Nails look good if they are well groomed and shorter as you age. You can choose a subdued polish that flatters your natural complexion. (Leave outlandish nail polish to your daughters and granddaughters. Using extreme colours will tend to draw attention to your 60-plus-year-old hands.)

Moisturizing and using sunscreen will help to keep your hands looking younger longer. Even think seriously about wearing gloves in winter and when driving the car. Pamper those nails to give your hands and feet a soft and feminine treat.

One of my favourite go-to nail products for polish is O.P.I.

Another is the wonderful Flash Manicure from L’Oreal Paris. It’s a little bottle of remover dissolvent that allows you to do away with the mess of tissues when prepping for a new colour or just repairing chips in your polish. To use this product you simply insert your finger into the cylinder and twist. The nail comes out clean and ready for a new coat of polish or hand cream. It’s easy to pack and can be picked up from Priceline for about $12.95.

Do you have any favourites? Please share.

Help! I’ve just returned from 2 weeks in cold, grey Melbourne where constant heating kept us all functioning but played havoc on my skin and hair. Being a northern animal my skin found the shock of a changed environment a bit much and I have come back to the Qld winter feeling dry and withered. My wrinkles look positively cavernous.

Some serious moisture reboot is required!

First thing I decided that I needed to do is drink more water. It’s so easy to become dehydrated, especially when the weather is cold and the body isn’t sweating.

Then I got into Zoe Foster’s book Amazinger Face to get a checklist of what to do for dry, mature skin. She has lots of hints for over 50s. From gentle cleanse through to application of serum and then moisturiser and beyond …. her advice helped to settle the nerves brought on by the feeling that I had aged 10 years in 14 days. One thing that she suggests is to always wear SPF 30 sun protection on face, hands, neck and upper chest. And treat your neck and as part of your face when adding moisture. I’m with her on that.

So relieved to see that my skin is starting to loose its flaky appearance and the red spots. Now I just have to be consistent.