Turning back the years needn't require buckets of cash or changing your appearance dramatically with cosmetic surgery.

Far from it, assures celebrity make-up artist Bobbi Brown.

In her new book, Bobbi Brown Living Beauty, the 50-year-old redefines beauty for women in their 40s, 50s and beyond, exploring surgery-free solutions for looking better.

"I don't know why it's not okay to age," she says.

"I think that a face without lines and planes is an expressionless face - it's a face that lacks warmth and confidence. That's why I'm dismayed at the number of women today who are altering their faces in an attempt to look younger.

"Visits to the plastic surgeon have become as common-place as visits to the hair salon. Some women who get nipped and tucked actually look great, but I see many more who have been pulled so tight that they look completely artificial, and others who are so plumped up and frozen that they just look odd."

She adds: "When you go under the knife, there's no guarantee of the results - and no turning back."

Bobbi was 30 when she realised that make-up could have the same - if not better - effect on a woman's face as a surgical procedure.

"Gail, a close friend of mine, was about to turn 40. She was fretting about her upcoming birthday and depressed by what she considered the beginning of her 'physical demise'," she remembers.

"Gail told me that she was considering plastic surgery, but I felt strongly that she just needed the right make-up to freshen up her look. When I turned 40, I discovered firsthand the tremendous difference make-up makes.

"Since everything falls and fades, the trick is to lift and add life back to your face with the right textures and colours, and use the correct techniques."

n Layer skincare formulas (a wet, hydrating cream under a rich, dense balm) to give skin a plumped-up, cushiony look, and use the warmth of your fingers to help blend the creams.

Skin can look smoother with the right foundation - Bobbi recommends whipped foundations, which work well on textured skin to fill in uneven spots.

n Brighten and lighten the under-eye area and draw attention upwards with a pink or peach-toned corrective concealer paired with a yellow-toned concealer. Be sure to apply concealer close to the lashes and to the inner corner of the eye.

For problem dark circles, keep the focus on the upper part of your eyes. Don't be tempted to line the lower lash line or apply mascara to the lower lashes.

n Dust blush high on the apples of your cheeks so it gives the impression of higher cheekbones and no sagging in that area. A pop of pastel pink or peach blush will steer the eye away from any dark circles.n "I was in my 40s when I really began to notice changes around my eyes. Up to that point, I had always kept my eye make-up minimal," Bobbi reveals. "I realised that I now had to use liner daily to give my eyes back the definition they no longer had."

When lining eyes, extend the liner ever so slightly at the outer corner of the eye. Make sure the liner is thick enough and visible when your eyes are open.

"Avoid dark shades, which have a minimising effect and make thin lips look even thinner. Shiny glosses and creamy lipstick formulas impart a sheen that helps create the illusion of fullness," she advises.

"Don't waste your money on balms, lip glosses, or lipsticks that claim to plump up lips - they don't work," Bobbi adds.

"Every woman I know, no matter what her age, wants her skin to look bright and luminous. We lose this natural glow when we get older, but you can use make-up to brighten up."

Tinted balm evens skin out and gives it an instant glow - warm the moisturising balm in the palms of your hands, then pat the balm over your blush.