)
Now 001 have launched the CRYOpress beauty
roller, £75 (001skincare.com) which dramatically helps
improve blood circulation, tightens skin and helps
drain lymph. Just brilliant before a night out.
Facial massage brushes
I’m all for massaging the face. It’s incredibly effective for
brightening the complexion, banishing puffiness, generally
putting back a glow when you feel you’re looking (as
Charlie Brown might say) ‘bleeeaurgh’. You can use your
fingers, but sonic massage devices are even more effective.
The FOREO LUNA brushes were originally designed to
be used as part of your cleansing routine – and there’s no
doubt they work brilliantly with pretty much any cleanser
– but for me, it’s the vibrating action that’s so impressive
at restoring glow. The minis start at £85, but I like the
bigger ones, which are priced £129, if budget allows.
Retinoids
Retinol is an alternative name for vitamin A. Originally
designed to target acne, dermatologists rapidly realised that
retinoids were extremely effective at fighting signs of ageing.
They work by promoting rapid skin cell turnover,
revealing new skin beneath – a kind of invisible exfoliation
“I generally wait till the frenzy’s subsided
a bit before embracing a new ‘miracle
peptide’ or face-vibrating gizmo”
9 surrey-homes.co.uk