How my hair and makeup has evolved over 5 decades in the spotlight

In my twenties, when I left drama school and started going on auditions, at a time when I was in the full bloom of youth and supposedly at my peak, I had really bad skin. No smooth porcelain complexion for me, but rather lots of tiny little bumps all over my face, many of which would erupt into full-blown spots. A nightmare, as you can imagine.

Added to this was the fact I was a serious sun worshipper. Growing up in Africa, I had lain in the sun from my mid-teens, frying my skin until it went a dark mahogany brown. Then, in my mid-twenties, I started getting some serious pigmentation, as dark blotches began to spring up around my face. 

In those days, unlike now, I was not at all into health. My diet was truly terrible, and I’d never taken a supplement in my life. My answer to disguise the sorry state of my skin, was to pile on the foundation. But because I didn’t wear heavy eye makeup and only wore very pale lipstick, I was convinced I looked natural. And then one day, my agent passed on a request from a casting director. “Please tell Glynis not wear so much makeup for her meeting”.

I was mortified. Surely, they must be mixing me up with someone else? But it got me thinking about what I was doing and how I was dealing with my skin. 

By my late twenties, I completely changed my diet by cutting back on junk food and sugar. This was when I turned to an organic way of eating. A decade later, I followed this with a more natural way of treating my skin. I also stopped laying out in the sun so much and by my early thirties, I stopped completely. Shade and SPF became my friends.

These decisions had a profound effect on my skin and how I would subsequently age.

Hair history

Up until just before I began filming Dempsey and Makepeace, the series that changed the trajectory of my career, I had long waist length hair. About a month before the audition for the series came up, I went to Vidal Sassoon and got it chopped off into a messy bob. This would then become the hairstyle that Makepeace was famous for. It started a hair trend that I never could’ve predicted the day I strolled into the hairdresser. 

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I have to say I do think it was ahead of the curve, because this was the eighties. Hair was big, like the shoulder pads, and people were blow-drying, crimping and styling like crazy. I would literally wash and go. I’d dry my hair with my fingers and my head upside down. It was a seriously messy do. But people loved it.

Previously, with my long hair, I’d spend hours blow drying it. It was completely liberating to just let it do its thing. But not everyone got it. After the series I was in Los Angeles and went on an audition. When I walked in with my messy hair, the casting director was horrified. “Wow, you’re brave coming in like that” she said.

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Nowadays, when it comes to hair, my philosophy is still to make as little effort as possible. I believe that a great cut is what’s important. I’ve been going to Paul Edmonds for over a decade now, and he makes sure my hair just falls into place with very little effort. I can’t even imagine spending hours at home blow drying my hair. It’s just not for me. Having said that, I’m always happy to have someone else do a great blow dry for me. 

Makeup lessons

I think that the casting director got it right. I wore lots of makeup to cover up my bad skin and it wasn’t a good look. 

Now, at the age of 70, I wear a lot less. Over the decades, working as an actress and doing numerous photo shoots with makeup artists, I’ve been fortunate to learn many tricks of the trade.

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However, for me, the starting point is health. When you take care of your health, the first thing to be affected is your skin. It brings a glow and plumpness to your skin when you’re nourished and hydrated from the inside. 

After embarking on healthy eating in my late twenties, I then expanded this strategy to my skin care. I no longer used products that were full of toxic chemicals and looked for products with more natural ingredients. 

In my forties, I started doing non-invasive treatments like radio frequency to slow down the ageing process. And while the results were always subtle and I did sometimes wonder if I was wasting my time, at the age of 70 I can now see the long-term benefit it’s had.

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This has given me a good canvas on which to put my makeup. Over the years I used makeup much more skilfully.  As my skin improved, I needed less foundation which gave me a more natural look. Foundation became an extension of good skin. 

And then I hit 60. My skin suddenly had a whole host of different issues. Little lines become crevices for makeup to sit in, accentuating them. Foundation would sit on top of my skin and make it look dry and dull. My makeup was no longer serving me. It made me look older.

I started to look for makeup with a more forgiving texture. This is when I first discovered Studio 10 and it was life changing. It was the first company I’d come across that designed its products specifically for a mature skin. All the textures in their range made skin look dewy. They had no powders at all, just creams and gels. It made a huge difference. I adore the Plumping Blush Glow-plexion, £26 and the Skin Lift Glow-plexion Primer & Highlighter, £19.50 remains one of my all-time favourite products. Add a bit to foundation and it gives your skin a serious glow. I think that Studio 10 has been a real trail blazer.

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Now, there are quite a few makeup companies popping up aimed at more mature women. Top of the pile is Trinny London. She is adored by midlife women for her incredibly entertaining and hugely informative videos which have spawned a makeup and skincare empire. 

I’ve recently been trying out her products, and she’s completely nailed it on the skincare side. Everything a mature skin needs is there, from retinals to alpha hydroxy acids to peptides. 

And the textures in her makeup range are clearly designed to flatter and make skin look peachy. Her BBF SPF 30 Cream, £41 which gives a sheer glow with UV protection is a huge best seller. I love her BFF All Day, £41, which is foundation which has a great consistency despite being matte. Perfect for the summer because I never wear powder anymore.

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In fact, my biggest tip for a mature skin is to ditch all forms of powder. Go for creamy foundations and blushers and embrace the glow. A little shine is flattering. 

I’ve also ditched black makeup, other than mascara. Gone is my beloved black eyeliner. It’s too harsh on a mature face. I still wear deep colours like pewter or dark brown and they are much more flattering. 

For me, makeup has become about getting the texture and the colours right, to flatter and create glow. Get it wrong and it’ll age you. Get it right and you won’t look back. My makeup is now completely different to when I was 40 and I feel just as confident and glam as I did then.