As I Get Older, I Take Better Care of My Skin in 5 Simple Ways

My Face, September 2018 - No Make-Up, No Filter, Amazon Domes

I don't believe for a second that I have the best 50-year-old skin around. But I am lucky that it is as good as it is. Some of you have asked me what I do to have no real wrinkles at 50. I promise, some people actually did! And so, I am going to tell you. But you can't get cross with me. It is what it is.

Kim K Knows What It's Like to Burn Your Face and Then Snog a Boy. 

1. I have definitely started taking better care of my skin as I have got older. When I was young I was cruel to my own skin - I lay in the sun with baby oil on it to tan it quicker. I mean, like most kids, I was stupid. I remember having sunburn and blisters on my face one New Year's Eve. I slapped on some make up, lit up a ciggie and snogged some poor boy anyway. Cheers! These days, I use day moisturiser, with SPF every single day. And a night cream, night mask, eye cream and serum. All of the things. And I never put my face in the direct sun. I have to make up for that cruelty somehow.
2. I eat cake. And ice cream. And bread and butter. Sometimes just those things. Let me explain. Courtney Cox from Friends once said that you can have a great face or a great body, not both, without surgery. What she meant was you can be skinny and get wrinkles. Or you can carry some fat and plump that skin from within so you don't get the wrinkles. I chose my face. It was the more fun option on the table. And so I don't need to buy fancy 'plumping' cosmetics. I'm just plump enough.
3. Live your life out of the sun. I spent many of my adult years living in England where there really is limited sun. And the sun you get there is gentle and soft. That definitely helped slow down ageing. In Africa it is much harder to take this advice. But at least stay off the beach for most of the day. The mornings and afternoons are much kinder to your face.
4. I moisturise and hydrate as much as possible. I generally use Elizabeth Arden products - the 8-hour cream with SPF 15+, lip salve as well as the Prevage, but I also use Kiehl's on the go and some Aesop for special high days and holidays. I am a massive fan of the Body Shop Drops of Youth range and use the biodegradable sheet mask as often as I can get hold of it. I don't forget my hands either. You don't see them as much as your face, but they deserve the same care. Mine are as soft as a baby's arse due to liberal use of Aloe cream. Fact.
5. And the final secret to looking wrinkle-free at fifty, is good genes. I know you can't do anything about this, so I apologise for mentioning it. But really, my advice above is too little too late in real terms. I am just super, super lucky with the genes I got. 

Taking Care of Face Business Even Though I Scare Small People
Drops of Youth Biodegradable Face Mask by The Body Shop

PS: Also, probably the most successful way of avoiding wrinkles is to avoid having children. I know. This ship has mostly sailed for you guys. So my advice is pretty useless and I am now just a smug bastard who got lucky and never forgot her pill. But as I said at the start, you asked, I answered, I've been honest, and now you hate me. It is what it is.
PPS: Also, just for complete clarity, I am not sponsored by anyone. These are all products I tried and that worked for me and I pay for myself, more's the pity. I am DEFINITELY no beauty blogger. Those kids really know their stuff. I'm just good genes and no kids.