Our columnist Andrea McLean, founder of female empowerment website This Girl is on Fire, reveals her six best-kept beauty tips with us all
Isn’t it funny how the words ‘beauty’ and ‘secret’ are so often thrust together? It’s something that we have become so accustomed to; it has been so ingrained into our psyche that there must be something we don’t know that others do, and that’s why they are so much further ahead than we are. It doesn’t even matter which category we put this into, if someone has something we aspire to, whether that’s looks or otherwise, there MUST be a reason why they have it and we don’t! “What’s her secret?” we whisper in awe. Secrets have a hint of mystery that draw us all in… the allure is in the quest for discovery as much as the reveal. And, for those holding that much-coveted information, there is a glow of superiority and satisfaction of being in possession of something others want, but lack. Perhaps the biggest beauty secret is simply that – the glow of knowing what works and keeping it to yourself! Well, that’s not how I roll. I like to pass things on and pay it forward rather than horde good stuff to myself. So I thought that this month, with spring finally on the horizon and the prospect of us emerging, blinking and unsteady into the world once again, I’d share with you some beauty tips so they’re not a secret any more…
1. Your skin is an organ
This is not a secret, but you’d think it was, as most people treat their skin as something that stops their insides from falling out. Like it’s a separate thing to the rest of our incredible bodies, which are busy digesting the food we eat, giving us energy, fighting off disease and moving us from place to place. We look at our skin as something we want to make us look good, so we throw more stuff at it, rather than seeing it is a reflection of who we are and how we live. Those broken veins, little spots, fine lines and pigmentation are not ‘flaws’ to be tackled! They are visual manifestations of how much sunshine we expose ourselves to, how much water we drink, how much sugar we eat, how our hormones are behaving, how much stress we are experiencing. Slapping on a moisturiser will not stop any of those things on their own (we will come to those later), you need to do your bit too.
2. Sleeping beauty
Yup, that princess was onto something – that must be why Aurora woke up looking fresh-faced and ready for love! Sleep is one of the most powerful tools we have in our personal beauty box, and it’s absolutely free. Think how ravaged you look (never mind feel) when you’ve had a few bad night’s sleep. Your eyes are baggy and shadowy, your skin sags with exhaustion, and if there was a colour foundation to match your pallor it’d be called: ‘Rough Round The Edges Grey’. No it’s not boring, yes it makes
