This month we extolled the virtues of coconut oil - Click here if you have acne or problem skin, many people swear by it.

Don't use the same sun protection that you use on your body, on your face. Get something like this especially for your face and a higher protection. The sun ages our skin so it's best to limit exposure.

The skin does most of it repair work at night so it's important to give it something to help in its work. The new Clinique Moisture Surge Overnight Mask is a penetrating formula that is said to replenish skin with soothing, nourishing moisture that strengthens its ability to lock in moisture. This no-rinse formula delivers intense hydration to the skin, leaving it plump and supple. It supplies essential lipids to the skin and works throughout the night to help calm and soothe irritation from daytime assault. 

Apply in the evening. There is no need to rinse off until the next morning.

£28

www.clinique.co.uk

The eyes are the age give away, so it's important to pay particular attention to them. The skin around the eye is approximately one tenth the thickness of the skin on the palm, this makes the area prone to dryness. Keeping the area moisturised is important in reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

The new Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream uses rosemary leaf extract, cucumber/barley/sunflower extract and trehalose - a sugar derived ingredient that stabilises the structure of the skin's lipid system which maximises skin's natural ability to attract moisture from the environment -  to hydrate the eye area. It also adresses 'dynamic' wrinkles. These are wrinkles from repetitive facial movements such as smiling or squinting which through time can become more pronounced. 

Helping to repair the appearance of skin damage resulting from direct UV exposure, the leading cause of premature ageing, the new eye cream also contains Vitamins C and E to protect against environmental aggressors. Within 12 weeks, this advanced formula visibly repairs crow's feet, crepey eyelids and undereye cross hatching. 

Apply the cream morning and night.

£28

www.harrods.com

Dark under eye circles can be caused by many factors including tiredness, stress, age, dehydration, poor circulation, inflammation and heredity reasons. The skin around the eyes is thinner and thus dark circles can appear more prominent.

The new Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector lightens the eye area over time and is clinically proven to visibly reduce dark circles by 30% in 12 weeks. The cooling tip applicator massages the area breaking up fluid congestion and improving mircocirculation.

£28

Exclusive to Selfridges

www.clinique.co.uk

The penny has finally dropped, the future isn’t orange. And while some areas of Britain are finally coming around to the idea that sun beds are a bad thing and looking deeply tanned isn’t the secret portal to beauty, other areas are carrying on regardless and opening up a Great British tanning divide. 

According to research by Kantar Worldpanel, in Scotland, the number of grooming treatments bought by men has risen by three quarters, the biggest increase anywhere in Britain and a fifth of these were sessions on the sunbed. Meanwhile Welsh men combined a fondness for tanning and waxing with hair removal accounting for nearly half of all male treatments while in London men favoured massages and skin treatments over other pampering. Tanning was out of fashion in the capital, accounting for just 6% of all treatments.

Another example of London leading the way and waiting for the others to catch up? Or is this a disparity between regions that will continue to grow? Watching programmes like Geordie Shore or TOWIE and you see guys who are very much into a tanning regime. The dark, permanently tanned look goes hand-in-hand with over blown muscles, heavage revealing T-shirts and over zealous manscaping. 

Charlotte Fionda, Development Director, of the The Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity (Skcin) & Skin Cancer UK says  “With regard to trends in tanning and it potentially becoming more provincial, it is a difficult one as there are so many variables, but what we would say is that there have been a lot more awareness campaigns focussed on London (e.g. Our spoof campaign Computertan, targeting those desperate for a tan – fooling over 2m people into thinking they could get a tan from their computer screen, was advertised on the London underground and in London cabs, more so that anywhere else, event though it was a viral campaign! http://www.computertan.com).  Also, there is a more cosmopolitan community in London and traditionally Brits in the north are perhaps seen as more pasty white and thus have more desire/social pressure to change the colour of their skin??  There is of course the potential that with the Eurotunnel, etc sunnier climes can be more frequently accessible to Londoners, where 'Northerners' may choose to top up their tans at the tanning salon when not able to get away??”

This new gulf isn’t simply a choice between tanned and pale.  This isn’t saying everybody should be pale or try to be pale, it’s about maximising your natural colour. The colour of your skin is one of your main characteristics, along with eye and hair colour, it creates your aesthetic balance. Change one of these factors and you start to alter nature’s balance. 

A survey by OnePoll for Confused.com in May 2012 found that 10% of men surveyed from London say Botox treatment is a vital part of looking good. Meanwhile, 22% of men in the West Midlands believe a fake tan is a crucial part of sprucing themselves up - the highest of any region. 

Tanning expert James Read of www.thetantalist.com says “London is now all about the natural looking tan, it's about looking healthy with golden glowing skin but no one can guess what you have had done. This is called the Miami Tan , tanning inspiration from the TV show Miami Vice, where the skin was golden as if you had been away but it looked real and in keeping with your skintone, think Don Johnson and you are on the right track. Liverpool and Manchester still lead when it comes to dark tans.”

Men in London are finally realising that you need to lighten the dark areas instead of darkening everything to have great looking skin. One of the main problems skin suffers from is hyperpigmentation, the darkening of an area of skin usually caused by sun damage, inflammation or scarring from acne. Excess production of melanin causes these darker areas but there are products, ‘skin brightening’, proven to lighten these areas to give your skin a more uniform colouration. 

Dr. Michael Ingrassia,Group Leader, Research and Development Worldwide, Lab Series Skincare for Men says  “Men natural have more melanin in their skin, they undergo a more intense tanning process after sun exposure and retain it for a longer time than women.”  Which makes skin brightening products even more important for men to combat the over exposure to sun and UV rays.

The deep, fake looking tan has become dated. It’s finding itself along with too much hair product and tattoos in the box marked ‘bad taste’. If you want to continue to look like a contestant on Take Me Out then read no further, otherwise try the products below and always use SPF:

Clinique’s Even Better range has introduced Skin Tone Correcting Lotion SPF20. Developed for combination and oily skin types, this new lightweight and oil-free formula improve skin’s tone and uniformity. Designed to combat dark spots and discolouration while also providing protection from the number one cause of hyperpigmentation.

Clinique - Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion SPF20 - £35

www.clinique.co.uk

An instant revitalizing and energising serum, enriched with youth-boosting nutrients and peptides that visibly brighten skin after only one application. OSKIA’s unique dual approach actively illuminates and firms, evens skin tone, smoothes the appearance of fine lines and protects against everyday environmental, seasonal and lifestyle damage, while also providing essential cell nutrients

Oskia - Get Up and Glow - £64.50

www.oskiaskincare.com

www.liberty.co.uk

Lab Series Power Brightening helps to reduce current skin discolouration by brightening the skin, corrects skin by working to stop barely visible dark spots that have already formed under the skin surface from becoming more visible and helps to prevent future discolouration by helping stop dark spots from forming. 

Power Brightening Water Lotion - £29

Power Brightening Serum - £46

Power Brightening Eye Balm - £28 

www.labseries.co.uk

A light day lotion that diminishes the appearance of dark spots while helping protect skin against environmental aggressors. 

Aveda - Enbrightenment Brightening Correcting Lotion - £45 

www.aveda.co.uk

This was genius. A clear sun protection spray in an aerosol can which covered the body in seconds. A decent factor - 25 - the coverage was good and simple bit of rubbing and you're good to go. It is more important than ever to be protected from the sun so anything which makes it less of a chore to apply and reapply must be a good thing. This should be in everybody's holiday bag in 2010.

£17

www.clinique.com

Mark Tranter, Fragrance and Beauty Buyer at Selfridges, gives TheChicGeek his must-have grooming products from the "Best Department Store in the World"

	"An excellent product if you have hair that is thick or particularly difficult to style. It gives super strong hold all day with no grease texture." Kiehl's - Creative Cream Hair Wax - £16
	"Make your skin look like you've had eight hours sleep no matter how heavy the night before was..." Guerlain - Midnight Secret - £62.50
	"A fanatastic light citrus fragrance from the Dior Colognes Collection, that is great for any time of the day and any occasion. The great thing about Cologne Royale is not only is it a fantastic fragrance on it's own but when layered on top of any of the other fragrances it can completely change them to make them lighter and fresher." Christian Dior - Cologne Royale - £120
	"One of the best lip balms on the market especially if you spend most of your day in an air conditioned office. Can also heal seriously dry lips over night with one application." Creme de la Mer - Lip Balm - £37
	"A great way of covering up any little imperfections and giving yourself some colour without using a foundation. Easy to use with little hassle. Clinique - Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturiser - £21

www.selfridges.com