According to a study at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami, simple techniques like the following can reduce production of cortisol, a stress hormone. First, pull hair gently, tugging the scalp, for 30 seconds. Secondly, hunch your shoulders as high as they will go, then let them drop abruptly. Repeat five times.
If your foundation doesn’t look its best after you’ve applied a primer, check the ingredients. It may contain silicone (often written as dimethicone on the ingredients list), which can sometimes affect coverage. Some people get on with silicones, some don’t (and it interacts differently depending on your foundation choice).
Avoid deep lip colours till autumn kicks in. Heat can make deep reds, burgundies or browns run, feather or change colour when you sweat. Apricots, pale roses and other sheerer shades know their place.
Self-tan fading on your face faster than it should? According to Amanda Harrington (tanning guru to Sienna Miller, among others), ‘Retinol or any enzymatic skincare can accelerate the face time of self-tan on your face and body.’
A good hairstylist will ask you to uncross your legs, if you have a tendency to do that. It virtually guarantees an uneven cut.
Don't let a high SPF lull you into a false sense of security. An SPF30, reapplied frequently (and combined with time in the shade) is better than an SPF50 applied once.
Don't lie in bed awake. Advice from sleep author and expert Matthew Walker is that if you find yourself awake after being in bed for more than 25 minutes, get up and go to a different room. 'The brain is an incredibly associative device. It can very quickly learn that you bed is the place of being awake, not asleep. It is often the reason people tell me they fall asleep on the couch watching TV, but feel wide awake when they get into bed. Instead, do some relaxing activity such as reading. Only return to bed when you feel very sleepy. There's no time limit. This way, your brain will break the old association and relearn.
When you're at the hairdresser for a trim, show the stylist where you want your cut to fall, rather than quoting inches or centimetres. 'Oh, just an inch' is often misinterpreted, in our (painful) experience, so this is one occasion where it isn't rude to point.
Rinse cleanser with tepid or warm water, not-too-hot – and don't bother with a splash of freezing cold water unless you really want to wake yourself up (and don't have a tendency to broken veins). It's a complete beauty myth that 'cold water closes pores' – pores are not lift doors, and neither open nor close.
Nudes aren’t always flattering for lips. Instead, advises New York make-up artist Mollie Roncal, consider a gloss that enhances your natural lip tone. ‘Look for something similar to the inside of your lower lip,’ she advises. ‘You’ll know right away if you’re more peach or plum.’ For a polished look with extra staying power (knowing that glosses are notoriously short-lived), apply a neutral pencil all over and then smooth gloss onto your lower lip only. Then say ‘ma’, to transfer it to the top.
By all means keep a spare make-up kit in your desk drawer – but never in the car. The emulsification will break down and products won’t have that smooth, luscious consistency if exposed to freezing or hot temperatures.
Do you suffer from bunions or hammertoes? This is a great exercise for restoring flexibility and offering relief: sit in a chair and rest your heels on the floor. Inhale and flex your toes so there is space between all of them. Exhaling, squeeze your toes in to form a toe fist. Repeat 5-10 times.
Self-tan wisdom from expert Amanda Harrington: 'Retinol or enzymatic skincare can accelerate the fade time of self-tan on your face and body.' Don't say you weren't warned.
It’s always best to shop for fragrance in the morning. Research has shown that humans can detect one trillion distinct scents. Your sense of smell is relatively uncluttered in the morning – so it really is best to seek out a new addition to your fragrance wardrobe when your nose is ‘fresh’.
Once you've applied foundation or tinted moisturiser, give it a moment or two to 'set' before applying blusher or bronzer. It'll stay put better that way.
Do you have a fringe and suffer from acne? Avoid using deep conditioner that on hair or a fringe that touches your face.
If you have under-eye puffiness after a too-late night or too much alcohol, try bromelain, a pineapple-derived enzyme from natural food stores that is anti-inflammatory and has a diuretic effect within a few hours. Meanwhile? That's what sunglasses were (partly) invented for.
After showering, or washing your hair, don't towel-dry hair or wrap it in a towel on top of your head – and don't rub. Those can rough up the cuticle, leading to frizz before hair's even dry. Keep old t-shirts to squeeze out the water – it's softer and gentler.
If the eyeliner you applied an hour ago has gone AWOL, 'This means you didn't put enough eyeliner on,' our make-up artist friend Bobbi Brown once advised us. 'Line your eyes with eyeshadow on a brush, then draw the line heavier than you think you need to.' If you're using pencil, look for pencils that aren't too greasy or creamy. And remember: if you have too much moisturiser under your eyes, that will cause pencil to run, too.
Be careful not to store foods in pots or cans, because the metals (with the exception of stainless steel) will react with the foods inside. Iron darkens foods. Copper turns them green. (Although while unappealing, neither effect is bad for you.) In a matter of days, aluminium (which means most pans that aren’t stainless steel) or aluminium foil can impart a metallic taste, especially acidic foods like tomatoes. We like to keep leftovers in thick glass bowls and jars, and if necessary cover with beeswax wrap.