I was sat testing out about ten thousand different shades from Clarins’ new Joli Rouge lipstick collection (as you do) and it struck me how absolutely face-changing certain lip colours can be. A tone only needs to be slightly “off” for your skin to suddenly look sickly and pale or slightly jaundiced or ruddy and flushed. But get it right and you instantly look fresher, brighter and more awake.

Sometimes it can look like overkill when a brand offers a dozen or so very similar-looking tones, but actually when you look closely the tiny variations (bit more blue, maybe more yellow, a shot of rose-gold shimmer to brighten) they are what makes the range wearable and flattering to a larger number of people. One nude lipstick does not suit all.

Take a look at my two favourites from the Clarins Joli Rouge line-up – lipsticks that are creamy, hydrating and have a nice whack of colour. Not ridiculously pigmented, but easy to apply and sumptuous in feel. The first one is 745, Pink Praline:

A perfect pinkish-nude, for me; juicy, and not so pale that I end up looking lipless. Just a very quick and gorgeous shade that makes me look instantly polished.

And then check this out: same makeup, same lighting (natural light from the window), same absolutely everything. Apart from the lipstick, obviously. And the fact that I mussed my hair up a bit to add a bit of interest! Doesn’t the brighter shade really change my face?

(By the way: maximum respect to Deciem’s NIOD Photography Fluid for making my skin look as though it has been retouched to within an inch of its life. It just seems to work magic on camera! You can find it here – I apply beneath a very light layer of foundation.)

This vibrant face-changing orange-red is called Orange Fizz (shade 701). Though it’s a brilliant tone for beachy, sunkissed skin, it’s also great for autumn and would be quite dramatic with an otherwise bare face. (Read: tonne of concealer, base, brightening malarkey and clever “no eye makeup” eye makeup. And brows. And a bit of pale bronzer.)

The new Joli Rouge lipsticks are available now for £19.50, or a slightly cheaper £17.15 from the ever-amazing Escentual.com here.