Below you’ll find a range of make-up looks designed to suit different occasions and environments, from the office to a dressy evening function.
Natural look
This does not mean going out without make-up – it just means using careful colour choices to enhance what nature has given you.
- Apply moisturizer and conceal any obvious blemishes. If you have good skin, forgo foundation and just sweep over loose powder. If you prefer to wear foundation, apply it with a slightly damp sponge, as this will soften the look and create a dewy sheen. Apply blusher just to the apples of your cheeks.
- Using an eyeshadow brush, sweep a soft pink or tawny-brown (almost blush-coloured) shadow across your lid and in the socket crease. This shouldn’t be solid colour, just a slight brightening of the eye area. The key to the look is to shade only a line around the upper lashes and underneath the outer corner of the eye with a medium-shade eyeshadow. Eyes are a very important part of the natural look; too bare and you’ll appear unmade up, too heavy and it’ll seem like the rest of your make-up is half finished. Smudge this so it’s very soft and apply brown or brown-black mascara.
- Apply a matte lipstick or chubby lip pencil in a shade one darker than your natural lip colour.
Five-minute work look
You’re late – or just fancy a lie-in. But your look needn’t suffer with this speedy shade-up.
- Apply foundation or just dab concealer on any obvious blemishes and to cover any under-eye shadows.
- Sweep a neutral eyeshadow in taupe, beige or dove grey across your eyelid.
- Apply two coats of mascara.
- Apply blusher to the apple of your cheeks to create an instant glow.
- Shade your lips with a chunky lip pencil in a nude or rose-pink shade. This gives you precise lines and long-lasting colour in seconds.
Five-minute work to evening
You can even adapt your super-quick make-up look to take you from desk to dance floor.
- Cleanse your skin and reapply your foundation. Putting new base over old takes longer than starting again.
- Sweep your neutral shadow back over the lid. Now use a sponge applicator to smudge a darker shadow along the top of your upper lid and under your lower lashes. Aim for a soft line. Apply mascara.
- Reapply your blusher to the apples of your cheek. Sculpt up towards your cheekbones to create a more elegant, evening-friendly look.
- Put your neutral pencil on, then add a slick of lip gloss. The sheen adds glamour but doesn’t take the time that perfect evening lip in a dark shade needs.
Sexy party look
Heavy smoky eyes look difficult to achieve, but once you know how, you’ll find that creating a striking party look is no problem at all.
- Apply foundation and loose powder for a flawless matte face.
- Grab a shimmery dark grey, black or bitter-chocolate brown shadow and sweep it across your eyelid.
This will make sure that the focus of your look is your eyes. - Use a soft kohl eyeliner in black and line the whole of your eyes. Don’t worry about being too precise but get as close to the lashes as possible. Use a cotton bud to smudge all the way round – you want soft, blurred eyes, not harsh lines.
- Finish off the eyes with two coats of curling mascara.
- Apply blusher to the apples of your cheeks and then sweep this up into your hairline to give a sexy slant to your cheekbones.
- Apply lipstick. Brave girls should go for bright reds; those who want their eyes to do the talking should stick with soft pinks or nude shades.
Sophisticated style
This look is for day or evening and is most definitely designed to impress.
- Apply blusher-pronounced cheekbones are key to the look. Sweep your blusher up along your cheekbones or, to make them stand out further, just underneath, adding a little highlighter on the cheekbone itself.
- Using a dark neutral colour like grey, brown or black, shade your upper eyelid and the eye crease. Now apply a light shade across the brow bone.
- Sweep liquid eyeliner across your upper eyelid – at night, extend this about two millimetres past the eyelid line in a little flick. This creates a cat’s – eyes look.
- Apply mascara.
- During the day use natural shades for lips that are just one or two tones darker than your unmade-up lips. In the evening go for brighter, more striking tones. Lips need to be perfectly lined and matte, so it really is worth taking your time on them. Remember always to use a lip brush.
