I’m Sarah Ferguson & Joanna Lumley’s MUA – makeup can’t work miracles but there’s a 10-second essential for anti-ageing
AFTER decades working with A-list names such as Joanna Lumley and Sarah Ferguson, one make-up artist has revealed her go-to beauty tip.
Victoria Penrose has 22 years of beauty experience under her belt but swears by one budget-friendly buy to prevent signs of ageing.
Victoria has been invited to Buckingham Palace to doll up Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson as well as working on a wide variety of UK reality shows.
As well as this traditional aspect of her career, she has also taken to social media () to show insights into her day-to-day jobs and answer beauty questions.
With over 72,000 followers, she is never short of fan queries but there is one topic that pops up more often than any other.
Read More On Anti-Ageing Tips
"Most of the questions I get are: 'What serum should I use to look younger?' or 'What eye cream can I use to get rid of my bags?' or 'How can I stop my age spots?'" she explained.
And the beauty expert revealed her answer is always the same for every anti-ageing-related inquiry.
"You need SPF and no one wants to put SPF 50 on every day in the rain," Victoria said.
When prompted by the show's hosts Joe Marler and Tom Fordyce if this every day sunscreen has to be factor 50, she reiterated the importance of the product.
She also clarified that it must be worn in all weather conditions, even on rainy days.
"UVA is what will make you age and UVB is what will give you cancer," Victoria explained.
"UVB is from the sunshine, when it’s a sunny day and UVA is from any light that comes from the sun, whether that’s through rain, through a car window, through your bedroom windows.
"So you need 50 UVA/UVB sunscreen every day for the rest of your life."
The beauty expert recommended applying the product "on the back of your hands, your chest, your neck, and your face."
"I cannot tell you how important that is," Victoria told podcast listeners.
She explained that "no £80 cream you buy will do anything" to combat the "damage you’re doing every day by not putting that on."
The importance of sun cream in your skincare routine
Dermatologist and skincare enthusiast Andrea Suarez - known as Dr Dray - revealed why you should wear suncream.
The one thing you can do that will make the biggest difference - and this matters for all ages - is protecting your skin from the sun, Andrea stressed.
"The vast majority of external aging is due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation," she continued, not because you're "not using some jazzy serum or layering 90 different things on your face everyday".
"If you're not doing in your 20s, get on that now."
But she said the use of sun cream alone doesn't go far enough. Andrea urged that you also wear sun-protective clothing like broad-brimmed hats and long sleeves, on top of not staying out too long in the sun.
Doing this over your lifetime - and all year, not just during the summer or on sunny days - "will reduce the visible signs of photoageing", Andrea said.
Those are wrinkles, muddled pigmentation and sagging skin.
"If that’s the one thing you wear and nothing else, it will make you look young and healthy," she advised.
While she acknowledged that there are health benefits to sun exposure, Victoria pointed out that for "vanity reasons" alone you should be protecting your skin.
She added that people who approach her about the product never share concerns of developing skin cancer.
"They’re talking to me because they don’t want to age," the make-up artist said.
She pointed out that the areas of your body that are "constantly shaded from sunlight" such as your armpits, often remain "creamy white."
[Make-up artists] have to come in and fix the bits afterwards and people want us to be miracle workers.
Victoria Penrose
According to Victoria, this will stay the case "even at 80 years old."
The expert also recommended looking at your diet and drinking enough water to further promote good skincare.
"Very little people look at diet and what’s going in," she explained.
"[Make-up artists] have to come in and fix the bits afterwards and people want us to be miracle workers but no one’s prepared to just do it.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"We’re all busy, we’ve got kids, life is tough but if you can just do one thing, sunscreen takes a few seconds.
"When you’re on the toilet, just slap it on."