Beauty: The nail varnish slam dunk and other reader tips

Tip: I am ridiculously impatient when it comes to painting my nails and always end up smudging them. One trick I've learned is to "dunk" my nails to dry them by dipping them into a bowl of ice-cold water to help them dry faster. It saves me waiting around.

Bargain: Translucent powder by Rimmel. Brilliant for oily skin as it takes away the shiny look, but also so useful for when you've made a make-up mistake like putting on too much blusher. Just pat some translucent powder on your cheeks to tone down the "scarlet" look.

Must-have: I absolutely love Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation. Nothing else stays put on my face on a night out. It is quite heavy and quite expensive, so I keep this foundation for weekends. During the week I use Lasting Finish by Rimmel and I wouldn't use any other. It's brilliant and really does last the working day.

Email your beauty tips, tricks, must-haves, secrets, products of yore and up-to-the minute recommendations to beauty@irishtimes.com