On a complete skincare routine for mature skin...

I'm 56 and have basically never used anything other than soap and water to clean my face. I do use a night cream but that's all. I have combination skin and just a couple of very fine lines around my eyes.  I'm confused as to what would be the best beauty routine for me though.

I don't wear any make up other than mascara and lipstick but do wear a 50+ sun block when I go on holiday as I have a couple of blotches which were due to a lot of sun bathing when I was a teenager. Can you help with a good beauty routine for me please?

Alison: Obviously you've been conscious of SPF factors in recent years which is fantastic. On a daily basis and through the winter you could use Ultrasun SPF 30 Day Cream. This should help to prevent future damage and is great especially for more mature skin. UltraSun also have an SPF50 if you want a higher SPF - and all their range offers all-day protection.

There are an awful lot of ranges to choose from, but when you haven't used anything before it's best not to jump into anything too complicated. Start off with Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, Superskin Moisturiser and Superskin Concentrate.

This would be best to start you off on, particularly because of your age group. Start off on this simple routine and if you want to go on further and get more results on lines or your eyes, then I can suggest other products and ranges for you. See how you get on, and how you enjoy the Liz Earle products too.

For skin drying out from swimming...

I'm a woman of 45 and I go swimming 2/3 times a week. I find that it's really drying out my skin, especially around the eyes, cheeks and mouth area, which in turn is causing more fine wrinkles to form. I've very sensitive and fine skin, but it has always looked youthful until I took up swimming. I presently use the Gatineau Melatogenine range, but this does not seem to be enough.
 
Is there an intense treatment you can recommend to rehydrate my skin initially and keep it rehydrated and protected in the future, especially when I'm swimming?

Alison: Your skincare routine sounds excellent to me! So keep this routine at home and take a few products to the swimming pool with you, such as the Decleor Angelique Balm or Angelique Oil. Put either of these on before you actually get into the pool and see which works best.

These won't be removed in the pool like an emulsion would, which is why the moisturisers that you're currently using aren't protecting your skin before you go into the swimming pool. So, the Oil or Balm will work well as a pre-swim treatment.

When you get out of the pool, you can also add a couple of drops on the skin underneath your favourite Gatineau products, if you want to. For the perfect combination, put a little bit of the oil on first and then a little bit of the balm on top. Plus, you will need to apply more than you would at home because you want it to act like a barrier.

Don't worry, it shouldn't be that visible!

On a complete beauty routine for mature skin...

I'm 58 and my face has the lot! Lines and wrinkles, sagging, dull skin, dark circles, and crepiness - sound beautiful? NOT! I'm going back to the cold cream days now, that's when I was a teenager! Since then I've not had any spare cash to indulge myself, as the children's needs had to come first. I'm a complete novice and would appreciate any advice.
 
I lost my mother in 2000 and lost all interest in myself totally, thankfully this year I've finally come through the darkness and would love to look better, but I do need a step by step routine. I have dry skin with a greasy T-zone.

Alison: This is a common problem - where people have tried skincare when they were younger and it didn't work. And where there wasn't much choice, other than cold cream which would have brought you out in spots as it's really heavy and wouldn't have been suitable for you at that age.

I understand that you have put your family first and then suddenly when you look in the mirror, you feel like you should be looking a lot younger. This is often found by women in their 50s and 60s, where the reflections in the mirror seem to be of an older version of you.

I want to give you a very simple routine that's quick, easy and enjoyable. All you need to do is get yourself into the routine of following it every single morning and every single night.

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.

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.

For oily, sagging skin and on using mineral make-up...

I'm 51-years-old and menopausal (sweats!) with a very oily T-zone and cheeks. I love Elemis products but would like to know which ones would give me a proper routine. I also have sagging skin with deep ridges at either side of my mouth (not attractive!).

My other problem is with what make-up to wear - I love the idea of mineral make-up but whenever I try it, it seems to cake and accentuate my wrinkles. I HATE the smell of lavender which seems to rule out so many products.

Alison: When mineral make-up cakes and accentuates the pores, it's usually a sign that your skincare routine isn't right. When you use a really good mineral make-up - and we only stock the really good ones - then this shouldn't happen. Our easiest ones to use are from Laura Geller.

It's also crucial that you wear a primer underneath your make-up, especially at your age, to create a smoothing effect. Laura Geller Spackle Under Make Up Primer is great at calming down the look of redness with its slight lilac tone. Plus, it contains aloe vera and creates a lovely calming feeling on irritated skin.

For unbalanced skin with breakouts, dry patches and oiliness...

I'm 24-years-old and for the past 5 years have had nothing but problems with my skin since having my 3 children. I have no idea what skin type I am, so I never know where to start. I have really dehydrated skin with fine lines on my forehead and cheeks and I suffer with oiliness.

But I also have dry patches around my nose, I suffer with breakouts and have some scarring. It's just so dull and horrid. I've started using Elemis which I'm noticing a difference with, but would really like to know exactly what products I should be using on my confused skin.

Alison: To me, your skin's crying out for our new Judith Williams Phytomineral range, and we have a fantastic Skin Essentials Collection, which sold out during our premiere show, that I want to recommend to you. This set is economical - the day and night cream is a big 150ml size which is three times bigger than most that we sell - and is all about giving your skin a fruit cocktail!

As you've said you have three children and you're only 24 so you must be quite exhausted! Running around after little kids is very tiring. You've described to me a stressed and exhausted skin type, which is why it's coming up unbalanced and why you're having difficulties with it.

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 fine lines appearing on the face and neck...

I'm fast approaching becoming 30 and am worried about fine lines appearing. What products would you recommend me using for my face and neck area? I have combination skin, which is in a reasonable condition.

Alison: At this age, you're right to start thinking more about ageing and wrinkles, as this will become more of a predominant problem area for you. The first and the most important product that you need to add to your routine is suncare. Simply adding an SPF to your routine could help to prevent you from having to buy so many products to tackle ageing in the future.

I'd recommend using products with an SPF and applying one every single day. Ultra Sun suncare is non-oily, non-greasy, easily absorbed and also contains ingredients to help reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles. Don't think of sun cream as just sun cream as you can use it every day on your face, neck, décolleté and back of the hands.