This is PART II of younger or better …

If you’re still on the fence on this one I hope you’re not getting splinters! Have you still not decided whether it’s best to look younger or better? In my experience, which is vast and which involves working with women even older than I am, the minute they start the better approach, they just look younger.

The five areas to be sorted today are:

Disappearing lips

Nothing brightens more speedily than a splash of brilliant colour on your lips. The best colours are orange-reds or a luscious pink … Nothing goth-ish … and if your lips are very thin, the red we all love can look like a gash. Very much not better.

Over-done filler or botox … NOT better.

Well, we’re back to subtlety again. Too much botox makes you look weird and too much filler … what can I say? We won’t even go near fat deposits … they seem to make some people unrecognisable. Men and women both …

Whatever you decide is necessary make sure it really is necessary and is unlikely to make you look like an escapee from a Wes Craven movie. Use someone who can spell subtle (that’s S-U-B-T-L-E) … it’s your face!

BUT, you’re better using great skincare, starting when you’re young. That part may have escaped you but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t start now. It’s never too late.

Please don’t forget sleep, massage, soft cleansing and moisturising.

Try and avoid retinol and microdermabrasion … you want to look better, not dried out.

Send that Gym Bunny packing

Looking more taut than is likely often means you look haggard. Haggard is a big NO.

Yes, exercise is necessary but you don’t have to go at it like a fanatic to stay healthy. Taking up Pilates or yoga, or doing gentle exercise classes or just plain walking, can give you the benefits you want.

Enjoy it … don’t punish yourself! You want to stay supple and active which will make you look and feel soooo much better … as well as younger.

Time to wear the right trousers

No need, ever, to slump into dreary, nondescript territory when there is a style to bring out your best feature:

□ trim waist (wear high-waisted, wide legs with tie waists)
□ lovely ankles (cropped or kick flares work)
□ long legs (go for flares)
□ curvaceous hips (palazzo pants and pyjama sets).

You can’t go wrong with a pair of velvet trousers which are every sixty-something’s right. Such a great update to boring, predictable black skirts.

Upgrade the eye glasses and sunnies

Designer glasses are expensive but there are so many knock-offs around there’s no need to panic about upgrading your eyewear.

Go for classy and not necessarily fashionable. It’s about what suits your face so liking the specs themselves is immaterial if they don’t work on you.

Eye problems? Get your eyes tested and get the optician or chemist to recommend some good eye drops.

If you use a computer a lot, please get some anti-glare glasses. Either with a lens or with plain glass … it’s the anti-glare you’re after.

PART III of this article will be out next week.