Yesterday I finally got my hands on a copy of the Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible by Sarah Stacey and Josephine Fairley (Kyle Cathie Limited, 2011). It was worth the wait. I spent a good two hours soaking up their words of wisdom which go beyond skincare and cosmetics tops to provide some practical and sensible advice on fitness, yoga, diet and supplements.
 Being a skincare and cosmetics junkie, I already have some established favourite products so there was nothing in the Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible that was likely to persuade me to forsake my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish while on the moisturiser front, Philosophy’s Hope in a Jar and Decleor’s Hydrafloral remain my firm favourites. That said, I will be reviving my Liz Earle Skin Repair moisturiser – not for my face, but to try as a neck cream because – once again – it gets a great write-up category.
Anti-ageing miracle creams
But let’s forget moisturisers for a moment because the Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible puts the spotlight on what they describe as anti-agening miracle creams. Interestingly, their top-scorer is L’Occitane’s Immortelle Divine Cream but the one that caught my eye was the Neal’s Yard Frankincense Nourishing Cream. Frankincense is such a wonderful scent that to use this as a night cream sounds like a blissful experience. That’s the first tick for my shopping basket and I’ll let you know how I get on with it.
Anti-ageing hair products
Other products that caught my eye include Head & Shoulders hydrating shampoo and conditioner. Colouring your hair tends to make it dry and I, for one, am definitely in the market for good hydrating shampoos. I’ve tried a number of different products, few of which have delivered the desired results (John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette Conditioner is my current favourite). Head & Shoulders hasn’t been in my bathroom since my twenties but, if the Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible is correct, then it’s time to take another look so this is another one for the shopping list.
Anti-ageing body treatments
On the body treatment side, dryness is a common complaint for women once they hit their forties and fifties. L’Occitane’s almond based range gets good reviews in the Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible. I’ve tried the shower oil from this range (and loved it) so I’ll definitely consider adding the body products to my list.
Also favourably reviewed by the girls is Decleor’s Aroma Sculpt Divine – the thought of sculpting is enticing but price points mean this will have to go on the wish list. (Decleor’s Excellence de L’Age product is another one of the recommended anti-ageing miracle creams). Although Decleor is a bit on the pricey side if you’re just purchasing to try out the range, their gift sets around Christmas are very good value and watch out for their in-store promotions which sometimes offer really good value. If you’re in Dublin, you’ll find a Decleor counter in Clerys and in House of Fraser or you can purchase online from the QVC, the shopping channel.
Anti-ageing hand and foot care
Like the body, feet too seem to become drier with age. Thanks to a stroke of luck, I recently won Bliss’s Sage and Lemon body moisturiser so I’ve been using that extravagently for foot massage and moisturising. Bliss is well named! But, based on the Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible, I’ll be saving up and adding Aveda’s foot relief to my shopping list.
For hands, Liz Earle’s Hand Repair is favourably mentioned as are a number of other naturally-based product. The one I’ve selected for my list is the Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Hand Cream on the basis that it’s not expensive and I’ve seen some good results from Weleda products.
Eyes
I’ve blogged recently about the importance of the eyebrow and Shavata remains my favourite for shaping and grooming the brow, but based on the Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible reviews, I’m now adding Soap & Glory’s Arch de Triumph Brow Shaper to my list of ‘must purchase’ items. And, if you’ll parden the pun, the other product that caught my eye is the Bourjois Effet Smoky Pencil. I want one of those!
Conclusion
Overall, the Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible is an informative read that is as enjoyable as a good chat with your best friends. It’s a pity that it’s not yet available for the Kindle because I would love to have it with me whenever I am shopping for skincare and beauty products. I’ve only touched on some of the topics it covers – there’s lots more, from coping with sleeplessness to dealing with sunspots and rosacea, from getting over aches and pains to the facelift diet. Do get your hands on a copy if you get the chance. You’ll enjoy it!
Izzy’s Anti-Ageing Beauty Wish List
- Head & Shoulders Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner
- Marks & Spencer Advanced Formula Solutions Anti-Redness Serum
- Aveda Foot Relief
- Soap & Glory Arch de Triumph Brow Shaper
- L’Occitane Milk Concentrate Firming & Smoothing with Almond Milk
- Decleor Excellence de L’Age Sublime Regenerating Cream
- Decleor Aroma Sculpt Divine Rejuvenating Cream
- Ren Moroccan Rose Otto Sugar Body Polish
- Soap & Glory Make Yourself Youthful Rejuvenating Face Serum
- Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Hand Cream
- Liz Earle Hand Repair
- Neal’s Yard Remedies Frankincense Nourishing Cream
- Bourjois Effet Smoky Pencil
 Image: iStockphoto.com This perimenopause lark has been interesting but I’d like a break now, please. I’ve spent a fortune on remedies for my dry legs. I’m keeping three calendars because my iPhone wiped all my dates years which is a problem when irregularity has become the norm if you’re following my drift. I’ve had sinus problems, dizziness. I’ve had mood ups and mood downs. My knees have creaked and my neck makes a funny crunchy noise when I rotate my head these days. I own a pair of reading glasses (but they’re very, very low prescription so I can’t avail of the cheap ones with the cute frames that you see in Boots and other places). I’ve had the horror and inconvenience of skin eruptions that took antibiotics to clear up and now, to cap it all, my nose is acting up. Yes, my nose. It’s painful, swollen, and I’m back on antibiotics again. Oh yeah, and my blood pressure is up.
I’m pretty sure these phenomena are hormonal – well maybe not the blood pressure - but certainly the rest of it. Still, thankfully, not everything is negative. Mentally, I seem to have stumbled on a new-found calm. ‘Friendly but detached’ is my current mantra and it’s a lot easier to embrace at 50 than it was at 30 or even 40.
But the relentless barrage of annoying little symptoms gets to be a bit wearing after a while which is why, just for a week or two, I’d like the real me back. So, if you spot her in your travels, perhaps you could send her back home. And, if you’re passing and would like to call in and pick up a crate of these perimenopause symptoms, they’re packed and ready to go. I’d be glad to see the back of them.
When I grow old, I will wear purple with a red hat. I seem to remember a poem from somewhere that had a line like that in it. I was reminded of it this week when I saw Mary Kenny on the Tonight with Vincent Browne programme and I have been reminded of it again this morning when I read an article somewhere about the coyly named, Ladycare device – a magnet that you stick to your knickers a couple of inches below your belly button and which apparently confers all kinds of menopause symptom reliefs. I’ve read enthusiastic reviews from women who claim it helped them sleep better, lose weight, and even improve their eyesight. Can the claims be true? I’m usually a sceptic but I have to say I find the reports intriguing. The device costs just under €30 in this part of the world. That’s enough to make it a ‘considered purchase’. Right now, I’m considering. If you’ve any experience of Ladycare, I’d appreciate your comment.
You have probably experienced these symptoms even if you didn’t recognise them as premenstrual tension
A woman I worked with once told me she felt like an over-ripe tomato when she had PMS and was so sensitive to touch that she thought she would explode if anyone touched her.
For me, it’s noise. There are days when the chatter on the train in the morning goes right through my head putting me in a bad mood that can last all day. Noise sensitivity is, in fact, one of the symptoms of PMS although I hadn’t made the connection until I came across an amazing list of pre-menstrual syndrome symptoms recently. It includes:
- bloating
- abdominal cramping up to 2 weeks before period that may also be felt in the back, thighs, or vaginal area
- poor coordination
- rashes
- breast pain and swelling
- stiff neck
- back/joint pain
- indecisiveness
- slurred speech
- eye problems – dry eyes, difficulty focusing, aching eyes
- tiredness
- hand tingling
- sensitivity to noise, touch or smell
- dizziness / fainting
- pounding or irregular heart
- more – or less – interest in sex
Not to mention the mood and emotion symptoms that are more commonly connected to PMS.
There are some practical steps that can help alleviate these symptoms like avoiding sugar and alcohol, switching to a healthier diet, and taking regular exercise. It’s not a bad idea to have a little refresher on these techniques because by the time we get to peri-menopause when PMS symptoms can resurface as a problem, many of us will have forgotten both how wide the symptoms can be and what’s effective in dealing them. The article cited above is a useful starting point. It has certainly opened my eyes.
For more on the subject of menopause, you may like to read this useful feature from the New York Times.
Confusing symptoms, PMT and Perimenopause
The thing I hate most about perimenopause is the uncertainty that comes with this hormonal shift. There is the inconvenience of an altered pattern of periods – irregularity interspersed with regularity, lighter periods interspersed with much heavier periods, longer periods interspersed shorter periods, all of which together mean rarely leaving home without an array of sanitary options to cope with each eventuality. Add to that the fluctuating PMT-type symptoms - low moods, tearfulness, anxiety – and then the headaches, aching joints, the weird and/or horrifying dreams, the painful sore breasts and palpitations. It’s so strange that you can get into your 40s or 50s – 30s if you’re really unlucky – without anyone ever warning you. When the symptoms kick in they are confusing and it takes a while to work out what is going on. What’s amazing, and wonderful, is to find so many women going through the same experience and sharing their experiences and concerns on blogs and discussion boards. I’m not an advocate for any HRT or herbal remedies but I definitely do advocate looking at diet and exercise as tools to help combat the changes and, after a month of dining out and pre-Christmas festivities, it’s definitely time to take some of my own medicine. I know I would feel the better for it.
For more information on menopause, see this useful article from the New York Times.
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