Step 1: Skin care. It's especially important to keep skin hydrated right now because the excess toxins deprive your skin of vitamin C and leave it looking dull. Before applying make-up, cleanse and moisturise with the right formulas for your skin needs.

Step 2: Concealer. This is key as the dark circles around our eyes are more obvious at this time of year. For the most natural look, choose yellow-based shades of concealer, foundation and powder. Apply concealer under the eye, up to the lash line, and on the innermost corner of the eye using a concealer brush.

Step 3: Foundation. Post-Christmas, our skin often looks tired and dull. Make it look fresh by keeping your foundation light. Instead of a conventional foundation, opt for a light base such as a tinted moisturiser. To find your perfect shade, swatch a few shades on the side of your face and check the colours in the natural light; the shade that disappears is the right one. Use your fingers or a foundation brush to apply foundation where skin needs to be evened out.

Step 4: Blusher. An instant pick-me-up - it adds health and radiance to the skin. Smile and dust a neutral shade of blush on the apples of cheeks with the blush brush. Blend the colour upwards towards the hair line, then downwards to soften colour. I like dusting a shimmery highlighter over blusher. It's glamorous without looking overdone. An added benefit: highlighter helps to contour your face, which is especially helpful when you're feeling bloated.

Step 5: Lips. Start with clean, smooth lips. Neutral lipstick shades, sheer formulas and gloss can be applied directly from the tube. For natural-looking definition and to keep colour from feathering, line lips with lip liner after applying colour.

Step 6: Brows. Using slant-tip tweezers, pluck any stray hair between and below the brows. Define brows using eyeshadow (match it to your hair colour) applied with an eyebrow brush. To apply shadow, begin at the inner corners of the brow and follow its natural shape using light, feathery strokes. Set unruly brows in place with Natural Brow Shaper.

Step 7: Eyes. Sweep a light eyeshadow colour from lash line to brow bone using the eye shader brush. Dust a medium eyeshadow colour on the lower lid, up to the crease, using the eyeshadow brush, then line the upper lash line with a dark eyeshadow colour applied with the eyeliner brush. For a long-lasting look, dampen the brush before dipping into the shadow. After lining the upper lash line, look straight ahead to see if there are any gaps that need to be filled in. Also, if you line the lower lid, make sure that the top and bottom liner meet at the outer corner of the eye.

Thickening mascara gives individual lashes a denser look and is ideal if you have a sparse lash line. When applying mascara, hold the mascara wand parallel to the floor and brush from base of lashes to tips. Roll the wand as you go along to separate out lashes and avoid clumping.

Tip: When choosing colours for the eyes, cheeks and lips, try beautiful pinky shades - they look fresh. Avoid dark colours at the moment, since they don't do anything to flatter lacklustre skin or facial bloat. Look for light-reflecting textures like metallic eyes and glossy lips. They instantly lift the face.

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