Fashion for the over forties: Lisa Snowdon's top 6 tips

The model and presenter shares her fashion and beauty confidence tips with Katie Wright.

As careers go, modelling has a shorter lifespan than most, with many professional clothes horses retiring from catwalk duties well before their 30th birthday.

Lisa Snowdon though, who started modelling in her teens, has just starred in a swimwear campaign - at the age of 46.

Why now? This is the second time the Hertfordshire-born beauty has worked with JD Williams, the brand that focus on fashion for ‘midsters’ - over-45s - and she hopes to inspire other women.

“I’m mid-forties now, I just think it’s really important because we still want to look good, we still want to feel good, you know, we’re kind of in the prime of our life,” says Snowdon, who also regularly presents the fashion segment on This Morning.

“We’ve got more body confidence, we’ve got more time on our hands. A lot of the 45-pluses, their kids have grown up so they’ve got more time to do things for themselves, maybe go on holiday...”

If you are jetting off somewhere hot and want to look model-esque by the pool, Snowdon has got some amazing advice for how to look and feel great all summer long, including some clever tricks she picked up in her modelling days.

Here, she shares her top tips for how to maximise your beach body confidence at any age...

1. Get a spray tan

“A spray tan is amazing for the first few days of your holiday because then you feel like you can wear colour and pull it off, your limbs just look better, they look sunny and golden - you just blend in a bit better!”

2. Choose feel-good swimwear

“I think most importantly it’s getting good swimwear that fits you. I think a lot of older women think, ‘Oh I’m just going to wear black because black’s the most flattering’, but actually you can get some great prints and some really clever technology in swimwear now - like mesh materials, supportive high-waisted pants, underwired bras if you need it.

“A tankini is great - if you want to have a big boozy lunch with pasta, rice, paella or whatever, you haven’t got to worry about being in your bikini and thinking, ‘Oh god, I’ve eaten too much, my belly’s sticking out!’”

3. Play with cover-ups

“Great cover-ups, like kaftans, kimonos, sarongs, they go a long way on holiday. You can have it on on the sunlounger and if you’re still a bit shy you can sit all day with it on because a lot of them are so fine and sheer that they’re actually quite comfortable.

“You’ve got the agility of being able to put it on quickly if you need to nip to the loo or go to the bar or run around putting cream on the kids, it’s just having something there to cover yourself up.”

4. Avoid the midday sun

“Stay away from the midday sun because midday sun plays cruel, cruel tricks on our bodies! It’s like in a changing room when you’ve got that overhead lighting which casts an ugly shadow and makes you look like you’ve got lumps and bumps and blobby skin that isn’t there.

“Have a lovely long lunch and then come back for about half past three when the light’s dipped and it’s got that warmth to it - it’s the golden hour. That’s when I do all my holiday pictures and selfies with my friends - you look like a goddess. A golden goddess.”

5. Don’t compare yourself to others

“It’s such a shame that we can’t appreciate our bodies in the moment [but] I think as we age and get older we do start appreciating. It’s about acceptance rather than trying to be perfect or trying to compare yourself.

“It’s just a waste of time and energy, and that’s the difference with us ‘midsters’, we’re a bit more content in ourselves and we realise there’s more to life than squeezing into a size whatever. It’s about how you feel about your life and the people that you’ve got in it.”

6. Exercise for your mind

“I would definitely recommend exercise because you do feel better about yourself when you do it. Then when you feel good, you ultimately have more confidence and you walk taller and you don’t sweat the small stuff as much. You think, ‘Oh, you know what, I’ve got a bit of a wobbly bit there and a bit of a belly there, but, you know, I’ve had some great food and I’m about to drink my weight in pina coladas on holiday!’”