FIVE TIPS FOR A BEAUTIFUL BACK

POLISH TO PERFECTION

EXFOLIATING skin a few days before your event will get rid of any dullness, but avoid scrubs that can leave scratches and choose a body wash or spray containing glycolic acid (and salicylic acid if you’re prone to spots). If you have a week to prepare, start using Ameliorate’s Transforming Body Lotion (from £6.50, ameliorate.com) twice daily, which simultaneously exfoliates and smoothes skin.

BUY A BACK SCRATCHER

DON’T have a willing partner or friend to help you reach every part of your back? Then you’ll need an applicator — basically, a back scratcher with a pad on it — to get any lotions to the middle of your back. BackBliss (£13.97, backbliss.com) is the original and the best.

FAKE A FLAWLESS BAKE

FAKE tan is the easy way to give skin a glow, but if time is running out, body make-up is the foolproof way to go. Vita Liberata’s Body Blur (from £19.77, lookfantastic.com) and Fenty’s Body Sauce (£40, fentybeauty.com) both give colour and a subtle shimmer that won’t come off on clothes, but washes off.

GO BRALESS BEFOREHAND

IF YOU’VE got an evening event, you don’t want red marks from a bra, so spend the afternoon braless in a loose dress that won’t leave indentations.

MAKE INSTANT MUSCLES

TO GIVE some subtle definition when you haven’t had the chance to work out, get someone to use a darker shade of bronzer just under your shoulder blades and down your spine, plus maybe a hint of highlighter on the bony bits of your shoulder blades.