Hannah Betts’s Better…not younger: Beauty micro tweaks that will take years off your look
- Hannah Betts proposes that you change only one thing this January that is small
- UK-based beauty expert enjoys a bijou personal project by way of diversion
- She says by embracing one tweak you will open yourself up to more of them
Will 2023 be the year you get fitter? Perhaps. Will it be the year in which you get fit, lose ten kilos, look 20 years younger, get a perfect hairstyle, solve your spots, grow your eyelashes, paint your nails, and become the kind of woman who prefers kale over cake? Probably not.
What I propose is to change only one thing this January: something small, attainable and possibly rather fun.
For there’s nothing quite like some bijou personal project by way of diversion. I shed half a stone between September and December simply by not being spectacularly greedy, and I even enjoyed that gentle behaviour modification.
Change fosters change, so by embracing one tweak, you’ll be opening yourself up to more of them. And, should you get a taste for it and want to make more micro shifts then, by all means, knock yourself out.
Nail-wise, your hands are far enough away from your face that you don’t even have to bear in mind what suits you Hannah Betts encourages you to just take a Technicolor leap
First off, allow yourself a bathroom reboot. After sprucing things up and disposing of anything festering, I installed new towels in place of our ancient ones. Nothing fancy, you understand. It merely took a trip to the local supermarket to decide upon a colour, then job done.
I also changed our toothbrush heads, laid out new bars of Nesti Dante Dei Colli Fiorentini Cipresso soap (£4.75, amazon.co.uk), filled the dispenser with Aroma Active Laboratories’ dreamy, patchouli-scented Soothing Body & Face Cleanser (£5.40, sephora.co.uk) and broke the seal on some new body cream.
Next, may I suggest that you adopt a make-up change? Never rocked a bold lip or a bright talon? Now is the time. And, if this spurs the reaction ‘That’s not me’, well… not me is precisely what we’re looking for.
Always sport a barely there pink? Do fuchsia. Happiest with a pale caramel? Don a sensational satsuma. Or, if this holds no fear, change texture. Live for matte? Go for sheen. Barry M’s sheer, non-sticky Glazed Oil Infused Lip Gloss (£4.99, barrym.com) is a terrific place to start.
Hannah Betts (pictured) proposes that you change only one thing this January that is small. UK-based beauty expert enjoys a bijou personal project by way of diversion
Being more of a balm fiend than a huge lipstick wearer, I’ve opted for Lisa Eldridge’s True Velvet Lip Colour in Velvet Myth (£26, lisaeldridge.com) — a move so radical even my make-up-oblivious partner gasped.
It may be in my cooltoned ballpark, but Velvet Myth is a full-on, insanely pigmented mulberry, inspired by a vintage kimono Lisa found on her first trip to Japan.
I never go for red — and this strays dangerously close — but it has enough blue in it to whiten my teeth and instantly clear and freshen my complexion.
Wearing it, I’ve been forced to reconsider how to play the rest of my face — never a bad thing.
It requires different application techniques and a whole new attitude. It is ‘not me’, and invigoratingly all the better for it.
Nail-wise, your hands are far enough away from your face that you don’t even have to bear in mind what suits you — just take a Technicolor leap!
Or your focus might be eye make-up innovation: finally cracking eyeshadow shading, or mastering waterline kohl.
Find a new foundation style, swap bronzer for blusher, or experiment with a (slight) contour. Do what our daughters and granddaughters do and have a look on YouTube. Then, invest in a set of brushes and play.
You might become a serum specialist, get a tweakment, change your parting or cut a fringe.
Or perhaps you’ll unearth a new scent you’ve never considered before — the lessenteurs.com website is a wonderful place to peruse.
Embrace change, explore, evolve, shock yourself a little. You’ll look — and feel — all the younger for it.
RACE YOU TO IT
Self-tan for skincare fans, Coco & Eve Antioxidant Face Tanning Micromist (£25.90, cocoandeve.com) develops in six hours. This spray apparently improves hydration by 40 per cent in 30 minutes, boosts collagen by 93 per cent and reduces fine lines. Worth a spritz.
cocoandeve.com
MY ICON OF THE WEEK
ELIZABETH MCGOVERN
Actress Elizabeth McGovern (pictured) favours sheer foundations and eyeshadows, plus bold red or rich pink lips
Downton’s Lady Cora keeps her body young with swimming and yoga. She favours sheer foundations and eyeshadows, plus bold red or rich pink lips. Going silver-haired ‘feels like the easiest thing in the world’, says the 61-year-old. ‘I just sweep it back and forget about it. It’s liberating. I hardly ever need to wash it.’
MY BATH BLISS KIT
This is a potent antioxidant and a sleep-inspiring sedative when sprinkled into your tub.
hollandandbarrett.com
Use the warming arnica, birch, rosemary and lavender soak to restore an aching body.
weleda.co.uk
Gently exfoliating, with a gorgeous blackberry, birch tar and guaiac wood aroma.
messiahandeve.co.uk
An uplifting concoction of lavender, marjoram and geranium oils that foams well.
nealsyardremedies.com
This oat and moisturiser blend is famous for relieving sensitive skin that is prone to eczema.
boots.com
COSMETIC CRAVING
I hadn’t worn Gres Cabochard Eau De Parfum (£14, debenhams.com) for years, but I have received so many compliments since I took up the leather chypre — or mossy — perfume again.
Named after the French word for ‘headstrong’, it was created in 1959 by Bernard Chant and reformulated in 2019. A whacking 100ml bottle of it can now be found for less than £20. Some find it a heart-wrenching ghost of its former self. However, there’s enough of the ghost left to beguile.
After the verdant orange of its opening — suffused with sparkling aldehyde aspects — and spiced middle notes, the scent gives way to a cloud of leather, smoke and powder.
debenhams.com
READ MORE:
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Hannah Betts’ Better…Not Younger: Why you need to layer up your beauty regime, too…
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