Help! I look like like the walking dead

[MargoLivebetter]

I saw some photos of me at an event from shortly before Christmas and my skin looks waxen. Not that it isn't wrinkly but the colour of it, I literally look wan and waxen and that is with make up on!! In one photo I'd been caught with my eyes closed and I looked like I'd risen from the mortician's table.

I'm a gimmer and a crepey and unlike a lot of people my age who seem to get a bit rosy and pink, I have gone the opposite way and seem to have no colour at all.

I'm naturally light olive with brown eyes and greying light brown hair that I have run through with warm blonde highlights. I always look better with a tan, but these days my face is never tanned because we're not supposed to be tanned any more.

I currently use a moisturising foundation that is very slightly darker than my skin tone, a little bit of blusher on my cheek bones, mascara and some fairly neutral lippy. I am never going to spend a long time on my make up, I just can't be arsed, but I do need to warm myself up a bit.

Any tips on getting some glow back would be very gratefully received.

Have a look into some bronzing glow drops, ELF do a good one. It should give you a nice bit of colour to start with under your foundation. Get a really good colour match with your foundation too, you could be using one that’s pulling out any dullness.

I was also going to suggest tanning drops for colour, but for 'glow' you might want to think about skincare. Do you use any exfoliants or face oils?

@GingerFoxInAT0phat are bronzing glow drops like fake tan?

@owlexpress I alternate between castor oil, almond oil, a Vichy b-vit cream and Moisture Surge by Clinique. I exfoliate twice a week and on the exfoliating nights I use a hyalauronic serum with vaseline over the top.

Sounds like an issue with your diet - and lack of sunshine.

Do you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, sufficient protein and good oil? Do you drink more alcohol than you should?

Several health experts have opined that people are needlessly depriving themselves of Vitamin D via sunshine because of scaremongering about skin cancer. Everyone needs a certain amount of sun.

Suggestions: Get outside more. Consume your weight in carrots. Take Vitamin D. Review your sleeping environment.

@SurpriseSparDay I don't drink alcohol. I supplement with Vit D between September and March, one of the fancy ones with K2 and other things in it. I also take magnesium, a Vit-B complex, stuff for my dodgy joints. I drink a Huel protein drink daily, eat fish several times a week and definitely get my 5 a day. In the summer I get plenty of sunshine but wear factor 50 on my face. I've had several pre-cancerous lesions removed due to frying like bacon back in the late 80s and 90s, so I feel obliged to protect my face now.

@SurpriseSparDay I'm not pescatarian either, which is what my last post makes me sound like. I eat meat on the days I don't eat fish. I watch my protein macros to try and ensure I'm getting enough, so that I'm not losing muscle mass (being a gimmer).

I am in the same boat but without the olive skin. I am very pasty. I don’t recognise myself in photos looking this grey and old however much make up I wear or whatever clothes I wear. I feel like a visit to Gok Wan, Trinny and Susannah or 10 years younger is in order for myself.

A friiend a similar age to me and who always looks great but still colours her hair I have stopped this too. Seems to treat herself to regular facials and she swears by a No7 future renew day cream.

She has also always been a big believer in doing a lot of things for herself that make her happy i.e. going to concerts, walking in the hills and countryside, regularly catching up with friends and treating herself to regular facials, massages and visits to her hairdresser. So perhaps all this shows in her face.

Perhaps you could contact a different hairdresser for advice, book a facial and just do some things to make you happy and feel good.

Also maybe try getting your colours done so you are wearing colours to complement your hair and skin colour.

Ah … Well that’s all good! I was thinking about your post and came back to ask about iron. The main thing that has turned me grey in the past was severe anaemia - is it possible that might have been missed?

Self-tan, but more gradual than 'fake tan' generally. E.g Tan-Luxe The Face Illuminating Tan Drops Travel Size | Space NK, you mix a few drops with your moisturiser.

What do you exfoliate with? Chemical or physical?

Thank you @owlexpress I don't have a good track record with fake tan but I could give the drops a try.

Wednesday night is a physical exfoliation with a scrub and Sunday night is a 'chemical peel' with Salicylic Acid.

@SurpriseSparDay I used to have very low ferritin levels and took iron supplements for years, but now I'm menopausal it is not a problem anymore. I take iron twice a week and regularly test and I'm always well in range.

Is your foundation too light? I look like this in pics and realised my foundation was too light for my skin.
Also the tan drops, I have a bottle from tropic (I don't usually use them as hate the pyramid scheme side but I buy direct online) and you just mix it with a bit of moisturiser. Really brings my face to life without looking too much.

@User543211 I think it is my skin is too light or pale. I got help on my foundation choice in Space NK and apparently the foundation I use is slightly darker than my skin.

I'm starting to think that the tan drops may be the way forward to try and bronze me a bit. I'm just worried about ending up with orangy eyebrows and hairline or looking like Donald Trump!!!!

Thank you @Chocolatey1234 for your lovely suggestions. Even though I work, I feel very fortunate to get to Pilates, go for walks, have a regular massage and have a great partner who is up for concerts, excursions, meals out and all those nice things. I don't think my lifestyle is the issue. I live way better now than I did when I was single mum for 20 years, but I look worse 😂.

I'll have a look at the No7 future renew cream. I don't think I've tried that one.

I would advise you ditch the scrub and switch to more frequent chemical exfoliation with glycolic acid rather than salicylic. Salicylic acid is good for acne, but glycolic acid tends to be better for brightening, plumping and reducing fine lines. I like Alpha H Liquid Gold.

Thank you @owlexpress , I'll give the glycolic acid a go.

Jones Road balm. It’s a marmite product , it is a slightly waxy balm with added colour and slight shimmer. It really does add glow to cheeks and the face in a healthy, natural looking way. It’s really good in the colder months for giving a bit of wind and cold protection if you are outside. The pots are big, too big I feel, so you need to try some before buying as some people hate it.

Try a visit to House Of Colour or Colour Me Beautiful. You need to know which colours flatter your natural hair and complexion. The right make up and top or scarf will take years off.

Off to google that @Christwosheds .

I did Colour Me Beautiful @SoNiceToComeHomeTo back in the late 80s, I think it must have been. People had Colour Me Beautful parties back then, like Ann Summers or Avon and I went to one. I still have my book with all the swatches in it. I've worn "my colours" for donkeys years - and I still look dead!!!!

I love st Tropez facial mist. It's not as heavy as other tans. You just lightly spray your face and neck. It's really natural and is a game changer.

Thank you @Louise121806 I will have a look at that too.

I like the look of the Jones Road stuff @Christwosheds . I work not far from Liberty who seem to sell it, so I'm going to potter along and see what might suit me. I think a combo of some kind of fake tan and a more heavy duty tint on my cheeks that might do the trick.

I was going to mention Jones Road as well @Christwosheds and use the word Marmite! I'm 57 and in the last two years I've really noticed that traditional foundation just doesn't seem to look good anymore regardless of price and endless colour experimentation. It just seems to sit on the surface of my face either too dry or too oily, but always making me look somehow unhealthy/zombie-ish.

I've started using the foundation from JR and though it takes some getting used to and the jury was out for quite a while, I realise that it works well for me in conjunction with the balm for a bit of colour. The balm takes some getting used to as well; use too much and it's sticky and irritating. JR isn't cheap and I agree the pots are too big; the small sizes are only available in the US. It's difficult to get hold of (unless you can get to Liberty) and they don't do samples but they do exchange. 15% off at Liberty online if it's your first purchase!

Ah. Maybe your colours are no longer your colours? I should think that dark hair going grey means that your palate becomes considerably cooler.
I'm a Winter and I had my colours redone in my fifties because I was looking incredibly washed out. Turned out that having had a few highlights in my hair (in theory ashy and close to my natural colour, but in fact a lot warmer) was throwing things out of kilter. I looked better as sooner as the highlights were replaced with 'natural highlights' of grey-white. Also I realised that I can no longer tolerate the strongest colours in my palate - fuchsia and black in particular - but that some of they bluey-grey and silvery colours suited me better than they used to back in my twenties.
Enough of me! I hope you sort something out.

Good luck op report back if anything works. X

I use St Tropez tan drops on my face - i don't mix mine with skincare, although you can, but I get the best results by moisturising, then an hour or so later applying the tan drops with a big brush so I can blend out into my neck nicely. Highly recommend! Makes me look a lot less 'dead' (another very pale person here)
I also drink endless amounts of water and I've upped the colour I'm wearing on my lips - traditional lipstick or liquid lipstick makes me look dead, so I aim for lip tints or tinted balms, which means you can go for a stronger colour than you can with a lipstick as it's not so harsh and painted on, it blends out into a nice soft blur. This means I can go for a mauvy pink or a pink red, which really helps lift my face!