"I feel I've ticked all the boxes when it comes to midlife: I eat well, I exercise, and get enough sleep. But I struggle to look healthy, let alone glamorous. How do you get your glow in the winter?"
Like most women, I find this time of year especially busy. In the past few weeks, I have hosted at the Women In Work Summit and two Menopause Mandate events, plus spoken at the Henley and Cheltenham Literary Festivals about my dietary reboot book, Menolicious. Let's just say that, by Halloween, I didn't need to don a costume. I was as pallid as any ghoul. Winter radiance is an entirely different remit to a summer glow, where you have sunshine on your side. As the leaves fall, I watch my carefully curated tan sloughing away with every shower. I currently feel like a late-autumn misty version of my younger self.
Advice for getting your glow back in midlife
1. Get outside
Like you, I'm aware that lifestyle choices are the main contributors to looking healthy. As the days shrink and the nights get longer, it's so easy to turn into a hibernating creature, eschewing the outdoors for a blanket and a box set. So, first and foremost, I'd encourage you to keep up your current routine and include daylight, oxygen and the head-clearing space that a brisk daily walk provides. It's no wonder that dog walkers tend to live longer! You might use my shortcut – Benefit’s 'Benetint', £22.50 / $28, to enhance the pink-cheeked effect. I'm told on good authority that it's Demi Moore's go-to.
2. Use different products
I'd like to say I have a summer and a winter makeup routine. This suggests a level of order that I will never achieve, but I do switch things up a little as the nights draw in. Generally, I'm a less-is-more kind of gal, opting for quality over quantity. In summer, I try to go nude most of the time (not naked, just foundation-free), but in winter I need a bit of help. The clear gel Erborian 'CC Water Clair', £19 / $21, is my favourite cover-all. My face feels fresh and clean, but with a touch of colour.
I veer towards expensive for my skincare, an extravagance picked up from watching my mother eke out our weekly food budget so she could afford her tub of Orlane night cream. My decadence is a small London female start-up, Skin Design London, to whom I attribute much of my glow, thanks to their 'Face Bath Cleanser', £110 / $132, a luxurious cleansing cream so gentle it can also be used to remove eye makeup. I also splash out on the 'Antioxidant Glow Serum', £150 / £179. Less expensive brands are available. Such as the Q+A 'Vitamin C Brightening Serum', £9.25 , which is excellent.
3. Lining up
I never use powder eyeshadows these days, but survive on what looks like a kids' colouring kit. Bobbi Brown's wonderful crayons, the 'Long-Wear Cream Eyeshadow Sticks', £29.50 / $39, last from dawn to dusk as promised. My autumnal favourites are Taupe, Cinnamon and Sand Dune, which I blend for highlights and shadows on my lids, plus my new waterline eyeliner obsession to add definition to my eyes that sometimes seem to be disappearing into the winter gloaming. I use a soft pencil – my current favourite is the Victoria Beckham 'Satin Kajal Eyeliner' in Bronze, £32 / $38.50. Hildun Beauty's 'Pecan Silk to Set Kajal' eyeliner, £17, also works a treat, and I stick to waterproof mascara such as L'Oréal Paris' Paradise Big Deal Waterproof Mascara, £12.99 / $15.99, so that when my eyes water in the wind, I don't lose all of my akeup.
4. Looking lippy
Dry lips are a curse of the winter months. I wear little more than lip balm, but I do invest in a more moisturising version and add a touch of colour for nights out. Ruby Hammer's 'Lip Serum Balms', £18, combine the two.