After many years in television and magazine publishing, Trudi Brewer has found her dream job as the Beauty Director at ACP magazines. Trudi is respected throughout the industry and is currently helping to educate, advise and makeover Kiwi women nationwide as part of the Procter & Gamble, Next,  Beauty Tour.

Beauty tips I swear by:

Sunscreen is the only anti-ageing beauty product that really works. Wear it 24/7, 360 days of the year.
Tip: Don’t be stingy with how much you apply. Most of us don’t use anywhere near enough sunscreen. The recommended amount for the face is a teaspoon, and a golf ball size for the body.

Everyone over 30 should be using a Retinol cream. 

Tip: Retinol or vitamin-A derivative is the gold standard in anti-ageing ingredients. It stimulates new collagen, exfoliates sun damage and encourages cell turnover, which promotes firmness and skin clarity.

Remember to apply moisturisers to your hands, neck and décolleté with the same TLC as you do your face

Tip: Hands take a hammering when out and about especially when driving so make sure you keep them protected with an SPF hand cream or sunscreen. Keep a tube in the glove box.

Pamper your body with a daily dose of body lotion and weekly dose of self-tan all year round, it will keep your body looking fit, healthy and glowing.

Tip: Regular exfoliating is the key to ensuring your fake tan is believable. Use one all over your body every few days while showering. Pay particular attention to elbows, knees and ankles.

There are beauty jewels to be found in the supermarket isles.  

Tip: Big beauty companies have deep pockets and are responsible for billions of dollars of R & D into product and ingredient development. Just because a cream cost $10 dollars it doesn’t mean is not going to do an amazing job for skin.

Twice a year, do a sweep on your bathroom cabinet and throw out anything that has expired or been opened but unused for a while. All skincare has a shelf life, and not only can old products lose their effectiveness, they can harbour nasty bacteria too.

Tip: If you haven’t used it for 6 months, you’re not going to.

Regular exercise does the same thing for skin as a facial. It helps pump blood around the body, which feeds skin with oxygen.
 

Tip: Try to keep your skin free of make-up when exercising so sweat and bacteria don’t clog up your pores and your skin can breathe.

You are what you eat, cram your diet with leafy greens, brightly coloured fruits and veg and avoid processed food and white sugar, within a month your skin will glow.

Tip: Excess refined sugar causes a process in skin called glycation. This is when collagen and elastin bonds become brittle, stiffen and snap, which results in wrinkling and skin sagging. 

Invest in a great haircut; it will become your best accessory, even if it is a fringe. A new hair look keeps you looking youthful.

Tip: Don’t be afraid of layering. As we age skin loses colour and tone. Some light layering around your face will lift, lighten and take years off your face.

If you smoke, quit. It negates all of the above, any creams or treatments you invest in are a waste of time.

Tip: Nicotine causes narrowing of the blood vessels, which restricts blood flow to your skin. With less blood skin gets less oxygen and nutrients such as vitamin A. This is one drug that is directly responsible for skin wrinkling and discolouration.

Don’t be scared to try a new makeup look, think bold colour. Play up one feature either a slick of bright lipstick or bold eye liner. It will take 10 years off your face.

Tip: Play up one feature at a time. If you like a bold red lip, play down lids and cheeks with a bronzer and gold eye shadow. Alternatively, a slick of turquoise or navy liner is best paired with a rose beige gloss on lips.