What gets on your nerves when you are a nutritionist, a fitness expert, or a fashion or food editor? Lifestyle gurus watch the rest of us make endless mistakes and usually bite their tongues. We asked them not to hold back on what we all get wrong — and what we can do to course correct.
Pointy pale brown shoes worn at weddings
Brown shoes can look perfectly reasonable when paired with a navy or mid-blue suit for summer nuptials, but if they look uncomfortably narrow, like an antelope’s hoofs, or too light brown, like diarrhoea, they just appear to have slipped down your leg and on to your feet. Opt instead for a heavier, rounder shoe — a loafer or an Oxford — in a shade nearer to chestnut. Or play it safe and stick with black.
V-neck T-shirts
Your T-shirt should never be pointy. The V-neck T-shirt is already making an appearance this spring. However toned or perky your pecs may be, I don’t want to be faced with a triangle of flesh pointing down to your crotch. A plain classic white T-shirt will always be more flattering.
Graphic or slogan T-shirts
They’re fashionable once more but tricky to get right. I’m still spotting men in touristy areas of London sporting T-shirts with the words “It ain’t going to suck itself” printed on the front. If you insist on wearing those, I’m afraid it’s going to have to.
Spray-on jeans
Thankfully the trend for looser, even draped, denim is overshadowing drainpipe jeans this spring but there’s still plenty of the latter about. They seem popular with guys who spend a lot of time in the gym buffing up their torsos but less time working on their legs. The result is a puzzling silhouette that resembles a prawn. When you see a gang of these guys together, it looks like a frozen prawn cocktail.
Flip-flops
The sound of cheap, unsustainable rubber click-clacking on to the back of callus-covered men’s heels is one of the most grating aspects of summer. Flip-flops don’t look, sound or feel pleasing. Any footwear that involves a toe thong should be avoided. Nobody wants to see the athlete’s foot you’re nurturing between your toes. Opt instead for a simple espadrille or unfussy Birkenstock sandal. These will help your feet to feel freer and your fellow pedestrians feel safer.
Short shorts
Short shorts worn with calf-high white socks and black loafers were popular last summer and publicly championed by Paul Mescal. But even that handsome young actor struggled to pull this look off. Individually each of these items are great but together they looked a tad awkward. As disappointing as inviting your closest friends over for supper and discovering they don’t all get on.
Bared midriffs
Loewe, Prada, Balenciaga and numerous other designers sent models down the catwalks baring their midriffs through the use of cropped T-shirts, transparent shirts and low-slung trousers. My only objection to these is that I’m too old to have a flat enough stomach to wear them. If I was young, or had a torso like Lenny Kravitz’s, I would be flaunting my midriff with the best of them. Enjoy all the advantages youth and good genes throw at you. As you get older, the only navel-gazing you can indulge in is a pile of self-help books.
• 24 best menswear buys for spring 2025, from jackets to jeans
Food
By the Times deputy food editor Hannah Evans
Please don’t describe yourself as a ‘foodie’. Or use too much hot sauce
As well as loathing anyone who describes themselves as “a bit of a foodie” or uses the term “chef’s kiss” to describe something that tastes average, I can’t stand it when people insist on blanket-seasoning their food with hot sauce. Yes, you might love spice, but not everything benefits from being covered in Tabasco. Instead know your sauces. For example, White Mausu Peanut Rayu with chilli crisp is great spooned over rice, eggs and noodles, while harissa is smoky and goes well with grilled meats and roasted veg, and habanero sauce is great in tacos.
Don’t feed me overcooked meat
If you’re going to overcook the meat then I don’t want to come to your house for dinner. Buy a meat probe, wait until the centre reaches the right temperature (60C for a joint of medium beef, 55C for lamb) and then leave it to rest. The meat relaxes, the juices redistribute and you save yourself the embarrassment of carving a joint of leather at the table.
Read this before you wash up
Don’t wash up your hot frying pans as soon as you have finished cooking. I know they make that satisfying sizzling sound but the sudden change in temperature ruins non-stick pans, even really expensive ones. Leave them to cool for ten minutes. You’ll thank me when your pans aren’t chipped or cracked on the non-stick.
You keep your tomatoes where?
Don’t keep tomatoes in the fridge, especially ones on the vine or still ripening. They will just taste like cold tomatoes, which we all know don’t taste anything like tomatoes. Put them in a bowl and keep them somewhere cool instead.
• 33 foods to eat every week
Wine
By the Times wine critic Jane MacQuitty
Serving white wine too cold
The one that everyone gets wrong is serving white wine at ice-lolly level, making it too numb to taste. An hour or so in the fridge door should be fine. Even on the hottest days bottles should be just cool to the touch, about 9C to 11C, not frozen.
Serving red wine too warm
Anything above the optimum 12C to 15C turns even the best bottle into a soupy, mawkish mess. And stop opening red wine to let it “breathe” in the morning, or even the day before, hoping that your £4.99 Argentine malbec will turn into Château Latour by the time dinner rolls round. It won’t.
Serving prosecco, full stop
Parties fuelled by cheap, grubby, tank-method prosecco: just don’t. Decent champagne-method Spanish cava is the same price and your guests will wake up happy the next day, without a Sahara-dry mouth and a splitting headache.
Insisting only white wine goes with fish
Lots of light fruity reds go wonderfully well with meaty fish including salmon and turbot. Two examples are the light but lively 2024 Devil’s Corner Pinot Noir, from Tasmania (Tesco, £15), and the zesty, red plum-packed 2023 Brouilly, Cuvée Marcel Jacques Depagneux (thewinesociety.com, £12.50).
• The 30-second test to spot a fine wine
Wine gift etiquette
Taking expensive bottles of wine to a dinner party, only to be told by the host: “Oh they’re much too good for us, I’ll save these for a special dinner.” Grrr.
Snooty, overbearing sommeliers
Especially those who always hand the wine list to my husband and, even when I’ve chosen the wine, pour him a taste to check if it’s faulty. My biggest wine whinge of all? Pushy waiters trying to upsell dreary, lacklustre vintages and supposedly grand vin from dodgy producers, thinking I won’t know what’s what. Wrong.
Gardens
By the Times gardening columnist Ann Treneman
Plants don’t need to be watered all the time
Plants need water but unless it’s exceptionally hot and dry, they don’t need quite as much as some people think. Nor do they enjoy being drenched from on high. Water the soil, not the plant. It’s the roots that are thirsty, not the leaves. Dig a finger into the ground: if it’s moist, let it be. Water in the morning, not in the heat of the afternoon or at night when the slugs will be out.
Growing veg isn’t only for experts
People often say to me: “I’d love to grow my own veg but I’m sure I’d do it wrong.” My immediate response is: “If I can do it — and I can — then anyone can.” This is what’s involved: buy the seeds, read the packet and follow the instructions on how deep to plant. Water (when required, see above). Then eventually, most probably, eat. (PS: start with radishes and lettuce but don’t let Peter Rabbit get involved.)
• How to grow your own vegetables for beginners
Pruning isn’t complicated
It’s not in general (unless you’re pruning a clematis, but they always think they are special anyway). A basic guide is to prune after flowering for spring plants and shrubs, while for most others do so in the autumn or winter. The first goal is to cut back any dead, diseased or damaged branches. If in doubt, Dr YouTube is always available — and take note, many trees, especially fruit trees, have special requirements.
Yes, you can grow a tree in a pot
OK, so a pot is not going to work for a mighty oak, but there are plenty of smaller trees that can be perfectly happy in a container. These include Japanese maples, white birches, olive, bay, some magnolias and smaller flowering cherries and fruit trees. Make sure the container has enough room for the tree to grow (it is recommended that the pot be about twice as wide and deep as the root ball).
Not all plants need rich compost
Many native plants, and especially wildflowers, prefer poor soil with a bit of grit in it. Remember that when you’re planting cornflowers, Queen Anne’s Lace, daisies, marjoram, borage, California poppies, thistles and the like. For them, less is more. They’ll thank you for it.
• The deliciously easy way to grow your own food
Victoria Brzezinski
VICKI COUCHMAN FOR THE TIMES
Interiors
By the interiors expert Victoria Brzezinski
Hanging a telly over a fireplace — please, no
Especially a Samsung Frame, that television which pretends to be a faux framed art piece while not in use. Apart from it being an ergonomic no-no (you’re asking for neck strain), positioning your screen here will detract from what is meant to be the focal point in the living room: the fireplace. Instead I love an easily stashed away portable projector. The doyenne of decluttering, Marie Kondo, rates Epson’s recently launched EF-21 mini projector (£649, down from £729, petertyson.co.uk) — or, budget permitting, clever cabinetry to conceal the screen.
Bottlemageddon on the shower floor
Proper storage for the shampoo etc is crucial to kill clutter in a supposed-to-be-serene bathroom. A suitably cavernous vanity unit is ideal for supreme storage. Soho Home’s new Garbo, a marble-topped double vanity unit in beautiful burl wood, is my blow-the-budget pick (£5,995, sohohome.com), while a built-in shower niche to stash essential products is a must if you’re redesigning from scratch. Not an option? The clean lines of a simple shower shelf look miles sleeker than a rickety shower caddy (£104.95, victorianplumbing.co.uk).
Is your rug too small?
This is a surefire way to cheapen the look of a space and eliminate cohesion. It’s worse still when a rug lies stranded in the middle of a room like an awkward floating island. Instead big is beautiful. An XL rug is an immediate interior freshen-up to bring a room together: aim to leave a 20cm gap between the rug and walls. And, in a lounge, resting the front two legs of a sofa on the rug creates that put-together feel.
No excuse for poor lighting
My ultimate interiors ick? Poor lighting. Think: ceiling acne — an overly generous smattering of recessed spotlights, especially if the bulbs are shudder-inducing harsh bright white — and only using the big light (sans dimming). Overhead lighting can be vibeless and unflattering but this is perhaps the easiest design faux pas to fix: banish the big light and simply layer lower-level lighting for a cocooning, cosy atmosphere come evening. Try a floor lamp here, a table lamp there, even if it’s just the glowing orb that is Ikea’s Fado with a warm white bulb perched on a shelf (£17, ikea.com).
See also: underlit kitchen cabinetry and breakfast bars, especially those coloured (or, worse still, colour-changing) LEDs. It makes your kitchen look like a kebab shop. Keep it simple with a smart wall light for a key area such as a sink and/or a pendant over the dining table or island. You might like to consider simple track lighting with directional downlights for a pared-back architectural feature that looks straight out of a gallery.
• 10 ways to boost your mood with lighting
Be wise when it comes to your bin placement
Too small, too smelly or too far away from your food prep zone: a bad bin situation can and will hinder your cooking and recycling efforts in the kitchen. Goldilocks solutions do exist. Installing an out-of-sight integrated bin is the dream (Binopolis has a pull-out range that can be retrofitted into cabinetry) but if you’re going for a solo standalone unit, limit the receptacle to 40 litres in size (any larger and you might risk stinkiness). I prefer a pedal bin to avoid unhygienic manual lid-opening. Made’s Colter pedal bin (£120, made.com) has two compartments for recycling and regular refuse, and Joseph Joseph’s stacked double bin is a clever solution for teeny kitchens (£155, dunelm.com) even if it does have the dreaded push-top lip.
A word about kitchen cabinets
Upper-level kitchen cabinets are an instant design turn-off. The resultant look is old-fashioned, cramped and visually overwhelming — and I’ve always found that the more cabinets you have, the more clutter you’ll collect. Instead opting for a mix of floor-to-ceiling and base cabinets makes for a more modern, streamlined aesthetic.
How much grey is in your house?
Matchy-matchy all-grey everything — from the walls to the floorboards and sofa — looks straight out of the Live Laugh Love playbook. It’s a look with zero personality and there are heaps more interesting ways to lean into neutrals without going full grey. Plump for a super-soft pink for a delicate rosy glow (Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster is a classic for a reason) on the walls or taupe for a grown-up take: the eco-friendly paintmaker Graphenstone’s Hessian is an elegant shade from the Couture Collection palette, in partnership with Howes & Landino.
White skirting boards
A pet peeve is picking out cornicing and woodwork in an eye-scrapingly bright brilliant white paint. While I don’t have anything against choosing a complementary white for skirting and plasterwork per se, going for something tonal (ie a lighter colour on the walls and a corresponding darker hue on cornice and woodwork) is a super-chic alternative. Joa Studholme, Farrow & Ball’s colour curator, suggests the subtle contrast of the failsafe combo: School House White on the walls, with Drop Cloth (beige) on woodwork for something “still, calm and gentle”. Otherwise, I rate embracing colour-drenching for a cohesive feel — that is, using a single shade on walls, plasterwork and woodwork — especially if your aim is to make a room feel bigger and your ceilings taller.
Running
By the running coach Peta Bee
Don’t say you are too old to start running
There are advantages to being what some term an “ever-runner” such as myself — I’ve been lacing up my trainers for decades. Researchers have shown that long-term runners have fewer hip and knee problems and a longer active lifespan than non-runners as they age. I can vouch for it, having been running since I was 11 (that’s 45 years and counting) and yet to have a running-induced injury of any kind. I don’t plan to stop. But it is never too late to start. Professor Alister Hart, an orthopaedic surgeon who has replaced thousands of worn-out hips and knees in his career, took up running in midlife and tells me it provides “excellent stimulus for maintaining healthy bones” as well as boosting cardiovascular and mental health. The key is to ease into running if you are new to it or a return-runner: don’t go every day and don’t go too far or too fast too soon. A couch to 5k programme is the ideal starting point.
• 10 dos and don’ts of taking up running — by the experts
Don’t be obsessed with your running time. You need to run slowly to get faster
As a running coach, one of the most common mistakes I witness being made by new runners is to run as fast and hard as they can all the time. Yet even elite athletes practise LSD (long slow distance running) as part of their training and the rest of us should adhere to the rule of slowing down to speed up. It sounds counterintuitive but with a slower, more relaxed running pace, at about 50 per cent maximum effort, your stamina, endurance and muscular strength improve but you will also recover faster and be less prone to injury. You will need to include some varied paced running — think: intervals and hill sprints — to get fitter and faster, if that’s what you want, but slower running remains an important base for runners of every level.
Your fitness tracker might not be helping you
Becoming over-reliant on technology means that you pay less attention to the one thing that provides the most accurate feedback about how you are feeling: your body. Unless you have Olympic aspirations, you do not need to record every single run with a GPS watch or fitness tracker. Alerts from your watch to pick up your cadence or pace, or getting kudos (or not) for your runs on Strava, can become sources of stress that detract from the joy of running. Once or twice a week leave your watch at home and run according to how you feel that day.
Are those trendy trainers the best pair for your feet?
You do need a decent pair of running-specific trainers to provide just enough support and cushioning for your needs. But countless studies have shown that comfort matters more than price or technology when it comes to the best pair for your feet. Many of the high-end performance shoes are designed to be worn minimally and won’t provide the support you need for your feet. You don’t need a pair of featherlight carbon-plated racing shoes if you are running the local Parkrun.
It’s a good idea to visit a specialist running shop, whose staff will help you to select a well-fitted shoe appropriate for the type and amount of running you do. A general rule of thumb is to opt for up to a size bigger than you wear in regular shoes to allow for expansion of the feet during exercise. When you will need to replace your shoes depends on how heavy you are, your running style and how many miles a week you cover in them. Check the soles for signs of wear on the tread and aim to get a new pair after you have covered about 500 miles, which for recreational runners who get out 3-5 times a week will be every 6-8 months.
No, you don’t need to correct your running style
If you don’t have a smooth and seemingly effortless running style, does it matter? Not as much as you’ve probably been led to believe. Researchers at the University of Exeter’s human performance centre showed that we actually self-adjust our style simply by running more regularly. And while little tweaks such as releasing tension in hunched shoulders can be helpful, trying to force major changes to your natural technique can present more problems than it solves.
• How to get better at running — six key ways (don’t forget your arms)
Sex
By the Times sex columnist Suzi Godson
Don’t believe that sex gets worse as you get older
The opposite can be true. Sexual novelty fades over time in any long-term relationship but that happens whether you are 25 or 65. Arguably, being older makes you appreciate sexual intimacy and excitement even more — and being more sexually experienced means that you are less likely to be inhibited. You are also more likely to be able to talk through and overcome difficulties together. Sex doesn’t just keep you mobile and flexible, it enhances your self-esteem and appetite for life.
Scheduled sex is not a bad sign
Spontaneous sex is great but becomes more scarce as real life gets in the way. If you are in a committed long-term relationship, that ideal moment when you are both suddenly and simultaneously overcome by lust rarely comes. Nor will you, unless you get it in the diary. Scheduling sex forces you to prioritise it and, once you are in the moment and arousal kicks in, it’s very likely that you will soon stop caring whether it was in the calendar or not.
When are we getting rid of the orgasm gap?
On average, straight men have three orgasms for every one that a straight woman has. This inequity could easily be resolved if couples were willing to be more honest with each other about what feels good and what doesn’t. Instead, research suggests that men are inclined to see female orgasm as a measure of their own sexual performance, rather than an indication of female sexual satisfaction. The good news is that the orgasm gap closes in longer-term relationships, and research has shown that couples who combine clitoral stimulation and oral sex with intercourse ensure that the female partner has an orgasm 92 per cent of the time.
• Read more about Sex and Relationships
Fitness
By the Times fitness expert Harry Jameson
Sit-ups won’t get rid of that spare tyre
Clients sometimes tell me they want to lose weight from their tummy but not their face, but it’s simply not possible to spot-reduce fat from any single part of the body. Once you’ve reduced fat all over, strength training can sculpt the muscles underneath.
Don’t do HIIT every day
It’s easy to get addicted to high-intensity training as it feels like it delivers a lot of bang for your buck, not to mention an endorphin high, but even at athlete level it should only form 20 per cent of your training. If you don’t give your body a chance to recover in between sessions you’ll only leave yourself prone to injury and undo all your good work.
Relationships
By the therapist Jean-Claude Chalmet
Three common complaints from women I hear about in my clinic:
Men letting themselves go
Husbands might not like to hear this but it’s true. Physical attraction matters even after a long marriage. Why would she want to get up close and personal with a man with a pot belly, bad teeth and untended nose hair? There’s arrogance and entitlement in neglecting your appearance. It’s not about being catwalk-ready, just making an effort. I’m sure many of these men manage to spruce up if they are going out with their work team. Not bothering makes your partner feel you no longer care about impressing her.
Men instantly offer a solution when she confides a problem
The solution to this complaint is not offering a solution unless she explicitly asks you for one. Read on carefully: women just want men to listen. What she’s looking for is connection. She wants to feel heard and understood by you. Launching into a torrent of advice or instruction the second her mouth stops moving — or, worse, before — actually makes her feel desperately lonely. Be responsive to how she’s feeling. Just be present. If you genuinely have no idea what she wants ask: “What it is that you need from me? What would help?”
The man isn’t involved in family life
When you don’t participate in family life, your relationship becomes like that of CEO and PA. She’s doing all the emotional heavy lifting, he’s just telling her what to do. Women are understandably sensitive to ingratitude for what they do. Ask yourself: “What’s my contribution, apart from being the bigger earner?” Make headspace for your family and partner. Share the mental load — why should she be the only one remembering World Book Day?
• 13 secrets of happy couples, by the therapist who knows
Three things men complain about:
Women often expect men to read their minds
Assuming that your husband will intuitively know what you want for your birthday, then sulking because he got it wrong, isn’t fair. The situation is frustrating for both of you but he can’t do better unless you communicates clearly. That means you need to explain what you need or want directly and respectfully, rather than (dare I say, childishly) expecting him to read your mind. He should be willing to listen and be more curious — even start the conversation. “To be honest, I don’t know what you want but I want to listen and learn — can you help me?”
It’s a cliché but the ‘nagging’ tone comes up a lot
Sometimes the words don’t matter. It’s often the tone that expresses “you’re not good enough”. And that’s very painful. So if he seems to overreact to your mildest critique, it may be that he’s long had a sense of not feeling good enough and can’t bear to hear it again. Be careful of your tone. It’s easy to sound exasperated or accusatory. Before raising something think, “Is it kind, true, and necessary?”
Men in long-term relationships often say they want more sex
When you get in that headspace of “I’m not getting enough sex from my partner”, you’re thinking entirely about you, not her and what she wants, and that’s counterproductive.If men spent more time making their partner feel valued, wanted, appreciated and sexy, they’d have a lot more sex in their lives. It’s surprising how many men don’t understand that how they treat their partner outside the bedroom has some bearing on “getting” sex (or not). Are you an attractive proposition for her? I suggest working on that in your quest for sex and then you’ll have a lot more of it.
As told to Anna Maxted
Travel
By the Times travel correspondent Ben Clatworthy
Keep up with airport security rules, please
The era of tiny toiletries is here to stay. There was understandable confusion last year when the government flip-flopped on relaxing the rules to allow people full-sized bottles in their bags, yet this was a minor diversion. Every summer queues are caused by people who behave as if they’ve never flown before. “Do I have to take my belt off?” they ask gormlessly. So here is my cut-out-and-keep guide to flying this summer. Carry-on liquids must still be in containers no more than 100ml and it’s better to be safe than sorry and put them in a transparent plastic bag (20cm by 20cm). But here is the good news: most airports now have next-generation CT scanners, so everything can stay inside your bag. No need to take your laptop or iPad out and no need to remove liquids. Belt off, coat off. Most shoes OK left on. If everyone is faster, the duty free/bar comes quicker.
• More travel advice and holiday tips
Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone when you’re booking a hotel
It never hurts to call the hotel you are interested in. Tell them the booking.com rate and ask if they can beat it. Most likely they will because there’ll be no commission to pay. This is also your chance to tell them how lovely the hotel looks and why you are visiting: think birthdays, anniversaries, romantic break. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how many times you arrive and find there’s a room upgrade waiting, like the time I bagged a sea-view villa in Thailand for rock bottom rate, all because I phoned.
Don’t book holidays too early — or too late
Everyone in the world of travel has a theory about when is the best time to book. Holiday companies lure you to book your summer holiday in January with offers of free child places or money off. But in reality prices are often at their peak the further out you are. Only once the departure date draws near, and there are empty seats on planes and empty beds in hotels, do prices start to plunge. If you’re flexible with your dates and location, waiting until later can be a winner. For package holidays comparison sites such as TravelSupermarket, icelolly or loveholidays are a great place to start for inspiration. For flights and hotels, Google has some brilliant tools (google.com/travel) for comparing prices on dates and looking at the price trends of routes and properties over time. But don’t spend ages fretting over the exact time to book: it’s an art, not a science.
Nutrition
By the nutrition expert Gabriela Peacock
Please don’t count calories
Counting calories is a very old-fashioned way of looking at weight loss. It has its place if you are struggling with overeating but counting the calories in all your meals just creates stress. Instead I recommend intermittent fasting. Try at least a 14 to 16-hour window of not eating per day. Remember, you’re sleeping throughout most of that, so it’s really not as drastic as it sounds. If you find it difficult, start with a shorter fast. Our body needs a break from eating to regenerate cells during the process of autophagy, which increases longevity. It’s a much more efficient way of controlling calorie intake and it can prolong your life — I love it.
• How to make your food more nutritious with these 23 tiny tweaks
Stop thinking that fat is bad
Another Nineties myth I can’t stand is that fat is bad for you. Fat-free diets are dangerously unhealthy because we need to eat protein: it’s essential for repair and maintenance of everything within the body. Once you start excluding fat from your diet, your body will really struggle because it will be missing one of the essential macronutrients. We need good fats to produce certain hormones and reduce inflammation within the body. Fat in moderation is good. Everyone, even me, eats fried food now and then. Just avoid transfats and any “fat-free” products (yoghurt or cottage cheese) as they are often higher in sugar. Some fatty acids are essential for a healthy diet, specifically omega-3, which helps to balance your hormones. It’s important for your hair and skin. I would recommend at least three to four portions of oily fish a week as well as nuts and seeds for their fat and protein content.
Don’t turn your nose up at frozen and tinned food
Healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t have to buy salmon fillets three times a week to get your fill of omega-3. Good-quality tinned sardines, mackerel and tuna are just as good — and much cheaper. I buy a tin of sardines from Sainsbury’s in a spicy tomato sauce, which is delicious. Get canned chickpeas, lentils and beans to up your levels of protein and fibre without breaking the bank. The same goes for frozen food, especially fruit. For example, for smoothies I always have bags of frozen fruits in my freezer. I just grab a handful and make a smoothie from it. Fruit such as blueberries and blackberries are frozen very soon after picking: the nutrient status doesn’t deteriorate. Plus frozen fruit is often much cheaper — you can buy really good quality organic frozen berries from the supermarket for a fraction of the price of fresh.
• How to improve your diet and still eat what you love
Beauty
By the beauty editor Lesley Thomas
Why on earth won’t you wear sunscreen?
I’ll never judge anyone for having Botox (or not having Botox). I love make-up but it would be ludicrous to say it was essential. Good luck to you if you choose to wear your eyebags and sparse brows with pride. If you can’t be bothered with serums or face masks, I understand. Skipping sunscreen, however, is a skincare and healthcare abomination. There can’t be a literate adult alive who does not know that sun protection prevents premature ageing, sunburn and, most importantly, reduces the risk of skin cancer. Yet many persist in avoiding it. There’s no excuse now that there are so many excellent bargain products around that leave no trace of white cast. If you don’t know where to start, get thee to Superdrug and buy Cerave’s Moisturising Lotion with SPF50 (£12.36).
