If you ask makeup artist turned skin-care expert David Delport for his top tip he’ll tell you a good cleanser is the single best investment we can make for our skin. And he’d know. He’s spent the last decade working for REN, a skincare company that has made its name making high-performance skin care from naturally derived, bio-active ingredients. Here the Global Head of Education shares his wisdom on beauty and working with the Royals.

What’s the one skincare product everyone should use?

A really great cleanser!  Maintaining a healthy skin barrier is crucial. We are realising now the implications of pollution and city grime on skin function and ageing.  Get your cleanser right and the rest miraculously falls into place.

Can men and women use the same products?

It’s the same apart from hormonal differences.  The rest is mostly marketing spiel.  Men certainly don’t need their own range and I’d like to think we’ve moved on from needing to feel ‘masculine’ when we apply moisturiser!

Tell us something we might not know about REN?

We were the first company to formulate CLEAN back in 2000.  Something we’re quite proud of.

Why is choosing natural skincare so important?

We prefer the term clean, as it describes an active or ingredient that is skin friendly, non-toxic, effective, and can often be created in a way that is more environmentally respectful.

What goes into creating a new product?

This is never a straight path, sometimes an idea seems fantastic one day and doesn’t work the next. At REN it’s a very cooperative approach. A product can take two years or more in development. We don’t rush things. We create products we want to use ourselves, and that will resonate with the needs of our clients.

You started your career as a makeup artist, what was the highlight?

Probably royalty.  There is something about doing a princess’s makeup that was always highly amusing. From the protocol to the security to picking out the matching jewellery, it’s so far away from my usual life. I’m not sure it’s a better life. The overwhelming sense I got was that of a sad bird in a cage, so I used to do my best to make it fun. I’m not someone who does well with rules and restrictions.

What’s your favourite breakfast for glowing skin?

It’s either protein oats with almond milk or scrambled eggs (organic and free range) with salmon.  I also drink a glass of kefir for my pro-biotics.  Omega oils are essential.

REN skincare is available via Mecca Cosmetica