It's 100F at Coachella today

I am as English as they come: a natural blonde with pale, delicate skin which fries in the heat. I thank my mother every time I look in the mirror for keeping me in the shade and basted in sun block as a child. Not only did she teach me good habits but, as I continue through my thirties, my skin is barely lined & I have no crows feet at all. And I intend to stay that way.

It's looking to reach 105F here in the desert at the Coachella Festival, so I am more than slightly obsessed with sun protection today. I have a straw hat so large it acts as a sunshade, blocking sun from my shoulders and my neck, and Ray-Bans which have proper UV filter lenses.

As far as my body is concerned, current derm thinking is that we do not apply enough sunscreen: a bottle should last only a few days on holiday if we are applying it correctly. Out here in California every morning I apply a broad spectrum UVA/UVB SPF50 like moisturiser over every inch of my body that could possible be exposed to sunlight (I'm using Coppertone Ultraguard right now, and I also like La Roche Posay & Neutrogena), & I pack a spray sunscreen in my bag for top ups during the day.

For my face I switch between two brilliant products that I was sent at my last job (for new readers, I was a fashion & beauty director on a national style magazine).

I can't bear wearing foundation in this heat, so on my face I am using Dr Denese SPF30 Defense Day Cream. It's also a broad spectrum UVA/UVB suncreen and it has a lovely creamy texture, as well as being naturally tinted with self-adjusting melanin technology. Unlike many zinc oxide creams, it doesn't feel chalky, and gives a really flawless finish.

For less intense heat, I like Oclipse Sunscreen & Primer SPF30 by Dr Zein Obagi, which works really well under make-up. (It is also tinted so can be work without make-up too.)

Neither of these creams are cheap:the Dr Denese is $75 and the Oclipse is $65, but they are a hell of a lot cheaper than medical intervention.