I’ve not written about beauty on Substack before, despite this being part of my hack portfolio. This was partly because I recently concluded a four-year stint columnising about the subject for The Mail (as I did for The Times in the early Noughties), and felt that I, and everyone else, deserved a break. It was partly also on account of a distaste that much of what appears under that category here amounts to the exhortation “buy shit”.
I’m not suggesting I’m above this. Heaven forfend. However, I am saying that there is a limited amount of genuinely first-rate shit to be purchased - and it’s not always what people are being paid to promote. I’ve recently been asked how I manage to look “perfect-skinned,” “luminous,” “unmottled” and “ageless” during tropical conditions – all extremely generous / relative terms given that I’m 55 and human. Still, I have thoughts.
My aim is to protect my skin, look what I deem as presentable, then forget about both. The following will work until the beginning of October, when the light shifts and gloom descends. UV rays-wise, late August and September can still very much yield damage - not least if your summer regime hasn’t been scorch-proof - and it is never too late to act.
If the many steps sound elaborate, I move fast (five minutes, no more than ten) and – lashings of SPF apart – apply sparingly. Plus you could call a halt after each step: so just sun protection, or sun protection plus under-eye corrector, or what have you. Your call. Either way, these products are absolutely top notch / the cat’s pyjamas / indispensable.
1.The best SPF
As a pale-skinned broad, who sports SPF50 all year, I have tested hundreds, possibly thousands, of SPFs. Heliocare 360° A-R Emulsion SPF50+ is the best I have discovered in my forty-year quest. It’s the real deal, legions of skin specialists using it. It was also the first SPF to be included in Boots’s Specialist Skin section, dedicated to dermatologically-backed wares.
Accordingly, it provides winningly high-level, full-spectrum protection (blue light from screens included), plus supercharged antioxidant benefits. Still, none of this is any use if it doesn’t look incredible. Translation: I adore it because it makes my complexion look dreamily aglow, imparting a lustrous gleam. Given that it boasts a tint, said gleam may be enough coverage for many. For me, it tends to be layer one (on top of some nourishing oil or other). Sensitive-skin friendly, 360°A-R Emulsion minimises redness, making a beautiful, stay-all-day make-up base. I’ve been a devotee for two years and recommended it to pals such as the beauteous Elizabeth Day. I continue testing new SPFs, but nothing ever comes close. Truly, the dog’s danglers.
2. The best under-eye corrector & concealer
Under-eye shadows are part of the Betts genetic make-up, along with anaemia. Beauty Pie’s ingenious Superluminous Under-eye Corrector, nourishes, lends light, and magically vanishes the fuckers, no slap required. One could hold off here for a no make-up guise. But, I also add NARS’s rightly famed Radiant Creamy Concealer because I’m a disordered sleeper and demand extra fakery.
3.The best BB Cream / skin tint
I’ve never been able to wear BB (beauty balm) or CC (colour correcting) creams because I’m too pale / cool-toned; not even the hotly-adored Erborian offerings. Until now. For, this spring, Dr.Jart+ relaunched its Premium BB, after putting BB creams on the British map back in 2012. Bloody hell, it’s brilliant. With eight shades, it’s more inclusive than any other UK offering, and - if it can work on ghoulish moi - should adapt to anyone.
The skincare element has been upgraded with 2% niacinamide to strengthen the skin barrier, 8% glycerine to hydrate, and mineral and chemical SPF50 by way of shield. The result is soft, glowy, buildable and breathable, allowing skin to shine dewily through it.
4. The best primer & crisis foundation
In sweltering climes, my nose can look rather cavernous pore-wise and patchy under slap. Plus hayfever. To combat these issues, I deploy a dot of Dcypher Blur Balance Primer, then a little Vieve Skin Nova Complexion Balm on top. Fussy, perhaps, given the steps above. However, I like to be able to forget about my conk, rather than catching sight of it six hours later and realising I look as if I’ve been snorting coke. I may be a media bore, but I am not that media bore.
The Vieve Balm is also extremely good on parched and sensitised winter complexions, or, indeed, midlife mad face (a technical term alluding to dryness, redness and boils). I keep it on hand for whenever my skin is playing up. A little goes an extremely long way.
5. The best invisible powder
NARS Light-reflecting Setting Powder (Pressed) in Translucent Crystal is absolute perfection for lightly setting one’s t-zone so that one’s lovely, dewy complexion enchancers aren’t so dewy that they vanish in seconds. Applied with a fat brush, it fixes, while being imperceptible to the eye.
Only if temperatures hurtle above 35 degrees will I deploy a (Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless) setting spray. However, I do wield Garnier Ambre Solaire Super UV Over Make-up Spray SPF50 as the day wears on, and - where possible - a hat. Obsessional, yes. But, I’ve never understood why people will spend hundreds on some bollocks face cream, yet won’t spare a fiver in pursuit of damage limitation. Slip, slop, slap - no splurge required.
That’s the underpinnings covered. Then, I add structure, vivacity, actual features…
Cheeks
I never bronze, using blusher to sculpt, impart life, and add an overblown summer flush, brushing it up and along where I desire to simulate bone structure. For cool, blue-pink toned me, this means an underlying lavender powder (all, alas, discontinued, but Glossier Seamless Cheek Colour in Billow comes close), with a tropical, purplish pink on top. Violette-Fr Plume Blush in the shade Souvenir de Volubilis is pure hothouse bliss. Meanwhile, its formula blends like a cream, yet diffuses like a powder, for a sublimely airbrushed impression.
Eyes
Next, I fill in my brows with a little Stila Sketch & Sculpt Brow Pencil in Medium (lighter than my natural hue so they don’t appear blockily Scouse brow), whisking them erect with e.l.f. Brow Laminating Gel. (Soft not stiff - simply run your finger over your arches to erase any waxy whiteness).
I have increasingly piggy little eyes so add emphasis with a touch of purplish-black liner at the outer corners of the inner upper lid, with a swipe of either off-white or mauve-brown powder shadow (cream vanishes). I love modishly naked lashes. However, come summer, my eyes are so squinty I require some exaggeration.
I’ve never understood Maybelline’s reputation as THE mascara brand. However, I have been hugely impressed by its Lash Sensational Firework Mascara. The wand’s flexible, differently-lengthed bristles, arranged in spiral formation, are said to cling to the lash line shunting them up and out. And this really does appear to be the case. A separated (but not in the least spindly), wide-eyed look is also promised, meaning I haven’t had to de-clomp the blighters with a lash comb. While, the stuff hasn’t smudged this whole sweaty summer.
As with blusher, decent sculpting technique is also required. I focus on the outer corners, coating from base to tip, wiggling as I wand, for as much of an eye-opening, almond-eyed, Bambi effect as I can muster.
Lips
Pout-wise, I’m happy with a balm-cum-shield: specifically, Beauty Pie Super Healthy Skin Nourishing Lip Balm SPF 30. These bullets are as flattering as they are protective. I secrete them in every bag and drawer, forcing them upon family and friends.
And that, comrades, is it. I realise I’ve made it sound like A LOT, but – larding myself in Heliocare apart - I’m talking dabs here and there. If I’m going out out, I may add highlighter for the sheer, giddy joy of it. But, I can also pare the whole thing back to SPF, blush and brow when the I can’t even-ness of summer prevails.
Hit me with any queries and, come, share your own summer stunners.
Betts, her mark X.
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