We can all agree that the fun of getting ready for a night out peaks in your pre-teens, mostly because hitting the local youth club or school disco was a legitimate excuse to go totally over-the-top.

Back then, nothing was too much. “Glitter hair spray? Sure, all over. Temporary colour highlights? I’ll have pink and purple, ta very much. Oh, and I’ll need half a bottle of Charlie Red – the perfume, not the rubbish body spray, obviously.” Nowadays there’s still an arsenal of products involved in getting dolled up for a party, but instead of going wild with the purple eyeshadow, you’ve somehow got to make it look you’ve had no cosmetic help at all. We don’t know about you, but we’re starting to find all that non-touring and faux bedhead hair just a little bit boring.

So to help us recapture some of the nostalgic childhood magic of getting all glammed up, we’re running through three on-trend and fun party looks that are anything but subtle.

Quirky corkscrew curls: Let’s start with corkscrew curls, a look that’s been popping up all over the place on stars like Blake Lively, Pixie Lott and Jess Glynn. Quirky, fun, and insanely pretty, it’s everything your 12-year-old self could have wanted from a hairstyle. For the lowdown on how to get corkscrew curls, we’re looking to the experts at Mark Hill. Their Pick and Mix wand curler has a super small barrel perfect for creating the tight ringlets needed to rock this 80s style. Make sure they survive the night by fixing them in place with a freezehold hairspray.

Sparkling glitter makeup: Finally, glitter is once again acceptable, and there are tons of fresh, modern ways to incorporate it into your night out makeup. Sparkling eyeshadow, under-eye glitter shadows, twinkling brow highlights – you can go as bold or as subtle as you dare. Our favourite product for achieving all-out glitz comes from the very reasonably priced Barry M. Their Glitter Dust pots come in lots of colours (pink and gold are by far the best) and can be used to add a little shine to your eyes, cheeks and collarbone.

Creative nail art: If there’s one thing you can definitely afford to get a little creative with, it’s nail art. All about having fun, it’s loved by teenage girls and designer-clad fashionistas alike. This season’s spring 2017 runways all featured varying different nail looks, from metallic at Phillip Lim to bright, colourful graphics at Jeremy Scott. You don’t even need to fork out for lots of new products. Just grab a few of the nail varnishes lurking in the back of your bathroom cupboard, apply a base coat and use cotton buds to create your own
piece of miniature, nail-sized art.