The Powder Room

Liverpool lasses spend longest in the entire country on average getting ready for a big night out, new research has revealed.

The well-groomed women of Merseyside topped a survey for online beauty retailer Escentual.com – with 46 per cent spending more than three hours on average getting dolled up before going out.

TOP 5:
1. Merseyside
2. Nottinghamshire
3. Bedfordshire
4. Oxfordshire
5. Essex

Escentual.com surveyed more than 500 women from across the UK, asking them to reveal how long they spent grooming themselves for a night out.

Top five areas for spending more than three hours preparing were Merseyside (46 per cent); Nottinghamshire (31 per cent); Bedfordshire (25 per cent); Oxfordshire (20 per cent); and - perhaps surprisingly - Essex, which scraped into fifth place with just 12 per cent of women admitting to spending more than three hours getting ready for a night out.

BOTTOM 5:
1.  Humberside
2. West Lothian
3. Clwyd
4. Derbyshire
5. West Midlands

The five areas spending the least amount of time grooming were Humberside, and Susan Boyle’s home town West Lothian in Scotland, where a staggering 75 per cent of women respondents said they spent 15 minutes or less before going out; Clywd, Wales, where 95 per cent of respondents said they spent less than 45 minutes, Derbyshire, (50 per cent less than 45 mins), and West Midlands (37 per cent less than 45 minutes).

A survey by cosmetic clinic, LoveLite, has revealed that lovehandles (excess weight on the hips) are the body part British women feel most self-conscious about.

But problem areas where fat settles and is hard to budge, such as on the stomach, arms and thighs, are also a common complaint of women, whatever their size and shape.

Other areas high on the list of Britain's biggest body hang-ups were saddlebags (where fat sticks to the outer thighs) and muffin tops (where fat creates a slight overhang roll on the stomach).

But the old adage can also be taken quite literally. That is, what you put inside you has a direct and specific effect on how you look.

There are a whole host of delicious foods which will add zing to your skin. Introducing these to your diet is not only easy, but it will do far more than any topical application of cream ever could.

Top nutritionist Amanda Ursell has put together a list of the best beauty-enhancing foods. Says Amanda: 'Research has begun to reveal how vitamins, minerals and super nutrients in food can help from improving skin smoothness to improving skin elasticity and counteracting some of the sun’s ageing damage.

These dreamy skin treats turn the rough into the smooth…

1 Éminence Organic Skincare’s Honeydew Body Lotion leaves your skin feeling silky and smelling fresh. £22: www.theskinsmith.co.uk

Jessica Ennis washboard stomach has sparked a huge increase in tummy fat treatments.

A top Harley Street beauty clinic has seen a 200% increase in treatments for tummy fat removal from women wanting to get a Jessica Ennis washboard stomach.

The Olympic gold medal winning Heptathlete is famous for her taut tummy muscles which have been admired by millions of viewers on the TV coverage of the London 2012 games.