Futuristic Faces

We have come so far in all cosmetic advancements that the products we put on our face and body are carefully formulated to make us look younger, make our skin feel smooth and even to plump up our lips! So, we all wish we could stop the clock, but if we could jump even further into the future, I wonder if we would be able to reverse the effects of ageing even more than we can now with just a couple of applications of the latest skin moisturiser or lip balms.

Eyes are another matter altogether; some say they are the window to the soul and they can tell our secrets. Well as long as they aren't telling people my age, I don't mind! But seriously, with everything that goes on in and around our eyes, they really are a tell-tale sign of our health and well-being, so I'm thankful that the future has brought along some great advances that keep some of my eye secrets hidden.

It's amazing how much things have changed when it comes to what we put on our faces. I know I'm certainly happy to have more choice when it comes to eye makeup especially. But I don't just want to bash the makeup of the past. We should all show our appreciation for the concoctions and inventions that gave women the chance to exude femininity through the decades.

Eyeliners and mascaras used to be a lot trickier than they are today. If you take it all the way back to the earliest days of eye makeup, you will find out that in their beginning forms they were made from soot, charcoal and other dark substances mixed and applied around the eyes to either protect from the sun and harmful dust particles as well as a representation of stature and wealth within their community. It can be seen in classic representations of early Egyptians and ancient Greece and Rome on both men and women who wore more dark "makeup" around their eyes in such a fashion that hierarchy could be seen easily. Social class determined the wearing of makeup for many centuries to come and it was never a mainstream desire to wear mascara or eyeliner until post Victorian times where it started to become packaged and promoted and the need to have longer looking lashes and stand-out eyes became the new status in society. Hollywood Starlets were preened and polished and encouraged to make their look more visible and relatable and so copycats yearned for the opportunity to look just like their favourite actresses and singers.

Mascara initially came in smaller tins containing a cake of dyed soap like substance that was applied using a wet brush. It was very messy and time consuming. Eyeliner came in kohl form for many centuries and although that's how it is marketed today, it is without the harmful substances that were actually contained.

As the trends came and went each decade throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries so did the old ways of making and packaging eye makeup, but we must thank these trials for how far they have come today to ensure that people everywhere have the opportunities to wear what suits them in a safe way. As we say goodbye to the past fondly, now it is time to really embrace the future of makeup.

I don't know about you, but I see faces are starting to look younger and younger as people get older these days. Cosmetic enhancements aside, there is a whole new wave of 30 and 40 year olds that could pass for someone in their 20s and that can largely be down to how much effort has been put into products that keep us looking and feeling younger, available at every beauty counter in the country!

But future proofing your face isn't just about looking younger, it's about keeping your complexions as clear as they were ten years ago, about keeping your lips as plump as ever, and about keeping your eyes looking clear and sparkly and not tired from years of work and commitments that can start to wear you down. Future proofing your face can be about using as little effort as possible to achieve all of those things, not putting in hours of work each day to make it look like you haven't put any in at all!

So, how do we do it?! Impossible, you might say! But the reality is it is easy to look after your features without waking up an hour earlier each day to apply a cupboard full of lotions while panicking that you can't find your shoes or you've spilled your breakfast down your top and you're going to be late for work. No one needs that stress added to a workday!

I'll bet we all know that feeling though, waking up after a broken night's sleep, the alarm won't shut up and you just want an extra half hour of sleep before you have to face the day. It's a horrible way to start the day, but it happens to the best of us. The lack of sleep ends up causing redness and puffiness and dark circles decide to set up home right under the eyes. Concealer just won't cut it over the long term and in fact trying to hide the puffiness can only make it worse if you don't do the right thing and try to help or correct it. Water is your best friend when it comes to helping your complexion, so keep your body and your skin hydrated and start the day with a nice cool glass of water instead of a coffee that can end up dehydrating your skin. If you crave a hot drink first thing, then try to switch up the Americano for an herbal tea. Green tea is full of antioxidants that help clear out all the bad stuff to make room for the new good stuff you are about to replenish the body with... right?

Stick with me here, because once you have mastered how to keep your skin hydrated, you might swap the caffeine addiction out for the smooth skin addiction and think "what more can I do to future proof my face?" Well, next up comes a bit of sage advice that I cannot stress enough: Remove that eye makeup at night! This should be the only real effort that is required of you each day. I know it lacks the same excitement of applying your brand new lipstick and trying out a few eyeliner techniques with your new gel liner, but removing makeup is so important to do before you go to bed as that is the time where your body needs to recuperate and cells regenerate. This is impossible if your face, eyes and lips are coated in oily makeup and grease that will eventually just clog your pores and leave you with unsightly blemishes and areas of irritated or dry skin in the morning. If you cleanse properly each night and leave the skin clear, your face will start feeling smoother and your skin less dull, giving you just the right positive feelings in the morning, so even if you are running late for work, your skin will look perfect anyway. Makeup who?!

Ok, so we have hydration and cleansing down, we are on our way to future proofing our faces. So now we can start thinking about little enhancements that don't involve any surgery or appointments that can get costly. First… eyelashes. Eyelashes are the perfect facial accessory that we can decorate and enhance to really show off our personality. So, whether you are going full futuristic with your makeup or just looking to stay ahead of the game, the perfect product for you exists.

Have you ever thought of using an eyelash growth serum? Maybe you aren't too familiar with them or haven't heard much about what they can do so up until now haven't bothered. So, let's clear this up for you. Eyelash growth serums are amazing little formulas that work in the background while you carry on with your normal beauty routines to give your individual lashes a boost, making them grow faster, longer and stronger. Eyelashes don't grow like hair, so don't worry, you won't get comically long eyelashes but those extra few millimetres can be the difference in your eyelash confidence that will make you wonder why you haven't used a growth serum before.

The way they work best is to apply at night (after you've removed that eye makeup!) and then go to sleep and let the power of rest do the work for you. It seeps deep into the follicle and promotes healthy growth so that you can carry on with your normal mascara application in the morning and not even know a thing until a few weeks later when you see your lashes are looking long and may not even want the mascara anymore. Xlash do a great eyelash growth serum and it is compact and easy to carry around with you if you need to take it on holiday or away for the night. It uses natural ingredients and contains antioxidants that rid your follicles and surrounding skin of any dirt or buildup of infection, meaning you can have eyes that glisten without the added worry of redness in the morning.

Eyelashes that stand the test of time is the ultimate future proofing for your face as any trends can come and go but one that has lasted ever since the starlets of Hollywood were gracing the silver screens are darker, thicker and longer lashes and it won't be going anywhere anytime soon!

Another way to get your face to stay ahead of the present is to really look after those lips. You can get the future on speed dial by embracing the fact that lips need just as much, if not more TLC than anywhere else on your face due to the type of skin that covers them and the exposure to elements, food and drinks that they are put through daily. Lips can tell a lot about your overall health and there are tell-tale signs that you should look out for, so you know when to step up and take care of them. If you don't do it now, then the future of your lips can start to look a little bleak.

First of all, you should look to keep on top of your lip care and not just look at moisturising them as a chore that you may or may not be bothered to do every day. Luckily, the future is calling you this time and it has brought you just the right products to make sure your lips stay kissable and stand the test of time.

Now, people swear by different balms and remedies to look after their lips, from coconut oil to keep them moist to a sugar and honey scrub to keep them smooth and really whatever works for you is good as long as you are taking time out to use it. But sometimes things like this can get messy and homemade remedies are not for everybody so now it may just be more convenient to try out an intensive care lip balm that does everything in one go. Xlips EGF Intensive Care Lip Balm is a brilliant example of what you can use to get soft and kissable lips that don't flake or falter under really dry conditions in winter or summer and as it smooths out the skin, it can give the appearance of a plumper and fuller set of lips without the added pain involved with lip fillers or injections. They also do a lip plumping balm if you really want to go to town on those lips and enhance your pout with the added bonus of being able to throw on your favourite shade of lipstick over the top. Is this the future? I think so!

We don't all have time to think about the present, let alone the future. With busy schedules and hectic lives, it can be hard to keep up with the latest in moisturisers, creams and lotions and then on top of that to find the time to fit applications into the day, so preparing for the future can be tricky. That's why these little handy tips come highly recommended as they involve little to no effort to apply to either your eyelashes or your lips and they can replace big tubs of homemade concoctions completely, so no more lugging around a big bag of creams that just end up taking up unnecessary space. Invest in a few new little features that will fit in nicely to your skin care routine, not take up any more time in the day to apply and end up with results that can hold back the years and let everybody know that you have faced the future.