Applying eyeliner can be a tricky business but with a bit of know-how you'll soon have thicker looking lashes and open eyes. Powder eye liner or eye shadow This is the easiest type of liner to start with. Tool tip: Use a fine, stiff flat topped or angled brush. Technique: Just press and wiggle, close to your lash line and work your way across. For a softer look you can just blend. Pencil eyeliners Tool tip: These are best used sharp. Technique: Slightly [...]

Get clever with colour to make your eyes stand out - it's easier than you think... Simply choose a shadow or liner that is opposite (or near opposite) to your natural eye colour in the colour wheel. Brown eyes Blues and greens will draw attention for all the right reasons. If you are a little afraid of colour, just line around the outside of your eyes in blue or green. Blue eyes Warm skin tone  - make your blue eyes blaze with coppers, [...]

Use a primer for the first time and you will see the remarkable difference it makes to the appearance of your skin and make-up. If any of these scenarios ring a bell, then primer will be your holy grail... • Your make-up doesn’t last all day • Make-up slides off as oily skin merges throughout the day • Dry, flaky, even spotty skin is emphasised when wearing foundation • Fine lines and pores become more visible when you apply foundation Primers help to [...]

Applying eyeshadow can be a daunting prospect. Follow these simple tips for perfect peepers every time. GETTING STARTED Your starting point for applying eye shadow should be a clean eyelid base. DON'T apply moisturiser to your lid - this will make your eye shadow crease. DO apply concealer or an eyelid primer to counteract redness. Your eye shadow will be true to colour and last all day. COLOUR APPLICATION LESS IS MORE A simple wash of one eye colour across your lid from [...]

Now that Christmas is upon us be bold and festive with fabulous red lips! This may sound quite scary for some but choose a red to suit your skin tone and you'll be mistletoe ready. 1. Determine your skin tone Go outside into natural daylight and look at the veins on the underside of your wrist. Blue veins = cool undertone Green veins = warm undertone Mix of blue/green = neutral undertone If you're still not sure check your jewellery box... When silver [...]

The older we get the more colour we need to put back into our complexion. Blusher is a great way to give yourself a youthful, healthy pop of colour. Here's my step by step guide to application: Use a dense blush fluffy enough to pick up the pigment and blend out hard edges. Gently sweep your brush over the blush - start with a little amount of colour, you can add more if you need to. Start at the apples of your cheeks - [...]

Mascara really is a desert island product. It brings your face to life and is one of the easiest ways to draw attention to your eyes. There are many effects you can achieve by choosing the correct formula such as volumizing, lengthening, thickening etc. Here are my top applications tips: If you like to curl your lashes do this before applying your mascara. Doing this at the end can damage and break your lashes. Start at the root and hold for about 10 seconds, then [...]

Eyebrows should play a big part in your make up routine. They frame your face giving it dimension and draw attention to your eyes. It’s a good idea to get your eyebrows professionally waxed or threaded. This creates the correct shape and keeps them neat and tidy. Maintaining them at home between treatments is simply a case of removing stray hairs that appear with tweezers. As we age our eyebrows thin out and grey hairs can creep in. To enhance them use a [...]

Contouring really does make a difference to your face and is a simple way to enhance your facial features. Once you have applied your foundation you are left with a blank canvas and you need to add dimensions back in. Contouring is applied where shadows naturally appear. Choose a bronzer, or foundation, a shade or two darker than your base foundation (it should be MATT not shimmery, you don't want to reflect the light). The basic aim is to trace the letter 'E' on [...]

To choose the correct colour concealer you need to turn to the colour wheel. Colours on opposite sides of colour wheel complement and neutralize one another. So to cover under eye circles you need to determine their colour tone first and apply a complementary colour of concealer. Blue tones = peach-based concealer Purple = yellow-based concealer Redness in the skin or blemishes = yellow or green-based concealer You can apply concealer using a small, flat synthetic brush or your fingers are just as [...]