My Red-Carpet ritual: Winter edition

By Alice Henshaw, Founder of Harley Street Injectables

Winter has its own rhythm - colder air, central heating, long clinic days and late events, and the red-carpet calendar always seems to gather momentum at the same time. It’s the point in the year when I’m going straight from full days in clinic to evenings out, and the lighting doesn’t give much room to hide.

For me, red-carpet prep is all about intentional, well-timed treatments that make the skin look fresh, lifted, and quietly luminous, the kind of radiance you can’t fake under flash.

This is the ritual I return to every time.

3-4 Weeks Before: Sculpted, Subtle Lift (HIFU)

A few weeks out, I like to create a soft foundation of structure - nothing dramatic, just a gentle tightening that restores the contours winter tends to blur.

This is when I book HIFU.

It’s one of my favourite pre-event treatments because it gives that subtle, sculpted tightness along the jawline and cheeks - the kind that reads beautifully under cameras but never looks “done.” London winter can leave the skin feeling a little lax or puffy, and HIFU brings everything back into focus. It creates that held, lifted quality that makes every angle look intentional.

2–3 Weeks Before: Under-Eye Renewal (Polynucleotides)

If my under-eyes are hinting at how long the week has been, and winter lighting loves to emphasise this, I’ll add a touch of polynucleotides in this window.

They’ve been talked about endlessly this year, often thanks to the “salmon DNA” nickname, but behind the headlines, they’re simply brilliant for this area: a little collagen support, a little elasticity, a little more smoothness so makeup doesn’t cling. It creates a kind of refreshed brightness that shows up beautifully in photographs.

1–2 Weeks Before: Texture + Glow (Fire & Ice + Laser Genesis)

This is when the resurfacing steps in and the skin begins to look more polished.

The Fire & Ice Facial is my go-to at the two-week mark. It leaves my skin refined and polished without irritation, smoother pores, better texture, and that clean, even surface makeup loves.

I often pair it with Laser Genesis in the same week. Genesis quietly elevates everything: it softens redness, smooths uneven tone, and gives the skin that soft-focus radiance that looks incredible on camera. It’s like the complexion equivalent of good lighting.

Together, Fire & Ice and Genesis create that “editorial skin” finish, smooth, calm, and naturally luminous.

48 Hours Before: Non-Invasive, No-Downtime Glow (Filter Facial)

The final 48 hours are all about freshness, nothing invasive, no downtime, just treatments that give the skin that hydrated, high-definition glow cameras love!

Winter can make the skin look flat, and this brings it back to life without a single minute of recovery time. This is when I reach for the Filter Facial. It leaves the complexion glossy, plump, and perfectly balanced, the kind of luminosity that makes makeup glide and light catch in all the right places!

It gives that final, refined sheen that reads incredibly well under lights.

Why This Ritual Works

This ritual works because it’s layered, thoughtful, and timed to perfection: sculpting first, regeneration next, refinement in the middle, and glow at the end.