I’m a 54-year-old beauty expert - here's the £44 foundation which is flying off the shelves and every woman needs: HANNAH BETTS

The midlife pursuit of beauty can feel precisely that – an endless quest full of ‘solutions’ to a situation that is simply reality: we’re ageing, things are changing, and some of them feel less than brilliant.

But, this isn’t all our grooming rituals are about. They’re also about pleasure, relaxation, what our younger allies refer to as ‘self-care’. No less an authority than Dame Joan Collins once told me that applying her morning make-up is her meditation, a creative calm in which she readies herself in ways beyond powder and paint.

I couldn’t agree more. This Bank Holiday, let us lose ourselves in the pure joy of beauty: with the best bath oils, cosseting creams and mood-boosting scents. We’re worth it, after all.

1. Bath bliss

The King has just given his royal warrant to Olverum so besotted is he with its Bath Oil (from £43.50, libertylondon.com). Were I to issue warrants, mine too would go to this therapeutic fusion of eucalyptus, juniper, lime, lemon peel, geranium, Siberian fir needle and rosemary, made in 1931. One soak and all is right with the world. (And you may want to check out Olverum’s ritual-ready skincare range.)

2. Body bolstering

Pleasure and body-perfecting tend not to go together. Yet, Nudestix’s NudeBody Peptide Body Crème (£29, beautybay.com) is rich and laden with lactic, glycolic and fruit acids to exfoliate, while natural oils deliver serious softness. And its lavender and bergamot make you - and your home - smell like the world’s most glamorous spa. Divine.

3. Hair heaven

There is nothing like having one’s hair brushed for relaxation and I’m still in love with my firm, but flexibly-bristled, cobalt Augustinus Bader x La Bonne Brosse N.04 The Miracle Detangling Scalp Brush (£158, harrods.com) for scalp-stimulating zing. Try Hershesons' The Everyday Essentials Brush (£34, hershesons.com) for a budget-friendly look-a-like. And persuade your partner to give you 100 strokes.

4. Face firmer

Sometimes one yearns for a plush night nourisher. Athletia Phyto Sleeping Cream (£86, selfridges.com) is the dream. It's rich in plant-derived hydration, plus Athletia’s cocktail of active leaf extracts, sake and glycerin. Come morning, skin looks fabulously plump, firm and even.

5. Glow giver

There’s a lot of talk about ‘glow’ in beauty circles - none of it adding up to very much. However, Sarah Chapman Glow Elixir (now £56.25, sarahchapman.com) is the real deal. Put it on after a pause in use, as I did this morning, and you’ll be blown away. The glow with this active ingredient serum-oil hybrid is real. Frankincense, neroli, jasmine, lavender and clary sage soothe the soul.

6. Make-up magic

Bobbi Brown is the beauty industry’s chief champion of women, creator of cosmetics that don’t disguise or distort us, but render us our best, most beautiful selves. I recently sent a loved one a new Jones Road face (Bobbi’s second brand). Her reaction: ‘This has saved my sanity and made me feel awesome.’ She is obsessed with Bobbi’s top-seller, the tinted Miracle Balm All Over Glow (£38, jonesroadbeauty.com), and The Everything Brush (£44) with which to apply it. The brand’s fastest-growing product, the What The Foundation (£44), also delighted her and was deemed ‘a complete godsend’. Job (joyously) done.

7. Scented sanctuary

One woman’s happy scent is another’s horror story. But, if I had to come up with a choice that was people-pleasing, yet discerning, it would be Sunspel’s Eau De Parfum Gift Set of four 15ml scents (£125, sunspel.com). These aromas - Oak Wood, Neroli Sun, Sea Moss and Green Cedar – boast a feel-good factor shared by the brand’s clothing. I'm also hankering after the powdery green perfection of Diptyque’s Iris Candle (£58, diptyqueparis.com).  

Make up bags

Race You To It

Designer Roksanda is known for punchy colour. The power pigments that are her & Other Stories Roksanda Collab Lip Colours (£19, stories.com) immediately sold out online. More are promised, and they’re still available in-store, alongside some cracking nail shades. Get to your local Stories now.

Cosmetic Craving

Eborian was the first brand to bring Korean Blemish Balm tech to Europe back in 2009, with its skincare/coverage hybrid BB Cream SPF 20 (£20.50). However, its Erborian CC Crème SPF 25 (£20.50, sephora.co.uk) - short for 'Colour Corrector' - is the global hit midlifers are obsessed with. 

Lighter, yet more miraculously perfecting in its coverage than a BB, it goes on white then adapts to the complexion, hydrating and illuminating for a fresh-faced, real-skin gleam. Parisians swear by it, ditto make-up artists for use on the red-carpet; a tube sells every 20 seconds. The effect is sun-kissed spring skin bottled. Guttingly, I’m too pale for it. But more shades - light and dark - are coming later this year.