How I got the best legs of my life over 50 by following 6 simple rules, says beauty guru ROSIE GREEN. They’re so simple. Any woman can do it – veins vanish and my thighs have never looked better

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Some people (I’ll see you in the comments section) think it’s inappropriate to show your legs after a certain age. If 50 comes, if we go to hell after 40, our needles should not be visible in the flesh. They need to go into retirement and spend their days covered in black 80 deniers.

It is true that time takes its toll on legs. Half a century of post has left me with spider veins on my thighs and ankles. Varicose veins appeared out of nowhere and snaked down my calves like malevolent purple worms. Pesky brown pigmentation patches also appeared. And white dots! Nobody warns you about these. Oh yeah, and my skin is thinner, more crepey, and much drier. Shin dandruff is real.

But I still refuse to hide my legs. I’m 51 years old and I still want to take off my legs. That’s what I do too. But it takes work to keep them smooth and (relatively) flawless.

When I saw Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on Strictly Last Saturday night, naked in black mini dresses, showing off her beautiful tanned legs, my first thought was that it was great to see a man of 56 and 53 sticking two fingers into the ‘age appropriate’ pose. The second was to congratulate them because it takes effort and investment to make needles look like theirs after fifty.

But if you’re prepared to put in the time, you’ll be rewarded with the kind of ‘status legs’ that the Duchess of Sussex, Victoria Beckham and Gwynnie have achieved. How exactly do you get these? Here are my six steps. Good news? It’s mostly fake.

1. Prepare your skin

There is nothing revolutionary here; It’s all about consistency. Daily body scrub followed by a cleanser with acid to remove dead skin cells (I love Heal Transformative Body Washfrom £14.25) and a body scrub that does the same job (love Biossance Squalane + Enzyme Sugar Body Peeling£22 at Sephora). Then massage in a really smooth cream (my current tolerance is Uni 24 Hour Body Serum£25). The good thing about being older is that you are less hairy, so fighting the growth is significantly less troublesome and just requires a quick rebuild. Gillette Venus Shaver (£9.99 at Boot).

Rosie Green says you don’t need to cover your legs just because you’re over 50

2. Avoid these foods

Actresses avoid salty foods the night before they bare their legs at awards shows. From where? It can make your body retain water and therefore appear heavier and swollen. Another red carpet trick is to massage your pins with body lotion before the event to keep your skin glowing and plump.

3. Apply (a lot of) fake tan

Strictly stars have been vocal about their love of fake tan as it’s the key to hiding imperfections. The truth is, I couldn’t imagine spreading my legs without a liberal coating. I think you can afford to use a color a few shades darker on your legs than on your face. Before any leg-lengthening event I book spray tanner James Harknett (you can find him on Instagram at: @jamesharknett_tan) the one who nailed that expensive bronze we all desire. It’s got an A-list cast – think Ryan Gosling – and some rules for post-50 nice pins.

If you’re tanning at home, he recommends opting for a moisturizer. Three Warriors Self Tanning Mousse£34.99, applied with a brush (their Beauty Buffing Brush £12). Preferred as finishing layer Bare By Vogue Instant Tanning£18 ‘is ideal for legs and won’t transfer to clothes,’ it says.

For clients in this age category, preparation is key and careful exfoliation is key, says James. This is because skin cell turnover decreases with age and therefore older skin is more likely to suffer from dry patches, and these become patchy when you self-tan. She also says to shave at least 24 hours before tanning and to keep your kneecaps and heels extra moisturized.

When it comes to fake tan, I think you might want to go a few shades darker on the legs than on the face, writes Rosie

4. Invest in body makeup

My make-up artist friend Aimee Adams (who is also Tess’s glamor lady) taught me that layering body make-up over fake tan provides a ‘soft focus effect that blurs blemishes and gives skin a glow.’ Charlotte loves Tilbury’s Supermodel Body Body Highlighter£48 and a brand called Melanie Mills Hollywood Peach Deluxe Gleam Face and Body GlossFind it at birchbox.co.uk for £39.50. ‘They use it on America’s Dancing with the Stars,’ says Aimee. It’s gorgeous but very pigmented.’ She also recommends layering ProBody Glow£29.99, a balm that gives extra shine to limbs. And finally, she suggests using a setting spray (try it) ELF Power Grip Dewy Stabilizer Spray£11 at Boots) to stop any color transfer.

5. Look for tweaks

I went to see a consultant, Mr Kyriakides, to treat the varicose vein running down my calf. London Clinic. He used EVLA (which stands for Endovenus Laser Ablation) heat energy to destroy and collapse it. It’s uncomfortable and requires wearing not-so-sexy support stockings for a week or so, but it means I can now wear a mini dress with confidence. Mr. Kyriakides then performed sclerotherapy on the pesky spider veins; He burst stagnant blood vessels by injecting foam into them. EVLA starts from £3500 and Sclerotherapy from £400.

Rosie tried EVLA and sclerotherapy to tackle stubborn veins on her calf

6. Do leg toning exercises

In my twice-weekly weight sessions, I do some exercises specifically to tone my legs. My trainer, Jodie Brinson, regularly assigns me calf raises, telling me to place my feet on a step, let my heels hang from it, and then stand up on my toes. I need to hold it at the top for 5 seconds and then repeat this 15 times. I do this set three times.

For my inner thighs, Jodie has me do adductor raises and then wide-legged sumo squats with a heavy weight. For quads, I do wall sits – where you stand with your back to the wall, slide down until you’re in a sitting position (but without a chair), and hold it painfully for 45 seconds. Repeat three times.