'You feel comfortable in your own skin', Cat Deeley on turning 50, DIY hair dye and the beauty buys in her Ocado shop

It's hard to believe much-loved presenter Cat Deeley has been on our screens for almost 30 years.

From Saturday morning TV with Ant and Dec, to a 15-year stint in Los Angeles (earning five primetime Emmy nominations as the host of So You Think You Can Dance), Cat returned to the UK and has taken up a permanent spot on the This Morning sofa. And, let's be honest, has been serving serious beauty and fashion inspiration ever since.

From Deeley's haircare trio that delivers that signature shine to the eyelash duo behind those long, fluttery lashes, we've left no stone unturned in uncovering her beauty secrets. So when the opportunity to sit down with the new L’Oréal Paris Ambassador arose, we were there faster than you can say 'because we're worth it.'

Our exclusive beauty Q&A with Cat Deeley

You always look so fresh on This Morning - do you have an early morning skincare routine?
"As you get older, your face takes a little bit more time to wake up. So I get up at 5am, and I like a little potter. I like a green juice, a cup of coffee, and then I make sure I'm moisturised. The Revitalift Laser Moisturiser is great for first thing. It plumps, hydrates, but it also gives a lovely base for my makeup. Then I jump in the car at about 6.20, put on some cold eye patches out of the fridge - I like Charlotte Tilbury's - by the time I get to the studio, that's taken care of any puffiness, and I'm good to go."

How does that differ on off-screen days?
"I basically do very little at all. I'll still use a serum and a moisturiser. I do a bit of an eyebrow, and I love an eyelash curler - the Kevyn Aucoin one. I think that really helps. And then that's it. Mum bun in and off I go, probably in yoga gear. If I'm off duty, I'm not going to lie, I'll stay in it all day!"

What products would we always find in your handbag?
"Oh, I love eight-hour cream. You get that great big tube, you can whack it on any dry bits at all. I put it on the backs of my hands as well. I always slather it on, I like it really thick."

Any other daily essentials?
"I use body oils. I like to get out of the shower and then put body oil on while I'm still kind of damp. I get one called Kit and Kin on my Ocado shop, I'm a real high-low girl."

You've really nailed your signature, expensive-looking hair colour - is it high maintenance?
"It's taken me a long time to get here! Preference definitely helps because now I've got greys that I didn't have before. So, in between getting my highlights done, I can use this on my roots. And if I can do it, anybody can. Just use the gloves, wipe down surfaces. I do it when my boys are in bed, so I don't get the call, because then things could get very messy."

How about styling - will you do a full blow-dry routine at home?
"It's so funny because when I was living in LA, I could literally do nothing to it. Because the water is different. I'd go for a swim in my back garden and then split it, tuck the two sides behind either ear and twist it. And I'd sit there in the sun, it would just dry. I can't do that here, but I'm not very good at a blow-dry, so no, I don't do a lot with it in all honesty."

Has your routine changed in other ways since returning to the UK?
"I'm not outside quite as much, I'm not on the beach as much, so I do infrared saunas. I like that feeling, to your bones type of heat. I have to read a magazine to trick myself into staying in there, but I like that. I've done the hyperbaric oxygen as well. which seems to just give you a bit of energy."

Are there any US products you miss?
"There was a mascara that I used to use over there, but I've found the equivalent here - it's called Extensionist. Mascara is my thing, but you don't have to spend a fortune on mascara. And they're always best after you've opened them for a little bit as well."

You have a big birthday this year [Cat turns 50 in October]. Will 50-year-old Cat's beauty routine differ to your 40s or 30s?

"I think there's a certain confidence, you just feel comfortable in your own skin. You know the person you are and how much time you want to allocate to skincare and how much time you want to allocate to friends and family - because they're the people that put the twinkle in your eye. So I think the routine has slimmed down, but the products deliver more."

And how has your attitude to beauty evolved?

"I'm more invested in how I'm feeling as opposed to just what's on the outside. You'd think it would be the opposite, that you'd worry more about the outside because obviously you're ageing, but I actually quite like my face and I quite like who I am.

I think it's a privilege that we get to get older. I know lots of people who haven't had that privilege. Those things that really, really mattered when you were in your twenties really don't. You realise that as you get older, and I think that's something that's very much worth embracing."

Cat Deeley is the latest L’Oréal Paris Ambassador