I DIDN’T WAKE UP LIKE THIS!

Actress Liz Hurley on never snacking and why she can’t be trusted with a spray-tan gun CELEBRITY BEAUTY SECRETS YOU’LL WANT TO STEAL

MORNING ROUTINE

I’m a morning person by nature – a lark as opposed to an owl. And I really annoy the owls, too. My son is a writer, and he’s an owl. He’ll try to talk to me at 10.30pm and I just think, ‘No – talk to me at 8.30am and I’ll be great.’

I try to do a little stretch in bed before I get up and have two mugs of warm water. It wakes up your system and it’s an amazing ‘flush’ for your skin. Then I’ll have an espresso.

If I’m at home, I won’t do my hair or make-up, I’ll just apply Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair (€77, esteelauder.com) – I’ve used it daily since 1994 – and a moisturiser. If I could have only one product in the whole world, it would be a good moisturiser. I also have hand cream all over the house, so that goes on all the time, too.

MAKE-UP

I always curl my lashes. In my handbag I usually have a Bobbi Brown Blush (left, €36), Lip Gloss (below, €30, brownthomas.com) and Lip Pencil. I love a cream blush and Bobbi Brown does the best lip glosses. Quite often I’ll leave some of my eye make-up on if I think my eyelashes can last another day. I’ll clean my face and apply serum and moisturiser but leave the eyes. It looks fabulous the next day

– and you’re ready in five seconds.

NUTRITION

It’s not like I drink three green juices a day or anything, but I do eat as many vegetables as I can. And a big salad at lunchtime – never in the evening. There’s a saying: ‘no raw after four’. Your digestion is strong in the morning, but as the day goes on it gets a little tired, just like I do. I eat lots of protein too, and I make my own bread. I found an old breadmaker that belonged to the previous owners of my house – it’s straight out of the 1980s. I have a lot of bread – I love it. For years, I would buy wholemeal bread in the supermarket, not realising how much terrible stuff is in it.

Like many, I’m obsessed with ultra-processed food [UPF]. If you make a loaf of bread yourself and have a nice slice with butter and Marmite or honey, you’re not hungry. And it’s only one slice. Whereas with UPF bread you could have six slices and still go for another piece of toast.

Also, I don’t snack. Ever. I eat plenty for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And I eat dinner earlier and earlier. But I haven’t snacked for about ten years. It suits my digestion better. I try not to eat after 7pm.

BODYCARE

I have several body brushes (below, €13.45, lookfantastic.ie), and one on my bedside table too, so if I forget to do it, I can have a quick brush before bed. I love baths, not showers, and am a big fan of Epsom salts. You can buy big tubs quite cheaply and the salts eliminate toxins and make your skin soft. I put a big dash of almond oil in at the same time.

I went through a stage of using fake tan whenever I went to my house in the country as the wife of my very nice builder had a mobile tanning tent, which we got her to bring over a few times. We all thought we looked magnificent, and when they moved house I bought the tanning tent and gun from her, and the whole family lined up in really unpleasant G-strings to be spray-tanned by me. And it was so difficult to do, we looked horrific. Disaster.

EXERCISE

I’ve done a lot of yoga and pilates. I need to stretch a lot because I sometimes have a bit of a sore back. They could be ballet, yoga or old-fashioned stretching moves. I do them while waiting for the kettle to boil or cleaning my teeth. And when I’m in the country

I do lots of walking and gardening. I’m always moving furniture, too. I’m pretty active. I don’t really sit down until

6pm – I think it’s quite good for you. Then you can flop!

Elizabeth Hurley is the global ambassador for The Estée Lauder Companies Breast Cancer Campaign