What I see in the mirror

Left to my own devices, I don't look in the mirror much, but when I'm at work I'm plonked in front of one for an hour each day. It's like Alexander Pope's The Rape Of The Lock - I have nymphs curling, tweezering and painting. I am not very good at it myself, so I love having it done for me. But when I'm off-duty, I like being natural.

I like being known as an English rose: if you're pale-skinned, you get that title. My hair is naturally dark blond, otherwise known as mouse, but it has been every colour under the sun, and had extensions. I went dark to do Ballet Shoes last summer, and then had three days to go back to blond for Silent Witness. In the end I kept it reddish, for a change.

Your face is more about what comes from within than what you can paint on it. I see the map of my life in my face and I love people's lines - my parents have amazing faces, and Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Helen Mirren and Phyllida Law are among the most beautiful women I know. Yet I understand people who resist the ageing process. It's not something I've been tempted to do - my work depends on my face being expressive - and I have a fear of needles, so I'd have to be whacked over the head instead.

A certain amount of vanity goes with acting, because of what people expect you to look like; and you have to look after yourself - particularly your skin, because that's what the camera sees close up. That said, there is an incredible lack of vanity in my family.

· Emilia Fox's latest film, Cashback, is out now