BEAUTY
Skincare
junkie
Want to know how Lulu halts the ravages of time? BARRY BEGG talks weapons of wrinkle-destruction with an age-defying icon
I
t’s hard to believe this energetic little woman will be eligible for a bus pass in a few week’s time. She’s a fireball. Dynamite. In her fifth decade as a globally successful music star, and on the cusp of her sixtieth birthday, she’s incredibly fresh-faced. The condition of her skin is nothing short of miraculous. “I can’t stress enough how many people compliment how well my skin looks,” says Lulu with a peel of laughter. She knows her own visage provides the best possible advert for her Time Bomb skincare range – the living proof, I guess, that these ani-ageing lotions and potions truly work. I tell her she looks absolutely incredible. And I mean it. “Take my word for it, I use all these
products in my regime. They’re all very gentle on the skin. As you get older, the body doesn’t regenerate skin quite as easily. My products do that for you. But you do have to have a disciplined routine. Basically, Time Bomb is all about me,” she explains, adding, “Friends joke I live in Lake-Me! But people are always saying how good I look – which annoys me because sometimes it’s more about how I look than about my music!” This fixation on appearance must be ever so slightly frustrating. Given the extraordinary scale of Lulu’s achievements not just as an artist but as a songwriter, it’s curious that everyone wants to comment on her skin rather than her voice or
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her remarkable flair for composition. But, having so effectively kept the ravages of time at bay, perhaps Lulu only has herself to blame. “The music business is very much about appearance,” she admits, “and I’ve always wanted to look as good as I can. I used to buy every available product, no matter the cost – I even flew to LA for a handmade eye cream. Over the years, I became a bit of an expert on products due to my obsession with looking after my skin. I’m a beauty product junkie and used to always mix and match. My Time Bomb range is a combination of all my best practices.” So what’s Lulu’s programme for better skin? “You have to have a regime,” she insists. “You should use the cleansing cream, and moisturise both day and night. The Youth Juice Oil is an essential, and used with the eye balm you’ll be looking great. The Glory Days Cream leaves skin so even-toned I no longer have to use a foundation.” “The Youth Juice Oil is very light and makes the skin supple and dewy. There’s so much we can do to protect ageing skin. The day cream is great for healing dark patches from too much sun. We use the best ingredients – the eye balm is made from liquorice and centella, which reduces fine lines and wrinkles. I use it all the time, even on my lips. It’s like a lip-gloss and reduces fine lines.” Surely Lulu regrets sharing secrets of her youthfulness? “No, definitely not,” she insists. “I’m a girlie girl, and I love talking to my friends about their clothes and new hairstyles. I’m the first to tell them what doesn’t work – I’m mouthy that way! Years ago, a friend said why don’t you share your beauty secrets. And I thought I know enough about what works, so why not? Now when I’m out I get people shouting to me that they use this product and that product . . .” Which must make a nice change from crazed fans taunting her to sing the opening riff of ‘Shout.’ Lulu’s TIME BOMB anti-ageing skincare range is available online at www.lulusplace.co.uk
The new beautyhalls at Jenners, Edinburgh opening 9th October
BEAUTY PLEASURE GROUND G
enerations of Scottish women have acknowledged the excellence of the Beauty Halls at Jenners. Despite the iconic 170-year old store’s fading grandeur, they remained a favourite place to buy skincare, colour cosmetics and fragrances. Now, however, following acquisition by House of Fraser, a fabulous new environment is about to be unveiled. From October 9, the Beauty Halls at Jenners will once more be as gorgeous as the packaging on any Prada perfume, as compelling as the season’s hottest new shades in lipstick. This development is part of an eagerly anticipated £3.5-million makeover, and general manager George Bell positively bristles with pride as he offers a sneak preview of the bold new look soon to greet customers stepping through the Princes Street doors. “We’re keeping everything for which Jenners is famed,” he insists, “but injecting that all-important contemporary edge.” Think high-shine lacquer finishes in jet black and dazzling white. Imagine all your favourite beauty brands presented alongside names new (and exclusive) to Jenners such as Bare Minerals, Keihls, Biotherm and Giorgio Armani’s ravishing colour cosmetics. Oh, isn’t it nice to hear that the sleeping beauty of Edinburgh’s retail scene is getting a long-overdue wake-up call? Jenners, Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2. Telephone 0844 800 3725
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