As we bed down into autumn, I bring you a rather appealing means of maintaining your foxy holiday glow.
I’m talking about something we women have always known, backed by contemporary science. Namely, you never look better than during that first flush of love.
By ‘love’, I’m referring to sex.
‘O skin’ – orgasm skin – that glorious post-coital lustre, tends to get acknowledged in knowing asides, whether among friends or industry professionals. A high-powered beauty exec always hands me her latest potion with the words: ‘It’s good, but use after your Rabbit for the full effect,’ referring to the sex toy made famous by Sex And The City.
You never look better than during that first flush of love, writes Hannah Betts. By ‘love’, I’m referring to sex
The Dr Barbara Sturm Glow Cream is a dense, but in no way greasy, ultra-nourishing moisture surge packed with just the right amount of pearly, light-reflecting pigments
A couple of wands of Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Balm Serum Boosted Skin Tint along the cheekbones creates a serious O Glow
Better skin at the touch of a button – just not the button you imagine. For the world’s best beauty tool turns out to be not your Airwrap, but your vibrator – or your partner, if you’re lucky.
After all, it’s not just rest and relaxation that makes us look good on vacation. (The frequency with which Brits have intercourse increases by nearly 50 per cent when we’re on holiday.) Just as it wasn’t merely obsessional skincare that made us look more lovely in lockdown, when legions took to their beds with their beloveds.
Scientifically speaking, what is the source of this lit-from-within magnificence? It’s not just your physique that gets a workout when you do the deed. Your complexion also reaps rewards.
A study by psychologist Dr David Weeks found that couples aged 40-50 who have 50 per cent more sex than average look five to seven years younger than those who don’t because of endorphin release.
Sex – like all exercise – also increases your heart rate, getting your circulation pumping. While the extra element of arousal makes pupils dilate, cheeks flush prettily, and lips redden and swell.
At the same time, when you super-charge your blood flow, you increase the amount of water transferred to your largest organ – your skin – ensuring plush hydration.
The bonding hormone, oxytocin, released with climax, diminishes the stress hormone, cortisol, taking with it spots and rashes.
Then, the restful sleep that follows climax – care of prolactin, the neurohormonal index of sexual satiety – leads to a deep de-stress and encourages blood flow to the skin, combating fine lines and wrinkles. While melatonin, the antioxidant released during your slumbers, will ward off sagginess and environmental damage.
Plus, after a good time in the sack, you’ll also feel more attractive.
Sex is not always convenient, alas. How can we fake it and simulate that special gleam?
Sex is not always convenient, alas, writes Hannah. How can we fake it and simulate that cat-got-the-cream gleam?
The Dr Barbara Sturm Glow Cream (£150, en.drsturm.com/glow-cream) is a dense, but in no way greasy, ultra-nourishing moisture surge packed with just the right amount of pearly, light-reflecting pigments. And I am besotted with it.
For 50ml, it’s a not-so-small fortune. But it works, such that one can ditch foundation. I just add a couple of wands of Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Balm Serum Boosted Skin
Tint (£43, boots.com) along my cheekbones for serious O Glow.
Beauty balm sticks – solid BB (blemish balm) creams, or slap and skincare fusions – are the new big thing, and this is the best I’ve tested, giving an astonishingly natural-looking sheen.
Brush on a faux orgasmic flush in the shade your cheeks turn in the wake of exertion.
I like 19/99 Cream Blush Stick in Szolo (from tomorrow, £28, spacenk.com, the cranberry shade Mother Nature bestowed upon me. Press on to your lips too.
Finally, I add still more radiance with subtle crescents of Rare Beauty’s ravishing Silky Touch Highlighter (£24, spacenk.com) above each cheekbone, on the tip of my nose, and just over my Cupid’s bow.
Follow suit and you will look as if you’ve enjoyed the most strenuously pleasurable of times.
My icon of the week
Ruby Hammer
The make-up artist, 62, adores Philip Kingsley Elasticizer (from £17.80, sephora.co.uk). Her essentials are Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage (£34), plus Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer (£27), or L’Oréal Paris True Match Radiant Serum Concealer (£8.79) under her eyes. She finishes with her own nourishing Lip Serum Balm (£18, rubyhammer.com).
Cosmetic craving
Glossier You is the cult millennial scent from this cult millennial brand: all pink pepper, tender iris and woody ambrette.
Glossier Crème de You (£45, uk.glossier.com) brings this best-selling aroma to body beautifying – and what an outstanding beautifier it is.
I usually favour cheap and cheerful wares. This, however, is something else: sublimely scented and exquisitely tactile, causing the wearer to indulge in curious gestures such as sniffing and stroking their limbs.
I love to wear it on my arms, as a new-found form of flirtation. But, then, I actually love it everywhere.
Behold, a contemporary source of pure, old-fashioned glamour.
Race you to it!
At long last, a home gel and acrylic varnish remover that actually does the job. Mylee Magic Gel Remover (£9.99, amazon.co.uk) feels scarily chemical – bubbling away for several minutes – and I did need to use it three times, but it removes polish completely without causing damage. Hurrah!
Five hair heroes
Color Wow Dream Filter (from £12.50, spacenk.com)
A three-minute detox shampoo to remove dullness and brittleness from hard water
JVN Hair Nurture Intense Hydration Mask (from £14, spacenk.com)
Vegan keratin reduces frizz and adds shine, hydrating hair for up to 72 hours
Hair Proud Shine Sauce (£9.95, iam proud.com)
A ten-minute replenisher with ceramide and rice protein for serious softness
Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Long Last Styling Cream (£32, liberty london.com)
A secret weapon for smooth, strong, hair with supple hold
Beauty Pie Super Healthy Hair Always On Leave-In Conditioning Treatment
A hit ‘day lotion’, boasting a vitamin hydrating blend and vegan protein (members, £12, non-members, £25, beautypie.com) non-members, £25, beautypie.com)
