So THAT'S how the beauty expert look so gorgeous

USE A SPRITZ OF HAIRSPRAY TO SET YOUR MAKE-UP Beauty buyer Emily Saunders

WORKING as a beauty buyer makes me a beauty junkie by default. But I tend not to take products at face value. I love to experiment to see how to get the best out of them, or see what other things they might be able to do.

I’ll often use toothpaste to remove fake tan from my hands, I warm up kohl under light to make a brilliant gel liner, use coconut oil as a hair mask, and apply make-up setting spray to my eyeshadow brush before using cream shadows — I find it makes the pigment stronger. But possibly the quirkiest tip I’ll admit to is that sometimes I like to use hairspray as a make-up setting spray.

Just mist it on from a distance — with your eyes closed! It holds make-up on so well, it’s perfect if you have a long day ahead or are planning a big night out. Nothing budges, but you do need a deep cleanse afterwards.

START YOUR SKINCARE REGIME AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME Celebrity make-up artist Mary Greenwell

I ABSOLUTELY believe in layering skincare products to get the best results.

If you do that in a hurry before you go to bed, you don’t get the benefits of the products, and leave most of them on your pillowcase.

Instead, I’ve tried to get into the habit of getting out of my work clothes, and taking my make-up off as soon as I walk through the door.

If you start the cleansing process then, you can apply an under-serum, and let it sink in before applying a serum.

You have the time to let that absorb before applying a night cream. If you don’t want to go bare-faced before dinner, I really think you should start at least an hour before you get into bed, otherwise you’ll be sticking to the pillow!

GREEN TEA ICE CUBES BLITZ EYE BAGS IN A JIFFY Celebrity make-up artist Lisa Eldridge

WHEN my A-list clients are puffy-eyed and jet-lagged but need to look amazing on the red carpet, I employ one of my favourite tricks — homemade green tea ice cubes. They’re great for boosting circulation and draining fluid from under the eyes. I carry mine in a freezer bag but you can easily have them on standby in your own freezer to use anytime you need bright, de-puffed eyes.

Make a cup of good quality, strong green tea, allow to cool, pour into an ice cube tray and put in the freezer. When needed, wrap a single cube in a piece of muslin or gauze and use the cube to gently massage and press under and around the eyes. It only takes a few minutes, but the results are dramatic!

THE ONLY THREE PRODUCTS YOU NEED FOR GREAT HAIR Cosmopolitan beauty director Inge Van Lotringen

I’VE ONLY ever found one hair mousse that gave me enough volume for my liking — it was from the Sebastian range, but it was discontinued eight years ago.

Since then, I’ve tried all sorts of products, and experimented with a number of different combinations, and now I’ve developed a layering method that’s a bit elaborate but works a treat.

Before blow-drying my hair with my head upside down, I work a coin-sized amount of the plumping treatment Color Wow Bionic Tonic Carb Cocktail (€18.10, beautybay.com) into my hair. I follow that with a thickening spray — I like Swell Ultimate Volume Root Complex (€41, eu.feelunique.com) — and then finally use a volumising mousse. My current favourite is L’Oreal Professionnel Tecni Art Full Volume Extra Mousse (€12.80, eu.feelunique.

com). That winning combination not only de-flattens and texturises my hair, but the volume lasts all day.

USE A SHOWER TO FIX YOUR MAKE-UP Beauty Mart co-founder Millie Kendall

MOST people do their make-up after getting out of the bath or shower, but not me! If I’m having a big night out, I tend to apply a heavier base than I would usually use during the day.

However, I don’t ever want to look overly made-up. To avoid that, I apply primer, foundation and loose powder, then have a quick shower or bath.

I avoid getting my face directly in the

water, but the combination of heat and steam sort of sets the base make-up, and leaves it looking much more natural and not overly caked on.

CARRY ON LIKE CLEO WITH A POWDERED MILK BATH Net-a-Porter global beauty director Newby Hands

I THINK it must have been a beauty therapist who told ago, but me this years in the bath makes a really good — and very gentle — skin polisher because of the lactic acid. It dissolves and makes the water creamy.

Even friends with sensitive skin who have tried it haven’t had a problem.

I tend to decant it into an antique glass jar so you don’t have it just sitting in an ugly tub on the side, then use a good teacup-full, often with aroma-therapy oils, too — the milk helps to

emulsify the oils so they mix with the water rather than sit on top. If I’m going away, I use this trick every other night for a week.

A LIPSTICK CREATES THE PERFECT SMOKEY EYE Elle beauty director Sophie Beresiner

IT’S A tip I gained backstage at the shows. A brown lippie is easy to scribble on eyelids, it moves and buffs easily, and gives a glowing finish. I then apply a quick kohl liner at the base of the lashes, mascara, and you’re done. I always get compliments. I use Nars lipstick in Deborah (€31, lookfantastic.com) — it’s a great universal brown shade that works for everyone.

WHITE EYELINER IS THE BEST CONCEALER Stylist magazine beauty director Joanna McGarry

I DON’T know where I got this trick from but I’ve been doing it for a while. If you have a patch of redness on the skin, maybe where there was a spot before, or your skin looks a bit pink, rather than apply a colour corrector, I use a soft white pencil eyeliner. A dot of the white eyeliner on the redness before you apply foundation works a treat to disguise it.

I find it better than colour-correcting creams which tend to melt into your skin in a way that an eyeliner doesn’t. It just neutralises the red, and works perfectly on my pale skin tone.

There’s a Nars one — Velvet Eyeliner in Las Pozas (€24, brownthomas.com) — that I use. You don’t want anything too waxy because that will clog or irritate the skin.

USE A TEASPOON INSTEAD OF EYELASH CURLERS Glamour magazine beauty director Alessandra Steinherr

I USE a spoon to curl my eyelashes instead of lash curlers. Curlers can give kinks, and the spoon gives a nice curved shape. You take a silver teaspoon, and just place the bowl of it over your eyelid where it naturally fits, then I use my thumb and index finger to gently push my eyelashes up against the back of the spoon for about five seconds.

My other lash trick is to use two mascaras to give a really feathered lash look.

First, I use Estee Lauder Sumptuous Infinite Mascara (€26, brownthomas.

com) because it grabs all the lashes and defines them from root to tip. And then I apply Chanel Dimensions de Chanel (€32, brownthomas.com) just to the roots, which makes the base look thicker.

HEAT YOUR MASCARA TO GET EVERY LAST BIT OUT OF IT Online shop Cult Beauty’s and co-founder Alexia Inge

LIKE everyone, I have my favourite mascara, and I often find myself eking it out, thinking I’ll get round to buying a new one at some point. So, inevitably, I get to that point where the brush just refuses to give any more product. This has happened to me on more than one occasion, so I’ve developed a foolproof solution.

I boil the kettle and pour some water in a mug then, making sure the mascara lid is on tight, I pop it into the mug, bottom down. I let it sit there for about a minute, then remove it, cool a little and apply. This probably gives me at least another couple of days’ use — and is a reminder to buy another one!