We all have things we can’t live without and it’s amazing how many of these essential items are relatively new inventions. Here are what I consider to be some of the most important beauty products of the last ten years:

Lipfinity: Lipfinity is one of the few products that actually does what it says on the tin. Lipfinity promises to stay ‘put’ for 8 hours. I’ve woken up many a Sunday morning with Lipfinity still on my lips. I originally put it on on the Saturday morning before heading off four hours of shopping, for two dinners, seven hours clubbing and a cheeky snog. And I’ve still had to brush it off with my toothbrush.

The great thing about Lipfinity is you can wear a lovely gloss over the top and not have to worry about the lipstick bleeding. I’ve been hooked since these came out six years ago and still don’t think that any other brand has quite cracked it.

Lash Architect: Forget the mascaras that paint your lashes white and then you add a second coat of black. Lash Architect is fabulous for both separation and longer lengths. Since I tried this out a couple of years ago I’ve never gone back, although pricey (you don’t get change from a tenner) this lasts longer than most mascaras that I’ve used, so it’s still value for money.

Bronzer: Can you imagine living without bronzer? Sometimes all you need is a bit of that lovely brown shimmer to make you feel delicious and you’re ready to go. The best bronzer I’ve tried is by Mac, it’s got 5 different shades of brown, so you can use it to highlight, or sculpt, or just run the brush lengthways to mix all the colours to your taste.

Leg Make up: this is a necessity for summer. Legs can look so dreadful, especially if you have broken veins, freckles, circulation spots or even ingrown hairs. Leg make up is a life changer for the summer season, and it means you don’t have to wear horrible tights with sweaty gussets.

It gives you both a lovely brown sheen and a light covering for all your blemishes. The best I think I have tried is Sally Hansen ‘Air brush Legs’. Every time I wear it I feel like a Californian beach babe.

It’s not just us mere mortals that have mandatory items. Celebs the world over have them, and probably use more than we even know existed although the gorgeous Kate Moss, when asked what she couldn’t live without, said ‘mascara and vaseline’. But for the rest of us normal heads, we’ll stick to the products that get us one step closer to looking like a super model.

If you are a natural beauty, read no further. But chances are, you’re not. If you’re anything like the average girl you have bits about you that you like and bits that don’t make the grade, regardless of whether it’s all in your head or you truly are minging.

Thankfully, there are plenty of make up tricks that you can use to accentuate the good, play up the mediocre, and hide the just plain ugly. Here are some tips that cover the main problems:

Small Lips: Dark colours are a no no for small lips. You know how you wear black trousers on your fat days to appear slimmer? The same applies for your lips.

Light colours and light diffusing glosses are the way forward. Choose anything from natural coloured to pink or peachy shades. Start off using a light glowing powder (I use a gold eye shadow) and trace the outer line of the top lip to give you a highlight. Then use a liner to trace around the edge (not too far from the edge, we don’t want to look like Jodie Marsh) use a long staying lipstick like Lipfinity. Then finish with a light and shimmering gloss like Bourjois.

Small Eyes: Avoid putting colour on your rims, this makes your eyes shrink down. Instead use a white liner to make the eye appear larger. Don’t use black liners, stick to dark browns and use them on the outer corners and above the upper lashes. Again, try and stick to outer corners so you don’t ‘close’ the eye down.

Gold and beige are great for putting in the inner corners and will make your eyelids appear bigger, especially if they have a shimmer.

False Lashes do wonders, but if you are afraid of gluing your eyes together then at the minimum use a lash curler and several hundred coats of mascara.

Cheek Bones: Never go for the eighties sculptured look, but you can achieve higher looking cheekbones with some clever shading. Use a bronzer all over the face to start with, then use a round tip blush brush to apply a light pink blush and put it on the apple of your cheek. Then if you are still not satisfied use a highlighter like Mac Highbeam (tried and tested by Victoria Beckham) on the highest part of your cheekbones.

Now you’ve got your eyes, lips and cheekbones covered, here are some quick tips for the rest of you:
•    Place dots of foundation on your forehead, cheeks, chin and nose. Rub in well with either your fingers or a make-up sponge. I find fingers work best.
•    Use make-up brushes to apply your eye shadow and abandon those tiny brushes that come with your cosmetics. BodyShop brushes are the best I have found unless you are willing to fork out for Mac brushes.
•    If you have an olive complexion, avoid shades of gray.
•    Eyebrow powdered shadows are better than liners for filling in your brows.
•    If you have a large conk, create a shadow effect. Use a dark foundation or powder and apply it down the sides of your nose. Highlight the centre of your nose by using a lighter colour powder.
•    If you have a pale complexion, stay away from bright, vibrant colours.

Now, if you’ve tried fake tanning before, you are probably aware of how easy it is to get streaks or ‘tide lines’. After my first couple of attempts which left me looking like a diseased carrot, I decided I needed to take some positive action and find out how to do it right. First, you want to find a product that suits you, the market is inundated with fake tan creams, gels, sprays and lotions. You can play it safe by using a slow build tanning product, like Johnson’s self tanning lotion, or use a wash off product. But whatever you decide, there are a couple of simple rules you should follow.

Exfoliate: Get rid of all the dry skin cells and rough skin before you tan, it will make you look and feel far better. You can use a body scrub gel or cream, or use a loofah or body brush. Believe you me, it does make a difference.

Moisturise: Moisturise your skin after exfoliating to get it all lovely and silky, this will make the fake tan far easier to apply.

When applying the fake tan, using a tanning mitt will not only make it easier, but will also save your hands from going a peculiar shade of orange, which is a dead giveaway. After you have thoroughly rubbed all the lotion into your skin, wipe your knees, ankles, elbows and wrists well with a cloth, these areas of your body are where the fake tan gets into the creases, and it’s a dead giveaway. It’s also a good idea to wipe behind your knees and the inside of your arms, to give you a more natural tanned look.

A product I absolutely adore, and is an amazing time saver, is Sally Hansen Airbrush Body Tanner. It’s best if you can get a friend/sister to do it for you, but is also completely doable yourself. Just simply spray on your body, and hey presto, you’re a gorgeous tanned babe in an instant. It is available in different shades, so you can choose the exact tone you would like to be. It simply washes off afterwards.

So there you go, we can all be amazing sun kissed goddesses without damaging our precious skin, so let’s get to it!

Lashes are in in in for spring, they need to be as big as possible, layer up as many coats as possible without clumping, they should be separate and lengthy. Believe it or not, if you count the amount of strokes needed to get this look you’d be reaching about 100. So stick with it, it’s worth the effort. If you don’t have the time to achieve this look on a daily basis but have the money to splash out, you could invest in ‘permanent’ false lashes applied individually. They last about a month but are quite pricey (I’ll be sticking to my 100 strokes then).
Fake tanned skin is in again as we come up to summer, but this spring DON’T over bronze! Think more Charlize Therons subtle tones rather than David Dickinson. Instead of using a powder bronzer try layering your fake tan with a light tanning crème set with a tinted moisturizer. The best thing about bronzed skin? You can go light on the rest of your makeup; this look goes perfectly with the large lashes and nude glossy lips. Add in a touch of shimmer. We love the look of shimmer on eyes & cheeks, especially on tanned skin, but again this needs to be kept understated, you don’t want to look like an Abba reject.

One look that has been trying its hardest to come back in for a good couple of years now (and one I swore I would never partake in) is coral lipstick. No longer should you associate it with moth ball smelling cardigans and blue rinses. Coral has been invading the catwalks globally like a pensioner with a free beans coupon. But please, be careful when running the coral route – matte is faux-par, opt instead for glosses that can be applied with the finger so you look as if you’ve just eaten a fresh piece of fruit.

One look that has stayed with us from winter is red. Red lipstick has seen us through those cold winter nights hiding the bluish tinges of frost beneath, and now it’s come through to the other side to tide us through to summer, but again, this should be in the form of stains or glosses, the matte look is so office Christmas do its untrue.

UpDos: Get back to your girlhood talents and start braiding. Ponytails and braids are hot, hot, hot. As much as we LOVED the loose bun trend of yester year, it’s purported not to be back this spring, according to Glamour magazine. Like a garland headdress, a single braid woven across the top of the head is nothing if not romantic and it’s a brilliant alternative to hair clips for keeping hair off your face.

This look, coined the “empire braid”, is a favourite of stylists all over the globe. Worn with the rest of the hair down it gives an almost Greek princess feel, while when teamed with a high ponytail the look is much more edgy. This can be so soft and elegant it even makes a sex kitten like Jessica Simpson look grown-up. It’s a most perfect hairstyle to team with this season’s crisp fashion lines.

A trend that has stuck through from winter is waves. Long waves are still hot, while straightening irons are still not. Over-ironed hair has been out now for a couple of seasons and it stays out for spring, many fashionistas preferring the lower maintenance and softer look that waves have to offer. Opt for straight, but full hair with a few loose waves you can get via velcro rollers or winding hair around a full-barreled curling iron.

Oh, and by the way, don’t go cutting your hair into any new short styles. Super long hair is so very Gwyneth and so very now, as long as you keep it trim and in good glossy shape. But if you aren’t naturally in possession of long locks, please please please step away from the glue and put the hair extensions down, you’re not fooling anybody with those rats’ tails hanging out the bottom of your real hair. They spell one thing – tacky!

Finally whatever your hair style, spring is the perfect time to replenish your hair’s beauty. You’ve stopped partying so hard, you’ve done your detox, and you’ve lost your winter pounds – don’t forget your crowning glory, it deserves as much care and attention as the rest of you.

Some useful resources to check out:

Naturally Curly – an inspiring online community of naturally curly women, who are happy not to own any hair straighteners.

UK Unisex Hair Salons – find your local unisex hairdresser.