a woman in her early 30s asks the camera on TikTok, accompanied by the caption "POV: Girls in their luteal phase." There are thousands of videos like this one on social media, lamenting the "luteal uglies" - the changes in appearance and mood that women say appear during the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. During this phase, which occurs in the second half of a woman's cycle and ends when she gets her period, women experience a huge drop in oestrogen. So are the "luteal uglies" a real thing? "Our hormones affect our skin, they affect our collagen, so a lot of people find their skin becomes drier, their complexion not so bright, they might have acne and spots," Newson explains.