You cannot separate what you eat and how you rest with looking your very best. Make your bedroom your sanctuary, have a bath with magnesium salts or lavender (so relaxing), and turn off all gadgets well before retiring for the night.

In terms of what you ingest, nutritionist Emily English recommends a diet rich in vitamins A and C, plus anti-inflammatory anti-oxidants to help give skin that inside-out luminescence. In practice, this means plenty of fresh vegetables, and red peppers have the highest vitamin C content of all varieties, carrots and butternut squash are wonderful for vitamin A but can only be absorbed with the addition of fat, so have yours with olive oil. For balanced skin, add in protein and those pickles and fermented foods that are so good for our gut-skin axis.

Collagen is the bedrock of great skin, it is the building block of elasticity – the bit that due to age, sun exposure, stress and inflammatory diets naturally reduces, which leads to wrinkles, fine lines and pigmentation. The wonderful news is that we can use fabulously unctuous products, such as rich-textured moisturisers, to help.

Less is more when using high-quality products and being minimalist can yield maximum results. There are four principle areas of make-up enhancement - glow, shape, structure and colour.

Coverage and glow - start with a good primer, it acts as a canvas, and go for radiance-enhancing foundations that help to even out the skin tone. Apply with a brush to buff into place, as this gives a second-skin effect, which is eternally youthful.

Flush and structure - an apricot or peach-toned blusher will transform all complexions. Use it on the apples and cheekbones plus lightly around the forehead and sides of temples before sweeping over the eyelids as a base for your eye colour. Use a brush to do this and see how the soft shade warms-up the skin. You could leave your daily routine right here, and you will look polished and pulled-together.

Eyes and shape - once you have a healthy-looking structure in place, brows and lips are literally the bras and knickers of the face! Starting with a defined brow, you want to line and shape yours following your natural contours. Brows naturally diminish with age so you simply want to add colour and beware of going too dark, go for the nearest to your natural shade. Use the pointed end of the brow pencil and fill in with regular strokes that mimic hair.

Lips and colour - as we age we often lose definition around our lips so do use a lipliner and start at the bow, then draw the pencil down for a fuller outline. Add in your colour of choice and try different ones regularly.

Remember that every day is a time to look radiant and empowered, whatever the numbers on your birth certificate.

As we experience fluctuating hormone levels in menopause, we may notice increased dryness, sensitivity, irritation, itchiness and even breakouts. The temptation can be to turn to skincare and treatments with strong active ingredients, however, they can have the opposite effect, upsetting our skin further by stripping the skin’s delicate barrier.

Our barrier sits in the outer layer of the skin’s structure. It’s made up of the microbiome, the acid mantle and the lipid barrier. Together, these three layers help trap moisture in, keep environmental aggressors and bacteria out, and regulate the skin’s temperature. When the barrier is working well, skin looks and feels soft, smooth and hydrated. When the barrier is compromised, skin appears dry and dull.

“The skin barrier function deteriorates with age in most women,” explains Dr Sophie Shotter, Aesthetic Doctor and Hormone Specialist.

“As the skin becomes thinner, drier and more dehydrated it is often functionally affected…When the skin barrier is compromised it makes the skin more vulnerable to the environment, sun, bacteria, pollution. This could lead to inflammatory skin conditions, redness and rosacea.”

The overuse of high-strength products such as retinoids, acid toners and exfoliators can strip the skin, leaving the barrier vulnerable. Trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) can be triggered, causing skin to become drier.

Dr. Shotter says, “Acne and breakouts during perimenopause are often related to hormone imbalances. A depleted skin barrier is more likely to cause acne-rosacea than it is pure acne. But a disrupted microbiome, that can be connected with a depleted skin barrier, can contribute towards acne and breakouts.”

Adopt a barrier-friendly daily routine: opt for a gentle cleanser and a hydrating moisturiser and use them regularly. When washing your face, use lukewarm water, as hot water can strip the skin of natural oils, causing dryness and irritation. Always pat dry, rather than rub.

When it comes to stronger products and treatments, it may be worth rethinking your routine while going through perimenopause, menopause and even post-menopause, to best suit your skin. Opt for gentler acids and exfoliators and low-dose retinoids and consider doing such treatments just once a week rather than more often.

Hair changes during perimenopause and menopause are extremely common and mostly down to oestrogen levels. Oestrogen is a good hormone for hair, it protects hair follicles and maximises the growth phase of our hair cycle, and this enables us to achieve optimal hair length. As oestrogen diminishes, our follicles have less protection and they can miniaturise, and our hair cycle also speeds up.

As hair follicles shrink, the hairs produced become finer over time, this can result in less coverage and the scalp becoming more visible in certain areas, most commonly at the top of the scalp. As the hair cycle speeds up, we begin to see an increase in daily hair fall (called hair shedding) and you may notice this when you wash or handle your hair.

Over time, this leads to a reduction in hair volume and the feeling that we have less hair than we used to. Many women also notice hair texture changes and that their hair becomes dry and lifeless.

It’s true that we have to put more effort into our hair as we age, but small changes can make a big difference. Our ability to absorb nutrients gets harder and so a well-balanced diet is key to optimising our hair. Targeted hair supplements can help to support a healthy diet and contribute to the maintenance of normal hair.

To improve your hair condition, use a weekly conditioning treatment such as Elasticizer to boost hydration, to help make it look and feel more bouncy, shiny and manageable. Try to reduce the amount of heat you use on your hair too, and keep the temperature of your hairdryer as low as you can. It’s also worth limiting the use of straighteners.

Finally, volumising styling products can work wonders for giving the illusion of fuller, thicker hair, giving you more hair confidence!

Changes in hormonal levels during menopause can cause skin to become dehydrated and thinner. This means the products that were your ‘ride or dies’ back in the day, may not be what your menopausal skin needs today. Think layering and consider gentle exfoliation to help your skin absorb and receive serums and moisturisers.

Ingredients like vitamin C are great and applying retinol at night is ideal for helping to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Just remember to take baby steps with retinol, trying it for a couple of nights a week to start with.

Wearing SPF daily helps protect your skin from sun damage but especially during menopause, the lower oestrogen levels in the skin can lead to less melanin, which protects the skin from UV damage. If you are also using retinol at night, you need to protect the skin with SPF due to skin becoming more sensitive.

You may find yourself with unpredictable breakouts during the menopause. Take a deep breath and try and ground yourself, as stress can play a big part in aggravating the situation.

Cleansing can also solve so many issues. Give double cleansing a go and invest in a balm cleanser, as well as a non-foaming face wash. A balancing cleansing oil can work wonders too, especially for dehydrated combination skin types.

During the menopause you may experience a tight, itchy complexion, with breakouts and skin that flush easily. Think soothing and calming and ditch hot water and heavily perfumed products, as these can all aggravate your skin. Instead, reach for products containing ingredients like azelaic acid which can help improve skin texture.

Rosewater has also been used for centuries in skincare and is great for cooling the skin when you have hot flushes. A handbag-sized bottle of facial spray can work to cool and refresh you during the day, while carrying blotting papers means you can touch your make-up without feeling like it’s sliding off your face.