For drooping eyelids...

I'm 64 years old and have a good beauty regime with all my lovely products from QVC. I've recently decided to go for contact lenses after years of wearing glasses. Wow - what a shock to see the dreaded overhang on my eyes. I can't see much eyelid to apply eye shadow. Can you recommend the best product to use to help with this problem? Plastic surgery is definitely out so I'm hoping you can suggest something helpful.

Alison: From a skincare point of view, I'd recommend Gale Hayman Eye Lift Gel on the lids and all around the eye, twice a day. This should give your skin an instant tightening effect. This is more of a long-term product for your beauty routine.

However, from an instant, quick fix, make-up point of view, you should use Genie Instant Line Smoother. It will help to tighten up the upper eyelid, so much so that the fold will lessen. Apply it on one eye first so that you can see the difference - this is what I like to call the 'One Eye Challenge!'

It's enriched with lovely skin-friendly ingredients too, such as collagen, vitamins and cucumber. You should apply it every single day to the upper eyelid before applying anything else. Simply pat it in, and leave it slightly damp to set. As it sinks in, it should help to tighten up the look of the skin.

For skin that becomes flaky when make-up is applied...

I'm 16 and have dry skin on my face. I can keep this under control until I put my make-up on and then it appears flaky. I have used Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish, bare escentuals, Bobbi Brown foundation and all of these seem to make my problem worse.

Also I'm starting to get little wrinkles under my eyes and wonder if there are any creams suitable for my age? I'm probably the most awkward request you've had but please can you help me.

Alison: No, you're not the most awkward at all! What's difficult for you though is that you probably haven't got any friends who also suffer from this problem. This is because the majority of them may have a greasy or oily skin type and are more worried about covering up spots!

I'm thrilled to hear that you're using products from such brilliant skincare brands! Also you have to correct make-up problems through the skincare that you're using - which is exactly what you're doing. So, you must keep to your cleanse, tone and moisturise routine. But you will find that you're using products that are ahead of your age group as your skin is acting older too. Most of your friends' skins probably won't start to dry out until their mid to late twenties.

For white spots around the eyes...

I'm 22 years old and have Asian skin. I have small white spots under my eyes and leading to the corners as well. I try to drink as much water as possible and have stopped using eye creams and avoid using my face cream around the eye area, yet they still have not reduced. Could you please help me?

Alison: These white spots are called milia and can occur due to medical stress or dietary habits - they aren't always caused by an overload of cosmetic products, which people often assume. So, it's worth mentioning them to your doctor. It's great that you're drinking lots of water and following a balanced diet is also crucial. Sometimes a diet too high in acid, such as citrus fruits, or too high in bad fats can also cause these spots.

I would recommend for you, especially with your Asian skin as you may have a little darkness in that area as well, the Alpha-H Absolute Eye Complex. This contains hibiscus flower extract for an exfoliating action that should help to lessen any build-up or congestion around this area. It's also a gel formula, so it shouldn't cause any more of these white spots.

There are ways of having milia removed too but it doesn't sound like you're at that stage yet, especially as they may just be caused by your diet or state of health. 

On a suitable lipstick and eye products for younger-looking skin...

I have an olive skin tone and cannot seem to match a lipstick. Ideally I would like my lipstick to be young-looking without it looking too pink or too red, which I have a hard time finding. Which out of the Fran Wilson range would you recommend?

Also I suffer from insomnia and have tired-looking eyes with dark circles and fine lines. Which product would be the best?

Alison: Fran Wilson change their lipstick colours so often that it's hard to recommend a staple colour for you to try. I'm looking into them providing us with a range of basic colours that are easier for me to recommend.

On the best moisturiser for use on flights and in hot countries...

I'm a 21-year-old Asian. I currently use Liz Earle products. I'm going to India in the summer and needless to say it gets extremely hot - so much so that when I apply my moisturiser there, I just sweat it out. Along with the dehydration from the flight, this causes my skin to be dry all the time with dry flaky patches all over, especially around my eyes.

I would really like some advice on the best moisturiser to use during the flight, as my skin gets extremely dehydrated and itchy, as well as the best moisturiser to use while I'm out there.

Alison: You could actually use the same moisturiser in both instances, and the one I'd recommend is Prescriptives Super Flight Cream. You can apply this as a daily moisturiser, morning and night, and even as a mask, which you could do during your flight or when you have landed. You can also just press a little into your skin throughout the day, even through make-up, to keep the skin hydrated. It's so versatile - wear it under and over make-up, everyday or just when your skin feels dry.

On applying Laura Geller Baked Marble Eyeshadow...

With a lot of make-up ranges, you may only find one or two products that you really warm to or get on with. With Laura Geller, every product is fantastic quality. She travels around the world and actually hand-picks the formulas that she likes and that work for her.
 
Her products are all so versatile as they can be interchanged for what you want to use them for - be it a liner, eye colour or highlighter.

A few top tips for applying Laura Geller Baked Marble Eyeshadow

- To step into a high fashion look for the spring/summer season, the gold and plum tones of Laura Geller Baked Marble Eyeshadow are perfect. Simply sweep the colour over your eyelids for a lovely shimmer.

On make-up to complement blonde hair and pale skin...

I have a problem with my make-up. I have just dyed my hair blonde from being dark brown and now I'm not sure what colours I should be using. I have green eyes and pale skin, which is combination. I am 35 years old. Can you also suggest what I can use under my eyes as I have very bad eye bags which never go whatever I try.

Alison: When you dye your hair a different colour, people don't realise that it can be a complete shock when you get home and suddenly none of your make-up seems to work on you anymore. It's like wearing a new coloured dress - if you've never worn a red dress in your life and then you choose to wear one, you look in the mirror and can think, "oh my goodness, my hair and make-up look terrible!"

It's just a completely different tone next to your skin that you aren't used to. It doesn't mean that you don't look great with your new dress or hair colour - it just means that you may need to rethink your complexion products.

For sore and puffy skin after eyebrow waxing...

I'm 41 and have just started to have my eyebrows waxed. They became very puffy and sore for about a week. If I can't find anything to help I'm going to have to stop, so I would love all the help I can get.

Alison: They shouldn't be puffy and sore after a week. If you've waxed your eyebrows yourself then you may have not stretched the skin with your other hand while waxing or you may have not pulled the wax off at the right angle, and have caused a little inflammatory reaction in the eyebrow area. The skin will have been pulled up and become bruise like - so causing the cells to fill with fluid.

If you've had this done at a salon, then you should tell them if it happens again as the techniques they've used may have been incorrect. Give them the opportunity to correct this for next time.

Remember also that you can be more sensitive to waxing at the time of the month - and this applies to any form of waxing. So, it's best done at the beginning or middle of your menstrual cycle when you will be less sensitive.

Hygiene is also important before and after waxing. Make sure your skin is completely clean and free from any make-up. Afterwards, if you want to apply a little make-up I recommend Bare Escentuals and would advise using an antiseptic - I recommend applying tea tree oil on the area for a couple of days.

There are other hair removal options that you could consider - threading is done in a salon and is really quick, or tweezing can be done at home or in a salon.

On a fast-acting product for deep lines around the eyes...

Could you please help me choose a powerful and fast-acting product for my eyes? I'm 35 years old but due to years of sunbed abuse I have the eyes of a much older woman. I have deep lines the length of my whole lower eye area, lots of small fine lines and crepey skin.

I stopped using sunbeds about a year ago but the abuse has well and truly taken its toll. My eyes are desperately in need of help. My skin is combination - I sometimes have a greasy t-zone, dry cheeks and open pores.

Alison: You're right to treat your eyes completely separately as your skin type doesn't have anything to do with what you need for your eyes. For example, you may have an oily skin type but this won't apply to your eye area as there are no oil glands there.

I'm going to recommend a fast-acting and powerful regime that I'd expect to a see results from within the first week. Sun damage takes about ten years for it to appear on your skin so you're obviously starting to see its effects now. So use the Gatineau Floracil Eye Make-up Remover - don't underestimate the results you can get from taking off your eye make-up with a separate eye make-up remover (as opposed to a cleanser), especially to keep your skin looking as young as it can. Using a separate product can stop the eyes from being pulled around by a flannel or an all-in-one product.

Then try Prescriptives Super Line Preventor right up to the lashes - you can use this on your whole face as well, though on the eyes it's fantastic for helping with any fine lines. You can apply this quite liberally.

Then put Gatineau Melatogenine Futur Plus Eye Cream on, and two-three times a week I'd like you to wear to bed the Gatineau Melatogenine Face Mask on your eyes - it can be used all around the eyes right up to the lashes. This particular routine that I've suggested is a powerful, fast-acting one - as you need to improve the look of your wrinkles now because you shouldn't be suffering from them so much at your age.

The more often you can use these products the better. If you keep applying these products, three and even four times a day, the better results you'll get.

For dry skin around the nose and mouth...

 
My 14 year daughter has extremely dry skin around her eyes and mouth. They also get swollen first thing in the morning. Just wondering if you could help with any advice for creams.

Alison: I would advise checking with a doctor first as she could have an eye infection, in which case they may prescribe a form of antibiotics for her.

If she's looking for something gentle to wipe over the eye area in the morning, I'd definitely suggest Liz Earle Eye Bright which contains echinacea extract. She could apply this with clean cotton wool, just by wiping over the eyes. Most importantly though, a separate cotton pad must be used for each eye to avoid spreading infection, if there is one, from one eye to the other.

If she's rubbing her eyes throughout the day, she should be aware that she could cross-contaminate them just with her fingers or even a tissue or hanky. The same applies to items like a mascara wand or eye pencil. So, if she does find she has an infection, she needs to throw away any eye make-up as this will be contaminated too.