Take us on your skin journey. When you were younger, what was your biggest skin concern and how has your skin changed as you have aged?

"Like every single part of my life, my skin has changed as I’ve gone right through from teenage years, up until now. When I was a teenager, my biggest skin concern was acne and it really made me learn the importance of taking care of my skin moving forward. I’m now 54 and I’ve looked after my skin my whole life, because I know how it feels to wake up and look in the mirror and feel like your skin isn’t doing what you want it to do!

As I moved through my 20s, I had oily skin, so I really took advantage and loved the dewiness of my skin at this point. Into my 30s I started having children, so my skin went through many hormonal changes, especially when pregnant – I thought my skin looked amazing, it had a bit of a resurgence.

Throughout my 40s and 50s, after two pregnancies and moving into the menopause, I noticed more hyperpigmentation and fine lines. My skin journey here is slightly different as I went into full surgical menopause in my 40s, which means I had a more sudden, dramatic change to my hormone levels – this was when I really noticed a difference in my skin. I suffer with the hyperpigmentation most on my neck and around my hairline, so I’ve always paid extra care and attention to these areas, especially using skincare down my neck and onto my chest – I’ve done this since my 30s really, it’s a no brainer for me. You know the foundation lines we can sometimes get when we haven’t blended properly? It’s the same thing; your skin doesn’t stop at your jawline, so always make sure you blend into your neck.

So, my skin is not the only part of me that has been on an emotional rollercoaster, and I would say both of us are in a pretty good place tight now. Nobody looks how they look on the telly or in the movies all the time, because we all have our own unique skin experience and that’s mine!"

How do you feel when you look in the mirror?

"Ok, it depends on the day, the time of day and how I’m feeling in me, and I think that kind of sums us all up! How you feel when you look in the mirror says so much more about how you feel in yourself, rather than what is on the outside. So, for me, I still get a bit of a shock when I look and think I’m in my 50s, how did this happen!? It feels like only a minute ago I was in my 20s but I feel ok – I look my age and I feel good, so I’m happy with that. I just want to look in the mirror and have every day be a good day."

How do you feel skin confident and what would be your advice to others to feel confident in their skin and in themselves?

"For me, it’s all about my skin feeling fresh, and so much of that is just as simple as looking after it – I look after my shoes, I make sure they are cleaned and polished, I look after my clothes – so why would I act any differently with my skin? I can’t buy a new one, this is what we have! So let’s look after what we’ve got.

I believe it’s key to use the right ingredients, drink enough water and get enough sleep. I was one of those 20 years olds that, even after a great night out, I was coming home in the wee hours of the morning and I always took all of my makeup off, double cleansed and applied a night cream, even at that age. So, at least when I woke up, my skin felt fresh. That set me up with a great regime as I’ve gone through my life and into my 50s.

I suppose my advice to others would be to look at what you are doing. How are you looking after your skin and ultimately, how are you looking after yourself? It all starts with you. For me, my life’s work now is all about helping women to understand that feeling good is all about how you think about yourself. So, look into your skincare routine, as well as your personal morning and evening routines, combine this with a self-care moment for you too."

What is a skincare tip you would tell your younger self?

"Do what your mother says! Look after your skin, its literally the only skin you’ll get. Don’t go to bed with your makeup on."

What is your favourite skincare ritual?

"My nighttime routine, firstly because I love going to bed, and I love the idea of taking the day off, the day is done. As I wear a lot of makeup with my work, I’ve always been quite scrupulous with my skin – I double cleansed before it was even a thing! So, making sure my skin is as fresh and clean as possible, then I love the pampering feeling of putting on my night cream – I have always used good quality skincare though the day and particularly at night, around the eyes, down the neck. Knowing that I’m being pampered overnight, that’s my favourite routine."

Talk us through your night-time routine. 

"As I said, night-time is my favourite part of the day. I love heading to bed just that little bit earlier because I know I don’t need to rush. It’s again the whole thing of making my skin feel fresh and clean, so I use three easy, basic but powerful steps at night.

After I have double cleansed, my first step is serum. I want to let you in on a little secret, we all know retinol is a buzzword in skincare, but I find it quite intense and drying on my skin. Now, the Clinique Smart Clinical Repair™ Wrinkle Correcting Serum contains a more sensitive retinoid and peptide blend, making it gentle enough to use not once but twice a day, so it’s a key part of my night-time skincare routine.

My second step is an eye cream. There’s something so lovely about massaging under and around your eyes before you go to bed. I love the Clinique Smart Clinical Repair™ Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream because it does everything you want it to do, but it’s super lightweight and gentle on the eye area, but it’s still working!

Last step would be applying my moisturiser all over my face and down to my neck and chest – don’t neglect the neck. I’ve been using the NEW Clinique Smart Clinical Repair™ Lifting Face + Neck Cream – how can they fit so much into one tiny pot? I love that it doesn’t feel heavy or greasy on the skin, but you know it’s working hard for you all night while you sleep. How? Because it contains peptides and hyaluronic acid.

The full Smart™ range is suitable for sensitive skin and multitasks for you overnight – what’s not to love?"

Reflecting on your journey so far, what would you say are the valuable lessons you’ve learnt about prioritising your health and passions?

"If there is one lesson I’ve learnt in life, it’s that you only get one of them. This is it.

So, for me, hitting mid-life you really do have to prioritise you. When you take care of yourself and your health, everything else falls into place, because beauty really does come from within. You can put whatever you want over the top, but if you are not feeling invigorated, healthy and passionate about something it doesn’t shine through.

The biggest life lesson I have learnt is that a little bit of what you fancy does you good, but a lot of what you love does you even better!"

Need a little support with your own skincare routine? Book in for a Clinical Consultation, where our expert Clinical Consultants, trained in partnership with a dermatologist, will help you acheive your own skincare goals with four virtual 1:1 sessions over the course of 12 weeks.