Anti-Ageing Show Report: The 'Natural Face Lift' With Face Yoga Expert Danielle Collins

I take a holistic approach to beauty. I’ve never thought that topicals and treatments alone could meet all my anti-ageing skincare needs. I know that what I eat, how much sleep I get a night, and the physical exercise I do all have a direct bearing upon the condition and appearance of my skin.

On my blog I talk mainly about skincare and home beauty tools, as that is its focus and is what I feel most passionate about. But if I had to choose the next items on that list closest to my heart, I would have to say exercise.

Fushi Beauty Totale – Supplements for Skin, Hair and Nails (Review)

Keeping our bodies fit and healthy and running like a well-oiled machine becomes a more challenging affair as we age.  Hair starts to thin and grey; skin loses radiance and plumpness; nails become more brittle… OK, I’ll stop there!

We all know we can’t stop the ageing process. And actually why would we want to? It's better than the alternative! But at the same time I refuse to just let nature take its course. I’d much rather ramp up the gym sessions, eat more healthily, be more thorough with my skincare routine and grab what other aids I can to help slow down the visible signs of ageing.

The Anti-Ageing Health & Beauty Show – Expert Tips on How to Keep Skin Glowing

With so many different brands and formulations to choose from, picking the right anti-ageing products for our skin can be a thoroughly confusing and complex task. Which ingredients should we be looking for and why? Is there anything other than applying topicals that we could be doing to help keep our faces looking radiant and youthful?

Finding myself at the Anti-Ageing Health & Beauty Show at London’s Olympia last weekend, I felt an urge to go pick the brains of some of the beauty gurus attending, and find out their top anti-ageing tips.

Balance Me Launches Most Potent Skincare Range Yet – Previews Other 2015 Products

Balance Me, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary, has been one of my most treasured discoveries since launching the blog (most recent review Rose Otto Body Oil here).

 It wasn’t a brand familiar to me previously, not having a High Street stockist close by (products are available at John Lewis, Beales and selected Waitrose and Debenhams, as well as online).  I also rarely internet shopped for my beauty – something I do with alarming regularity these days!

The blog has also opened my eyes to the joys of organic and natural skincare, something Balance Me excel at. I defy anyone to sniff one of their formulations and not drift off (mentally speaking) to somewhere beautifully exotic and zen-like.

How to Conceal Dark Circles – Plus the Tools You Need

When it comes to the skin around the eyes, crow’s feet and dark circles are among our biggest bug bears.

The first is directly related to ageing (skin loses collagen/elastin and so wrinkles form); the second isn’t, though dark circles can often get worse as we age because skin becomes thinner and so more transparent.

In recent months I’ve picked up some great tips from make-up experts on how best to conceal both. They’re tricks that I swear by and use daily. I’ve also recently discovered new products that truly help to disguise these two enormously irritating problems.

Follow-Up Visia Skin Analysis - and an Environ Facial with ‘WOW’ Factor

One of the big challenges with skincare is measuring efficacy. How do we know that this latest peptide-tastic wrinkle-busting skin-tightening serum we shelled out £100 for, and that did so well in brand clinical trials, has actually done the trick for us?

Well, there’s anecdotal evidence (not the most reliable); there’s ‘before and after’ selfie pic evidence (more reliable); and then there’s Visia evidence (a professional analysis of our skin done using highly sophisticated computerised equipment).

How to Conceal a Big Red Pimple – Tutorial and Personal Anecdote!

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. That was the well-known adage running through my mind last week as I was battling a nasty skin issue – an outbreak of zits on my face.

I don’t suffer much with spots as a rule, but when I do, boy do I suffer. They usually pop up big and angry and I simply can’t help but zoom in on them whenever I catch my reflection in a mirror. Last week was one of those occasions.

Su-Man Rehydrating Toning Essence – Taking a Fresh Look at Toners

Toners. Remember those? Cleanse, tone and moisturise used to be the mantra of a good skincare regime, but not so much these days. How many of us still use a toner? Do you?

Well, actually, I do, though only if decanted in to a squirty bottle. I rarely dispense toner on to a cotton wool pad and sweep it across my face. Instead, I tend to spritz it to give my skin a freshen-up, though I never much consider what I’m doing an essential step in my skincare routine. It’s more a treat for my skin.  I like the feel of a toner splashed on to my face.

Though, perhaps, it is time that I started taking my toning more seriously. One skincare expert who believes we all absolutely should be using toner is leading celebrity facialist Su-Man Hsu.

The Naturisimo Kiss & Make-Up Discovery Box – Review

Beauty boxes offer a great way to discover brands and products that might not otherwise have crossed your mind, and the Naturisimo ones are coming along thick and fast right now.

April’s Empties – And Favourites!

It was another bumper crop last month, though not quite reaching the dizzying heights of February’s empties. I used up 21 full and sample-sized products in April, and this time I’ve emptied as many body as face products, which usually make-up the bulk of my throwaways!

May’s Fave Freebie – Neal’s Yard Remedies Wild Rose Hand Cream (With Review)

When presented with the prospect of scoring myself a rose-scented beauty freebie, there is only one possible outcome – I will end up getting it!

That is precisely what happened a few days back, as I was checking out the June editions (goodness, June already!) of the monthly lifestyle press.

June Bracelet Arrives in the UK - #BeSunSavvy

Last July I ran a post on the June bracelet, one of the most innovative beauty gadgets I’ve seen in some time.

The bracelet aims to help keep us safe in the sun by measuring UV levels at our precise location, and then warning us when we’re getting too much according to our skin type and hair/eye colour. It measures UV levels via a special sensor located on the bracelet, which transmits the real-time data to a phone app.

At the time of last year’s post the device was only available in the US – Apple’s flagship retail store in Covent Garden knew nothing about it when I spoke to them! But the June bracelet has just now arrived in the UK at Space NK here.