This is a question that I often get asked, and the short answer is – yes. This can be a little hard to swallow if you have just spent money on the latest must-have anti aging facial cream that has just come out. Especially when you see the price tag for that teeny, tiny little jar of eye cream!

The skin around the eye area is much finer and more delicate than the skin on the rest of our faces and is therefore more prone to showing those signs of aging we know as wrinkles. It’s actually the eye area where we are most likely to notice that very first wrinkle and boy do I remember that little defining moment.

“So, why can’t I just use my facial moisturiser around my eyes, isn’t it all the same stuff?”

The reason that you can’t just use your regular anti aging cream around the eyes is all to do with molecule size and targeted ingredients. The size of the molecules that contain the active ingredients is different in the two products. In eye cream, the molecules are much smaller and specifically designed to penetrate that delicate and easily wrinkled skin. If you were to use, let’s say, your day cream for example, the molecules in the day cream are way too large to penetrate that fine eye area skin. At best they would just sit on the surface and do nothing, at worst they could cause congestion, puffiness and even allergies and irritation. This is definitely not what you are trying to achieve.

The other reason that you do need a specialised eye cream is due to the active ingredients. The skin around the eyes is prone to puffiness, dehydration, dark circles and sagging and eye creams contain specific ingredients to target these concerns.

The good news is, that even though anti wrinkle eye creams generally come in tiny little jars or tubes, a little really does go a long way. I can usually get a good 6 months out of my eye cream, and if you break that down by a daily amount, that’s a pretty good deal.

In my opinion it is worth investing a little extra money and going for one of the good quality brands of eye creams. Simply because, as I said earlier, the skin around our eyes is so precious and delicate that it really doesn’t pay to skimp in this area.

To make the most out of every drop of that precious anti wrinkle eye cream, here are my top tips:

1. Buy the best quality eye cream that you can afford.
2. Use an amount the size of one grain of rice, to do both eyes.
3. Use your ring fingers to apply – we exert way less pressure that way.
4. Gently tap and pat the cream along the orbital bone (that’s the bony bit you can feel around your eye socket).
5. Be careful not to put the cream too close to the actual eye area.
6. Apply your eye cream after cleansing and toning and before your other anti aging creams and serums. This ensures that you don’t get any of the stronger ingredients from the other products near your eyes.
7. If applying your eye cream before bed – don’t lay straight down and go to sleep. Sit up and read, or potter about for ten minutes or so first. The blinking action of your eyes will help the eye cream to penetrate properly and work more effectively while you sleep.

To help the under eye area to stay young, firm and beautiful looking you do need to take a little extra care, but with the information and tips above, you will make the most of one of your most precious assets.

Bye for now,

Nikki

From day 1, I fell in love with all the fancy lotions and potions, the beautiful fragrances, the never ending array of colourful makeup products, anything and everything to do with skincare and beauty, and the love affair continues to this day.

I also have a Diploma in Naturopathy and am passionate about the issues we face as women concerning our weight, our appearance and health.

In my years in the industry I have worked for most of the big name French and American cosmetic and skincare houses that you would have heard of such as Estee Lauder, Christian Dior and Clarins. I have used every product you could imagine from Nivea (when the purse was empty) to the thousand dollars a jar La Prairie. I know them all. I know the ingredients they use, why they market a certain way, and which ones offer great value and why. I’ve also tried every diet in the book, from the downright dodgy to the divine, and have learned all their secrets too.

My aim is to share my knowledge with you, let you in on some of the insider secrets, and empower you to make the choices that are right for you when it comes to your skincare needs. I welcome your feedback and comments so please let me know your thoughts by writing to me at contact@antiagingutopia.com

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy!

Here’s where taking baby steps can really work. Take a look at each thing that you might need to address and break it down into its smallest components and start with that. Just do easy, small things that feel manageable and use your success with those to lead into the bigger things.
Here are a few examples to get you started.

Anti Aging Essentials

1. Drink More Water

Instead of trying to go straight from 6 double-strength-decaf-mocha-lattes a day to drowning in 2 litres of water all in one fell swoop, try just having a big glass of water when you first wake up. After you’ve managed that for a few days, try substituting one or two of those lattes for some water. Carry a water bottle with you and keep one on your desk at work. You’ll soon be getting those needed H2Os in.

2. Eat Breakfast

You’ve heard this one a zillion times and for as many reasons but still cant face the thought of food in the morning, so what do you do? Redefine what constitutes food. Breakfast doesn’t have to be a 3 course cooked affair. Neither does it need to be pre-soaked in organic apple juice with goat’s milk handmilked by swedish virgins, bircher muesli. It just needs to be something initially, you can work on the fancy stuff later. A yoghurt, some fruit, a slice of wholewheat toast – anything to just get started on the habit of having breakfast.

3. Exercise Daily

OK folks, we’re not all training for the ultra marathon here, but we do need to get out and move our bodies (no, just getting out of bed doesn’t count). Start small. Leave your walking shoes by the bed before you go to sleep and when you wake up in the morning, put them on. Go out your front door (you may want to swap your PJs for a tracky first) and turn left. Walk for 5 minutes and come back. You just went for a 10 minute walk. Easy wasn’t it? Promise yourself that you will do that every day for a week and reassess at the end. I can almost guarantee you’ll be limbering up for your next marathon before too much more time passes.

Tiny, baby, doable steps are the keys to lasting success in so many areas of our lives and incorporating the anti aging essentials into your daily routine is no different. Start small and work up to the bigger things.

You can do it!

A good quality eye cream is an important weapon in our anti-aging arsenal, but can be quite an expensive one.

Many people ask me why they can’t just use their other facial products (cleansers, moisturizers etc) around the eye area, particularly when they have invested a reasonable amount of money on good quality products.

The reason is that the skin around the eye area is finer and more delicate than the skin on the rest of the face and body. It is more prone to the first signs of aging and often the first wrinkle that someone notices is around the delicate eye area.

A specifically targeted anti-aging eye cream is specially designed to treat the unique problems of this area and will contain ingredients to treat concerns such as dryness, puffiness or dark circles. The molecules in an eye cream are smaller than those in our regular anti-aging creams and lotions and will penetrate quickly and easily into the under eye area without causing puffiness or congestion.

A little really does go a long way – which is good to know considering the price for one of those teeny little jars or tubes.

To help you get the maximum benefit out of your eye care product – here are the top 5 mistakes that people make and how to avoid them.

1. Using too much of the product – remember, a little goes a long way. Using too much product can cause puffiness and even irritation. An amount the size of one grain of rice is enough to do both eyes.

2. Contaminating the product – no matter how clean our hands are, there are still bacteria on our fingers that can cause the product to become contaminated. This will lessen the effectiveness of the active ingredients and can also cause irritation. An eye cream that comes in a tube is a great way to avoid this but if the product you buy comes in a jar – use a tiny spatula (often supplied in the box) or a fresh cotton tip to remove the product. Never dip your fingers in.

3. Incorrect application technique – the skin around the eye area is extremely fragile so we need to be very careful not to rub, pull or stretch the skin when applying our anti-aging products. Use the pads of the ring finger to gently pat and tap the eye cream into the skin.

4. Timing of application – many people tell me that they have used eye care products in the past their eyes were puffy when they woke up the next day. This can be alleviated by remembering rule 1, but also by making sure that you apply your eye cream at least 10-20 minutes before you lie down to go to sleep. The cream needs time to absorb correctly and this is aided by the blinking motion of our eyes. Put your eye cream on before you get into bed unless you plan to stay awake reading for a bit.

5. Incorrect storage – good quality anti-aging products of any kind are a little like fine wines, they don’t like to be stored anywhere warm or light. Heat and light can cause deterioration of the product which at best will lessen it’s efficacy and at worst can cause irritation. Store your eye cream in your medicine cabinet, or bedside table drawer. Eye creams do not belong in purses, desk drawers or glove compartments!

A good quality anti-aging eye cream is an investment, and with the correct storage and application will provide you with the results they promise.

There’s nothing youthful or appealing about soft, flabby upper arms. Horrible terms like bat-wings or, if you live in Australia like I do, tuck shop-lady-arms (YIKES!!) do absolutely nothing to make us feel any better about this part of our bodies, and yet it can be one of the hardest areas to keep looking slim and youthful. My sister, who spent 10 years involved in the sport of figure sculpting, tells me that the upper arm area is one of the most difficult to keep firm and smooth.

As we age, the skin on our faces begins to lose it’s elasticity, resulting in the sagging and loss of firmness that we spend so much of our time (and money) trying to correct. The skin on our bodies is no different, except that it’s generally not as noticeable because we are mostly covered up by our clothing.

Then along comes summer, with it’s beautiful sunny weather and more revealing clothes – halternecks, cutaway sleeves, singlets and let’s not forget the bathing suits. Nowhere to hide in those babies!

Unfortunately there’s is no such thing as spot-reducing when it comes to getting rid of specific areas of fat on our bodies, unless you resort to the extreme option of liposuction or surgery. And yes, while there are specific exercises that you can do to target the upper arm area, these will not reduce the actual fat deposits in that area. The exercises are well worth doing as they do increase muscle firmness and strength and provide a more toned look.

Yet again it comes down to our old friend the diet. If you are overweight then a good, sensible weight loss and exercise plan will slim and tone your whole body and definitely help to diminish those bat-wings.

I love success stories, so please let me know if you have any tried and true tips or products.

Bye for now,

It is possible to have beautiful skin without spending a fortune. There are a load of wonderful products on the market that will help to fight wrinkles and keep your skin looking ageless without needing to take out a second mortgage to pay for them. Just beware of these 4 anti aging beauty myths that truly are false economy when it comes to taking care of your skin.

1. I don’t need to use a cleanser because I don’t wear makeup – this might be true if you live in an airtight bubble on a remote mountaintop somewhere, but if you live anywhere near the real world this just isn’t true. Whether you live in a bustling city or a quiet country town, your skin still gathers dirt, grime and dust through the day, not to mention perspiration, dead skin cells (you getting the picture here?) etc that need to be removed properly before you go to sleep.

2. I don’t lie out in the sun so I don’t need a sunscreen – if you do nothing else for your skin, EVER, get this beauty myth out of your head. The number one cause of extrinsic aging (that’s the stuff that goes on outside our skin) is exposure to the sun. The sun gives off UVA and UVB rays which burn and age the skin even on cloudy days and even through the windows of your house, office or car. You absolutely must make sunscreen as much a part of your day as putting on your knickers and brushing your teeth. You wouldn’t leave the house without them, right?

3. I can use the same moisturizer day and night – well, in some cases you can, but that is going to depend on what kind of moisturizer it is and what you want it to do. For instance, if lack of hydration is your only concern, then yes, a good hydrating cream can be used both day and night. But, and it is a big but, remember that you still need a sunscreen during the day and a product that can be used day or night will not have a sunscreen. The other thing to take into account is that if you have really specific concerns like deep wrinkles, age spots or uneven skin texture, you will need to apply a cream scientifically formulated with ingredients designed to target those concerns. These ingredients are best absorbed by the skin at night when it is in repair mode, so a night cream is a must.

4. Oh, I just use plain old soap and water and my skin looks OK – really, ya think? How do you know how good your skin could look if you were just a little kinder to it, if all you’ve ever done is treat it like the pots and pans in your kitchen sink! That nice squeaky sound you get after you wash your face with soap and water? That’s your skin screaming because you’ve scrubbed all it’s natural protective oils away! Please, save the soap for the plates and invest in a proper cleansing milk, cream or gel. You’ll hear your skin sigh with relief.

Our skin truly is a wonderful thing, and all it takes is a tiny bit of loving care to look beautiful and ageless regardless of the number of birthdays you’ve had or the amount of money in your bank account.

Thank you for reading, take care and be beautiful!

Nikki xx

An integral component of aging gracefully, is to incorporate a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables. Instead of relying on artificial supplements for the nutrients and minerals that are key for proper function, one can acquire their benefits by eating recommended servings. These food types are rich in anti oxidants, which delay the aging process by reducing or eliminating the amount of free radicals in the body of an individual. These free radicals accumulate in the body throughout time and their build up can damage cells.

Furthermore, it is important to partake in regular exercise that is appropriate to the fitness level of the individual. This physical activity helps maintain cardiovascular health while toning the muscles that are vital for daily function. Furthermore, it is a great tool in combating the excessive fat that is associated with various diseases.

Another one of our natural anti aging tips is to keep a peaceful mindset and eliminate sources of stress. Getting proper sleep so that fatigue and irritability to do not set it in can achieve this goal. Moreover, one can choose to take up meditation to clear their mind and unwind from their busy lives. In a similar vein, keeping in the company of supportive family and friends can help an individual deal with stress and reduce the negative consequences associated with aging.

More natural anti aging tips include drinking adequate volumes of water. This helps keep the body hydrated so that vital systems are functioning optimally. Moreover, this keeps skin looking its best and helps with the appearance of wrinkles. As such, it is important to consume the recommended daily amount of water to delay the aging process.

Well, the truth is that certain wrinkle creams really do work but it may well be very difficult for you to find one that works very well if you. Many people may end up aging a decade before they actually find a wrinkle cream that will have the desired effect. As such, you need to make sure that you are willing to put in the effort and the time to go through all sorts of different products before you find something that will be effective on your skin.

It is also important for you to know exactly how much you are willing to spend on these creams and anti wrinkle products. Beauty is certainly something that comes at a price, and while getting these types of products will be a lot cheaper than Botox or plastic surgery, they will still be very expensive at the higher end of the market.

It is likely that if you want to find a product that is going to be very effective you will have to to pay top dollar to get it. There are all sorts of different products available for you to choose from, and the results that they deliver will certainly vary massively. Often it is the case that the cheaper options will deliver only slight results, while those that are more expensive will provide you with far more stark and enviable results in a much shorter space of time.

However, when asking the question of whether or not these anti wrinkle products work, the answer would be a resounding yes. However, you need to put in the effort and consider your options when looking for the ideal products for you.

Well, the first benefit that you might consider would be the fact that you will gain protection from the free radicals within your body from all of the antioxidants that appear within the supplements. If you choose some of the supplements that have the best antioxidants within them then you will be able to gain protection from diseases that come with the onset of age such as cancer, and heart disease.

The second benefits of anti aging supplements to consider will be the fact that your bones and joints will remain strong for longer. If you choose the right supplements then you will be able to stay fit and healthy and live more of an active lifestyle for longer periods of time.

Thirdly, your brainpower will also not be affected quite so much if you use the right sort of supplements. Healthy cognitive functioning will remain strong and as such the risks of such things as memory loss will not be quite so acute.

The final benefits to consider will be the fact that there will be good hormonal growth and maintenance. These types of supplements will help you to maintain healthy looking skin aou will be able to avoid the onset of wrinkles for much longer. This is certainly very important for many people who like to look as young as they can for as long as possible.

As such, these are just some of the main benefits that you will see if you choose to right anti aging supplements.

One of the explanations for this process is the free radical theory of aging. As an individual gets older, their cells experience damage from a build up free radicals. The idea is that anti-oxidants delay aging by reducing this harm. This occurs because antioxidants slow or stop oxidation, which is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals.

In order to establish an anti aging diet, it is important to look for food sources that possess antioxidants such as vitamin A and vitamin C. Fruits and vegetables are a great choice for this objective. Ones should opt for the more colorful options such as spinach and eat frequent servings that follow recommended dietary guidelines.

Another than antioxidants, one can pursue anti-inflammatory food choices which differ at the cellular level with respect to inflammation. Certain foods such as sugars create a cascade of events that sets off an anti-inflammatory reaction by the body which speeds up the aging process. Once again, colorful fruits and vegetables have anti-inflammatory properties. Fish is also a great option especially cold-water fish.

Finally, an integral component of an anti aging diet is water. It is important to drink the recommended amount and to stay properly hydrated if one plans to age in a healthy manner. Water helps achieve this objective, as it is essential in nearly all aspects of the body from the skin to circulation. While pure water is a great source, fruits like watermelons can be used to achieve proper amounts.