Host: Katie Pullinger (KP)

Guest: Mary Vango (MV)
Jason King (JK)

KP: Hello I’m Katie Pullinger and welcome to today’s health and beauty show. Celebrities today, they’re always trying to find all new different fangled types of ways of making themselves look younger. Whether it’s the latest surgery or the latest skin peel, but these surgeries can be very expensive. So what does the every day person do? What do we do to freshen up the skin and make ourselves feel a little bit fabulous and perhaps looking a little bit younger? Today I am joined by Mary Vango, who is our celebrity make up artist and beauty and health expert. I am also joined today by Jason King who is head of beauty at Avon.

JK: Hello.

KP: Thank you for both joining us today. So, we’ve got a wealth of products to talk about today haven’t we? Now what are your best tips for freshening ourselves up in the morning….

MV: I have to say, lifestyle, because it really depends on first of all, genetic – whether you have good genes, and also the lifestyle that you lead. Whether you have a stressful job, whether you eat well, whether you are kind to yourself, all those things really do contribute to good skin quality. And also the products that you use, it really is a bit of both – a bit of products, a bit of genetic predisposition, lifestyle.

KP: Just looking after yourself.

MV: Be kind to yourself.

KP: Whenever you ask the celebs, what’s your best tip for great skin, they always say ‘oh, drinking lots of water’ and you think ‘it can’t just be that can it?’ I mean there’s always those sneaky perhaps, little injection here and there.

MV: Yes absolutely, absolutely. Although, they do take care of themselves. But also they are really dedicated because it is their life.

KP: It’s their job.

MV: Yeah, absolutely. So you have to take care of your skin, and if it’s a bit of injection here, a bit of injection there, it certainly will not be denied.

KP: Now tell us about a few people that you’ve worked with. I know Tina Turner’s a client and you can’t really look much better than that at her age.

MV: She’s a wonderful, wonderful woman - the most compassionate woman I’ve ever worked with, who is got that huge stratosphere of fame. Demi Moore, I have say has got wonderful skin, wonderful bone structure.

KP: She still looks so young. She’s in her 40s now isn’t she?

MV: Anne Heche do you remember Anne Heche? Wonderful bone structure. Dame Helen Mirren, most wonderful lady. They all have got wonderful qualities but at the same time they do have insecurities, everyone’s normal, and the only difference or advantage that they have is that they have great advice at their disposal. All the best people are willing to give them advice, and they are willing to try it out and introduce new products for them.

KP: They’ve got these products at their fingertips.

MV: Exactly.

KP: Well that actually goes onto the question from Sophie who emailed us, who wanted to know what it’s like working with celebs, do you enjoy that?

MV: I love it on a personal level because you’re working very closely with them so it’s very intimate and remember as they’re breathing you can almost breathe in with them so you can sense when someone is nervous, you can sense when someone is feeling insecure so it makes the dynamic between the two much more intimate and much more based on a friendship rather than just a professional relationship. But then, of course, we all go home and we forget about each other.

KP: How did you get into the world of make-up in the first place, and beauty?

MV: Beauty because I’m genuinely fascinated by the beauty industry, especially now there’s so much technology being poured into it, but originally I trained as a painter, as an artist.

KP: Oh really? Which is a similar kind of thing, painting a portrait aren’t you?

MV: Absolutely, I use a 3-D canvas which is the face as opposed to a flat canvas, but having said that, with makeup, unless your canvas is well-primed, i.e. good and healthy, and well looked after, your make-up is not going to be as wonderful-looking and as fresh looking. So even though make-up is a very important aspect of looking good, the care that we give to our skin is actually more important because you can do without make-up but you can’t do without skincare.

KP: Absolutely, which are great tips but then of course we have to discuss the issue of surgery. Jason – do you want to give us your opinions on the cosmetic surgery issue?

JK: We were talking about this earlier actually and although people have much more access to cosmetic surgery now, we think that it’s kind of antiquated. It’s almost clumsy to have to go under the knife these days, you don’t need to do that any more, there’s alternatives like botox injections as we mentioned earlier on, or different peels, but they’re still quite expensive and can be painful. So these days you can get some great skincare items over the counter, particularly from Avon, which we’re going to be talking about today. These can really give you the same kind of results but without all the pain and expense.

KP: But of course the whole idea of surgery is pretty scary to most women, and of course, from a budget point of view, it can also be very expensive. But I mean, injections, and things like that can still make people a little bit nervous as well.

JK: Absolutely, absolutely.

MV: Also it is toxins, you are putting in toxins, and we don’t know how these toxins are going to manifest in our faces ten years from now.

JK: There’s absolutely a risk, isn’t there, with cosmetic surgery, that it can go all wrong, or if you’re injecting toxins into your skin, that you might react in a certain way so people are increasingly finding easier ways to get results of cosmetic surgeries.

KP: Like the thermal face-lifts.

JK: Absolutely.

KP: Would you tell us a little bit about that?

JK: Well thermal face-lifting is based on radio-waves, which go under the skin to kind of reconnect the layers of your skin. And Thermofirm, which is the product that we’re launching from Avon this quarter, is trying to replicate the same effects as a thermal face-lift. Basically it works by using triple sonic technology, and it works on the skin layers to try to reconnect them, also to stimulate the production of collagen, which will then give you a more tighter, lifted, firmer looking skin.

KP: Which sounds a lot more comfortable than any of the other surgeries or anything like that, and cost-wise we’re not looking at the same kind of level are we?

JK: We’re not looking at hundreds or thousands of pounds at all; it’s eighteen pounds for a jar of thermofirm, which we have here.

KP: Wonderful.

JK: Which Mary is now going to pass round.

MV: Which I have been using.

KP: Have you?

MV: Yes, I have used it, this is it.

KP: And that’s just eighteen pounds.

MV: Eighteen pounds, and I have used three pots of this over the past three/four months and I have to say genuinely, there is a difference.

KP: Well I mean you must’ve tried so many different products.

MV: Oh forever.

KP: Because you’re introduced to so many different products and brands, and you’re loving this are you?

MV: Well it really works. It has made a tightening, especially around here I can notice that there has been some sort of tightening/toning/lifting effect, it’s that 3D matrix. It’s like a net if you think about it, except it’s done with the extracts, a net that sort of lifts the muscles up.

KP: Right, and you’re not having to go anywhere to get this done; you can do this in the privacy of your own home.

JK: Absolutely, once a day is all you need really. It’s a nighttime cream, because it doesn’t carry an SPF, so we recommend you use it at night time. But then during the day you’d use your typical daytime moisturiser, which does include an SPF.

MV: Though having said that I use it in the morning.

JK: Do you?

MV: Yes, as well as an SPF. I’m a glutton for creams.

KP: Do you just slather them on?

MV: Oh absolutely, I love creams.

KP: We have a question for you now, from Ally, is Thermofirm suitable for sensitive skin?

JK: Well Thermofirm has been tested for all skin types, we don’t specifically target it at sensitive skin but by all means you should try it. You should always do a patch test really, if she feels she has sensitive skin.

KP: Right. Which is just trying it where?

JK: Just a tiny patch behind the ear just here, so that she can see if she does react to it. I’m sure she wouldn’t, but if she does then she should move onto something else.

KP: Right then. We’ve got another one from Karen, she wants to know – would you recommend that men use Thermofirm to gain the same benefits as us women? It’s a whole metrosexual thing now isn’t it? All the men are going to be wanting to get in on this.

MV: It is an interesting question because men shave so every day they exfoliate, so in a way, the Thermofirm would penetrate much more effectively, wouldn’t you say? Because they’re exfoliating in sort of the most abrasive way, so yes I would say it would be very good for men.

JK: And also at Avon we are the company for women, that’s our philosophy. We know a lot about women, we really understand womens’ needs and we know that when we talk to them they always say their husbands steal their skincare cream so they can try this one out too.

KP: I mean there are a lot more men in the media that are getting their facelifts and things like that. When you think of like Nicky Rawk and Michael Douglas and you just think…

MV: Oh I know it’s so sad.

KP: Don’t do it, they’d be much nicer if they just, you know, had the same sort of creams as us.

MV: Grow old gracefully.

KP: Exactly, exactly. Like people like Helen Mirren, we were talking before; she’s very very graceful.

MV: Yes.

KP: Now I have a question from Betty, and she wants to know, ‘What skin type is the product aimed at then?’ I know we were talking specifically about sensitive skin, but you’re just generally talking about all different skin types.

JK: Yeah it’s not really about a skin type; it’s more about a particular issue that you may have. So if – whatever it is you’re right – so if you have some kind of sagging or that your skin needs a lift then this is for you. It’s not related to dry skin, or oily skin or anything.

KP: No, so it’s not about clearing up the t-zone, it’s not about getting rid of dry skin.

MV: But also, most people have combination skins, there’s no such thing as oily or dry, and also womens’ skin changes over the cycle of the month, depending on where you’re at, and also what you’ve eaten the night before, how much sleep you’ve had.

KP: Have you been out in the sun…

MV: Absolutely. So I think forget about skin type, just look at your skin, genuinely look at it and see what is it lacking and you’ll be able to see whether one week, it lacks more moisture, the next week it may lack more nutrients.

KP: What about age-wise on this, because of course, you know, is it something that works as ‘prevention is better than cure’ or are we talking women in their 30s/40s plus?

MV: Prevention definitely, prevention.

JK: That’s the starting point.

MV: Yes that is, and I would thoroughly recommend that women start using really good products, and certainly Thermofirm, from sort of 25 onwards. But depending on what your skin type is like, but I do believe that the sooner you start the more benefits you will gain later on.

KP: Right, well I have another question from Kelly, who’s aged 42 – ‘I use all Avon and new products, what else will I use along with the Thermofirm to get the most from this product?

MV: I would recommend 2-step facial peel, which is a 2-step programme.

KP: Let’s have a look at those.

MV: You start off with step 1. Step 1 – involves pads saturated with natural fruit extracts and glycolic acid and this is the neutralising phase. I would recommend both of these, or this is one product, first, and then use the Thermofirm every night.

JK: 2-step really is a fantastic product as well, because when you see on these makeover programmes people that have had the facial peel, it really is scary and it doesn’t go away over night.

KP: No it’s all quite red…

JK: Absolutely, so this is a gentler way of getting the same kind of effect and allowing fresher, more rejuvenated skin to come through. I’d agree completely with Mary, that’s a fantastic product to use in conjunction with Thermofirm. But as I mentioned earlier on, it could be that you use Thermofirm as your nighttime treatment, but then use an alternative day, which has an SPF of 25 in it for during the day time.

KP: We’ve just had a question from Nicola Carrs and she’s saying ‘What is Thermofirm for and what does it do?’ So can we just recap exactly what it’s going to be doing for our viewers out there?

JK: Very basically, it’s all about tightening, lifting, and firming your skin so that’s what the product is about. It doesn’t have the SPF so it’s probably best in the night time, slap it on in the day as well, and also use a moisturiser with an SPF too.

KP: So we’re literally looking to lift and firm the skin.

MV: It’s the fact that the technology actually brings the fibres together to connect the skin layers and it tightens them and then lifts them so it is a toning lift, but gentle, and that’s why it’s important to start using it as soon as one…

JK: The whole thing about skin layers is very important because the skin’s made of 7 different layers and as they start to degrade and one layer starts to sag and the other starts to pull it down, so you can strengthen the connection, the kind of overriding, the strongest layer of your skin will lift it back up again.

MV: And also, do remember that we do have gravity against us unfortunately. So no matter how genetically we have tight skins, no matter how much care we take of our skins we do eventually all fall under the same gravitational pull, so we have to assist in every way possible.

KP: But again it comes back to lifestyle. Obviously these kind of creams are wonderful to have, but of course they need to be used alongside a healthy lifestyle, because if you are, you know, drinking every day and smoking every day and out in a bad environment, you know, you’ve got to take that into consideration as well so it comes back to having lots of water, having your 5 fruits and vegetables, and using something like this before you go to bed.

MV: Exactly, exactly. It’s all a combination of little aspects. Actually I always think of babies. If you think in terms of a healthy baby, you have to feed it, you have to give it enough water, you have to clean it, you have to give it lots of rest – skin’s the same. It just needs a lot of pampering and a lot of love.

KP: Now going back to the celebrities – they’ve got a team of people looking after them every day, you know – we don’t. So what are the best tips for a quick fix? I mean are there quick fixes or, you know, the women that are trying to get their kids ready in the morning, you know, get themselves off to work perhaps as well, you know, what can they do, something in 5 minutes that they can do every morning?

MV: 5 minutes is impossible, it really is impossible. But you can always just spend a little bit more time in the evening. Any woman, no matter how busy she is, she can just take 10minutes off in the night time. Even 5 minutes. Lock the bathroom door and do your treatment, do your beauty regime and really stay with it, be dedicated, be conscientious. But again as we were saying it’s a cross between healthy lifestyle, drinking, resting, and using good products.

KP: Now talking about the products, how easy is it to get hold of Avon products because all of a sudden there’s going to be a lot of women out there that are going – ‘Right, Thermofirm – where can I get it, I need it, where can I get it from?’

JK: Well obviously we have 160 thousand representatives serving customers all across the UK so that’s a fantastic source. They provide advice, they deliver the products to your home, they can come and tell you more about the Avon products, and about the complete skincare and beauty ranges that we have. So the primary channel would be via the representative. But it is also available online if the customer isn’t served by a representative at any point in time, they can log on and buy directly from an Avon shop online.

KP: Yeah because I’ve actually bought from Avon online before because that was the way that I knew how to do it. After one of those bored days googling around and found the Avon and thought ‘Oh wonderful, I’ll give it a go’. And it is so easy to get it, and it does arrive so quickly as well.

JK: It’s a fantastic site and there’s so much to see on there. Like you can go into the Thermofirm bit and you can spend hours pouring over all the beauty products that we have online.

KP: And there’s loads of makeup as well, isn’t there.

JK: Absolutely, we sell makeup, fragrances, toiletries, haircare, skincare, and also fashion items as well.

KP: Oh really okay.

JK: So there’s a lot to see online.

KP: And nice gifts for people as well. What kind of fashion items? Clothing or just…?

JK: It’s lingerie, fashion accessories and jewellery that we sell online.

MV: Oh gosh, something new, I didn’t know.

KP: I know I think a lot of people won’t realise that Avon also do jewellery and fashion unless they are regular visitors to the site, which is really nice. Sheila wants to know ‘Are expensive face creams always better than less expensive face creams?’ I think this is a bit of an urban myth isn’t it?

MV: Well, yes. In a way you’ve got to think in terms of what goes on behind the scenes in a company. If you think about it, the more research that is put into a product, obviously the more expensive a cream will be. However because Avon doesn’t have retail outlets, and they sell directly to customers, they pass on the benefit, the cost benefit, to the customer.

KP: Of course you don’t have the same overheads.

JK: We don’t have the same outlet overheads as retail, although we do pour heavily into our R&D facilities like Mary was saying – it’s a huge investment for us. But we can pass on the benefits of not having retail, to the consumer in our pricing.

KP: Which is great, so people can, you know, anyone can afford this. I mean, eighteen pounds for Thermofirm is great value for money. And you’re getting, that’s a 30ml tub. And that’s going to last you quite a long time isn’t it? I mean, you don’t have to put loads on.

MV: No you don’t. And always move the hand movements upwards, so you’re going against the gravity, always against the gravity.

KP: Right, well I have another question in from Caroline, and she wants to know – ‘What type of treatments are good for open pores?’

MV: 2-step again, the 2-step facial peel. I love this product, simply because it is a gentle peel but it actually has also the same effect as an exfoliator, but a very gentle one, again use the 2 pads simultaneously, but wait for 10minutes between the first step and the second step. And that would also, will control the extra oil that open pores tend to have.

KP: Especially at this time of the year when it’s hot and your pores are open, and you’re getting exhaust fumes and horrible things like that against your skin, which isn’t very nice.

JK: That’s a fantastic treatment but there is also a line that we carry in our solutions collection, which has a specific range, which is targeted at open pores, and declogging those, so there’s lots of specific treatments for reducing the size of your pores.

KP: So again you need to look at the website which is of course www.avonuk.com
Now we’ve got a question from Monica – ‘Do I have to use day and night cream?’

MV: Yes, yes, yes. Absolutely, because day cream usually has a protector – SPF, so it protects you against the elements, and against sun damage and the night creams, a) because your body is more responsive, and you’re asleep, and much more calm, your skin is much more responsive to whatever cream you’re using so the two creams have to be very different, and there for different reasons.

JK: If you have the time, a regime would be obviously to cleanse, tone, moisturise and treat. If you’re pushed for time then we’d definitely say morning, night, but also eye cream is essential, because the skin on your eye area is very different to the skin on the rest of your face.

MV: Yes, and I love this eye cream. It’s a 2 tone, dual pack. The gel is for the upper eye, because that’s where you get the sort of drooping, and that again has a lifting effect through the technology and the natural fruit extracts, and the underneath, which is the cream, is the one that stops the crows feet from forming and it prevents puffiness.

JK: And dark circles.

KP: Which I think we all suffer from. Just because, late nights, or whatever it is – the stresses of the day. I find that that’s the one place that I really show tiredness is on the eyes because of the dark rings and puffy horrible – mole eyes as I call them.

MV: Wonderful products, so I would recommend them to you.

KP: And we do have some other products, what else have we got here?

MV: Oh this is one of my favourite products.

KP: I like the packaging, it’s really smart packaging.

MV: This is really great because it has a stand, and you just.

KP: Oh great!

MV: Yeah, it’s a stand and it’s called a new clinical laser which has stable, 10% vitamin C, apart from fruit extracts, and because of the way it can be applied you literally target the area that’s needed – the dark spots, blemishes, caused through sun damage, through liver spots, through, and even under the eyes when you do get the very dark circles under the eyes. This is fantastic, I use this.

KP: Oh really.

MV: 2 spots here. 15 years and I have tried so many products, and I started using this, feeling a little bit sort of sceptical I have to say, because I’ve had these spots, they’re not spots, they’re discolourations, for 15 years and I’ve been using it, admittedly when I’m at home, every hour.

KP: Just putting it on all the time, and it’s really started to work.

MV: In about 3 weeks it has taken the edge off the darkness, and I know that if I continue using it for the next 2 months I know…

KP: You think that that’s going to go. Well that’s brilliant that it’s worked for you, so it’s definitely worth a try for anyone else that’s out there. Now Lois wants to know ‘How do I get my face to radiate a healthy glow?’.

JK: Lifestyle.

KP: I mean there are lots of makeup products, which can give you a sheen.

JK: Yeah, I mean lifestyle is the starting point you know, drink water, sleep better, all that kind of stuff. If you need a bit of extra help of course there’s skincare regimes that will really help to give you a radiant glow. You should exfoliate, you should use a scrub, you can use special moisturisers, which are actually tinted, to give an instant glow, and again we carry one of them in our solutions line. Also, a new alternative is about brightening your complexion as well, so that will help give you a more radiant look.

KP: I mean I think exfoliating is definitely one of the major points there, because you’ve got to get rid of those dead skin cells. I think people; I think if they get lazy about their skincare regime, miss out the exfoliating. You know they just wash and stick on some moisturiser and straight into bed. But I think exfoliating sounds like one of the most important ones.

MV: It’s vital, it’s vital. It’s vital to get rid of the dead skin cells and allow the pores to take in oxygen.

JK: But that doesn’t need to be another step in your regime it can be exfoliating cleanser that you use, so it’s kind of a 2 in 1 rich. Gets your face clean and prepared for the next step, and also removes the dead skin cells as well.

KP: Great, now Davina wants to know ‘What products would you recommend for black or Asian skin?’

JK: The whole new line is appropriate for any skin tone really, so it’s not specifically for fairer skins or darker skins, anyone can use it.

MV: But I would recommend the skin laser because dark and Asian pigment tends to mark very easily after a spot or a mosquito bite, or anything that creates a mark and if you use that obviously after it’s healed it will help the pigment to even itself out.

KP: Well talking of healing actually, we’ve got a question from Roxanne who wants to know ‘Can you recommend anything that is good for clearing up scars or uneven skin?’

JK: There you go.

KP: Same again.

MV: And exactly the same question, and the same answer.

KP: So go for that, laser. That’s just a little ball on the end isn’t it, that you…

JK: That you apply to the problem area.

KP: So it’s direct to that area.

JK: Yes it’s direct to the problem, and you overlay that with your treatment or your moisturiser.

MV: You let it dry first, obviously, which only takes 2minutes, 3 minutes, and then you put the cream – whatever cream you decide to use, after that.

KP: Now do you have any little secret tips from the celebrities that you’ve worked with before like Tina Turner and Robbie Williams, is he one of yours?

MV: Yes, I’ve worked with Robbie Williams yes.

KP: Had to ask!

MV: He’s very shy.

KP: Oh was he?

MV: Really shy, yes.

KP: Well you’re being very good and discreet. So basically, it’s about maintaining that healthy lifestyle, drinking water, looking after yourself, and exercising as well.

JK: They’re everyday people at the end of the day aren’t they? They’re the same as everybody else.

MV: They all have insecurities, they all have the same foibles as well have but they know how to bypass them.

KP: And of course, they’re getting up a lot of the time, at ridiculous times of the morning to do morning TV, then doing a music show til 1 in the morning.

MV: Well even when they’re filming. They’re filming they have to be on the set for 4 o’ clock in the morning, 5 o’clock in the morning – that’s enormous pressure on the bodies so they know they have to take care, have to try and get as much sleep as they can, and eat well.

KP: Well I think something that we’ve also go to remember is that, you know, they’ve got air-brushing, they’ve also got, they can go through frame by frame in a film and take out any blemishes. We’ve got to remember that these celebrities don’t look like that 24-7, and they do have a team of people around them all day, so it’s just great to know that there are this, a range of products that we can slap on that are going to be able to, you know, give us that – because no one does look like that all the time.

MV: No, no.

KP: So it’s no panic. Now Jean wants to know ‘Can anti-ageing treatments make wrinkles disappear?’

JK: Disappear’s a strong word.

KP: It is a strong word.

MV: It really depends on how old one is, how deep the lines are. Again, what type of lifestyle? Do you smoke? Because obviously if one smokes, the lines or the wrinkles are going to be more embedded into the skin, but yes I think there are certain products on the market that really work.

JK: Particularly on fine lines and wrinkles like Line and Wrinkle Corrector which is specifically developed to work on fine lines and wrinkles because I’d say in that situation maybe it can make it disappear. If it’s a much deeper line that you’ve carried with you for many years then all these creams help to really improve the texture of your skin and reduce fine lines and wrinkles, but probably not disappear for all of them.

KP: But I mean especially something like a laughter line, which will have been there since, that you’ll have developed all your life, and again, the laughter lines around your eyes. What are the best treatments for those? I mean obviously like you said, not necessarily disappear, but to at least try and help.

JK: It’s great to have them in the first place, because it shows you’ve had a great laugh.

KP: I like them, I think that it shows character.

MV: Yes absolutely, but at the same times one has to take care so that they don’t actually become too defined, and actually another product that I would recommend for that is the deep crease concentrate…

KP: Let me just show that to the camera over here.

MV: Which actually works, it has a dual action. It first of all relaxes the muscles, and then it fills the creases.

KP: Right.

MV: It’s actually the closest thing to a collagen injection.

KP: Oh really, again, going back to the whole not having to inject yourself, or cut yourself.

MV: Or put toxins.

KP: Yeah, the whole botox thing is pretty scary. I mean I’m sure it’s great for a lot of people but I personally find that the thought of injecting something, of a toxin into your body is barmy.

JK: This contains a complex called bohyrolox, which is quite difficult to say, but it is an alternative to a botox injection, and again it’s topically applied to the areas where you have the biggest problem and it would work on lines on your forehead, around the eyes or laughter lines around your mouth.

KP: Right, now we are coming to the end of our chat unfortunately. Can we have a reminder of what the Avon website is?

JK: Avon.uk.com