sunscreen Archives - Conversations through the middle

40s Chic – and so I am (!!)

September 6, 2012

It’s that day again, the day when I climb ever further into my 40s. It amazes me just how quickly time passes – and how blinded we are by it. When I look in the mirror I still see a woman in her 20s and I feel no different than I did when I was 18, except perhaps I’m a little bit wiser and a lot more cynical.

One thing I’ve noticed when it comes to beauty, in your teens and 20s it doesn’t matter what make-up you use or even if you have a skincare regime, you look good regardless. A couple of decades later and it does matter, very much so. This is the time that lack of cleansing, moisturising and sun protection comes back to bite you on the bum and when what you put on your face affects not only how you look but the ongoing appearance, even health of your skin.

I’m lucky in that my mam was very conscious of skincare and cosmetics. Her advice and enthusiasm rubbed off on me and I’ve been using moisturiser since I was at least 15 years old, perhaps younger. Her favourite was Nivea then Oil of Ulay (when it was Oil of Ulay). I still can’t pass a Nivea tin without sniffing it and being transported back decades. Oh the power of fragrance memories.

I now have my own favourite skincare products and they have become more sophisticated over the years, each designed to do a different job in holding back the years. Not all of them are expensive, many are natural (I have a soft spot for organic ingredients and plant extracts) and some are luxuries that remain on my wishlist rather than in my bathroom for the majority of the time. In no particular order they are:

A great day or night cream that feels gorgeous even as you’re applying it.
You only need a little and it sinks into the skin very quickly

I’ve been using this for years and it always does the job.
This is as good as some of the more expensive creams I’ve tried and it’s better than a few others

My current favourite eye treatment and one I told you about here

Melvita organic skincare is another of my favourite
brands and its Youthful Skin Serum is lovely under moisturiser

Lovely and light, this is one of my favourite daytime moisturisers. I blogged about it here

I have told you about this before here. It smells fabulous,
it makes a change to using night cream and as it’s an oil, you only need a few drops

Finally, as a sunscreen for your face, I haven’t yet found anything to beat this.
It’s not too sticky, not too thick, absorbs sort of quickly (quicker than other facial sunscreens I’ve tried), and it smells good. I first posted about it here

So just to finish off, I would like to say have a (virtual) piece of cake on me and a refreshing cup of tea (or wine) and let me know about your favourite beauty products in the comment section below. Enjoy the party!

Suncare – keep your cool when it’s hot with these practical tips

August 8, 2012

The weather has been really weird this past few months and thinking about that has prompted this post. One minute it’s sunny, the next it’s raining, the next it’s windy and overcast, so it’s easy to forget that the sun is at its hottest at this time of year. It always reminds me of what I’ve read about Tenerife – it may not be sunny but the UV rays still get through (though the one time I was in Tenerife it was gorgeous and sunny).

So at the risk of teaching my grandmother how to suck eggs, I thought I’d share five tips for keeping your cool under the rays – or in other words how to practise safe sun.

1) Stay out of the sun when it is at its highest, so from around noon until 3pm, and keep babies and young children out of the sun altogether.

2) Wear loose clothing that’s made of a close weave fabric, wear sunglasses to protect your eyes and wear a hat. Your sunglasses should be 100% UV absorbing, fit well and give good coverage all round, so limiting as much as possible the amount of light reaching your eyes. Ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause irreversible damage, leading to cataracts or macular degeneration. According to David Cartwright, optician expert for Boots: “The majority of UV damage is caused before the age of 18 as more UV rays pass through the lens, so you need to protect against this.”

3) Slap on the sunscreen. It’s not enough to apply it once outside, for best effect you need to apply it 30 minutes before stepping out the door. Then you need to regularly reapply it, especially if you’re in and out of water. Most people don’t apply enough and even the highest SPF factor won’t be able to do its job properly if inadequately applied. “You should worry about wearing enough sunscreen, rather than how high the SPF is,” says Charlotte Vohtz, founder of natural skincare company Green People. “To get the SPF advertised use a full shot glass (30ml) to cover the whole body.”

4) Fake it! False tan has come so far over the past few years that you won’t look orange if you choose a good quality product and apply it correctly, or you could treat yourself to a salon tan for a totally professional finish. As with sunscreens, there’s a good range of tanning products that contain natural ingredients, such as Melvita ProSun Gradual Self-Tanning Gel-Cream, which develops over a couple of days to give a golden glow, Green People Self Tan Lotion, containing organic rosehip, sandalwood and geranium, or Lavera Sun Sensitive Natural and Organic Self Tanning Lotion with jojoba and macadamia nut oils. For immediate satisfaction The Body Shop does a Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil that gives colour immediately (though you wouldn’t want to wear that in the swimming pool).

5) Finally, just to confuse matters, make sure you get outside into the sun every day, sunscreen-free. What? I hear you say. Doesn’t that go against everything you’ve just said? Well… as long as you don’t do it during the hottest part of the day you should be okay, says the National Osteoporosis Society. It’s all about vitamin D you see. We need vitamin D to help keep our bones strong and the best source of the nutrient is sunshine – and according to the National Osteoporosis Society just 10 minutes per day outdoors over the summer should be enough to keep our levels of this sunshine vitamin topped up year round.

And just a few more words on the subject of vitamin D: If your shadow is shorter than you then the sun is at the right angle to product vitamin D and you need to be outside to benefit as your body cannot produce vitamin D through windows. (National Osteoporosis Society Sunlight Campaign).

Beauty round-up – fragrance, cleanser, dry sunscreen and hair care

July 23, 2012

Exciting news from Liz Earle with the announcement of Botanical Essence No.15 eau de parfum, the company’s second fragrance. It’s a delicious spicy mixture of tonka bean, sandalwood, pink pepper, bergamot and cedarwood over a damask rose and vanilla heart and is described as fresh oriental. “Customers wanted something more evening-y and sensual, more exotic, which is the brief we gave,” explained Liz Earle at last week’s launch event. “The fragrance has high levels of naturals but still has the finesse of a fine fragrance.”

Achieving the right balance of natural ingredients while creating a fragrance that is contemporary and not too heavy was not an easy job. “Often naturals can be quite old fashioned so it was a challenge to create a fresh oriental fragrance with such a level of naturals,” continues Liz.

Alienor Massenet is the perfumer behind Botanical Essence No.15. “It is very rare to be asked to use such a high level of natural ingredients; it’s easier to use synthetics. Plus oriental fragrances are harder to formulate using naturals, a lot more difficult than the citrus fragrance family,” she says. “The brief allowed me to not only use the best ingredients, but also the best parts of these special ingredients. All of these factors have helped create a unique fragrance.”

I don’t know about fresh oriental – I don’t get that with this perfume, I get warmth and depth, rather than fresh. It’s sophisticated, definitely a fragrance for evening, though I think it would also work in daytime during the winter when you’re all wrapped up in jumpers, woolly scarves, gloves and woolly hat, walking in the countryside. I don’t think it will be to everybody’s taste, however, partly because of the ethos behind the brand and the focus on quality, natural ingredients, partly because I think it smells lovely, it is to mine.

Also from Liz Earle comes this special edition version of the Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. It contains rose and lavender essential oils so is great for using to get rid of make-up and grime before going to bed. For each bottle sold Liz Earle is to donate £2 to the Prince’s Trust as part of its Tomorrow campaign. Liz – along with other famous names including the photographer Rankin and fashion designer Zandra Rhodes – is working with the trust as a mentor to young people building their own businesses. It’s on sale from September. uk.lizearle.com

Here is something I haven’t seen before but tell me if I’m just out of the loop and you have, it’s a dry sunscreen powder containing titanium dioxide and clay that not only protects the skin from UVA and UVB rays, but calms and soothes inflammation.

By Jane Iredale, Powder-Me has an SPF of 30 and is water resistant, so ideal for wearing by the pool. The new shade – Golden – joins the existing Tanned and Translucent sunscreens. Simply apply to body and face 30 minutes before going into the sun. Dab on the powder and rub into the skin with your hand or the sponge provided and for best results apply to just moisturised skin. It’s suitable for children as well as adults. www.janeiredale.com

Organic Care systems has reformulated its haircare range including its Aqua Boost, shampoo, conditioner and reconstructor, which now contain ecocert-approved oat seed extract and lecithin. Organic Care’s Power Build products now have added apple extracts, lemon and sugar cane to promote scalp cell renewal, while its Status Quo shampoo and conditioner benefit from beetroot extract with its anti oxidant and anti inflammatory properties.

All products are free from parabens and synthetic ingredients, contain natural fragrances and they are not tested on animals. www.organiccoloursystems.com

Beauty roundup – sunscreens

June 13, 2012

Quick! The sun’s shining so time to write that post on sunscreens before the rain comes back…
There’s such a huge variety of products out there, all more or less doing the same job – protecting your skin and stopping you from burning. We see the usual suspects lined up in shops everywhere, but what of the alternatives? What do you do if you’re veggie, or vegan, or just want a product formulated with natural ingredients rather than a baffling list of chemicals?

They do exist, though often you have to search harder to track them down. Often you can find them online and the good thing about that is, when you do you might find accompanying body care and facial products as well, opening up a whole new collection of lotions and potions to try.

Here’s just a few of the more natural sunscreens I’ve found information on. I haven’t tried all of these, but the ones I have tried I have been impressed with.

Green People – this was the first natural sunscreen I found and I have been using it on and off oh, must be for around 10 years. It is organic and contains vitamins A, C and E, which help keep skin hydrated from the inside and protect against cell damage from the sun. There’s also green tea, rosemary extract, avocado and olive in there, but there’s no parabens, phthalates or artificial sunscreens.

I have tried both the adult version and the children’s version (my daughter used that one, not me) and it does seem to be the brand I come back to most often. It’s available in several sizes and is generally fragrance-free (thought there is a version for kids that is fragranced with lavender.) www.greenpeople.co.uk

Aubrey Organics – Apparently this was the first company to create a natural suncare product and it has been around since the 1970s. I did not know that. The range has just been updated and the Natural Sun collection contains plant ingredients – rosehip oil, jojoba and shea butter – natural minerals and antioxidants (including green tea).

It is organic, available for both adults and children, and has an SPF of 30+ (not sure what value + represents other than more than 30). I have yet to try this but I have used Aubrey Organics moisturisers and eye creams in the past and have found them easily absorbed and good quality. www.aubreyorganicsuk.co.uk

Sôvée by Aethic is a new sunscreen that has just come to my attention – information about it landed on my desk just a few days ago so I have no idea what it’s like to use, but it sounds pretty good. It has a natural and organic base (does that mean it’s not 100% organic? I will have to check that out), contains vitamin E and is available in SPF 15, 25 and 40.

It is marine positive, which means it does not pollute the water I believe. (Sunscreens are a big cause of harm to marine life and coral reefs – again, something I did not know.) It’s all about reducing your acquatrail to reduce pollution in the world’s lakes, rivers, seas and oceans, which is an issue I’m sure we’ll hear more about in the future. It is the first product from new skincare company Aethic. www.aethic.com

Lovea is new to the UK and I’m told it is the bestselling organic sunscreen in France. The range contains natural minerals (titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) that reflect the sun’s UV rays rather than absorb them as many synthetic products do. There’s a variety of formulations, including an anti-ageing SPF 50 face cream, factor 30 and 15 sunscreen sprays for adults, and factor 30 and 50 sunscreen sprays for kids. Moisturising monoi oil is in all of the products, while the face cream also contains vitamin E and argan oil.

I haven’t tried these sunscreens yet but hope to do so at some point this summer. If anybody has tried them let me know what you think. Available from www.mypure.co.uk

I first came across Lavera a few years ago when I was researching natural cosmetics. I had tried a couple of their blushers and
a lip gloss, but hadn’t’ tried the suncare products until a few weeks ago when a friendly PR sent me a few to try. Lavera also is an organic range and the products contain natural mineral sunscreens, carotene and sunflower oil. They’re water resistant as well, which is handy if you or the kids keep popping into the pool to cool off on holiday.

I tried the Family Sun Spray and the Anti-Ageing Sun Milk (which also contains pomegranate oil). Both are SPF 15, which I find, for me, is fine for everyday use in the UK, but I would be looking for a higher SPF on holiday. I would not put factor 15 on my daughter however, even in the UK, as I believe children need a higher
SPF to protect their delicate skin. (I realise an SPF 50 product is not that much more effective in preventing UV damage than an SPF 15 product – there’s only a few per cent difference – but I still prefer a higher SPF for Dot.)

Overall I like the sun spray best – it has a pleasant, slightly lemony fragrance and it is not greasy. The anti-ageing milk takes a bit of time to sink in, giving your skin a pale appearance, but then once it has absorbed it doesn’t leave a sticky feel. www.lavera.co.uk

Fans of Dead Sea minerals should love Ahava’s sunscreen collection. As well as the aforementioned minerals, the products contain natural moisturisers and plant extracts, such as vitamin-rich Dunaliella algae seaweed, indigenous to the Dead Sea region. The sunscreens are paraben-free and do not contain mineral oil, oxybenzone or manmade preservatives.

There’s a factor 30 anti-ageing moisturiser and moisturising spray, and SPF 15 and 50 sunscreens.
I have used one of the sunscreens in the past, but to be honest it was several years ago and I can’t remember which one. However, the SPF 30 moisturising sunscreen was highly commended in this year’s Natural Health Beauty Awards – which can’t be bad! www.ahava.co.uk