Beauty products and fragrance delivered to your home

I wasn’t going to mention beauty regimes in lockdown for fear of appearing shallow, but when I saw a woman on The Restaurant Club seeking lobster bisque for a recipe, I felt exonerated.

Unable to see Deborah Forsythe, an aesthetics specialist and menopause expert (www.dfclinics.com)who has held back my years with fillers and Botox, I was worried. Like many Jewish women who have treatments, I feared I  could emerge from isolation looking like Ursula Andress in The Legend of She.

No, not when she looked like a goddess, but after she steps into the fire and is robbed of her youth. Think craggy old bubbe with grey roots and that’s the look I’ve been channeling most days in lock down.

Worse still, I’ve been informed by Ms Forsythe that aestheticians will be among the last to start working again because of the proximity risks to their health. But she had a solution with NEWA.

The NEWA is a non-invasive home-use skin tightening device and at £349 is an investment, when you add up the cost of fillers. It can also prolong and enhance any invasive procedures as it tightens lifts, plumps and brings a glow to your skin which is pretty much instant. I took before and after pics ahead of the first session and remarkably the change was visible, particularly under my neck which has been Turkey-like for  a while. I wish I’d known about NEWA ages ago  because it is really effective and though I’m wary of gadgets, this was a big surprise.

Lining the tip of the device with lift activator gel, the 3DEEP radio frequency technology is clinically approved and takes no time to use as you run it across lined areas of your face and neck for 15 minutes. The heat generated is also relaxing as it rebuilds collagen and adds elasticity, both of which deplete rapidly when you reach the menopause. I’m using the NEWA every day and as maintenance and improvement is now a DIY possibility in lockdown, I’m waving goodbye to old Ursula.

As travel is something we can only currently do in our minds, how about dabbing the scent  of Tel Aviv behind your earlobes? May be some Brooklyn on the wrists? Berlin on the décolletage? These are the cities that perfume maker Nick Steward wanted to evoke in unisex fragrances under his brand Gallivant. As the name suggests, the wearer is olfactorily gallivanting from place to place and the one named after the Israeli city exudes luxury with a floral base with notes of bergamot, mandarin and “white flowers that softens your heart– just like Tel Aviv itself.” Available in 30ml eau de parfum (£65) and a 10ml pure perfume roll-on oil (£35), it’s a hint of the Holy Land, which is sadly unreachable at this time.

www.gallivant-perfumes.com

My daughter Madison, now 13 watches make-up tutorials online all the time and introduced me to Glossier the make-up brand founded by

New Yorker Emily Weiss, a nice Jewish girl who, after graduating in 2007, became a styling assistant at Vogue. From her beauty blog, Into the Gloss, she launched www.glossier. com, selling her own products, and they can deliver now. The foundation is light and gives the almost natural look us older gals are searching for.

Favourite products include Cloud Paint (£15), a seamless cheek colour and the Stretch concealer (£15) which doesn’t get all cakey as so many do. Thanks Madison.

There is a sense of still being in the wilderness post Passover and a desperate urge to get back to nature and feel healthy. Products with ingredients to regen­erate, nourish and give a sense of well-being are what’s required in lockdown.

D’alchemy’s formula­tions are based on organically grown or wild growing plants, among them All-Over Blemish Solution (£40), which unblocks pores, cleans up dead cells and, thanks to specially-selected natural plant extracts, evens out skin texture, reducing size and visibility of pores.

The formula made from bamboo extract leaves skin smooth and shine-free, without tightness or dryness.www.dalchemyskincare.uk

Green People is one of my favourite brands and it’s organic philosophy is  needed now. When we aren’t stressing, we should  sleep, as that’s when our skin goes into repair mode.Hydra Glow Sleep Mask is tailored for women aged 35+.

Designed to boost collagen production and lock in moisture while you sleep, it’s enriched with 35 beauty-enhancing actives including green macro algae,  penta-saccharides which stimulate collagen production and  Caesaplinia Spinosa for intense skin hydration.www.greenpeople.co.uk.

Danish skincare brand Ecooking launched in the UK in 2018. Safe enough to eat, the range contains more than 40 products, each of which is made with 100% organic oils, combined with natural peptides and vitamins. Sustainability is key and the products come in recyclable mate­rial. Bestsellers?

The acid infused peeling mask for a youthful glow, a super serum to relax facial muscles – reducing fine lines – and a night cream to stimulate collagen production while you sleep. www.ecooking.com

Elemental Herbology Macadamia & Papaya Radiance Body Scrub (£32.) is rich in Omega 7 which is essential for hydration, papaya for cell renewal and sea salt for drawing out impurities. www.elementalherbology.com

Tropic Skincare is 100% natural, cruelty-free and vegan, with every product packed full of premium exotic ingredients. Its Super Greens Nutrient Boost Oil, £42 nurtures your skin’s natural defences against pollution and calms irritated, sensitive and blemished skin. www.tropicskincare.com

Flowers provide a feel-good factor in tough times and work as well in a vase as they do in a body lotion. You can smell like a garden with Weleda’s Wild Rose cream (www.lookfantastic.com) or spritz, Yardley London’s rose, lavender, lily of the valley and April violets all over conjure up spring (all £20).

Yardley, a company  beloved by the nation is celebrating its 250th anniversary, which has to be worth a smile emoji and a toast at home to its history and  better times.www.yardleylondon.com

After seeing a plea for a nail technician in hiding, one must assume you are biting your nails or have soaked the extensions in varnish remover.

Help is available with Dr Hauschka Neem Nail and Cuticle Oil (£26.50), infused with neem leaf extract to strengthen keratin, and apricot kernel oil, chamomile and anthyllis plant to soften and condition cuticles. www.drhauschka.co.uk