My Skincare Secrets For Staying (and Looking) Young | Nivea Q10 Review

Secrets to staying (and looking) young - the over 40s
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I’m often asked on the blog and social media about my skincare routine and my secrets to staying and looking younger than my years. At the age of nearly 43 I’m lucky that I sometimes get mistaken for younger – and boy do I appreciate those compliments! – but it’s not purely down to luck. Sure, genes do have a big part to play, but thinking about it there are a lot of factors that have contributed to keeping my skin from being excessively wrinkled.

I’ve gone (almost) bare-faced here to show my skin to you. I’m wearing very, very minimal make-up: Some powder to stop shine, a little mascara and coloured lip balm. You’ll see that my skin isn’t perfect; uneven skin tone is my biggest gripe, and it always worsens in the summer months. I have quite freckly skin and if I don’t take care to wear enough sun protection it explodes into one giant mass of freckle. I love a smattering of freckles across the bridge of my nose but I’m not fond of the brown uneven patches of (what is effectively) sun damage along my jawline and on my forehead.

As well as having a good skincare routine I’m an advocate of a healthy lifestyle – I’m not a saint by any means (I do try and keep away from chocolate cake) – but I’ve changed so many things about my lifestyle in the last decade or so that I think they’ve all helped. I’ve shared my secrets here for you; nothing is rocket science and it may be things you’ve heard before, but this is purely what I do.

At the end I’ve reviewed the Nivea Q10 anti-wrinkle range, so I’d love to know whether you use Q10 yourself… how do you find it? What do you think of my tips and what do you do to keep your skin looking good – do share in the comments!

1. Drinking water

I drink a lot of water. I believe everything they say about water being good for your skin is true. It makes sense that a hydrated body means hydrated skin, which means plumper looking skin and therefore less wrinkles. For hot drinks I only ever have green or herbal teas or slices of lemon in hot water. I gave up tea with milk about 10 years ago after going on a detox for a month; I couldn’t bear the milkiness of it after that. (I don’t like coffee and have never drunk that either.) Unlike standard tea and coffee, green tea contributes to your daily water intake so it means I’m drinking lots of the stuff.

2. Being a non-smoker

I don’t smoke, I never have. If you want evidence as to how smoking wrecks your skin, look at this photo of a smoker and non-smoker set of twinsYou can nearly always tell a smoker by the fine lines on their top lip from pursing all the time. It’s never too late to give up…!

3. Moisturiser with SPF

I use a day moisturiser with a high SPF – even in the winter. I think I started wearing one with SPF15 in my mid 30s, and I wish I’d started so much earlier. To be honest I don’t think any age is too early; we wouldn’t let children go out in the sun without sun protection, so once we start a skincare routine in our teens I think that’s the time to start wearing one with SPF. Yes, they’re more expensive, but here’s another great twin comparison: sun damage does this to you (the twin on the left had long term sun exposure).

4. A moisturised décolletage

I’ve never neglected my décolletage. I’m quite busty and have always been conscious of the skin in that area being dragged down and getting wrinkled by the weight of my bosoms. I swear by a good supportive bra and moisturiser with SPF (again) for the day and thick night cream all over my neck and right down to my bust every evening. I read once that “your face doesn’t stop at your neck” and I’ve always included my neck and décolletage as part of my skincare routine.

5. Long-term eye cream use

I’ve worn eye cream every night since I was about 14 or 15; this alone I think has contributed the most to the good skin around the eye area. What I’ve always used is good old fashioned Vaseline. I used to read a lot of magazines and beauty books growing up during the 80s, and I remember reading that dry skin was more prone to wrinkling. I figured that a thin film of Vaseline round my eyes would prevent this, and I got so used to it that I now cannot go to sleep without a layer of cream around my eyes… it just feels weird. See below for a review of the Q10 eye cream if you’re after something far less greasy – I know petroleum jelly isn’t for everyone.

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6. Make up removal at night

I could probably count on one hand how many times I’ve not taken off my make-up at night. There’s nothing I can’t bear more than the feeling of getting into bed with make-up on, no matter how tired (or, ahem, sloshed) I am. Thankfully I’ve let my skin recover every single night ever.

7. Sleep. A lot.

This is the one I’m the worst at – I need lots of sleep to function properly but I go through bouts of getting too little sleep. I always look haggered on the mornings I wake up after going to bed late or a bad night. They don’t call it beauty sleep for nothing.


8. My pillow saves my face

You may or may not have heard about this before, but I have this strange pillow that’s called the Save My Face pillow – it saves your face from getting permanently creased and smushed up if you sleep on your side. It’s double-crescent shaped and supports your forehead and chin only, allowing your cheeks to be smush-free. It’s a strange-looking thing but I highly recommend it – it makes perfect sense that squishing your cheeks into your nose every night for several hours will contribute to permanent creases on your face.

9. Exercise

I never did any exercise after leaving school and only walked to and from work until I was about 27. I then took up running and did it on and off till my late 30s, but I now run, workout and walk regularly. An early morning walk almost straight after getting up is the best thing for getting my circulation going, waking me up and making me feel like the day has started. They say that good circulation is vital for healthy skin, and we all know that exercise in general is everything for keeping yourself healthy. Not exercising shows in my face – I will always look tired if I’m inactive.

10. A little fruit and a lot of veg

You’ve heard the old expression with reference to a healthy diet: Eat lots of fruit and veg! That is true to a point, but it’s becoming more well-known that a lot of fruit can be bad for you due to all the sugar fruit contains. Since finding this out I’ve cut back massively on the fruit and upped my veg intake. My diet is pretty healthy: I eat a varied diet that’s also rich in fibre, protein and healthy fats – I just eat the naughty things on top (and would never stop if someone let me). But if I go a day without any vegetables I feel thoroughly vile and unhealthy and know that my skin will suffer with a breakout and looking sallow if I keep it up.

11. No fizzy drinks

Fizzy drinks (soda) is the devil’s drink to me. I never used to drink much Coke or similar (though I’m still partial to a Dr. Pepper) but finding out a can of Coke has several teaspoons of sugar in it absolutely horrified me, and I haven’t touched the stuff for years. In fact I don’t put sugar on anything any more – once you wean yourself off it you’ll never want to go back, it’ll taste disgustingly saccharine to pour sugar on (or in) your food and drink. Read what Dayle Breault, skincare expert to the stars, said about the effects of excess sugar and how it ages you – you’ll want to put down that Diet Coke straight away (and no, artificial sweeteners are not okay, if anything they’re worse because they keep you addicted to sugar).

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12. Sunglasses

This one’s easy: Wear sunglasses and you won’t crease up your eyes or frown as much. I’ve stopped worrying about looking a bit of a twit in the winter with sunglasses on. I find the sky can be so bright even if it’s cloudy, and I can’t bear walking around squinting. No squinting = less wrinkling.

NIVEA Q10 REVIEW

As part of a new campaign that Nivea are about to launch (with the involvement of myself and a few other bloggers), I was sent a set of Nivea Q10 Plus skincare products to review. You’ll get to see the results of that collaboration next week on the blog, but in the meantime here are my thoughts about the Q10 range!

Nivea Q10 range
L-R: Eye Cream | Serum Pearls | Age Spot Day Cream SPF30 | Night Cream

Nivea’s results/information listed for each product are:

Age Spot Day Cream SPF30

  • Contains SPF30 and an advanced UVA filter system 
  • Intensive protection against premature skin ageing like the formulation of wrinkles and dark spots
  • The appearance of wrinkles is reduced

Night Cream

  • Provides intense moisture during the night when skin is most receptive to moisture-intake
  • The appearance of wrinkles is reduced

Eye Cream

  • Minimises dark under-eye circles
  • Reduces the appearance of wrinkles around the eyes

Serum Pearls

  • Serum pearls deliver the highest dosage of skin’s own coenzyme Q10
  • Enriched with Hyaluronic Acid helps visibly reduce the appearance of wrinkles and helps prevent the formulation of new ones
  • Smooths and softens skin’s surface

I’ve been using these products for about a month, and whilst it’s hard to say whether the appearance of my wrinkles is reduced after this amount of time, my skin has been looking pretty good and very smooth these last few weeks. What I like most about the day cream are two things: Firstly, the smell is subtle but really lovely – it reminds me of the sort of foreign sun cream you have to buy on holiday in Greece or Spain when you realise you didn’t bring enough. It’s got that delicious “on holiday” smell.

Secondly, the day cream is a great moisturiser for wearing under make up. It’s not at all greasy – even less so than some I’ve tried that claim to be mattifying – and I don’t get an over shiny forehead come lunchtime. The fact that it has SPF30 is the biggest bonus and the best reason to use it. Never underestimate how much daily sun exposure can damage your skin, and although 20 and 30-somethings may not think to wear anti-wrinkle cream until they’re my age, I can only stress that you start NOW.

I really liked the other products too: unlike some other brands I’ve tried the night cream doesn’t sting my face after cleansing and it’s thick without feeling gloopy or heavy. I use the serum pearls in the morning and evening after cleansing (I love rubbing in the little bobbles of yellow goo) and although I still swear by Vaseline on my eyes, I use the Q10 eye cream when I don’t want over greasy eyes.

The final bonus is that this range is very affordable. With prices between £10-£14 the day cream is worth it for the protection from the sun alone.

You can’t beat regular sleep, exercise and a healthy diet and lifestyle for preventing premature ageing, but I do believe everyone needs a little extra help. Properly moisturised skin prevents dryness, and it’s a fact that dry skin ages far more quickly. The same goes for skin without sun protection – please stay sun safe!

Let me know your skincare secrets and want you want to change about your own routine in the comments πŸ™‚
Catherine x
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P.S. Like this post? You might also enjoy 11 Ways to Adopt Healthy Eating Habits!

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I have written this post in collaboration with Nivea. All content is original, however, and opinions are my own and 100% honest.

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35 Comments

  1. 10 February 2018 / 5:59 am

    Hi RABIN MAHMUD,
    you shared the most informative post on this page with the outstanding steps to eliminate the dryness from the Sensitive skin of body in a seven days and increase the beauty of skin by using the skin treatment weapon hemp seed oil daily according to the period of a time after the recommendations of a doctor and remember the instructions of a doctor which help you to eliminate this kind of skin dryness ,My suggestion is you must go to a doctor one time in a week for starting of proper treatment of eliminating dryness appeared on the Sensitive skin of body for increasing the beauty of skin in a summer season due to the effect of sun rays,keep it in your mind don’t work in the light of sun because the heat of sun with the dust particles of sun rays increase the rough dryness and cracks with lines on the skin due to the demaged of skin layers cells after the working of some time you notice the color of skin become black and cracks with lines are increased on the Sensitive skin of a body this is also a effect of skin cancer . So take care of skin and avoid to work in a light of sun . you also use a mask on the face if necessary to work in the light of sun and also use carrot in the food salad .
    Thanks.

  2. 18 September 2016 / 6:41 pm

    You've shared very helpful and wonderful tips for having a healthy face and body. Last night I was reading some reason of wrinkle on face and found some reasons of wrinkles which are not occurred for age. But I think if someone follow the above tips, they will not have wrinkles on her face.
    Thanks Catherine for these awesome tips!

  3. 21 July 2016 / 12:16 am

    I have used all the Q10 products from Garnier, Roc, and Clinique. I can't say for certain it has helped reduce any fine lines on my face, I have very few at age 34.

    I have however been using the Somaluxe Firming Lotion (for my face) and I have very few wrinkles and the skin around my eyes is quite supple and taut (although this could just be good genes and nothing to do with the product). The Somaluxe Firming Lotion is not like Roc or Clinque where you have to act like the product is gold dust and use sparingly. . .its a large bottle which I like. It lasts a long time.

  4. 16 April 2016 / 1:30 pm

    Thanks for sharing, your skin looks so healthy and flawless.Β  Lynne York

  5. 28 March 2016 / 7:45 pm

    Lovely post my dear, helped me a lot. I disagree with the fact that you have decreased the amount of of fruit that you eat jusy because you think that the sugar that it contains is bad, I'm telling you this because I feel sorry for you that you think that way, the sugars in the fruit are fructose which does no bad to our body and gets us the energy that we need,

    • 28 March 2016 / 10:10 pm

      You may disagree with me, Maria, but I think you will find that many fruits contain A LOT of sugar… You only have to look at the calorific content. Dietitians agree that orange juice and all-fruit smoothies, for example contain an awful lot of sugar and people drink far too much thinking it's good for them.

      The sugar in fruit isn't bad, as I said it's excessive quantities that are the enemy – hence why I said a lot of veg and a *little* fruit. And please don't feel sorry for me, that is quite condescending to be honest…!

  6. 7 June 2015 / 1:44 am

    We are on almost EXACTLY the same page when it comes to the things we do for our skin, dearest Catherine!! I became aware of the unpleasant "side effects" of the sun when I was in my very early teens; my sister and I had one of those vintage-style photos taken for our parents at a theme park one summer; and when I saw how awful my skin looked with a tan in that sepia-toned picture?! That was it for me!! I've been meticulous about sunblock ever since…especially on my face!! Like you, I've NEVER smoked, I NEVER drink coffee, and I eat tons of veggies (I'm vegetarian, after all!) but very little fruit. Sadly, though, I'm also guilty of not getting enough sleep…the downside of being a dedicated blogger, am I right?! ;D

    http://www.StyleIsMyPudding.blogspot.com

    • 8 June 2015 / 10:00 pm

      Well the results speak for themselves where you're concerned, Monika – your skin is absolutely beautiful!!!! C x

  7. 6 June 2015 / 7:39 am

    This is a great post! I am very fair and so have stayed out of the sun all of my life, which means I am looking less wrinkly than some of my friends! Do you know whether there is a problem using face cream on one's dΓ©colletage? I read somewhere that this was a no-no, but I can't understand why!

    • 8 June 2015 / 9:59 pm

      That's really good that you recognised that having fair skin means you stayed out of the sun, Nellie!

      I've never heard of the notion that you shouldn't use face cream on your chest area, though – but I'm not saying it isn't true! Hmm need to do some research into that one πŸ™‚

      Thanks for your lovely compliment, glad you enjoyed the post x

  8. 1 June 2015 / 6:42 pm

    I am bad for using eye cream, plus since having my son I don't get as much sleep as I used to (trust me I am still part dormouse!) so my under eyes do not look great. Must remember to use eye cream!!

    • 3 June 2015 / 9:17 pm

      I know that sleepless nights from having kids is one of the biggest culprits of causing ageing to skin, Sharon – especially eyes! Get yourself in the habit of using eye cream as soon as you can: better late than never as they say :))

  9. 1 June 2015 / 8:13 am

    Hello, Catherine! Thank you for sharing your beauty tips! πŸ™‚ Very inspiring! πŸ™‚ I am still in my twenties, but I am one of those girls, who believes, that taking care of myself now is very important for looking beautiful in 20, 30, 40, 50 and up. :))
    P.S. You do look beautiful! πŸ™‚
    Madara

    • 3 June 2015 / 9:16 pm

      Oh Madara thank you so much, what a lovely compliment! Good for you for looking after yourself early – you're bound to look amazing when you're 40 and 50+!!

  10. 30 May 2015 / 5:14 pm

    I don't drink either or smoke, I always wear spf but the biggest thing I have noticed over the years is a specific wrinkle developing on one side of my face I constantly sleep on my left side (far away from the hubby's snoring as possible) and the wrinkle is from where I lie on my side with cheek squashed up so that pillow is a must try for me!!

    • 3 June 2015 / 9:15 pm

      Haha your situation sounds a lot like mine, Rae Lou…!!! The pillow is great (and really comfy too) x

  11. 30 May 2015 / 8:52 am

    Vaseline!? I'm so curious to try this out, Catherine. My eye area is pretty neglected in my skin care regime, so thank you for the tip!

    The Syllabub

  12. 29 May 2015 / 10:29 pm

    I need this pillow, I have a major issue with pillows at nigh. Your skin looks great, I'm starting to wory about wrinkles round my eyes, maybe I'll try your trick
    Lauren
    livinginaboxx

    • 3 June 2015 / 9:13 pm

      I always used to think how I was squishing up my face on the pillow, Lauren – I'm so glad I discovered Save My Face!! Thank you for your lovely comment πŸ™‚

  13. 29 May 2015 / 2:44 pm

    Your skin looks amazing Catherine you definitely don't look anywhere near 42!! I to love the smell of these Nivea products but unfortunately can't use them as they irritate my akward skin. Realy interested in those pillows though!! xx

    • 3 June 2015 / 9:12 pm

      Gail thank you so much!!! That's a shame about Nivea not agreeing with you… I can thoroughly recommend the pillow though! x

  14. 29 May 2015 / 8:43 am

    Very interested in the face pillow I always use a silk pillow case but this look better. Just wondered if you used the small or large one. I know that I need to up my drinking water quota.

    • 29 May 2015 / 2:48 pm

      Oh I forgot to mention that, Josephine – I use the small one on top of my regular pillow. I got the small so it was less to carry when staying away from home πŸ™‚

  15. 28 May 2015 / 10:11 pm

    Wish I could use the Nivea but it broke me out – I could try the eye cream though! I love the simplicity of your routine and tips. Your skin looks great and it just goes to show you don't have to spend a fortune! I use petroleum jelly/vaseline as a lip balm, eyelash balm, on chapped or broken skin, it's the best! I'm 40 and have always cleansed and moisturised and worn sunscreen (Olay) since I was a teen, and I drink lots of water. I occasionally get asked if I'm a student (but I honestly think that's because I'm American lol!). I go through phases of cutting out sugar but it's a tough one. Especially with coffee (um…yeah I could work on that too! I have weaned myself off but I always go back). I definitely need that face saver pillow, I always wake up with pillow face agh!

    • 29 May 2015 / 2:47 pm

      Oh that's a shame that your skin reacts to Nivea, Steff (have you tried the sensitive range)? Vaseline is pretty awesome – using it as an eye cream every night I think is why I have pretty long, thick eyelashes too. I love that you get asked if you're a student, that's amazing!! And thank you, I appreciate the comment about my skin πŸ™‚

  16. 28 May 2015 / 5:37 pm

    I love the whole Nivea range and always have a little pot of it in my handbag for my lips or hands (love astral too). I agree with you about lots of water, sleep and exercise. We truly are what we put into our body. And I love my sunglasses too – never go anywhere without them, even in winter. Great post. Lorraine xx

    • 29 May 2015 / 2:44 pm

      Thanks Lorraine – I agree with what you said about we are what we put in our body!! Too true :))

  17. 28 May 2015 / 4:13 pm

    I've recently been thinking about changing my skin care regimen, so I will have to check these out. I could not agree more about the water, not smoking and always wearing sunscreen! Luckily I'm very fair and have always had no choice but to wear sun protection.

    Tamara
    http://www.trulytamara.com

    • 29 May 2015 / 2:43 pm

      I think now that we're so much more aware that you can't go out in the sun when you're very fair, Tamara, it's actually in the favour of fair-skinned people because they avoid the sun so much more than they did 20+ years ago I think. Though that doesn't stop you seeing lobster-coloured people in the summer months in this country, does it…??!

  18. 28 May 2015 / 3:54 pm

    I look younger as well. People tend to gasp when I tell them I'm 32. I do sleep a lot, don't drink alcohol (except for an occasional glass of wine no more than twice per month) or coffee, wear sunscreen every single day since my mid 20s and clean my skin every night! Diet wise, I'm good but can be better!!
    This review came on time too, because I'm looking for an eye cream!!

    • 29 May 2015 / 2:41 pm

      You and I sound very similar, Anna, I don't really drink either! The Q10 eye cream is great, it's nice and thick and feels like it's really nourishing your eyes πŸ™‚

  19. 28 May 2015 / 3:52 pm

    These are great tips that I will be sharing on social media. I need to moisturize my chest like you. I'm lazy about that and now it shows.

    bisous
    Suzanne
    http://www.suzannecarillo.com

    • 29 May 2015 / 2:40 pm

      So glad you liked them, Suzanne – and yes to moisturising our chests…!! Thank you hun x

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