“WEAR sunscreen and don’t forget your chest, always moisturise your neck and never wear your make-up to bed!”
That was the beauty advice my mum gave me as a teenager and I’ve stuck by it for all these years.
6
6
Going to bed still wearing make-up is a huge beauty sin in my book. Even in my drunkest of states – and there have been a few over the years – I’ve always managed to wash and cleanse my face before going to sleep – or relied on my husband’s help, even he knows the drill when it comes to my skin.
The thought of sleeping with make-up on my face makes me feel a bit gross. All of that foundation clogging up my pores, panda eyes, and not to mention the premature ageing that comes with not letting your skin breathe properly. I don’t need any more reasons to encourage wrinkles!
I never know when I’m going to have to run out in the middle of the street. I’m not going to be on the news and look like hell — which I do without make-up. So I leave a little bit on!
Dolly Parton
So when I heard that singing legend Dolly Parton goes to bed in a full face of slap, I was surprised. At 79, she looks fabulous for her age, and even though she has admitted to some tweakments over the years, I couldn’t imagine someone like Dolly not wanting to take better care of her skin.
I had visions of her pre-sleep beauty regime involving caking her complexion in Creme de la Mer and La Prairie, not two layers of foundation and a slather of lip gloss.
Her reasoning? Well, she doesn’t want to be caught short.
She explained: “I sleep in my make-up when I’m in California. With the earthquakes, I never know when I’m going to have to run out in the middle of the street.
“I’m not going to be on the news and look like hell — which I do without make-up. So I leave a little bit on!”
But Dolly admits there was another reason for her unusual beauty routine, which incredibly started back in the 1980s when she first moved from Tennessee to Los Angeles.
She said she didn’t ever want to “go to bed looking like a hag” for her husband of 60 years Carl, who passed away aged 82 last month.
While thankfully we are not sitting on a tectonic plate in south east London, so the chances of an earthquake are extremely uncommon, I guess it would be nice for my own husband of 11 years not to sleep next to a hag.
So I decided to give it a go, just for a week, but I would see what sleeping in my make-up would really do to my skin, my marriage and also my wallet!
I wanted to ease myself gently into this experiment because the idea of wearing any type of make-up to bed was still filling me with uncertainty.
On my first night I decided to go for a low-key look, one I’d wear on the school run, which is enough concealer and powder to cover any spots or red patches, one coating of mascara on my top lashes only, and some eyebrow powder.
6
6
Even though I’d describe this look as minimal, I still felt uneasy about putting my head on my pillow.
It took me ages to fall asleep because my head was full of the anxieties of what the make-up was doing to my skin. I was terrified of a huge break out and was convinced I would wake up with a red, irritated face.
The first thing I did after waking was to look in the mirror, and I was surprised to see my make-up still intact. But I couldn’t wait to get it off my face, so I double cleansed, toned and moisturised and didn’t wear make-up that day as I didn’t want to overload it.
Over the next couple of nights I increased my products gradually.
My husband walked in to ask where I was going. ‘To bed!’ I replied
Lisa Jarvis
I started to wear foundation, opting for my Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless foundation which always gives good coverage, and I did double coatings of my Charlotte Tilbury mascara, which is a nightmare to remove at the best of times, so I was confident it would last me the night.
I did a light dusting of my MAC blush and my lips had a coating of my MAC Lipglass. I looked like I was about to go out for dinner with my friends, and in fact, when I was applying my make-up, my husband walked in to ask where I was going.
“To bed!” I replied which made him raise an eyebrow.
Much to my surprise, the following morning most of the make-up stayed in place.
6
6
Of course the lipgloss had gone, and the blush had ended up on my pillow, but the remnants of foundation still remained, and weirdly gave me a dewy look.
The mascara, however, did not play ball, and had smeared across my eyelids causing them to look dark and puffy.
As the week came to an end, I decided to up my game. After applying my usual base of foundation and powder, I added a layer of my favourite summer bronzer, Hoola by Benefit.
I opted for a lipstick over a gloss and I even wore eyeliner, which I never wear, but if it’s good enough for Dolly, then why not.
With my pillowcase in the wash, I decided to put a small towel over my pillow – it was sure to get filthy.
My previous anxieties over the damage to my skin seemed to have disappeared, and I actually felt quite confident going to bed in my make-up.
My youngest son Leo, six, said I looked “like a princess”, and my husband Serdar, 42, was pretty impressed too.
But the harshest criticism came the following morning when my son James, nine, walked into my bedroom and said I looked like a zombie.
And I have to say, he wasn’t wrong.
DOLLY’S BEAUTY SECRETS
Dolly Parton has been open about her love of Botox and fillers, praising them as her secret to looking so fab at the age of 79.
She’s a fan of an “artificial” look and says it’s the perfect balance to her “real” personality.
Dolly previously said: “Thanks to Botox and fillers, as well as the work that I’ve already had, my face pretty much maintains itself.
“I look at myself like a show dog. I’ve got to keep her clipped and trimmed and in good shape.
“If I see something sagging, bagging, or dragging, I’ll get it nipped, tucked, or sucked.”
In another interview, she added: “People say I always look happy, I say, ‘That’s the Botox.’ You can have good lighting, good make-up, and good doctors – that’s my secret.”
Her skincare routine, which involves wiping off the previous day’s slap each morning, is much lower maintenance.
Dolly thinks there’s “nothing better” than a nab of Vaseline (£1.30) and some Almay eye makeup remover pads.
She has joked: “I have pretty good skin considering my age, and I think a lot of it is mineral oil and bacon grease.”
As for her famously high hair – that’s thanks to wigs.
Dolly says her natural locks are “so flat and fine” and cheekily added: “God gave me talent cause he screwed up my hair.”
While some of my lipstick and foundation remained, my eyes were small and swollen and I looked like I needed to be drained.
I went straight to the bathroom to wash my face and was pleasantly surprised to see that after a week of wearing my slap to bed, my skin hadn’t suffered too much.
I’ve had a mild chin break out and I don’t think my eyes are happy with the over exposure to mascara, but overall it isn’t half as bad as I imagined.
I’d say it did make me feel glam, confident and sexier, once I got over the fear of a breakout.
After another double cleanse, I popped on my Shark CryoGlow mask for some much needed TLC.
As my skin enjoyed the treat, I thought about the true cost of wearing my make-up to bed. OK, so my skin wasn’t too bad, but what would happen if I did this for months, or years like Dolly? And how about financially?
I would have to replace my products at twice the rate, and with my monthly make-up spend around £50, I could think of better things to spend my money on.
Like a facial or two!