When natural skincare products first appeared, they had a homespun feel about them and were mainly stocked in health stores. Now you can go to any beauty store or pharmacy and buy natural products in fancy bottles.
**The latest thing
**Skin brighteners are the hottest trend in natural skincare. Once we realised wrinkles and sagging weren’t the only things ageing us, and that skin tone is also a biggie, they were destined to take off.
What is natural?
To count as natural, skincare must be free of synthetics such as preservatives and fragrances. Most are based on plant extracts and many also contain a high proportion of organics. Formulas can be quite complex and often involve a bewildering array of ingredients. Some companies do an excellent job of listing these on their websites.
But beware of misleading packaging with the word “organic” on the front which, on closer inspection, has only one ingredient that qualifies. And remember, just because a product is natural doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you, and likewise, synthetic formulas aren’t necessarily bad.
MY BEAUTY SECRETS
Rachel Nash (45) plays Ingrid in TV3’s The Almighty Johnsons.
My beauty philosophy is… I believe that beauty is a bit about what’s on your face and how it all fits together, but it’s also about what’s in your heart and how that shows on your face. Smiling and being kind is beautiful and frowning and being mean is ugly. I guess it’s called “inner beauty”.
The skincare products I can’t live without are… A face cloth and warm water! And at the moment I’m loving my Dermalogica Super Rich Repair Age Smart moisturiser for mature skin.
My haircare secret is… Not really a secret because curly hair tends to be very visible! I love Sebastian Professional Potion 9, because it’s really easy to use and makes curly hair look like it’s supposed to be curly and not just messy.
The must-have products in my makeup bag are… Lipstick. My mum once told me, “You look so much prettier when you pop a little bit of lipstick on!” I’m a bit of a MAC fan. I’m trying their Capricious lipstick and I always have a Viva Glam VI lippy. I also love the Living Nature range and Natio.
My favourite beauty treat is… The best beauty treatment I ever had was when we were camping. A group of us women and our children all sat around on the grass, by the sea in the sun and we had a hilarious selection of scrubs, washes, face masks, cucumber slices and nail polish. We were relaxed and laughed a lot. Bliss.
My biggest beauty sin is… Soaking up the sun and forgetting to put sunblock on.
The best thing my mother taught me about beauty was… Apart from the lipstick advice, the only other thing I remember my dear late (and very beautiful) mum saying to me about how I looked was, “Never mind, darling, you have inner beauty.” A bit of therapy has sorted the lipstick and inner beauty stuff out, and now I’m happy to tell my daughters how beautiful they are and to be told by them how beautiful I am!
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