No dry shampoo? At a pinch you can use powder to thicken, clean and add volume to less-than-squeaky-clean hair. Sprinkle with a light-density baby powder, which will absorb any extra oil. Then brush some out again.
If you’re worried about running late after a treatment, don’t fidget and check your watch every two minutes. Instead, explain to the hairstylist, manicurist, facialist or masseur in advance that you need to leave at a particular time. Explaining that you’re on a tight schedule enables them to speed up certain parts of a treatment and still get it done. And you won’t just sit there feeling antsy.
When using wax strips to remove facial hair, be bold and assertive when removing them. If you’re tentative, you’ll need to pull several times – and that’s irritating to skin.
Wear a new-to-you fragrance on holiday – then save it for stressful times to recall the relaxed joy of lying on that beach, or sipping cappuccino in that city…
A potentially pricy tip, but wisdom from actress Kate Hudson: she likes to use whichever anti-ageing cream she’s using on her face, on the backs of her hands. (Which show up ageing super-fast.)
Drinking tea or coffee through a straw will by-pass tea, avoiding staining. But be sure to invest in a metal straw, to avoid plastic waste.
Are you a runner? If you get a stitch while exercising, stop and push your fingers into your belly just below your ribs on the right-hand side. At the same time, blow out as hard as you can through pursed lips. Doing this releases pressure on your diaphragm and should stop the pain so you can be off and running again.
Before applying blusher to cheeks, hang your head down for a few seconds to see where your natural flush appears. That's where you should apply your blusher.
For an at-home dandruff treatment, massage your scalp while shampooing, then towel-dry and comb hair to loosen and remove flakes. Apply a mixture of a spoonful each of apple cider vinegar, vodka and warm water, plus a drop of tea tree to the scalp. Don't rinse out, and sleep on it. Style as usual in the morning.
Don't rub wrists together when applying fragrance. You'll 'bruise' the fragrance, and interfere with the way it's supposed to develop on the skin.
You almost certainly don't need as much concealer at this time of year – and if you overdo it, it'll look cake-y and obvious. Try mixing it with your under-eye cream for lighter coverage.
From superhairdresser Brad Johns, sage advice: 'Tone brows to your base hair colour, not to blonde highlights. It's a mistake to lighten brows because the face loses definition.'
Try this summer body-smoother from the famous Canyon Ranch. Put two peeled/pitted avocados, two egg yolks, two generous tablespoons of honey and the juice of one lemon in a large bowl. Stir till it becomes a paste, then refrigerate. Take the container to the shower and after you've exfoliated, apply the treatment all over – good for face, chest, arms and legs. Wait a few minutes and rinse off, for super-soft skin at a fraction of the price of a flight to California...
Hate to say it, but unless those hotel amenities are by a well-known brand – we’re always thrilled to encounter ESPA and This Works, for instance – we advise giving them a miss. We often find that the body washes and shampoos have unacceptably high levels of detergent, leaving itchy and dry.
If you’re going for a bikini waxing, don’t ever feel embarrassed. Therapists are essentially unshockable; they’ve seen it all (and removed it all!) (But you can still tip generously…
Holiday still to come? Book a hair trim before you go; the ends (which are oldest) are most prone to damage.
Having trouble removing festival glitter? (Oh, even we’ve been known…!) Vaseline seems to do the trick, we find.
If you have vertical ridges in your nails, buff them nightly very, very lightly and then apply a nourishing oil. Cosmetically, a ridge-filling base coat will fix the problem.
Skin dry and itchy? Try a D-I-Y sugar bath. (No, really.) It’s an old Chinese remedy for dehydrated skin: buy some sugar cane slices (from a Chinese supermarket or grocery), half-fill the bathtub with water and put a couple of slides of sugar in the water, leaving them to melt. Then top up the bath – and enjoy.
We sometimes think fine-toothed combs should be banned (except – literally – for nit-picking). The wider apart the teeth are, the better it is for curly hair, certainly – your comb becomes your fingers. Wide-toothed combs are best for long, straight hair, too.