Since reaching my 40's, the follies of sunbathing under the hot Australian sun are fast catching up with me. Where once it was all about getting the deepest tan, these days it’s finding the right skincare to try and prevent further sun damage while repairing the damage already done.

So, in my quest to find products to help keep pigmentation spots at bay, I’ve been using Eucerin’s Even Brighter pigment reducing day and night cream.

Getting older aint much fun, not least because of the uphill battle against the signs of aging. One area that’s often neglected until it’s too late is the hands. Apart from thinning skin, age spots on the hands are a dead giveaway of a persons, err, lack of youth.

I started noticing these horrid marks appearing on my hands a few years ago. First it was the odd one or two, but each year a few more would join. So now I regularly use a rich hand cream at night and another during the day. 

L’Oreal has introduced their first re-usable mousse hair colour that can be used more than once. Whether you dye your hair at home or get it professionally done, you’ll still need to get a touch up or redo it again at least every 4-6 weeks depending on your speed of hair growth. This means an expensive trip to the hairdressers or purchasing another box of hair colour. And if you have longer hair, it can mean you’ll have to buy two boxes.

As I usually only want to touch up the roots, I often have wasted product that ends up in the bin. So I was really excited to see this new L’Oreal Preference Mousse Absolute which contains a ‘Re-Usable’ Permanent Hair Colour. This should hopefully cut down on the amount of hair colour you need to buy.

Total Effects is a mid-priced range of face and skincare products manufactured by Olay which are designed to target, treat and prevent the seven signs of aging. According to the Olay website, their products are proven to deliver dramatic improvements in skin appearance.  And judging by the popularity of their moisturizers, Olay must be doing something right. Among the Total Effects range is Wake Up Wonder which has received rave reviews.

Mineral-based makeup is extremely popular now and is a natural alternative to chemical-based makeup. La Bella Donna hails from the US where the brand was developed by a US mother and daughter team Kathy and Nicole Tracy who wanted to develop a healthy alternative to traditional makeup. Their range of mineral-based products are highly recommended by dermatologists and plastic surgeons and are particularly suitable for those with sensitive, problem or allergy prone skin as well as post-operative coverage.

Products made by La Bella Donna are all mineral-based formulas made from natural elements-mineral-based pigments to provide a natural looking color. They also contain a non-chemical sub block (SPF 20) which is essential for sun protection.

La Bella Donna concealer comes in a small, lightweight, silver plastic 4g pot with a screw on lid and a clear Perspex centre so you can inspect the contents. There are four shades to choose from with 1 being the lightest and 4 the darkest. The consistency is similar to a cream blusher, quite firm to the touch but creamy.

It is waterproof, therefore long lasting so you’ll only need to apply it once a day. It’s also incredibly lightweight and it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing makeup at all. And for those staying out late and too tired to wash off their makeup before bed, don’t worry. It’s perfectly healthy for your skin to leave this makeup on overnight. And it will still be there in the morning!

You have to supply your own brush to apply it, otherwise you can use your fingers. I use a fine, soft makeup brush about half a cm wide which works really well. You need to lightly wipe the brush onto the concealer, then dab it onto the areas you wish to ‘conceal’. You can either use the brush or your ring finger to blend it in. Personally, I find it’s really easy blending using the brush alone.

Using a concealer this way feels like almost makes me feel like a ‘professional makeup artist’. It takes a moment to apply and I use it on most days, often on its own as a quick touch up for under eye circles or the odd blemish.

After using it almost daily for around 10 months, about one quarter used up so it’s exceptionally good value. Products made by La Bella Donna aren’t generally available in shops. Instead they’re more likely to be found in Spa treatment centers, for example beautyworkswest in the UK. Alternatively, you can purchase from labelladonna.com or Amazon - La Bella Donna Mineral Eraser 0.14 oz.

L’Oreal, the international skincare company, is continually researching, developing and improving their ranges of products in order to keep us looking youthful. It seems every few weeks there’s another product launch or new advertising campaign for one of their new and innovative skincare moisturizing creams. It’s pretty persuasive stuff. But to keep its customers loyal, they need products that work. So do they? This product review discusses the findings from using one of L’Oreal’s products from the Wrinkle De-Crease range called Collagen Filler Eye.

The saying ‘you are what you eat’ is never more true than when it comes to your skin. If you’ve been eating an unhealthy diet, overindulging in junk food or drinking too much alcohol, your skin’s condition will start to suffer.

Not only will your complexion appear dull or pasty, you’ll be more prone to developing wrinkles.

Lancome Teint Miracle

Even without the beautiful face of Julia Roberts adorning their promotional campaigns, Lancome is a well recognized and respected name in premium skincare.  Their expertise stems from over 70 years experience and the combined collaboration of their research centers in the US, France and Japan. With this kind of backing, the launch of Lancome’s Teint Miracle foundation aroused much interest and may well be the foundation women have spent years searching for.

Teint Miracle boasts it is the first to make use of the way skin absorbs the light. It accomplishes this feat with its ‘perfection through light: Aura-Inside technology’ which improves the way skin absorbs and reflects light.

Back in the late 1800s, few American households were without a jar of Vaseline® petroleum jelly. Now the Vaseline® brand is instantly recognizable around the world. While Vaseline petroleum jelly is still a big seller, they also provide a wide range of body and hand care moisturizing products.

One of the more recent additions is Vaseline's Cocoa Butter vitalizing gel body oil. This could be a product you'll either love or hate as it has received widely mixed reviews which might leave you wondering whether it should be labeled with a strong precautionary warning before trying it out.

Covering your body in oil after a bath or shower may not be to everyone’s liking. But if you've only ever used a cream moisturizer, it might be time to give oil a try. A good place to start would be with Boots Botanics Organic nourishing body oil which is made from 100 percent certified organic ingredients and is designed to hydrate, soothe and nourish your skin. Read the complete review to see how well this body oil fared.

Even without the beautiful face of Julia Roberts adorning their promotional campaigns, Lancome is a well recognized and respected name in premium skincare.  Their expertise stems from over 70 years experience and the combined collaboration of their research centers in the US, France and Japan. With this kind of backing, the launch of Lancome’s Teint Miracle foundation aroused much interest and may well be the foundation women have spent years searching for. Read the entire review here to see how well it fares.

Teint Miracle

Dark circles, puffy eyes and crepey looking skin can make us look older and more tired than we really are or indeed, feel. And often it's the skin around our eyes that starts showing the effects of ageing long before the rest of our face catches up.

This happens because the skin around our eyes is much thinner and more delicate and needs to be treated carefully. Many people find it helps to use a special eye cream rather than the same moisturiser that's used on the rest of your face.

One such cream is No. 7 Lift & Luminate Eye Cream.

Even without the beautiful face of Julia Roberts adorning their promotional campaigns, Lancome is a well recognized and respected name in premium skincare.  Their expertise stems from over 70 years experience and the combined collaboration of their research centers in the US, France and Japan. With this kind of backing, the launch of Lancome’s Teint Miracle foundation aroused much interest and may well be the foundation women have spent years searching for. Read the entire review here to see how well it fares.

Teint Miracle by Lancome, Paris

Amazon US		Amazon UK

Dark circles, puffy eyes and crepey looking skin can make us look older and more tired than we really are or indeed, feel. And often it's the skin around our eyes that starts showing the effects of aging long before the rest of our face catches up. This happens because the skin around our eyes is much thinner and more delicate and needs to be treated carefully. Many people find it helps to use a special eye cream rather than the same moisturizer that's used on the rest of your face. One such cream is No. 7 Lift and Luminate Eye Cream. Read the complete review here.

Boots Botanics Organic  Nourishing Body Oil

Covering your body in oil after a bath or shower may not be to everyone’s liking. But if you've only ever used a cream moisturizer, it might be time to give oil a try.

A good place to start would be with Boots Botanics Organic nourishing body oil which is made from 100 percent certified organic ingredients and is designed to hydrate, soothe and nourish your skin.

VO5 Extreme Style Freeze Spray

Alberto VO5 seem to have been around forever. Originally founded in the US in 1955, Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing gained a following among stylists at the Hollywood studios who used VO5 products to help protect hair against the harsh studio lights and sunshine.

Since then Alberto VO5 hair products have expanded to sell shampoos, conditioners and a wide variety of hair styling products including mousses, gels, sprays and the new VO5 Extreme Style freeze spray.

Olay is one of the world's most recognizable skincare brands and a long time favorite among generations of women since the 1950s. However, the ensuing years saw the skincare market deluged with countless new and innovative products with Olay appearing a little staid and sometimes regarded as a product ‘my mother used to buy’. Since then, Olay has given itself a major facelift, having undergone a significant revamp and updating of its image along with the introduction of several completely new product lines including Total Effects, ProX and Definity. One of the most recent to be included to its growing range is Olay Regenerist. Read on for the complete review.

It's not that long ago when putting your makeup on in the morning involved applying a bit of moisturizer followed by foundation and maybe powder or blusher.  Now though, we are urged to use more and more products, applying layer upon layer over our facial skin to hide all traces of whatever’s lurking underneath. One of the most recent additions to our cluttered makeup bags is a primer. Revlon have produced a primer as part of their Age Defying skincare range which caters for dry skin as well as normal to combination skin.

Women can spend years fruitlessly searching for that illusive anti-wrinkle product that really works. And then one day you suddenly find one and your faith in the beauty industry is restored. Boots Time Dimensions softening line smoother is one of those little miracles that makes you wonder why everyone isn't talking about it.

There was a time when people wouldn't let on that they washed their hair with Head & Shoulders. For if they did, they were also revealing something about themselves that they'd rather keep private – they had dandruff.

 But those days are long gone and Head & Shoulders is now quite trendy and very acceptable to be seen on your bathroom shelf.