Alpha hydroxy acids, how to wield an orange stick, and always plucking from below: just some of the many, many delights awaiting you in the mystical world of beauty publishing. Kathleen Baird-Murray steers us gracefully through the cosmetics hall, without ever going hysterical and sticking her fingers in everything on the MAC counter. And François Nars, the veritable Top Cat of the beauty counter, offers step-by-step instructions to proper make-up application. But if there's only one beauty book you succeed in reading in your lifetime, make sure it's Naomi Wolf's. After all, it's good to keep all this lip gloss and rougeing hoo-ha in perspective.

Vogue Beauty, by Juliet Cohen, Bronwyn Cosgrave, Rachel Marlowe Kathy Phillips and Lizzie Radford £14.73, from amazon.co.uk. 9/10

Makeup Your Mind, by François Nars £16.48, from amazon.co.uk. 9/10

21st Century Beauty Bible, by Sarah Stacey and Josephine Fairley £17.50, from amazon.co.uk. 9/10

How To Be Beautiful - The Thinking Woman's Guide, by Kathleen Baird-Murray £10.39, from amazon.co.uk. 9/10

The Beauty Myth, by Naomi Wolf £6.39, from amazon.co.uk. 10/10