Mascara is a funny business . . . it looks so good if you get it right and so dreadful if you don't. When applying, make sure you start at the very root of your lashes and gently rock the mascara wand from side to side as you work it through to the tips.

Give all your lashes a few glides of the wand and stop right there . . . over application is oh so easy. Another guaranteed way of getting it wrong is to keep your mascara for too long, after about three to four months it will start to go clumpy.

The eyes are one of our most sensitive parts and subject to infections so don't share your mascara or eyeliner with anyone else . . . conjunctivitis is a nasty little bug.

And don't think that just because you might only use it once a week it should last longer . . . as soon as it's been opened and makes contact with the air the drying-out process starts right there.

As soon as you use it for the first time, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria too.

There's plenty to choose from out there when it comes to what you want from your mascara, whether it's lengthening, volumising or a lasting formula. And price is not necessarily an indication of quality either. I have been wearing a very moderately priced mascara for the last few months and the results have been so good that I've been asked at least five times if I've been wearing false eyelashes. Now that's what I call a result. Take a bow Bourjois!

And, of course, we can't talk about mascara without mentioning colour. I think most of us know that pale skin and blue eyes (particularly for blondes and redheads) don't carry black mascara very well . . . it's just too far removed from your own colouring.

Browns for day and dark brown for night look so much better. Another shade that's great for paler faces is navy . . . I know, it probably brings back scary memories of the '80's but believe me, it looks great and will really bring out the colour of your eyes as opposed to drowning them like black would.

If you have been blessed with either dark eyes or skin and hair too then pretty much every colour is yours to play with, you lucky things.