Archive copy by Jenni Baden Howard

‘I just love taking a woman and making her look better,’ she says, ‘whether she’s famous or not.’

Arriving here next month, Brown’s third book, Bobbi Brown Beauty Evolution, A Guide To A Lifetime of Beauty, aims to inspire and inform women of all ages. Co-written with beauty writer Sally Wadyka, Brown set out to produce a book that the reader will “put down feeling better about herself”.

She has succeeded. Page after glossy page is packed with practical but aspirational advice, along with fabulous photographs and the personal reflections of women from all walks of life. It is impressively comprehensive: along with straight-talking, age-appropriate skincare and make-up suggestions, there is a section devoted to beauty during pregnancy and a chapter entitled “Coping With Cancer ... Beautifully”. Brown has included many photographs from her own family archives, such as some of a “day of beauty” she hosted to celebrate a friend’s sixtieth birthday.

‘It’s not what I call an “eyeliner book”, but really a book about life,’ says Brown. ‘Too often, magazines make you feel that if you’re not a socialite or the daughter of a rock star, you don’t count. Anyone can be beautiful, and confidence is more important than how you look. And every decade is unique. Now I’m in my mid-forties, I don’t look like I did when I was thirty five. But I want people to say “you look great for forty five”. Now I’ve done the book, I’m not afraid of my fifties! I’m blessed with good skin, but would I like to be taller and five pounds thinner? Sure. Am I going to obsess about it? No.’

Brown’s client list spans all generations. She has worked with Alicia Silverstone, Minnie Driver, Susan Sarandon, Angelica Houston, Lorraine Bracco of The Sopranos and Oscar nominee Queen Latifah. Fans of her make-up and skincare ranges include Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart, Kirsty Alley, Holly Hunter, Tara Reid and Sharon Stone.

Beauty Evolution doesn’t short change older readers by lumping together those who are in their fifties and over. There are chapters dedicated to the sixties and seventies, and the oldest role model photographed is one hundred and one (and looks fantastic). It’s the sort of book that you want to give your best friend, mother and grandmother.

Don’t, however, expect any hard line advice on holding back the years. While Brown provides a summary of non-surgical, wrinkle-erasing “fixes”, and their pros and cons, she won’t be freezing her own forehead muscles anytime soon.

‘I am anti-Botox. Apart from anything else, it’s just so distracting to see someone whose forehead doesn’t move. All the lines have been taken away, but you still see the other natural signs of ageing on their face. So you end up focusing on the lines around their mouth instead. If you’re going to do it, at least know that it will look like you’ve done it. I make a point now of squinting a lot, so that people can see my lines.’ Not surprisingly, the chapter on plastic surgery includes a section called “Makeup Tips That Are as Good as Surgery”.

‘My goal is to help women be realistic about beauty, and that includes ageing,’ says Brown. ‘I’ve found that the most beautiful women, in all decades, are the ones who are active. Whether it’s walking the dog, gardening, doing yoga or playing tennis, it’s about being fit and healthy. And there are so many other things women can do as they get older in order to look better, from lightening their hair to bleaching their teeth.’

While she passionately believes that “beauty is health”, Brown is the first to admit she isn’t perfect in this respect. ‘I could definitely do with taking my own advice sometimes. My husband drinks water with lemon as soon as he gets up, but I’ve got to have a cappuccino. And I get headaches and feel bad when I haven’t drunk enough water.’

In terms of make-up trends, Brown’s vision for spring is ‘clean, fresh and all about pink’. New additions include a Shimmer Cream Shadow Stick (£15) in Iced Pink, and a Creamy Lip Liner (£13.50) in Petal. An All Over Bronzing Gel SPF 15 (£19) and Beach Body Oil (£19) are coming this summer. ‘It’s a very sheer, glowy, healthy look,’ says Brown, who wielded her brushes for the Matthew Williamson spring/summer and autumn/winter 2003 fashion shows. ‘For next season, we did a very soft look with bright pink lips - like your grandma’s lipstick - which was kind of thrown on rather than precisely applied. Because we kept everything so soft, it looked really great.’

Although Brown won’t be making up any stars for the Oscars this Sunday, she’ll be tuning in to watch her celebrity clients arrive at the Kodak Theatre. ‘That day is hard for actresses, especially now that the media has become so mean about how they look,’ she says. ‘For the make-up artist, it’s like doing wedding make-up: you want people to say “Gosh, she looks great”, but not really different. But things are so much more toned down now, because of the war. People aren’t being as frivolous. It’s definitely a difficult time.’

With Beauty Evolution already on the New York Times’ bestsellers list, Brown can focus on her next big project: the Bobbi Brown University, which will train and nurture the talent of the future. ‘I’m so excited about it, because I love teaching,’ says Brown. ‘My next book will be a text book for that.’

• Bobbi Brown Beauty Evolution (£14.99, Aurum Press), will be available exclusively at Harrods from 1 April, and then at Bobbi Brown counters and book shops nationwide from 17 April. For product inquiries, tel: 01730 232566.