Five steps that got my glow back

Working in an industry where I watch professional make-up artists perform their magic on a regular basis, you'd have thought I would have picked up a few tricks along the way. The sad reality is that I've doggedly stuck to the same routine my entire adult life.

Sure, there were some forays into goth eyes and bright orange lipstick when I was 19, but ever since I've kept things simple: tinted base, concealer and lashings of mascara. At 56, I've watched the inevitable lines appear, my eyelids and brows droop and the arrival of that enemy of many middle-aged women – a less-than-sculpted jawline.

It's soul-destroying when, one day, you see just how much your face has changed.

I remember this shocking moment with clarity: I was on holiday in Cornwall and the hotel bathroom had one of those mega-magnifying mirrors that once would have had me simply reaching for the tweezers.

This time I saw every line, every broken vein, just how much my eyelids had drooped and how grey my hair was becoming. I looked my age and it was crushing. It sounds melodramatic but for the rest of the holiday I felt self-conscious and as though I'd lost my lustre.

Shelly Vella shares her top five tricks for revitalising your skin's glow - after 40 years of keeping the same make-up look

But despite how bad I felt, I've never wanted to have tweakments, because I believe in natural beauty and the process of ageing.

That said, I'd still like to get the occasional 'gosh, you look good for your age'. That holiday was a wake-up call for me to lift myself out of the lazy make-up rut I was in and find a routine that wouldn't take hours but would make me look more youthful.

I don't have the face, or the personal style, that can take full-on glamorous make-up, and as much as I'd love to nail a sexy, smoky eye, I don't have the eyelids for that any more – never mind the time.

I've always preferred the natural 'no make-up' make-up look, so what Bobbi Brown make-up artist Zara Findlay decided I needed was a masterclass in illusion. She chose the right colours and products, then taught me exactly how to apply them. 

The result wasn't a dramatic, ten-years-younger change, but I whooped when I saw what these products could do and how shape and glow can be brought back to places you thought were long gone using simple, small techniques.

What did I learn? Mostly it was to have the confidence to change my routine and embrace products I either didn't know about or have eschewed for the best part of my life: corrector stick?

Never heard of it and had no idea what a game-changer it could be. Bronzer – just for Love Island contestants and the Kardashians, surely? As for long-wear eye sticks, I'm now hooked. Here are the products and tricks I took away with me:

GET PREPPED PROPERLY 

The Skin Corrector Stick – described by Bobbi Brown as 'colour correction at its most effortless' – glides on and helps to neutralise discolouration and brighten dark circles before you apply concealer or foundation.

It's creamy and you can build up the coverage, which blends on contact. Zara used her fingers to apply this to my under-eye area (I'm a chronic insomniac and suffer from dark circles), the corners of my nose and chin, and then blended it with a brush. The result was a revelation, as it immediately covered and balanced these problem areas.

She chose a pinker shade that worked with my skin tone – one I would never have reached for. This was followed by concealer in the same areas, again blended with a soft brush.

The look was one I would happily wear on off-duty days, minus a foundation. As someone who never leaves the house without tinted moisturiser, this was an epiphany.

REMEMBER, LESS IS MORE 

When it comes to foundation, just one pump is all you need. Again applied with fingers, Zara used a lightweight serum foundation for a dewier finish. I had no idea that you should swerve applying foundation to your forehead and neck.

Instead she used her fingers to tap the foundation into areas of my face that most needed coverage, blending as she went.

The excess was swept on to a brush and used to blend around my hair and jawline. 

A soft brush and an upward sweep of bronzer will help to balance the tones between your neck and face

EMBRACE THE BRONZE AGE

I have never used bronzer before, but if you study your face in the mirror, you'll see that your neck is a different colour to your face.

A soft brush and an upward sweep of bronzer will help to balance the tones between them. Zara also swirled the brush in upward strokes from my cheekbones, adding a barely perceptible healthy glow. I'm a convert.

DON'T BE A BROW BEATEN 

I used to be blessed with thick, symmetrical eyebrows, but age has thinned them out.

I also noticed recently that my right eyebrow is markedly lower than my left. I was shown how to work from the arch outwards and fill my eyebrows gently to create the impression of symmetry. The trick is to work in the eyebrow pencil only where it's needed rather than cover the entire brow.

ACE THOSE EYES 

The Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick is great for older lids as its creamy consistency can be used under and above the eye – and it stays in place.

My eyes tend to water for no reason, so this is a great go-to for a more dressed-up look.

These are just five simple changes that have enabled me to upgrade my routine and feel much more confident. I've got my glow back – the wrinkles are still there but they are just an accessory now.