Blush can help to add a natural healthy glow, brighten up a pale complexion and even contour your features. 

If you apply the wrong shade of blush can make your skin look muddy or even clown-like so its important to decide which blush shade you are.

1. What’s your signature style?

A. Quite girlie and youthful

B. Strong and sexy

2. Whose celeb look do you most admire?

A. Emma Stone

B. Jennifer Lopez

3. How long do you spend getting ready? 

A. 10 minutes

B. 1 hour

4. Where would you rather go on a holiday? 

A. Paris

B. Thailand

5. Which dress style do you prefer? 

A. Fit and flare

B. Bodycon

Establish a healthy future by incorporating these 6 anti-ageing foundational strategies into your life.

Strategy #1 Care for your skin

In order to have great skin at any age, it is important to nurture it.

When it comes to ageing gracefully a good skin care range is your  best friend .

You might be starting to notice a few lines around your eyes because the skin around the eyes is under a millimetre thick, less than half the thickness of the skin on the rest of your face. 

Eyes are also surrounded by muscles which are constantly on the move, squinting and blinking, making expression lines more prevalent, so start reaching for an eye cream morning and night.

In your 30s, your skin becomes a little less supple, due to the loss of collagen and elastic fibres and a litter drier due to a decline in oil production.

The contraceptive pill and pregnancy can also cause hyper-pigmentation around the cheeks, forehead and upper lip. 

This pregnancy ‘mask’ is the result of an increase in oestrogen and your skin not being protected when directly exposed to the sun. To avoid this ensure you use SPF50+ when you are going outside.

Strategy #2 Exercise

Even though you may have a young family, and/or a busy career, leaving you less time to exercise it is important for your overall health.

Surprisingly only 46% of woman work out regular in their 30s. So, if getting to the gym is impossible try exercising at home – aim for 30 minutes three times a week.

You don’t need an expensive gym membership to get fit if you allocate time to go for a walk or run. 

You can even turn your loungeroom into an exercise studio and try subscribing to a YouTube channel for some regular weight training sessions to help maintain bone density and muscle tone.

Besides strength training, include some flexibility exercise in your regime like Pilates or Yoga to keep your muscles flexible.

Strategy #3 Diet

Reviewing your diet regularly is also an important part of self-care. Making sure it includes plenty of fibre and anti-oxidant rich fruits and vegetables is a priority.

Although convenient, keep fast, high fat foods to a minimum. Replace fatty meats with oily fish, such as sardines or salmon, and try eating vegetarian proteins, such as soy patties or tofu.

Cutting down on high glycaemic index carbohydrates, such as white bread and pasta, may also give you more energy and help you lose body fat.

Drinking plenty of water will help keep your joints, muscles and brain lubricated, maintain good kidney health and flush toxins from your body.

Strategy #4. Breast Cancer

Sadly  1 in 12 women are at risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 75.

While the role of diet in breast cancer is still the subject of debate, reducing intake of saturated fats and increasing fibre, especially cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts and bok choy) all contain a group of chemicals called indoles, all thought to have a protective effect.

Reducing alcohol intake is also a good idea. A new study published by the National Breast Cancer Centre found that a daily intake of 3 drinks a day by women was associated with a 35% increase in the risk of breast cancer and 4 or more drinks with a 67% increase.

Including plant oestrogens in your diet may also have a protective effect against breast cancer although more research is needed to be absolutely sure of the benefits.

If you are looking for some added protection, try adding omega fatty acids found in oily fish, walnuts and avocados to your diet.

Strategy #5 Avoid excess sun exposure 

The sun is your skins biggest enemy as UV radiation from the sun cause premature ageing of your skin. 

You don’t have to be a beach babe to look old before your time – incidental damage occurs whenever you drive the car, walk the dog or hang out some washing… and its cumulative.

Sun injures skin cells in many ways because the UV radiation damages the DNA in individual cells so that, when they reproduce, they pass on a jumbled message resulting in problems such as hyper-pigmentation.

UV rays can also trick the body’s immune system into damaging its own collagen and elastin tissue.

And UV radiation destroys the protective lipid layer on your skin, causing dryness and increasing the number of free radicals. 

Free radicals are destructive molecules missing an electron.

They wreak havoc on healthy cells, tearing them apart as they try to pinch an electron to make up for their missing one.

Antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C & E are necessary to restrict free radical action.

Your best defence against premature ageing is a good skin care routine, reducing sun exposure and using an SPF50+ sunscreen daily. 

When applying sunscreen don’t forget to apply it on your neck, décolletage and the backs of your hands.

Strategy #6 Important medical checks

Even though 30 isn’t ‘old’ you should start having regular medical checks, so you have a baseline from which to start monitoring:

It is important for your longevity that by the time you hit the big 3-0 you have crossed these medical checks off your to-do-list

· Smears

· STD

· Rubella

· Monthly breast self-check

· Annual breast and pelvic examination

· Six monthly and annual dental check

· Yearly skin checks for skin cancer

· Regular eye checks

· Regular blood pressure checks

Glowing skin comes from within by following a healthy life style via a diet, exercise, sleep, water and a great skin care routine.

Read on to learn more…

Step #1. Exfoliate

Glowing skin definitely starts with regular gentle exfoliation. An important step in any skin care routine but one that is most often missed. 

Adding exfoliation to your skin care regime is the key to helping your skin care products work more efficiently.

Using an exfoliating cream twice a week will leave your skin feeling soft and smooth. 

If you have exceptionally dry scaly skin, try using an electronic cleansing brush with an oscillating head that gently eliminates skin-dulling debris like makeup, dirt and surface oil, the cleansing brush will improve your skin tone, texture and overall appearance in a matter of minutes. 

Step #2 Prep

While skincare products can take anything up to 2 months before you normally see results, it’s easy to boost your skin’s appearance by using serums, moisturisers and masks to boost your skin’s appearance with immediate results.

If you are in a hurry, try using a moisturiser that doubles as a self-tanner for a healthy holiday glow.

Step #3. Prime

Primers and skin perfectors can be worn alone or mixed and matched underneath your foundation.  

Using a primer underneath your foundation will help to create a smooth, even surface for your make-up to stick to. 

If pigmentation, blotchiness or a sallow complexion is your problem, then try using CC creams as they will brighten while working to provide a flawless base by counteracting many of the skin tone issues we face each day.

Step #4. Perfect

Illuminiser and cream blush are the ultimate go-to-products. With built-in pigments which capture the light bringing your complexion to life, they are bound to give you the natural glow you are after.

Dab them over your foundation and bronzer, focusing on the high points of your face for the illuminser (cheekbones, nose, Cupid’s bow of your lips) and onto the apples of your cheeks for the blush.

By making a few simple tweaks to your cosmetic bag you might be able to hold onto your youthful looks for a while longer. 

Follow these 10 tips and notice the difference!

 Tip #1 Use Primer

If you usually moisturise and then apply foundation…..try adding a layer of primer in between your moisturiser and base. 

Using a primer makes your skin look smoother instantly.

Tip #2 Switch to liquid

If you usually dust on a mineral or powder foundation…. try switching to liquid formula. Powder can be too drying, enhancing dullness and wrinkles.

A luminous-finish liquid foundation will give your skin a fresh look.

Tip #3 Blush is best

If you normally use bronzer as your blush….  try dusting your cheeks with a soft shade of warm pink. We actually lose colour in our skin as we mature and a subtle pop of colour on the apples of your cheeks will give your skin a youthful glow.

Tip #4 Its all about the Brows

If you have bare there eyebrows and normally pencil them in….try feathering colour lightly from outer edge to inner corner and back again. Most women make the mistake of applying a solid block of colour at the outer edge which looks too harsh and overdone.

Use a taupe or brown eyeshadow to colour the hair and then if you need to use your pencil to fill in the arch area first, followed by the tail.

Don’t forget to look at yourself in the mirror from the distance a person would stand in front of you. They wouldn’t be up in your grill… so stand back from the mirror and get a clear perspective!

If you can’t be bothered filling in your Brows each day consider Tinting your eyebrows or for something more semi-permanent consider trying Brow Henna.

Tip #5 Ease into eyeliner

If you usually line your upper and lower lashes in black…. try lining the bottom lashes in a softer shade and blend thoroughly. 

A thin black liquid line, buried into the upper lashes, can make lids look more open but thick bold black liner on the lower lash line can have the opposite effect, making eyes look smaller. 

By applying a softer shade along the bottom lashline it will add a subtle definition and enhance your eye shape. Experiment with a soft shade of brown, grey, or even a light blue!

Tip #6 Eyeshadow application

If you normally apply multiple shadow shades on your eyelid… try swiping a single shade of soft taupe shadow. You don’t need to do heavy contouring on sagging lids to make them appear more lifted. An all-over application of taupe with a luminous finish makes a statement, while creating the appearance of depth.

Tip #7 Conceale it

If you usually cover lines with concealer….try concealing just the dark shadows only and leave those wrinkles alone. 

Applying concealer to crow’s feet will only highlight them, which defeats the purpose. 

Apply a cover-up that’s the same shade as your skin tone along the inner corners of your eyes and blend it three-quarters of the way out, stopping before your fine lines begin.

Tip #8 Lip Service

If you usually wear lip gloss….try swapping your gloss for a lippie with a satin finish. 

Lips look soft and supple when your lipstick is balmy and creamy – not wet and glittery. Plus, gloss tends to slip and slide and settle into the fine lines around your lips, which isn’t a very attractive look!

Tip #9 Nude lips aren’t for everyone

If you usually apply the same “barely-there” shade of lipstick….try experimenting with colour! As we age, it gets harder to pull off a nude lip. 

A gorgeous pink or coral lip will brighten up your complexion instantly, but if you’re colour shy, dab (don’t swipe) it on your lips straight from the tube and blend with your fingertips or brush for a sheerer application and don’t forget to blot in between coats!

Tip #10 Luscious Lashes

If you usually apply mascara in the bathroom mirror….try using a magnifying mirror instead. 

It can be a little depressing looking at your eye area that close up, but since lashes tend to thin out with age, a magnifying mirror can help you see and coat each and every last one. 

But if you can’t be bothered putting on mascara each day consider tinting your lashes and brows or having a lash lift for gorgeous dark lashes that can up to 12 weeks.

Skin experts believe that most skin damage can be prevented with some special care.

If you want to know ways to beat wrinkles and reduce the appearance of fine lines read on.

1. Sun Protection

The single biggest cause of skin ageing is sunlight. 

You should use a sunscreen with a minimum of SPF50 every day because of the ageing effects of the sun are as prevalent during the winter months as in the summer. 

This will help prevent your skin from ageing prematurely, and will guard against sunburn.

2. Stop smoking

Cigarette smoke speeds up the ageing process as it strips your skin of oxygen and slows down the regeneration of new cells. 

It can give the skin a grey, sluggish look, and cause fine lines around the mouth because heavy smokers are constantly pursing their lips to draw on a cigarette.