'Sh*t - I'm nearly 30' Skincare Wisdom ... (Part 2)

Following on from my previous post about what little things you can do to get great skin, here's some of my hero products I've found useful over the years as a beauty editor. Enjoy ...

Sunscreen - every day without fail unless you want to look like Yoda when you're older. I love Zelens and Radical Skincare as they don't clog my pores, but any other brand is more or less fine provided it has UVA protection (against the ageing rays) as well as UVB (against the burning ones).

Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Mask- use this once/twice a week to get rid of all the debris and gunk your normal cleansing routine can't. Especially if you live in a polluted city.

Erno Laszlo Deep Sea Mud Deep Cleansing Bar - when Hollywood facialist Dr. Laszlo was teaching the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn (yes you heard right) to wash their faces properly, he used this. I recently sent a bar to my friend with problem skin - she hasn't had to go back to the doctor's since.

Clarisonic Mia 2 Sonic Skin Cleansing System - use this once or twice a week (any more and your skin might get irritated) to put pores through their paces and leave skin superbly smooth.

Decleor Neroli Aromessence - a mini facial in a bottle - a few drops of this stuff are all you need before bed, expect to wake with buttery soft skin of a 20 year old.

Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme Global Anti-Aging Creme- Lauder are the Mac Daddies of the beauty world and for good reason. They have heaps of money to put into research, resulting in some seriously hard-working skincare. This cream works on all skin tones and transformed my complexion even after the first time I used it. If you're starting to look for anti-aging solutions, this is a worthy investment.

Dr. Murad Clarifying Toner - some people say toner is pointless. I would disagree. It removes anything your cleanser didn't get the first time round (we're not always thorough with washing our faces come 11pm when we're knackered and desperate to fall into bed). Plus this contains salicylic acid (if you have spotty/greasy skin comme moi, this stuff will be your best friend) to dissolve dead skin cells to keep your complexion spick and span.

Creme De La Mer The Eye Concentrate - it's been said enough times, but I'll say it again - the skin around the eyes are first to show the signs of ageing. This magic potion will firm it up a treat. It's cheaper than a designer purse, and you only get one face after all ...

Radical Skincare Serum - I wouldn't recommend an expensive product unless I was 100% convinced by it. This stuff works for its money, packed with potent antioxidants and actives to bring your skin back to life.

Flannels (any ones will do) - to remove your cleanser, rinsed in hot (not boiling) water. They exfoliate and open the pores in one. A must - wash your face properly people!

Sudocrem - although they don't tackle acne as advertised on the tub, this stuff is good for the odd spot, scaly skin or red patch.

Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels - when you're hungover, these are a godsend. The skin around the eyes has no oil glands so it needs all the moisture it can get. In short, a godsend.

Pond's Cold Cream - a great budget cleanser, I always grab one of these at the airport. It removes eye-makeup. Kylie's a fan. What else do you need to know?

'Sh*t - I'm nearly 30' Skincare Wisdom ... (Part 1)

When you get past the 25 mark, your face starts to look a little ... different. Lines start to appear on your forehead that weren't previously there. A night on the town is like an anti-facial, you wake the next morning and look like you've been hit with a shovel. Pores get larger and more obvious - cue a whole host of blackheads swarming in like the plague. Eyelids get slightly baggier, dark circles more pronounced ... you get the picture.

I've started looking at girls in their early 20s and marvelling at their gorgeous, peachy skin (I missed most of the dialogue of Silver Linings Playbook - so entranced was I with Jennifer Lawrence's porcelain complexion, damn her). Then there's sales assistant Corina who works in Rachel Vosper's beautiful candle emporium in Belgravia  - which I was lucky enough to visit yesterday - who has the kind of flawless skin you only see in magazines. (I kept talking to her just to gaze and gaze ...)

Yes it's all very well for me to sit here at say how I'm glad to be out of my 20s (more life skills, less naive, better pay cheque yada yada yada) and I certainly am. But the one thing those girls in their early 20s have over us is bloody brilliant skin - effortlessly brilliant I might add. Seriously - at 21, once those teenage hormones have calmed down, I was left with the best skin of my life (sigh!).

My skin isn't looking too bad these days but I have to work at it a little more (with the addition of a flattering Instagram filter). And I imagine, in ten years' time, I'll have to work even harder. So what have I done?

Water = good; sugar = bad
The most important thing you need to know? Your skin loves water and hates sugar. So you best start chugging that H20 (sorry, in the middle of a Breaking Bad marathon ...) like a bloody pilgrim in the desert. Have a hot water with lemon in the morning and eight glasses for the rest of the day after that. It flushes out those toxins and keeps skin plump and hydrated. I've also cut out sugar wherever possible (it's a long story, but trust me - it's your skin's arch-enemy and will give you spots and wrinkles. ELLE wrote a good piece on it recently here).

Facial Massage 
I've been massaging my mush day and night to boost circulation, firm up the jaw line and prevent dreaded 'Churchill Dog' jowls (oh, no no no no....) I'm a big fan of SUQQU's Gankin Massage - and you can follow these handy instructions to learn how to do it. Another technique I'm fond of is to get your index fingers under one cheekbone and rotate them around each other (as if you were motioning to someone to 'wind it up'). It's also super de-stressing, which brings me onto ...

Stop Whining and GO TO SLEEP
Few things (aside from UV exposure) pile on the years as much as stress does. Aside from causing tension and frown-lines, it's all down to telomeres - found on the end of our chromosomes - which are responsible for cells (e.g. skin cells) reproducing healthily. These deplete with stress - which means our skin will look the worse for it. Some good de-stressing techniques I've found so far include yoga, decluttering, running, positive thinking, cutting 'toxic' people out of your life (think I might have to dedicate a whole separate post to this one later on). And of course getting a decent eight hours' sleep speaks for itself - nothing makes your skin less hydrated and more spotty than a bad night's kip. (Calling all insomniacs - a great book I've come across recently is called The Sleep Book - which tells you everything you need to know about getting some shut eye).

Hope this advice proves useful - more to come ...