Get the look: Beauty smarts for bookworms

Are you reading this bare-faced while wearing tracksuit bottoms?

Then you’re just like Jennifer L. Scott before a year in Paris changed her life. While studying abroad, the ladies of her host families taught her to “curate” her wardrobe, to look flawless at 5.30am and to perfect the elusive “no makeup” look. The Francophile returned to the States a new woman and shares those tips and more in this handbag-size text. She really impresses upon you that good presentation can be your signature, not a transient state.

How to look Expensive by Andrea Pomerantz Lustig, €19.96 at Amazon.com

This book’s author is a Manhattan beauty editor with more than 20 years experience. Known as “Beauty Sleuth” around the US Glamour offices, she’s called upon her best contacts to pack pages with insider tips on how to look polished on a budget. With advice on how to get rich-girl highlights without a trust fund and sections titled “The Well-Kept Secrets of Looking Well-Kempt,” and “Work Your Beauty Budget,” it is an inspirational read for anyone economising on looking good.

Good to Great Hair by Robert Vetica, Salma Hayek, et al, €19.95 at Amazon.com

Salma Hayek’s hair was the highlight of this summer’s God-awful Grown Ups 2 and Robert Vetica is the man behind that mane. Celebrity fans love-bomb the pages of Vetica’s guide to having great hair 24/ 7, praising the transformative powers of his expertise. As well as explaining how to achieve red-carpet styles, he offers sound advice on caring for your hair-type, colouring, tools and products. He doesn’t plug particular brands and his styling tips factor in the time constraints on the fabulous-but-not-famous woman.

Face to Face, by Scott Barnes, €19.95 at Amazon.com

Barnes is makeup artist to many a Hollywood glamazon, including Kim Kardashian, Mariah and Jennifer Lopez. This book offers step-by-step makeup tutorials on Barnes’ red-carpet makeovers. His signature face is “The Glow,” a “lit-from-within,” bronzed look with pale lips and thick lashes. He is famous for his contouring (using bronzer and highlighter to slim and smooth the face) and there are detailed diagrams that show you how-to. This is one for die-hard makeup junkies. His tips can totally transform your face shape but it will feel like you’ve got loads on. Unsurprisingly, the King of Kim’s “Glam Squad” doesn’t often do “barely there.”

The Water Secret: The Cellular Breakthrough to Look and Feel Ten Years Younger, by Howard Murad M.D., €16.50

Did you know you’re not actually 75-80% water? Maybe you were at birth, but by adulthood it is far closer to 50%. When cells are dehydrated, they deteriorate and cannot function properly. We lose water over time, making it harder for our bodies to heal and control the effects of hormonal imbalance.

Dr Murad is the pharmacist/dermatologist behind Murad skincare. His “water secret” is based on the principle that diet must support skin cells so they can retain water as young cells do, thereby keeping skin smooth and bright. This means “eating” your water, using humectant creams and taking supplements, rather than relying on eight glasses a day. His inside-out approach to skincare completely changes how you see your food.