Many of us carry tension in our hands. If you constantly use yours typing, writing or sewing, for example, you’ll benefit from a regular hand massage. It’s most rewarding if someone else massages your hands; most ‘luxury’ manicures involve a massage which can help banish tension. At the very least, smooth in a rich cream, stroke from wrist to fingertip and then pull on the fingers to relax them.

If you’re trying to tackle sleep problems, aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, no matter what. It’s very difficult for the body to adjust to irregular sleep patterns, often caused by sleeping late at weekends. It’s better to ‘pay off your sleep debts’ with a nap on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon than to sleep late.

Penelope Cruz’s beauty secret: ‘My jade face roller – it de puffs skin around the eyes and helps skincare penetrate more deeply. I keep mine in my mini skincare fridge so the cold of the stone is refreshing and gives an extra circulation boost.’ (Mini-skincare fridge. Just sayin’.)

Eternal wisdom from the late make-up artist Kevyn Aucoin: ‘Make-up isn’t plaster. It can’t be used to fill lines and wrinkles. In fact, if you try to apply foundation, concealer and powdere over laughter lines in the hope of camouflaging them, the opposite happens. You just draw attention to them.’

Try to get outside as early as possible in the day – if you can’t manage a walk, then just standing in the garden or on a balcony helps. According to David Ray, a professor of endocrinology at the University of Oxford, ‘It’s so important to get outside as soon as you can each morning, as even the daylight on a cloudy day in winter has a powerful effect on re-establishing the rhythms that help to improve mood and energy levels.’

Fretting about the 'flu? If you've escaped thus far (and it's felled so many people we know), then it's time for some immune-boosting. Our friend, Ayurvedic herbalist and Pukka co-founder Sebastian Pole, has this advice: 'In winter, it's worth getting the kettle on to brew up herbs made with immune-strengthening herbs and fruits, such as ginger, echinacea and elderberry. The fiery heat in ginger gets the blood pumping and clears congestion. Elderberry, as well as being a source of vitamin C, is one of the most powerful system-boosting natural remedies around, that has been shown to fight 10 different strains of the flu virus and reduce both the duration and severity of colds and flu.'

Be aware that hair removal creams can sometimes cause a reaction – a slight burning, possibly followed by a rash. If you ever feel uncomfortable, don’t tough it out: rinse the cream off immediately. (And when skin has calmed down, use a ‘lady’s’ razor instead.)

If you use a konjac sponge for exfoliation, you might like to know these are fully biodegradeable: pop in your home composter, when you feel it’s past its best.

If you're a contact lens wearer and your mascara's running dry, it's OK to use a few drops of the sterile lens solution to thin it. But nobody should keep a mascara for more than three months before replacing it.

The mind recognises touch as care. So Dr. Kristen Neff, author of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, advises: ‘When you’re struggling with negative thoughts, simply laying your hand onto bare skin over your chest can ground you.’ Try it whenever you’re feeling fraught.

This might seem like a weird beauty tip, but if you want to feel good about how you look, book at table at Skye Gyngell’s Spring restaurant, in Somerset House. It has quite the prettiest lighting and paint on the walls – a beautiful sort of ballerina pink – and makes anyone look 10 years younger and about 10 times more radiant. How we feel about ourselves is still inextricably linked with what we see in the mirror, for many of us – so we believe in habitually looking at ourselves in flattering light. (You don’t have to spend a fortune to eat there; there’s a brilliant daily ‘Scratch Menu’ which also avoids food waste by using the parts of veg etc. that would normally be discarded. Creative – and utterly delicious. (But do make sure you visit the loo!)

Brushes or fingers? Make-up artist Sharon Dowsett is in the brush camp. ‘Unlike fingers, brushes will place and distribute cream-based products evenly, so that they don’t sit in any pores. There is a saying that fingers were invented before knives and forks, but mine weren’t – there are so many amazing brushes out there, why would you not use them? One rule of the trade where brushes are concerned is to use synthetic brushes for liquid and cream bases (the fibres are designed to not absorb product) and natural hair brushes for powder.’

Thinking of investing in teeth whitening? Listen to Dr. Uchenna Oyoke on ensuring you get the right shade. ‘Match it to the whites of your eyes,’ she counsels. ‘Any whiter and you’ll get that Simon Cowell look.’ (Just be sure to communicate this to the dentist, so you’re singing from the same hymn sheet…

Traditionally, the best way to apply concealer is to dab it on with a tiny brush. But concealer pencils can be a revelation – speedier and just as precise. Look for one with a creamy texture (if it’s too dry it won’t blend), and dot it on blemishes, dark circles and broken capillaries. (These pencils are great for getting at tricky areas like the sides of the nose.)

Face looking puffy? Got the skin ‘blahs’? Try this simple D-I-Y face-revving massage, at home. ‘Create a loose fist with your palms facing your chin and use your knuckles to massage product all over your face, working from the centre outwards towards your ears and down the sides of the neck. Focus on your chin, jaw and lower face. Then use your fingertips to tap your skin, gently drumming on either side of your face. Applying eye serum in this way helps de-puff the area. Use the flat of your hands to gently stroke upwards from your brow across your forehead, to lift the skin. Use the same technique on your neck, stroking downwards. Finish by pinching your earlobes between thumb and forefinger.’ (Sounds weird, but – trust us – feels good!)

Try to change how you think about your features. We share Bobbi Brown’s philosophy that every woman has positive features and it’s better to focus on playing those up than trying to disguise/conceal things we’re less-than-happy with. As she puts it: ‘If your eyes are not your best feature, play up your lips. Don’t try to fix them.’

We’re big fans of Dr. Rangan Chatterjee’s Built to Thrive podcast, and his wisdom. We thought we’d share his belief in the importance of daily stillness, in this busy and noisy world. ‘If you can’t sit in silence, you are never going to know yourself,’ he observes. ‘Too many of us, myself included, spend too little time with our own thoughts. Instead, we pick up a phone and react to what the world wants us to deal with. We should try sitting in solitude for three to five minutes every day. Get a coffee and just sit there, not thinking, tweeting or reading. It’s like pressing the reset button.’ (Although in our case, we’ll be switching ‘coffee’ for ‘tea’…!)

This quiet time of year is a perfect moment to follow some advice from US make-up pr Glenn Marziali. 'Take a Sunday afternoon to find out what makes you feel pretty. Go through magazines, cut out pictures of eyes, lips, cheeks that look like yours – or shades of make-up that you love – and see what the make-up artist did to the models. Then try it on yourself.' (You could also use a Pinterest board for this, of course.)

Not a tip, really, but a lovely nugget of wisdom from presenter and podcast host Lisa Snowdon. ‘To me, holistic living is everything. I look at that as having your body, your mind and everything in check. It should all be balanced. I also think it’s about doing things that make you happy. And of course, food, nutrition and movement are all really important, as well. Those are the elements, for me, that equal a holistic life.’ (And, she adds, ‘That’s why I wanted to create my podcast, because it covers all of that.’ It’s called ‘Get Lifted’, FYI, and you can find it on Spotify, Audible and Apple Podcasts.)

If you take vitamin D supplements – which are increasingly highly regarded as a safe, preventative measure for protecting against all kinds of respiratory infections – then you may want to plan to take them with your biggest meal of the day (or the one with the most fat), as high-fat foods can increase vitamin D absorption by 50%. (So: don’t take on an empty stomach.)