London’s most sought-after facialist, Sarah Chapman, regularly treats the likes of Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of Sussex. In fact, it was Chapman (the woman behind luxury clinic and skincare line Skinesis) whom Meghan enlisted the day before the royal wedding to prep her complexion. The result was an added radiance, allowing her make-up artist – Daniel Martin – to give the bride a sheer, fresh base that didn’t mask her natural freckles.
Chapman tells us that this is now the holy grail. 'Ten-to-fifteen years ago was all about anti-ageing,' she explained of what's requested in her clinic. 'Now it’s "how do I look the best version of myself?"'
It’s not about looking younger, but instead having that flawless skin that looks natural–meaning we don’t have to pile on foundation–whatever our age. So, where do we all start to achieve a look that’s fresh, vibrant and healthy, meaning we only reach for make-up to enhance, as opposed to cover?
'The crucial thing is SPF – as we know,' but we should not only shield our skin from the sun's rays. 'Now we all struggle with blue light, high energy visible light, all the different things that are going on around us from devices and screens, and also the atmosphere that we’re in, [so] it’s so important to put SPF on every day.'
Inside and outside, sunshine or not, sunscreen is a non-negotiable for good skin. Plus, there’s no point spending money on state-of-the-art skincare (think antioxidants, peptides, retinol) if you’re not wearing a daily shield because sun exposure will negate all the benefits.
Chapman notes that it’s no longer a struggle to convince people to wear sunscreen, given that we’re all much more educated in skin speak, not to mention the vast improvements in formulations.
'Traditionally, SPFs were chalky; they didn’t feel good on the skin, you couldn’t put make-up on [top of] them well, and they weren’t really nice to wear. But they’ve become so much more elegant. It can feel like a serum or nice moisturiser rather than feeling like an SPF.'
Still struggling to find that? Here are four of our favourite SPFs that feel and look good. Healthy skin starts here:
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