Sun’s out – stay safe like Nigella Lawson and head indoors to get a tan

They’ve been telling us for years. Wear factor 50 protection cream in UVA rays and you too can look like Nigella Lawson. Well, a bit like her, possibly in candlelight. You see, the porcelain-skinned cook is averse to sitting in the sun and by avoiding it continues to look pale and suitably posh. Allegedly the nut-brown look is for farm hands, which mattered not to those who slathered themselves in baby oil in their youth. But with age comes wisdom (sometimes) and the realisation that hours of being horizontal in the heat isn’t as easy as it used to be.

What with the menopause playing havoc with your body temperature and the awkwardness of lying down when you’ve just got up, getting a golden tan in the shadow of climate change feels wrong. And anyway who needs to, when there are so many options available to look sunkissed, courtesy of a bottle.

Pai Skincare’s The Impossible Glow (£29) isn’t impossible at all. A few drops in any of the three shades (Bronze, Champagne and Rose) mixed in with your moisturiser, foundation or daily SPF and you are radiant. PS: You can also use it on your body and there’s a travel kit, which in this time of lost luggage… paiskincare.com

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Charlotte Tilbury too pricey? Then OPV Beauty Illuminators (£34.99) is a dupe for her Flawless Finish and comes in six shades that can be dropped into your usual face shmear or worn alone for pure glow. opvbeauty.com

Because of weather health warnings the Australian market is awash with fake glow products and The Jojoba Company’s Jojoba Glow (£28)is among the best as it is enriched with antioxidants and mandarin oil. thejojobacompany.co.uk

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Your usual blusher often looks wrong with bronzed skin (think The Only Way is Essex). Invest in Bloomeffects Tulip Tint (£27) a multitasking soft, berry pink that works on cheeks and lips. And uniquely this little tube hydrates and blurs fine lines round the lips. Available at Fenwick and Harrods.

Green People are celebrating 25 years of organic beauty and I can’t recommend them highly enough, notably for the fake (but very realistic) tan their Age Defy+ Liquid Gold Tanning Drops (£35.00) provides. The drops make it easy to customise tan all year with no streaks and the seaweed and green tea keep skin younger while protecting it against free radicals greenpeople.co.uk

For those with sensitive skin and prone to breakouts, The utan x Jamie Genevieve CBD Tanning Water (£18) is a breakthrough and a hit on Tik Tok. Infused with CBD and Scottish Lavender Oil, the formula works as an anti-inflammatory/anti-bacterial to soothe redness and let your pores breathe, thereby reducing spots. The tan arrives in four hours. utan.co.uk

Tempted to try any of these? Then be sure that Dr Hauschka’s Translucent Bronzing Tint (£20) is on the list. The reason it is loved by make-up artists and consumers is because the colour it gives you is like a shot of sun and its tinted mineral pigments contain medicinal plant extracts such as anthvllis and witch hazel. Blurring imperfections, your skin truly glows and I’m now on my third bottle. drhauschka.com

LET’S GO

While considering my must-take products to pack for holiday, I decided to ask for other suggestions on the Facebook group, MY BEST PRODUCT EVER. Weetabix came up a lot, along with tea bags, Imodium, pillows (“hate hotel pillows”) Vanish soap and plug adaptors. Here are some of the other 300 answers:

Hair spray by the gallon, talcum powder for beach days, Piz Buin tan acceleration oil, Phillip Kingsley swim cap to protect from UVA rays, “ stretchy elastic washing line with hooks either end that I bought for my son to take camping 20 years ago!” That’s So Sun Care range (from £18), iron tablets (thank you Georgia Walters), hairbrush dryer (excellent), Clinique Moisture Surge Mask skirt-and-shorts hangers, “Apple AirTag in suitcase, in case the case goes walkabout”, a kitchen knife and silicon spatula, travel piano (yes really!), pop-up wash basket.

Tell us what you take. Email brigit@jewishnews.co.uk

HOPPING

The British Journal of Sports Medicine has just announced that the inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds in mid to later life is linked to near doubling in risk of death. And holding on to a chair doesn’t count.