January is a bleak month for skin. It’s generally tired, dry and peaky-looking, left reeling from the brutal combination of biting weather and central heating. Unless, of course, you’re Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who just showed us how to fight off the January blues with a glow so natural nobody would ever quibble.
Her look is particularly flattering for women over 50, who want a subtle ‘you look well’ glow, rather than a deep self-tan hue that looks, well, fake.
Sophie, 60, certainly lit up the United Nations as she attended a conference this weekend to mark the 80th anniversary of its founding. Taking her seat on behalf of the royal family, the Duchess looked beautifully radiant with a lustrous, softly-bronzed complexion, enhanced by a subtle, iridescent finish.
However it’s been achieved, this level of grown-up glow is absolutely perfect for January, giving skin a lovely, healthy-looking lift rather than a jump-scare shift in shade.
Celebrity facialist Michaella Bolder is an advocate of gently sliding up the warmth for a believable (and classy) winter glow. ‘My spring tanning tip is to go for a subtly bronzed shade that looks and feels “lived in” rather than solid all-over tan colour appearing overnight,’ says Michaella.
‘I like to apply moisturiser and SPF then add four drops of face tanning over the top. It doesn’t feel like slopping a gloopy solution over skin, and it creates an effortless, bronzed hue in a few hours,’ she says.
Tanologist Face Drops was the winner of the best tanning drops in the last GHI tests, which involved almost 500 women.
To emulate Sophie’s iridescent skin finish, a sheer, all-over luminiser is a boon for mature skin. Perfect for smoothing the rough edges off tired winter skin, the right product gives a lit-from-within lustre, rather than looking sticky or shiny.
For this purpose, the newly-upgraded By Terry Brightening CC Serum gets the thumbs up from no less an authority than Hannah Martin, one of the royals’ favourite makeup artists. ‘This gives your skin such a soft radiance that gently reflects the light in a way that’s slightly less intense than some other skin filter products,’ Hannah tells us.
When you’re using self-tan in winter, it’s especially important to pair it with well-moisturised skin, so the colour develops smoothly without snags or dark build-up on dry patches.
If self-tan or makeup isn’t sitting well on your skin, ‘it can be a sign that your barrier is compromised and your skin is asking for support rather than more stimulation,’ says aesthetics expert Dr Munir Somji. To do that, temporarily pull back on aggressive actives like strong retinoids and exfoliants and prioritise a well-formulated barrier-building moisturiser, such as his own Exosome Barrier Repair Serum.
Dr Somji Skincare Exosome Barrier Repair Serum
Dr Somji Skincare Exosome Barrier Repair Serum
Resetting your barrier has huge benefits for fiftysomething skin, beyond a faux-glow that develops smoothly. ‘A strong skin barrier means skin that’s calm, comfortable, hydrated and resilient, ages more slowly, looks smoother and brighter.’
Do it right now, Dr Somji says: ‘It’ll set your skin up for success all year long.’
