Give yourself a spring makeover

Confidence coach Alison Porter takes you through ten steps to a brighter spring, helping you to shake off wintry sluggishness and come alive in every area of your life. Use the fresh energy of spring to create a new you, from inside out and top to bottom

Clear the decks

Feng Shui practitioner, Karen Kingston, rates spring as the best time to start anew, letting go of the clutter that clogs the flow of energy in your home and makes you feel stuck in your life. To get you in the mood for a total clearout, she says: 'Imagine a film crew is coming to your home to make a documentary about who you are, by examining how you live. What would you want to change before the camera rolls?'

Get physical

Work off the winter pounds and pump up your energy with outdoor activities to give you a healthy glow. 'Take advantage of the lighter mornings and the feel-good factor from the spring sunlight to get you motivated,' says celebrity personal trainer, Stuart Amory.

'If you commit to a programme now, you could be feeling fabulous in a month.' Stuart runs a holistic four-week outdoor fitness programme, including advice from a nutritionist, a life coach and an image consultant, that's guaranteed to kick-start you into a new spring look.

Clean up your act

You won't have the energy for a complete overhaul if you don't have the right fuel. For a high-octane spring, take advantage of the fresher, lighter foods now available and try cutting back on your bad habits.

Elson Haas MD, author of Staying Healthy With The Seasons, says: 'The first principle for improving your health is to eliminate destructive habits. At least consider an 'abuse break'. Try a day a week without caffeine, alcohol or sugar, replacing them with a new habit, like drinking water, walking or swimming.'

Let in the light

Refresh your skincare regime and make-up now, paying particular attention to the bits you've been lazier about in the cooler months. Tackle exfoliation and waxing first, followed by deep moisturising and the faintest hint of a tan (we love Johnson's Holiday Skin). As the daylight grows stronger, there's no margin for error in make-up.

Use the classic make-up artists' trick of custom-blending your foundation by mixing two colours, so your make-up perfectly matches your skin tone throughout the year. The word for spring is 'luminous', with the lightest of touches.