Want to keep the beauty police off your beat? Oh, and look hot too? Read on for the top ten beauty commandments …

Play up Lips or Eyes - Never Both

This beauty rule has probably been kicking around since Cleopatra decided she was an eyeliner girl. What the original beauty queen knew: there’s power in playing up and making up one facial feature only. Alluring eyes can be made even more mesmerising; a seductive mouth even more sultry. So, pair smoky or brightly shadowed eyes with a nude glossy lip, or a glamorous red mouth with sheer and shimmery lids.

Test Foundation in Natural Light

A swipe of foundation on your hand under the glare of fluorescent lights is not going to give you an inkling of how that same product is meant to look: as in, on your face, in natural light. That’s why, if you want to find your perfect foundation match, you must apply it on your face - anywhere on the cheek will do - and go outside to mirror-check its compatibility rating. Yes, annoying. Yes, you’ll feel a little silly. But it’s a sure-fire way not to waste your hard-earned money on a foundation that you’ll never wear. Or that will make you look like an oompa loompa.

Curl Your Lashes

Cliché yes, but it really does instantly open up your eyes. Just try it, Ms Cynic. For best results, blast your curler with your hairdryer, and clamp lashes at the roots, then in the middle, then at tips. While lashes are still warm, push up with fingertips and hold for ten or so seconds; as they cool, they will set into a perfect mascara-ad-like sweep.

Wear Sunscreen

It’s the most proactive and proven anti-ageing skincare step you can take. Better still, it can be the cheapest. Wear a teaspoon-full of broad-spectrum, high-protection sunscreen every day of the year and you’re going far to delay such signs of ageing as lines and wrinkles, age spots, roughness and sagging. Sold? Thought so.

Get Brows Professionally Shaped

Put. The. Tweezers. Down. Step. Away. From. The. Mirror. Believe this: Doing a DIY brow job is destined to end in tears. We’re too close to our own features - in more ways than one - to have the objectiveness of view necessary for assessing the best arch shape for our face. Enter a brow-specialist, who will be able to size this up in seconds, and tailor the look that will at once anchor the face and visually lift the eyes. Once you have your framework in place, it’s a cinch to maintain yourself; simply pluck stragglers and strays away as they pop up.

Eat Well. Drink Water

We all know that one piece of pizza does not equal one pimple. Skin just doesn’t work that way. However, we do know that skin will eventually reflect what’s going on internally. Makes sense - it’s our largest living organ. So if pizza is the only thing you eat, don’t expect perfect skin, no matter what preparations and ingredients you’re adding on top. For skincare to perform its best, skin needs to first be in optimum health. Which means, all the healthy eating tips you know already: minimal preservatives and sugars, lots of fresh produce, a focus on essential fatty acids (found in oily fish, flaxseed and avocados). Water is also essential for keeping the system hydrated and the skin from dehydrating; but try to also eat water-dense foods - salads, soups - for the most effective dermis drenching.

Take off Makeup Before Bed

It’s not just about waking up with panda eyes. Skin is at its most regenerative while you sleep so if you go to bed with your pores still smothered in foundation, you’re hampering the natural functions of the skin. Not to mention trapping all sorts of nasties in the pores, which can lead to blockages and breakouts. For best sleeping-beauty results, set aside time every evening to cleanse, gently exfoliate and apply a night cream. Which, by the way, is worth the investment - night cream enhances the skin’s night-time repair and renewal processes.

Don’t Pick Pimples

Yes, it’s tempting. But it’s a short-lived satisfaction. Squeezing spots can spread bacteria, triggering other breakouts. It can lead to marking or scarring of the skin, which can take many skin cycles to fade out. And, it can backfire and blow up in your face, making an angry zit even nastier and more determined to stick it out. Your best bet is to make a concealer brush and an oil-free concealer your new best friends. If breakouts are a persistent problem, see a therapist who specialises in problem skin for treatment and for advice on your best pimple-preventing skincare.

Match Concealer Exactly to Skintone

You want concealer to look like it’s not actually there, right? After all, you want to hide - not highlight - what’s underneath it. So it makes sense to pick a shade that’s an as-perfect-as-possible match to your skintone. Forget those rules about going two shades lighter, or going green to counteract redness (which is best left in the hands of the pros). A yellow-based complexion-complementing concealer is generally the all-you-need pick. Having said that, severe under-eye shadowing will benefit from a peachy-toned, dark-circle-specific mix - best blended in and layered under your regular concealer.

Switch Products Regularly

Nope, not a rule made up by the beauty industry to make you buy more product. Skin condition and needs continually change. From season to season. Year to year. And depending on what’s going on in your life and body. While it’s never advised to frequently mix and match active ingredients, it’s worth regularly seeing a professional who can diagnose when it’s time for a skincare upgrade. Change only one element of your mix at any one time - this way you can monitor any adverse reactions and immediately pinpoint the culprit. As for the thinking that you should change your haircare regularly … a slight myth, seeing as hair is, well, dead. Having said that, the scalp condition can change, or a new colour could dry out your hair even more - circumstances which could call for a new shampoo shopping trip.

AND FIVE BEAUTY RULES TO BREAK …

Cut Your Hair at 30: Gwyneth Paltrow. Eva Longoria. Angelina Jolie. Debra Messing … Case closed. This rule’s as passé as the shoulder-length bob. Just remember, the key to getting away with longer hair in later life is to maintain it immaculately with regular trims and treatments.

Don’t Match Makeup to Eye Colour: Makeup artists have long preferred to contrast eye makeup with eye colour, using the colour wheel approach. And, sure, purple can gorgeously enrich green eyes, while russet tones can brighten a set of baby blues beautifully. But makeup isn’t just about art. It’s about fun and fashion. What’s more, edging green eyes in emerald, or blue eyes in sapphire, or brown eyes in chocolate can have a iris-intensifying effect that colour contacts can only dream about.

Don’t Mix Your Metallics: Was a time when you were strictly a gold or a silver girl. That now seems as old-fashioned as labelling someone’s skintone either summer or winter. Silver and gold not only work well on everyone - they can also work well together, setting off the other’s shine brilliantly. In makeup too. Just think of Chanel’s influential summer’07 show, where eyes where framed by lids of silver and gilded lower lashlines.

Smile When You Apply Blush: Think about it. You want blush placed on the highest point of your cheeks - this way it visually lifts up your features. If you apply blush when you smile, the colour will drop when your face falls back into position. Best then to brush blush on with a straight face.

Have a Signature Beauty Look: Sure, it works for Gwen. And it’s a nice place to be, finding a makeup and hair look that makes you feel as comfy as if you were at home in your uggs - even when you’re made up to the nines. But a signature beauty look can easily become a rut. It can be boring. And it can be ageing. There’s nothing like a few new makeup tricks to make you look a little fresher and younger.