Here Comes Summer
The sun is shining and we’re allowed out! It’s time to get your skin back into shape and your hair shining
Looking at ourselves on Zoom over the past few months has been quite an enlightening experience for many of us – and not necessarily in a good way! Be honest, unless you’re lucky enough to be in your teens or early 20s, being confronted with your face on Zoom – with no filters to blur lines or even skin tone – can be a bit of a shock!
Because of this in-your-face experience, there has been a surge in demand for treatments that improve the skin. The stress of lockdown and too much time spent indoors has also affected our skin.
Dr Sophie Taylor at Berkhamsted’s Aesthetic Skin Clinic points out: ‘Lockdown life has left our skin feeling dry and looking dull. Moving forward, we expect elevated home skincare to continue, with special emphasis on nourishing ingredients including antioxidants, peptides, and acid-based products. The use of face masks has led to the demystification of injectable therapies to enhance the upper third of the face, coinciding with a move towards subtle results, partly due to the recent ban on filters in beauty advertising. As an aesthetic practitioner, I welcome these emerging trends, while looking forward to helping my clients achieve a healthy glow as we return to our professional and social lives.’
Bangs are Back
When it comes to hair, we’ll be looking back to the 70s and 90s for inspiration. After a year of the work-from-home pulled-back ponytail, it’s perhaps not surprising that we are easing ourselves back into hairstyling with cuts that use the natural texture in our hair and present a more relaxed look.
Fringes (or bangs, depending on your age!) are also back with a vengeance, whether it’s a big, heavy fringe, curtain bangs, or a choppier, 60s-inspired style. And curly girls can celebrate – as curls also make a welcome return.
You could be brave and choose a pixie cut – this time around they feature plenty of natural texture and movement and soft edges to keep it looking feminine.
And when it comes to colour – who made the most of lockdown to have fun with rainbow-coloured locks while school was out? A rather more natural soft copper – inspired by popular lockdown TV shows such as The Queen’s Gambit – will be the summer colour of choice.
The Eyes Have It
No one could miss Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor Joy’s fabulous eyes, and with masks still on for the foreseeable future, we really should make the most of our peepers. The catwalks were full of smoky, kohl-rimmed eyes, or charcoal around the lash line with lashings of mascara. Or pick a volumizing mascara and bright coloured eyeliner. Summery green eyeshades and graphic or floating liner are bang on trend.
When you’re finally able to ditch that mask, make sure your lips have something to say. This summer’s look goes two ways. Let it shine with purple tinted gloss or go for a semi matte lip in this season’s hot colour – orange.
If you’ve barely worn makeup all year, you might want to ease yourself in gradually – and summer is the perfect time to work on your ‘barely there’ makeup look. Use a serum or balm to give a dewy look to your skin, add cream blush to the apples of your cheeks and use a pop of subtle colour on lips.
Whatever look you choose, relax, have fun, and enjoy being out in the real world – and off Zoom!
Going beyond ‘skin deep’
A new Aesthetic skincare clinic based in Berkhamsted promises to go beyond ‘skin deep’ therapies to help clients feel like the best version of themselves.
Dr Sophie Taylor, founder of Dr Sophie Taylor Aesthetic Skin Clinic, is particularly concerned that social media is perpetuating the pressure to be flawless.
Dr Sophie is a fully registered, GMC-licensed doctor, having graduated from King’s College London School of Medicine, and has completed advanced training as part of her Level 7 Certification at the Medical & Aesthetic Training Academy on Harley Street.
Her new clinic offers aesthetic, injectable therapies and bespoke skincare consultations.