1. Find what colours, textures and styles of make-up work best for you


This should highlight your best features and disguise the rest. This will also serve you well in the coming decades. DON’T Shy away from experimenting with colour – just choose where and how you wear it. Simple is always best.


2. Highlight


By now, most are familiar with some of the tricks professional make-up artists use to reduce the appearance of redness in the eyes and to brighten them with the use of highlighting, but you may not know you can do the same with your lips. As we age, our lips shrink in size, but by strategically placing a light, shimmery highlight on the cupid’s bow and the centre of your lower lip, you’ll have full-looking lips in no time. DON’T Go for fillers. You can achieve luscious lips with strategic make-up.


3. Increase consumption of goji berries


A complete protein source, and packed with vitamins and minerals, goji berries are known for their invigorating and strengthening properties that help the body to cope with stress by supporting the adrenal glands, as well as increasing immunity, alkalinity, liver protection, and providing anti-ageing benefits. DON’T Consume processed, junk or takeaway foods. They are empty calories, in that they offer very little, if any, health- and beauty-promoting nutrients, as well as having a detrimental effect on your physical and emotional state.


4. Cleanse twice at night


Cleansing your face should be part of your morning and evening routine, but at night you should do it twice – the first time will remove make-up and the second time will remove grime and pollutants, leaving it hydrated. Also ensure your diet is rich in colourful fruits and vegetables, which are high in beneficial phytochemicals that protect our cells from damage caused by free radicals. This means they protect the skin against premature ageing. DON’T Overeat. Research has now confirmed that overeating wreaks havoc with the genomes that prevent ageing. So, just like Confucius says, eat slowly, chew every mouthful carefully, and never eat while watching TV. Also, don’t use chemical-based make-up, but instead choose a mineral make-up.


5. Drink 1.5 to two litres of fresh, pure water every day


Replenish and hydrate the skin from the inside. This does not include juices, coffee, teas, or fruit intake. DON’T Expect water-based products to hydrate the skin, as the body is waterproof. (Showering and swimming would be impossible if your skin could absorb water; you would bloat and puff up.) Water-based products can age the skin, as water does its natural thing and evaporates, leaving skin drier than before.


6.Use all-natural hair products


Marriage, babies and a boost in career can often lead to a busier life, with less time to spend where it is needed most – including your hair. It is important to use all-natural treatments including protein now, such as the Unico Formulations Protein Treatment, to maintain hair’s condition. It will help restore, hydrate and give shine by using it for just five minutes, twice a week under the shower.

DON’T Let life get in the way of nourishing your hair – now you are out of your 20s it is less productive and can’t withstand what it could.


7. Shape your eyebrows


Shape to perfection by refining the length and thickness of your natural brows. DON’T Expose too much of the bone which is the part underneath the brows and closer to the nose. As we age, the skin between the eyes and the brows can make it look saggy and wrinkly.


8. Enjoy regular microdermabrasion treatments


By the time your 30s arrive, cell turnover is starting to slow down and environmental damage from smoke, pollution and sunlight are starting to take their toll. Regular microdermabrasion treatments are a fantastic way of treating degenerated skin cell turnover. This will also assist in lessening the signs of ageing by removing superficial fine lines and wrinkles caused by dehydration.

DON’T Let it all go! Your 30s are busy years, but remember to take time out for yourself and nurture your skin, not least because stress is one of the most ageing things. It may be as simple as a half-hour bubble bath and face mask once a week.


9. Have monthly facials to keep the skin clean and refreshed.

Also visit your dermatologist once a year for a full body scan to check for any signs of precancerous cells. Your skincare kit should comprise the correct eye cream for day and night, cleanser, toner, and moisturiser. DON’T Use a cleanser without alpha or beta hydroxy, as these will promote cell renewal.


10. Consider professional bleaching

Teeth tend to yellow over the years as tiny cracks in the enamel soak up stains from coffee, tea, wine, tobacco and food dyes. Fortunately, these age-related stains bleach away very well and bleaching is easy. You’ll either wear a mould with gel for three hours daily for two weeks at home ($150 to $500 upper or lower), or can undertake in-office power bleaching with a stronger peroxide solution that’s activated for 45 minutes under a high-intensity light ($600 to $1,000). DON’T Buy into over-the-counter bleaching products, which can be too abrasive on teeth and too harsh on gums, with questionable effectiveness.


11. Eat fish

Consume cold water fish such as salmon containing essential fatty acids to increase your skin’s healthy glow. One serving a day is all you need. DON’T Skip this important skin saver just because you don’t like fish. You can also use fish oils, or eat seeds and nuts.