The New Year is a brilliant time to rethink your skincare regime and with a host of high-tech products out this month, getting a youthful glow couldn’t be easier.
But before you part with any money, here’s ELSA McALONAN’S extensively-tested guide to 2013’s best new anti-aging potions . .
Fresh faced: Getting glowing skin all year round means getting serious about skincare
WRINKLE BUSTERS
Top of the list — and hitting the shelves at Boots on January 23 — is L’Oreal’s new Age Perfect Cell Renew range, which boasts patented ingredients aimed at hydrating and firming mature or menopausal skin.
There are three products: Advanced Restoring Day Cream SPF15, £19.99; Advanced Restoring Night Cream, £19.99; and the Golden Elixir serum, £24.99, all packaged in expensive-looking, sturdy gold jars.
The serum is the star as it contains hyaluronic acid, which boosts cellular renewal and refines the texture of the skin, and white Japanese peony extract, a powerful antioxidant.
But does it work? I gave the products to mother-of-one Miriam McDade, 50, from Ayrshire, to try.
'The serum is easy to apply and absorbs well,' she said. 'After two days of using all three products my skin felt softer, and after a week it appeared smoother, plumped and my lines were reduced. My laughter lines also appear less deep.'
I have tried them, too and, though I initially felt that the serum might be drying, any concerns I had were blown away by the day and night creams — they’re rich, with a luxurious texture and a subtle fragrance.
You should always try skincare products for four weeks to test results, but those to whom I have given this saw positive results in seven days.
The scientific research is just as impressive. In tests at Manchester University, results showed that after four weeks the cellular renewal cycle (how quickly old skin cells are replaced by new ones, which makes skin look fresher) is accelerated by 2.7 days, an increase of 18 per cent.
There’s already a waiting list at Boots.com.
Wrinkle buster: L'Oreal's new Age Perfect range (from £19.99 at boots.com) impressed Elsa
Smoothing: Yves Saint Laurent's Forever Youth Liberator Night Cream, £60, is expensive but worth it
OUTSTANDING OILS
I love facial oils. I find them better for hydrating skin than creams as they are absorbed more easily.
The best tip I picked up is from the facialist Nichola Joss, who suggests putting a couple of drops into the palms of your hands, then patting the oil on to cleansed skin — not massaging it in.
This really works, and if you do it before you go to bed, your skin will look more plumped up in the morning.
Orico is a new organic British range for the face and body and includes the nurturing Superico Vitamin Rich Face Oil, £28, oricolondon.com, with natural plant oils and ultra-fine molecules to ensure instant absorption.
Aldi has become the place to find quality, purse-friendly beauty products, but its limited-edition products are on sale only as long as stocks last.
The supermarket’s first skincare bargain of 2013 is the Lacura Face Treatment Oil, which goes on sale this Sunday at £3.99 for a substantial 30ml glass bottle.
It’s surprisingly good: easily absorbed and does an excellent job of softening dry skin.
Choose from Sensitive (best for complexions showing early signs of ageing), which is rich in natural fatty acids, or Dry — full of natural antioxidants.
SUPER SERUMS
No anti-ageing routine is complete without a serum, applied under moisturiser to lock in the powerful ingredients.
Clarins Double Serum Complete Age Control Concentrate, £55, clarins.co.uk, has been formulated specially for older skin.
The bottle contains two vials which combine when the pump is activated, mixing water and oil-soluble plant ingredients that minimise wrinkles, firm skin and hydrate the complexion.
Plumping: Orico's Superico Vitamin Rich Face Oil, £28
Good to glow: St Tropez Gradual Tan Plus Anti-Ageing, £22
Repairing: Clarins Double Serum Complete Age Control, £55
There’s no residue, and it feels as though skin is getting an instant ‘drink’. Make-up also goes on more smoothly.
Its powerful plant extracts include burdock, kiwi, green tea and green banana.
Age spots, pigmentation and discolouration can be difficult issues to deal with, especially around sensitive areas such as the eyes. No 7 Youthful Eye Serum, £19.50, Boots, promises to reduce signs of ageing, such as puffiness, dark shadows and wrinkles, in four weeks.
Mike Bell, Boots scientific skincare advisor, says: 'The skin around our eyes is the thinnest and most delicate on our face, so it’s more vulnerable to the physical signs of ageing than skin on other parts of our body.
'Youthful Eye Serum contains a fusion of anti-ageing ingredients to help restore these structural elements over time.'
GLOW GIVERS
St Tropez’s Gradual Tan Plus Anti-Ageing For Face, £22, Boots, is one of the brand’s best launches yet.
It gives skin a natural-looking glow, while also having the benefits of anti-ageing skincare.
Unlike some self-tans, it doesn’t cause blackheads.
For a great value moisturiser, it doesn’t get much better than Garnier Moisture Match moisturisers, £5.99 each, Boots.
Garnier’s research has found that 35 per cent of women aged 16 to 55 in the UK don’t use a moisturiser daily, with many believing that it will leave their skin oily.
This new range of five moisturisers makes choosing the correct one for your particular skin type easy.
It includes Goodbye Dry, an ultra-rich hydrating cream, Start Afresh, a light softening one, Shine Be Gone, a mattifying cream, Wake Me Up, a hydrating gel, and Protect & Glow, an illuminating light lotion with SPF20.
NIGHT WORKERS
There is often a question mark over whether it’s worth buying a separate night cream and day moisturiser. Some experts believe one cream does both jobs; certain research shows otherwise.
The latest findings from Yves Saint Laurent suggest that when skin cells rejuvenate during the night, fluids stagnate and the skin becomes clogged, resulting in more wrinkles in the morning.
The company’s new Forever Youth Liberator Night Cream, £60, contains a root extract known for its decongestant action, minimising swelling. In short, it makes you look as though you’ve had a good night’s sleep.
Highly rated: Elsa loves Garnier's Moisture Match range, which includes Goodbye Dry (left) and Wake Me Up (right) - both £5.99 at boots.com
I have never been that comfortable with the idea (or look) of sleeping in a face mask. But the newest ones feel no heavier than a rich night cream.
Clinique’s new Moisture Surge Overnight Mask, £28, at Clinique counters nationwide, has a deeply penetrating formula and works while you sleep to help calm and soothe irritation.
It is so light on the skin that you can barely feel it’s there or even see that you are wearing it.
Apply before going to bed and rinse it off in the morning, with no need to apply extra moisturiser.
THIS WEEK'S BEAUTY NOTES
PARISIEN CHIC
One of the prettiest new make-up collections around is Paul & Joe’s Parisian spring collection. With imagery of carousels and some beautiful shades, it’s almost too lovely to use.
Pressed Powder in Swirl, £23, is a mix of lavender and green powders which give a perfectly even skin tone.
The eye colours come in illuminating shades including Calliope, a beige and brown blend, and La Belle Epoque, a pink and smoky grey combination.
And we love Merry-Go-Round (£18.50, Harrods) a fresh pink lipstick that brings out the natural tones in cheeks.
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HEAVENLY SCENT
Desire by Dolce & Gabbana, from £45 (Harrods from January 31, and nationwide from February 28) is the long-awaited new Dolce & Gabbana scent which launches this month, and it’s been well worth the wait.
Desire is in the kind of luxurious packaging we’ve come to expect from the duo — a matte gold and black bottle with a black gemstone as the cap.
The scent itself is a comforting oriental floral with a richness from Indian tuberose, velvety jasmine and vanilla-infused caramel and a freshness from mandarin, lychee and lily of the valley.
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A POP OF COLOUR
New make-up collections brighten up the dullest of days. Giorgio Armani’s Spring Pop Collection mixes vivid shades, such as turquoise and purple, with luminous nudes.
Look out for the Face and Eye Palette, £60, in Coral Bliss (pictured), which contains Sheer Blush in Coral and three eyeshadows in Opa, Shimmer Griege and Swimming Pool Turquoise.
Bourjois’s Rouge Edition collection (£7.99 each, Boots), which launches next month, is a collection of 18 shades, divided into three lipstick 'families': Preppy, an on-trend range; Colour Block, for a sheer slick of shade; and Night Out, for a touch of glamour.