Assumptions about make-up should be avoided. You can be a strident feminist and still want to apply colours on to the skin of your face. And you can have high self-esteem and self-worth and still believe that a bit of sparkle is desirable.

Make-up is not just for women, either: men are increasingly opting for a little bit of product in the morning.

I love make-up, but loving make-up and being a teacher can be a struggle: I spend a good chunk of the school day rushing around the place like a rabid animal, running up and down a million stairs, in between buildings, and venturing outside when the heavens open. Keeping my make-up on during all that can be a Herculean challenge.

The good news is that I’ve tried pretty much everything going in pursuit of the perfect base. I have failed multiple times. So here is the benefit of that research if, like me, make-up is part of your morning routine.

First, we must prep. Your face needs to be fully prepared before you smother any make-up on it. You need to cleanse, tone and moisturise, and use a moisturiser that doesn’t lead to pilling on the face. No one wants their face to crumble.

You then need a good primer to make it stick. If you’re an oily-skinned person, a pore-filling primer, which papers over the cracks, is your best friend. If you’re dry skinned, you need something hydrating. If you’re blessed with both, like me, you can use different primers in different areas, depending on where you’re dry or oily.

Then you need to find the right make-up products. When it comes to keeping your face on all day, you need something heavy duty. In my experience, lighter coverage is much harder to keep in place.

Luckily, make-up has come a long way and you can now buy high-coverage foundation that can look natural. But you will still need to set your foundation if you’re going to keep it on. There are hundreds of setting powders on the market - shop around and see which you like. My favourite is a waterproof one. This really helps when you are teaching in a 36°C classroom, with 32 Year 11s and no windows. You’ll sweat, but the make-up will not budge. A miracle!

Now for the final touches. Along with your usual make-up, if, like me, you also need some contour to make it look like you actually have cheekbones, apply this after your setting powder. I find powder products, rather than cream, are most effective for longevity of face.

If you really love your cream products, use a powder on them to set them - a contour powder if you use cream contour, or a powder blush if you use a cream blush. That way, you’re sealing it all into place.

The final step is to invest in a heavy duty setting spray. There are hundreds on the market, and a lot of them are more like hydrating sprays. Avoid these. You need one that is specifically for setting.

And that’s it. If you don’t want to wear make-up, great - don’t! But some of us do. The above should ensure that we can do so without worrying it’s going to run off midway through the third lesson of the day.

Amy Forrester is an English teacher and director of pastoral care (key stage 4) at Cockermouth School in Cumbria

This article originally appeared in the 18 September 2020 issue under the headline “You’ll be made up with my war paint”