Occasionally, out of the blue, someone will tell you that you look ‘well’. Or ‘nice’. Or ‘like you’ve been away’. I love it when that happens. The funny thing is that it often occurs when you least expect it, and you’re left trying to put your finger on what you did differently that day.

There are a few beauty tricks that can guarantee to earn you these comments. I call them ‘instant prettifiers’. Pick one if you’ve only got two minutes before you head out. Use them all and you will be shouted at by a man in a white van.

First, try smoothing on a serum under your moisturiser, which instantly perks up your skin and blurs away lines. What I like about Estée Lauder’s Perfectionist [CP+R] Wrinkle Lifting/Firming Serum (£50) is its super silky, non-cloggy texture and the way it seems to supercharge the skincare you use on top of it. Great when you’ve not had enough sleep. So every day, really.

Anything that calls itself a ‘wonder product’ gets a hard stare from me. Except this: James Read BB Gradual Tan Face Light (£22.50), because it is rather wonderful. It gives you an instant BB cream ‘no makeup’ glow… it builds up a light colour over a few hours (try using it two or three times a week to maintain a healthy shade)… and it comes in the coolest brush/pen style applicator I have ever used. Hugely impressed.

I’m not one for loads of eyeshadow colours, but I do know that a dab of an iridescent, pearly shade on the brow bone and in the inner corner of the eye gives you a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi. I like Frontcover’s individual domed baked eyeshadows (£4 each) and pop into their own neat little compact (also £4).

False lashes might seem like a step too far but if they’re good ones, like Bourjois Faux & Fabulous More Volume (£6.99), they are a doddle to put on (especially using the Bourjois 2-in-1 tweezers rather then your pointy eyebrow ones) and look so pretty and natural.

Finally, to your lips – and this little hard-worker: Perf-ekt Lip Perfection Gel (£18), a lip primer and enhancer with a tint thrown in for good measure. I like mine in ‘Vine’. Now, have I been away? No, I haven’t, but thanks for asking.