Beauty Q & A with John Gustafson

Our make-up, skincare and beauty guru solves all your beauty dilemmas

Hi John,

In a nutshell, I now have little vertical wrinkles above my top lip.  I hate them!  I've stopped wearing lipstick because I feel it points out the wrinkles! I've tried lip-plumping things, but perhaps I'm too long in the tooth.  I'm 63 and a size 12, with fair skin.   I'm very active and in good health all round.  I wear eye make-up and moisturize daily since my early teens. Any advice will be gratefully received.   

Thank you so much,

Georgie

Georgie,

As if. 63 is still middle aged nowadays! And it is never too late until the day they nail you in your box. Let's address the lines first. Lauder has a product called Perfectionist CP for Lips. It is a little wand that fills the little buggers in, as well as working to remove them both from the surface, and pushing them up from underneath. LaPrairie has a pair of products that work similarly. One gets used at night to treat the area and reduce the lines. The other gets used on the outside of the lipline during the day to fill the crevasses! Kanebo has a night treatment in the Sensai range that you use the smallest amount of on the entire mouth area. Excellent, if a bit more expensive. Finally, Strixaderm has a filler product that is both long and short-term called No Wrinkles Now! The name is fairly self-explanatory...LOL. So you can wear a product that you will never have to worry about moving out into the lines, try the Lauder Doublewear Lipsticks. They are double ended and will not shift for love nor money. Nor do they make your lips feel like a zip fastener. Finally, you can get an edging product to hold the lipstick in and help keep it from bleeding out. Guerlain's popular Lip Lift makes an excellent base. Benefit and Body Shop both make colourless wax pencils that will provide a barrier that helps keep your lips in line. Phew! That should give you something to do next time you are in the shops. And remember - it is never too late to look your best.

You take care,

John

Hi John,

I love your columns you have been educating me in the ways of beauty! I wonder if you can answer a question as it concerns layering SPF's.  My moisturiser has an SPF15 and my foundation has an SPF8. So is my face protected by both SPF's or just the one on the surface?  Also can it do any harm to wear 2 products with an SPF in them?

Many thanks,

Jenny - London

Jenny,

Good question actually, and one that confuses a lot of people. SPF's do not add up. It doesn't really matter so much which number goes first (moisturiser/foundation, etc...), but you are protected by the higher number. It is not a problem to wear several products with and SPF because, in my humble opinion, most of us never apply things evenly, so by using more than one you are eventually bound to cover everything! LOL. Be slightly aware that some ingredients are broken down more quickly by the SPF, which is why some products you would expect to contain them...don't. Like some higher end moisturisers. Thanks for continuing to read the Q&A section on handbag.com and I appreciate the lovely comments!

Best,

John

Dear John

I'm 26 years old and I would like a quick and easy makeup routine I can do in the morning.  I have dark blond/light brown hair hazel eyes and a moderately fair oily complexion with occasional hormonal breakouts.  I normally wear eye shadow mascara eyeliner lipstick/gloss and a light base.  I don't have much time in the morning so any speedy makeup tips you can give me would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read and respond to my email.

Caz

Caz,

Honest? Sounds like you have it pretty much sussed to me! Not much more I would add or subtract to your routine. I guess I like the idea of a powder foundation, as it would leave your slightly oily complexion more even - plus you could use it to touch up again during the day if you had the time. I quick lick of blusher would also be worth another 10 seconds...a little bit of colour can really perk you up when you feel rushed and harassed! Keep it simple and keep it to something that if you ran out of time - will still look fine. Nothing worse than having to take the little bit you put on off because you don't have enough time to finish putting what you started ON.

Stay well Caz,

John

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