Serenity beauty

It's almost time to come out from under that jumper and welcome in the spring. After months of screwing your face up at the rain and wind, and not to mention the over indulgence of the festive season, it's likely that your skin is feeling a little sorry for itself. So, to get your dewy glow back, you can improve your skin tone from the inside out, as well as taking advantage of some nifty tricks and treatments that will give you a head start.

Breathe easy

Even though we all do it, all day, every day, we could still do it better... Deep breathing boosts the levels of oxygen in the tissues, which does all sorts of wonderful things for you, including boosting your skin & circulation. As we get older, oxygen levels in our skin cells decrease, losing elasticity and giving us lines and wrinkles.You can treat yourself to some free oxygen therapy with these deep breathing techniques:

Lie on your back with your right hand resting on your upper chest, and your left hand on your abdomen. Relax for a while until your breathing becomes normal. When you breathe in your left hand should rise and your right hand should remain fairly still.

• Breathe in for a count of one, and then breathe out for a count of one.
• Breathe in for a count of two, and then out for a count of two.
• Breathe in for a count of three, and then out for a count of three.

Carry on until you're breathing in for a count of twelve, and out for a count of twelve. If you can't quite reach twelve, don't strain yourself to manage it, just keep practicing. Breathe in and out as long as it's comfortable and don't hold your breath. While you're doing this, more oxygen will get into your blood, which is great for your skin and has the bonus of being incredibly relaxing, too.

Try a relaxing Yoga class...there are so many to choose from and most gyms now run yoga classes along with Fit Ball and Step. You also get to sneak into the steam room after your exertions, which is also great for your skin. You could even try face yoga!

Wash and brush up

Not just for your face, this trick will make you feel all sparkling clean and tingly. Every morning, before you shower, take a skin brush and give your whole body a good sweep. Brush in the direction of your heart, making sure that you covering your legs, arms, tummy, chest and back (if you can reach.) You only need to spend about five minutes on this chore and it really does make you feel zingy in the morning. It gets your circulation going, makes your skin smoother, and obliterates all those horrid dead skin cells!

When you've buffed your skin all over, you can pamper yourself with a dose of Guinot Gommage Facile. This gorgeous smoothing body scrub is perfect for the bath or shower and should be applied over wet skin once every week to keep that skin smooth and soft.

Beauté Neuve

"Winter weather and central heating can be tough on skin and so can partying and eating the wrong things - especially over the festive season" says Leonilla, beautician and director of Serenity Beauty.

"All these things can make skin look dull and lifeless, and leave it dehydrated. We can bring it back to life with a course of Beaute Neuve facials from Guinot. The products are all glycolic and fruit acid based, and they'll not only give you a glow, but the concentrated vitamin C will help fade any pigmentation, too"

For a real treat that will set you up for spring, pop into your local Guinot salon for a Guinot Beauté Nueve gentle peeling facial. Its unique double-peeling system controls the level of exfoliation, soothes and nourishes tired skin with an anti-ageing regenerating serum, and a vitamin C mask to finish

You'll adore the effects that the Beauté Nueve gentle peeling facial has on your skin, so if you want to keep hold of that gorgeous glow as long as possible, keep the dead skin cells as bay with Gommage Grain d'Eclat gentle exfoliator twice weekly, and a weekly Masque Nouvel Eclat exfoliating and peeling masque. Complete the set with a soothing slick of Crème Beauté Neuve - great for the change of season as it puts a zing back into devitalised skin. This delicious treatment cream is formulated with soothing fruit enzymes including Bilberry, Lemon and Orange which gently exfoliate your skin, and give you back your sparkle.

Did you know? Berry boost

Berries are powerhouses of anti-ageing antioxidants, which boost the circulation to your skin and help protect against sun damage. Choose scrumptious raspberries, blueberries and strawberries for their fibre and antioxidants, and add a healthy serving of broccoli to your dinner - a survey in 2007 showed that compounds in the little green veg actually helped prevent skin cancer by activating the skin cells natural defences. Make sure that you add lots of nuts and fish for their essential fatty acids - these are fabulous for your skin. Blueberries are good for your brain too! The latest research shows that eating blueberry extract improved short term memory loss and reversed some loss of balance and coordination in aging rats. In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists said rats that consumed an extract of blueberries, strawberries and spinach every day showed improvements in short-term memory.