Finding the perfect foundation or eyeliner or brow pencil can take years, so no wonder we stick with our favourites through thick and thin (and feel bereft if, heaven forbid, they're discontinued) - but lipstick is another matter.

Painting on a new pout is the quickest and easiest way to refresh your make-up look, and the spring collections are so full of gorgeous glosses, lacquers and lipsticks, it's impossible to choose just one.

So pucker up and prep for the season's most covetable lip products...

THE BRIGHT SPARK

More subtle than the dense Rouge Coco, Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine comes in three fierce brights and can be worn as a light gloss or layered for a more vibrant feel. We love the tomato red Shipshape.

:: Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Shipshape, £25 (FeelUnique.com)

THE PIGMENTED PAIR

From RMK's new Colour Performance collection comes the uber-pigmented Irresistible Bright Lips . This blue-toned pink is a great match for cooler skin tones, while Bright Coral suits warmer complexions.

:: RMK Irresistible Bright Lips in Shiny Pure Pink, £21 (www.selfridges.com)

THE MIDWAY MARVEL

Falling halfway between gloss and matte, Sleek's VIP Lipsticks give creamy, full coverage with just a hint of shimmer. If it's soft sugary shades you're after, try the toffee-ish Private Booth or pastel pink Reserved.

:: Sleek Lip VIP Lipstick in Reserved, £5.50 (www.sleekmakeup.com)

THE RAVISHING RED

If you're a proponent of the 'casual red lip' trend (wearing scarlet by day), be sure to add Elizabeth Arden's Cherry Bomb to your arsenal. One of four new shades in the Ceramide Ultra range, this blue-toned red delivers incredibly pigmented, impactful colour.

:: Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick, £21 (launching in April; www.elizabetharden.co.uk)

THE VINYL SPECIALIST

Combining the staying-power of a stain with the juiciness of a gloss, Tom Ford's innovative Patent Finish Lip Colour, in eight intense shades, oozes out of the clickable pen and slicks on like a dream. Try Red Corset for a vinyl-like blackberry pout that won't budge.

:: Tom Ford Patent Finish Lip Colour in Red Corset, £38 (www.houseoffraser.co.uk)

THE WELCOME MATTE

Matte lip colour usually comes in a bullet, as a thick, chalky lipstick, but Bourjois Souffle de Velvet is liquid, imparting a matte look with a light application in eight shades. Plum Pidou is a vivid berry pink - layer it up for an opaque effect.

:: Bourjois Rouge Edition Souffle de Velvet Lipstick in Plum Pidou, £8.99 (www.superdrug.com)

THE FULL MONTY

The latest addition to the Burberry Beauty family is Full Kisses, the brand's most intense lip colour yet. The 14 shades, from pale nudes to the rich purple of Dewberry, are housed in a twist-up pen, the bullet cleverly shaped so you won't need liner or a lip brush.

:: Burberry Full Kisses in Dewberry, £24 (www.burberry.com)

THE CARING COLOUR

Blended with five oils, including avocado, jojoba and cocoa seed, Bobbi Brown's Nourishing Lip Colour really looks after your lips, while also giving great colour pay-off and lustrous shine in 15 shades.

:: Bobbi Brown Nourishing Lip Colour in Desert Rose, £21 (www.bobbibrown.co.uk)

THE VOLUPTUOUS VIXEN

Yves Saint Laurent introduces 12 new shades to the ever-popular Rouge Volupte Shine lipstick line-up for spring. Rive Gauche is a luscious raspberry pink infused with oils, which imparts sheer coverage and moisturising benefits, too.

:: Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Shine in Rose Rive Gauche, £26 (www.yslbeauty.co.uk)

THE ULTIMATE TEMPTATION

Formulated with a trio of oils, Lipstick Queen's Eden is as juicy and tempting as the forbidden fruit itself. A zingy apple red with a dash of dazzling shimmer, this suits-everyone shade is sinfully seductive.

:: Lipstick Queen Eden, £22 (www.johnlewis.com)

TRIED AND TESTED

:: Katie Wright tests an hour-long Elemis facial, that uses micro-current technology to refresh and renew...

"After a consultation, my therapist decides that the Elemis Biotec Skin Resurfacer facial would be best for me, to help erase some faint acne scarring and banish dullness. Once I'm nestled under the heated blanket, she begins by thoroughly cleansing my skin before scraping the micro-current device gently across my face. The plate vibrates at a very high frequency, but it's not at all unpleasant, and I can practically feel the dead skin cells being hoovered up.

"Next comes the delightfully relaxing steam, followed by red LED light (to treat wrinkles) then blue (to zap spots), before a soothing mask is applied, which sinks in while I'm treated to a neck and shoulder massage. By the end, my skin has that gorgeous, dewy look it's impossible to get at home, and I'm so relaxed I'm almost asleep. If you're looking for a spring pick-me-up after months of sun-deprivation, you won't find better than this."

:: Elemis Biotec facials are available at the ICE Clinic Beckenham and nationwide, from around £85 for 60 mins. To find your nearest location, visit www.elemis.com/spa-locator

BUY IT NOW

New research from the Royal Society for Public Health has found we're a nation of sleep-deprived zombies, basically. But rather than reaching for the sleeping pills, did you know there's a beauty brand that could help? In clinical trials, 89% of those who used This Works Sleep Plus Pillow Spray said they woke less in the night, and 97% said they felt more awake the next day. There's now a better value bottle, £35 for 150ml, so get spritzing - and get snoozing (www.thisworks.com).

BEAUTY BULLETIN

:: MORE MAKE-UP, MORE RESPECT?

How often do you venture out without make-up? If the answer's not much, you're not alone. A new survey from supplement brand Solgar found that a third of women think they wouldn't be treated with respect if they went to a meeting, interview or on a date without a fully made-up face. The poll also found the average woman feels at least 31% more confident with make-up on.

:: THE AGE OF CONFIDENCE

Meanwhile, another survey reveals that over half of women aged 18-30 don't consider themselves to be confident, with this age group lagging behind their mother's generation in terms of self-esteem. The Weight Watchers research found that younger age groups have fewer positive thoughts about themselves, and that body confidence is the biggest problem area for women as a whole.

STEAL OF THE WEEK

If you're going to be stocking up on spring beauty essentials this month, it pays to do so at Sally Express. Throughout April, spend £40 or more, in store or online, and you'll get a free beauty bundle worth £70. Head to www.sallyexpress.com to start shopping or find your nearest store.