Many of you (kindly) commented on how nice my hair and makeup looked in my latest video (click here if you haven’t watched it yet) and so I thought I’d do a little run-down on what I used. To wave my hair, the amazing Wicked Waver from Mark Hill, which looks like some kind of weird sex toy but is actually one of the easiest hair tools I have ever used. The lumpy bits stop the hair from sliding off the barrel and, if you use a heatproof glove, you can get around your whole head without ever burning yourself. Quick to heat up, loads of temperature settings and – this is the best bit – it’s back in stock on Boots.com AT HALF PRICE! £29.99. You’d literally be mad not to. I’m always wary of wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommending something in this way, but I have tested this sex wand to the nth degree and can honestly say that it is amazing. Find it here before it goes – I’m popping it in my gift guide, too, so I hope they are stocked up!

Makeup: a touch of By Terry Densiliss foundation in shade 7, a whisk of a Clarins discontinued face palette that I love and use almost daily (Colour Accents, see photo below, you can find it on allbeauty.com for £16.50, sshhh!), a touch of Sunday Riley blush in Blushing (below), a sweep of Sunday Riley Primasilk eyeshadow in Godiva (this is one of the best “one sweep” shades I have come across. Perfect for brightening and adding a touch of sultry sheen), and to finish it all off, Givenchy Noir Couture7 4-in-1 Mascara. My lips look as though they have lipstick on but in fact, it was just some remains of Clarins’ Gloss Prodige in Waterlily.

I’ve worn this look for near enough the whole week – natural, quite wintery but with a touch of healthy colour to the cheeks. The waves in my hair were three days old when I took this photo – they stayed in really well. Obviously there were liberal dousings of my CoLab dry shampoo to keep the roots of my hair looking acceptable! I always find that the trick to long-lasting waves, when you’re using a wand, is to make sure that when you release the hair from around the barrel you do it really fast and don’t pull down on the hair. Let the ends go so that there’s no tension in the hair strand and then just kind of “whisk” the wand away! And then don’t touch the wave/curl at all for about ten minutes. The wave sets as the hair cools, so if you faff with the hair before then, all you’re doing is pulling out the curl and allowing the hair to cool straight.

Right – if you’re reading this on Friday then it’s my birthday – THIRTY FOUR! – and if you’re reading on Thursday then it’s the day before my birthday. Either way, I have much to do, including answering about twelve milllion phone calls from my Mum who wants to know exactly what type of cake I’d like. So I’m off. You can read more beauty posts here.