I have seen the future of make-up...

And it’s super-smart! From online colour matches to new formulas, these take cosmetics to the next level

So, the big news in make-up is the arrival to these shores of US brand

Il Makiage. It is famed not just for producing good cosmetics but for making buying make-up online easy.

In particular, it has made digitally choosing your correct foundation shade a remarkably simple (and successful) process. It uses what the brand calls its PowerMatch algorithm, a detailed but not too lengthy online series of questions about your skin – how it reacts to the sun, whether gold jewellery suits it, that sort of thing – alongside a series of photographs of faces from which you choose the skin tone that best represents your own. Finally, you’re given your shade match. I was a bit cynical about whether this could work but I tried it; my designated shade turned up, and it was exactly right – and, interestingly, possibly not even the shade I might have chosen if they’d been laid out in front of me.

As for the foundation itself, I really like it. It’s called Woke Up Like This

(1, £36, ilmakiage.com), gives a very natural but buildable coverage, has a matt finish and I found it lasted well – even on some of the hotter days we’ve had lately. It also comes in 50 shades (Il Makiage is very much about inclusivity). Also worth a mention is its Mineral Baked Blush

(2, £29, ilmakiage.com) – I like the

Bootylicious shade. It’s a lovely fine powder and delivers a gentle hint of colour to your cheeks, but you can ramp it up easily if you want more. It has just the right amount of pearlescence to lift the face, too.

Charlotte Tilbury has recently launched Airbrush Bronzer (3, £39, charlottetilbury.com) with a matt finish. This is another wonderfully fine powder – in pressed form, of course – and comes in a very Tilbury-esque retro-glamorous clamshell palette. I love a bronzer, especially a matt one, so this is a most welcome addition. It comes in only four shades, and although I’m fair-skinned the Fair shade was too light for me – more like a tinted powder – so I’d suggest considering going up a tone if you want some more colour.

I am also a fan of Guerlain’s new Les Météorites Liquid Pearls Highlighter Pen (4, £32, guerlain.com) with a sponge tip. It delivers just the right amount of light, isn’t too shimmery and comes with that classic powdery violet fragrance.

Elf’s latest Liquid Glitter Eyeshadow (5, £5, elfcosmetics.co.uk) is another winner – I’m currently wearing it almost every day. It’s a gel formula with the colour shot through with glitter and brings an instant hit of glamour to everything. You can build up the colour but equally just one swipe gives a lovely tinted wash to eyelids (my favourite shade is

Flirty Birdy, a champagne pink). The best fiver you’ll spend all summer!

My digitally designated shade was exactly right for me