Hannah Betts Better...not younger How to put your party face on and pep up your mood

ALL hail, the biggest party season in years. After two cancelled (or crunched-down) Christmases, with economic privations to follow, people are really going for it. Their motto: carouse now, for tomorrow (April, in fact), we may face a £3,000 energy bill.

And, by God, it’s a germ-fest; all air-kissing immunity vanished. A mere 36 hours into my personal party season, I feel as if I have galloping consumption.

So how to pull off party prep when you’d rather take refuge under the dog blanket?

REFRESH YOUR FACE

Don’T feel you have to eradicate the whole day’s slap and start again.

If you’ve got hours — sure — strip off, nurture, do a spot of massage.

more likely, you’ll be late, knackered and furious. So first, find what really needs fixing. I’ll often just remove my under-eye make-up, add moisture, then start again to stop it looking tired. or under-eyes and nose. or everything under the eyes, the forehead usually remaining unsullied by the day’s travails.

Deploy Avene Tolerance extremely Gentle Cleanser (£9.86, boots.com) as it’s soothing on skin that reacts to cold, heating or parties.

ALL ABOUT THE BASE

From here, the key is to impart youthful bounce and glow. Charlotte Tilbury’s Brightening Youth Glow Primer (charlottetilbury. com, £40) will kick things off.

my festive base 2022 is Hourglass’s long-wearing Ambient Soft Glow Foundation (£46, hourglasscosmetics.co. uk). Available in 32 shades, it is in artificial light that its stupendous candlelit gleam really comes into its own. At a bash last week, a woman inquired, incredulous: ‘Your skin — can it be real?’ which is precisely the response I am after.

PURE CHEEK

In THe trade-off between edgy/ cool and youthful/flattering, I’m going with the latter. Translation: no hard edges, a light hand creating subtle effects even with bright colour, and a good deal of reflection, gloss and shine.

First, I make a token contouring gesture by crayoning a diagonal line under each cheekbone with my beloved Byredo Colour Stick in Purple Stinger (£28, byredo. com), a sheer mauve. Warm-toned women might try Frosting, a rose-gold (£28). Then, I angle whichever powder blush I’m using above it and blend the two.

The key spring-chickenish trick is to wield Jones road Lip & Cheek Stick by way of a third step as a flush of colour on top of the apples (£34, jonesroadbeauty. com)— a lovely, balmy, bouncy bloom that takes years off.

AGELESS EYES

For non-cronelike under-eyes, first brush on nArS Soft matte Complete Concealer (£25, narscosmetics. co.uk) to reset the colour, then Charlotte Tilbury’s Beautiful Skin radiant Concealer (£25, charlotte tilbury.com) for lustrous, plush cushioning. Individually, neither is quite enough for my raddled December hollows; together, I am reborn. Fenty’s Diamond Bomb All-over Diamond Veil (£23.50, fentybeauty.com), in a superfine white, rosepink or gold jelly-like powder, may feel too glittery at any other time of year. However, used on festive eyelids and as a highlighter, its ultra-fine diamonddusting looks sensationally fresh, positively girlish. You’ll want Victoria Beckham’s creamy, long-lasting Satin Kajal Liner in black or off-black (£20, victoriabeckhambeauty.com) and

Lancome’s Lash Idole mascara (£18, lancome.co.uk) — lifting, lengthening, non-irritating and beautifully buildable — at the root, then again at the tip.

PLUMP POUT

LIPS will also require bounce and shine. If you can run to it, invest in Augustinus Bader The Lip Balm (£31, augustinusbader. com), rich in natural plumping agents, not least under parching matte lipstick.

or opt for one of Chantecaille’s glossily semi-sheer Black Jaguar Collection Lip Chics (£38, chante caille.co.uk) in Passiflora, a pinkish toffee, and orchid, a voluptuous berry.

I’ve also become unexpectedly obsessed with Kylie Wizard of oz Transformative Liquid Lip Tint (£24, kyliecosmetics.com), having imagined that the Kylie Jenner and Betts aesthetics had nothing in common.

It’s one of those colour-changing glosses in which emerald transforms into a pink unique to your pout. Sounds like a novelty act, looks like pure heaven.