Always loved this quote from Elizabeth Hurley, who has a truly wonderful sense of humour. ‘I have a good pluck every day. You have to. The best light is on an aeroplane, where you get that vicious sidelight coming in and you see every single hair – and you could just kill yourself.’
Got a wedding coming up and you’ll need to wear heels – when you normally wear flats? Get in training. Wear one-inch heels for 30 minutes, and add an extra 30 minutes of heels time each day. Do this with two-inch heels the following week and – if you’re going that high – three-inch heels the week after. We remember supermodel Linda Evangelista once telling us that the secret of walking in high heels was to wear them round the house, ‘as if they were slippers…’
Time to get the elbows out. Resting them in halved lemons is effective, but even better if you put a squirt of olive oil onto the halved lemon. Twist, then rest your elbows there for 10 minutes while you read a paper or a book…
For a great quick-fix mask, use goat's milk yoghurt – and let it sit in the fridge for a while to ferment for longer (though not until it goes 'off'). Apply straight from the fridge to a clean face, leave on skin for 15 minutes. The lactic acid will gently get to work, brightening skin.
If you're wearing earrings, put them on before doing your make-up. We find that we sometimes need a little less on the face when it's framed by something metallic or gleaming, like a pearl. And if, say, you have a pair of red pompom earrings, you can see exactly how great they'll look with a scarlet lipstick...
Just a handy hint from two flower-lovers, here: if you ever get lily pollen on your clothes, wrap Sellotape round your fingers and press it on the pollen to lift it off, without staining the fabric. (You can also wrap Sellotape round the handle of a make-up brush to pick up stray specks from applying eyeshadow, by the way.)
All that manhandling when you have dental treatment can be bad news for skin – sometimes causing bruising because of the stretching, pulling and clamping that's necessary to reach back teeth. Sensitivity and blotchiness can also follow. Give skin extra TLC after a dentist visit: cleanse with tepid, not hot water; opt for the gentlest (perhaps fragrance-free/hypoallergenic) products in your regime, for a week or so; avoid saunas and steam baths – and skip the massage, if you do go for a facial. Your poor face has been through enough.
One sign that you're wearing too little make-up (yes, too little!) is if it disappears by noon. You may need to choose slightly deeper colours or add a dusting of translucent powder. (Another sign? If people often comment that you look tired. Take note!)
Never brush really wet hair. Towel-dry first, because wet hair has less elasticity and will break or become damaged more easily.
If you have close-set eyes, apply liner only to the outer corners, or it can accentuate the closeness.
De-junking your make-up bag for spring? Throw away anything older than two years. If something's a year old, move it 'up front' into your make-up regime – and if you're still not using it, be ruthless. It's gotta go.
Ideally, you'll be adding an SPF15+ into your daily skincare regime right now, upping that to SPF25 by the end of the month when the days are getting longer and incidental sun exposure is increasing. If you wear a separate SPF and moisturiser, layer the SPF underneath your moisturiser; it needs to touch your skin.
Do you have 'tech neck'? Facialist Alexandra Soveral observes that constantly looking down – at a phone or a laptop – leads to an older-looking neck. 'It means your neck is stabilised in the same position,' she says. 'Your glands are behind your ears and if the neck muscles are tense, the lymph that comes down from the facial tissues won't be able to drain properly.' So look up, whenever you can. (And take up yoga, is our advice. Brilliant for neck-stretching.)
Always run top coat along the free edge of your nails after applying nail varnish. This will create a bond on the tip to prevent chipping.
If you suffer from dandruff or scalp psoriasis, try eliminating dairy products and reducing salt intake.
We couldn't be more pleased that heels are increasingly being switched for flats by women everywhere. One-inch heels increase the pressure on the front of your feet by around 22%; three inches by about 76%. Give yourself – and your soles – a rest, by wearing well-padded flats whenever you can.
Sharon McGlinchey of MV Organic Skincare recommends this steaming at-home facial. 'When you're cleansing with a muslin cloth, day and night, hold the steaming cloth on your face for a slow count of five. Don't rush it or start rubbing your face. The steam activates your superficial circulation and softens surface skin cells. I you repeat this three or four times it's as though you've had a mini-facial every day; it's very kind and very nurturing. Then pop on a little bit of moisturiser or facial oil, and your skincare's done.
Under-eye puffiness? Our beauty guru friend Kate Shapland advises drinking water – no less than a litre a day - because it flushes out the system, helping to flush the lymph that builds up under the eyes.
Best way to clean hairbrushes? The genius trichologist Philip Kingsley always advised ust o soak in a basin of water with a few drops of TCP and a teaspoon of washing soda (a.k.a. sodium carbonate).
The secret of having nice hands is simple: pay as much attention to them as you do to your face. Start tonight with a three-minute scrub, using your favourite facial scrub, then follow with lashings of hand cream – and then another lashing. Quite miraculously transformative, we promise.