From skin care to choosing a lip colour – make-up can be daunting when faced with all of the options at once. Here are some of the basics to get a natural professional look.

Skin care

This is the most important part of a great look. Drink lots of water (1.5 L – 2 L a day) to ensure your skin stays hydrated and healthy. The three basics of a good skin care routine are: invest in a gentle cleanser, a light moisturizer and a lip conditioner.

Foundation

For smooth looking foundation I recommend using a very sheer liquid foundation, similar to a tinted moisturizer. Apply a closely matched concealer with a soft bristle eye shadow brush only where you need a little extra coverage. I usually set my foundation with a mineral-based powder to help the products stay on.

Bronzer or blush

Both of these products give colour to the skin making it look fresh and healthy. A basic bronzer is one or two shades darker than the skin and should be applied under the cheek bones, under the jaw and in the temples. And a basic blush will be the same tone as your natural lip colour.

Basic eye make-up

Basic shades are one shade lighter or darker than the skin, and after you’ve mastered applying and blending these you can easily move on to more vibrant colours. I always recommend lightly filling in your eyebrows with a colour that matches your hair colour and finish by swiping on a dark brown or black shade of mascara.

Basic lips

You just need a lip pencil that either matches your natural lip or one shade darker. Without lip pencil I find lips look small and undefined. Choose a sheer lipstick that is close to your natural lip colour and just adds a bit brightness or richness to your lips.

Learn some easy tricks the pros use to create a sexy smokey eye look.

1. Make sure you have either an eye shadow base in a dark shade or a smudge-proof eyeliner in either a cream, gel or pencil. Apply the product starting at the lash line and blend upwards towards the crease.

2. Apply a medium-dark to very dark shade of eye shadow on top of the base. Then blend a natural shade into the crease to finish blending it into your skin tone. After those two shades, apply any other colours you feel like wearing like gold, violet, navy or bronze.

3. Apply a black liner mascara and false lashes.

4. The most important thing you can do when trying to get a smokey eye look is to do your eye make-up first. Dark colours often leave a mess on the cheek bone so after the eye makeup is done you can just clean off the mess. When the mess is gone you can do your foundation and create a perfect finish.

Think fake eyelashes is only for the pros? False! With these easy-to-follow steps anyone can apply fake eyelashes, and keep in mind that practice makes perfect:

- Chose something flexible at a medium length.

- For beginners I’d recommend an overlapping fan pattern for the lashes.

- Make sure the eye makeup is completed with liner prior to lash application.

- Paint the band of the lashes black before applying to the eyes.

- Use Duo Adhesive to apply the lashes and use a thin amount, which should be about the same thickness as dental floss.

- Allow the adhesive approximately 12 seconds to become tacky before applying.

- Tilt your head back and keep your eyes open looking into a free standing mirror when applying lashes.

- Start in the outer corner and slowly pat the lashes down moving inwards.

I think eyebrows show more emotion that any other feature on the face. Your surprise, sarcasm and seduction are all portrayed by your eyebrows. Here are some easy do’s and dont’s when maintaining your brows:

- Don’t remove hair from the top of the brows because you’ll lose your arch.

- Don’t have the brows waxed if you use a retinol product because it will remove skin.

- Do ensure that the beginning of the brows start where the nostril lines up with the inner part of the eye. The eyebrow should end where the nostril lines up with the outer part of the eye and the arch or highest part of the brow should be where the nostril and the iris line up. The beginning and the end should also be parallel across.

- Do fill in with a colour that matches the darkest point of your hair using either a matte shadow or a brow pencil. There are also brow mascaras available to keep the hair in place or to highlight the hair. You can also mix and match to see what works best for you.

- Do try and keep the arch strong and solid until the end but keep the beginning soft and wispy.

Those gorgeous movie star red lips have been iconic in beauty for the better part of a century. Stars like Marilyn Monroe, Bettie Paige, Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Scarlet Johansson are known for those classic red lips but red lipstick should not be relegated to just the celebrity world. Anyone can wear red lipstick no matter your make-up skill level.

The choices with the red lip look are endless. There are many shades of reds out there like crimson, red wine, blood, cherry, flame and more. These shades all have the same base but have a variety of tints or tones like blues, browns, burgundy and oranges. You can even get a variety of textures and consistencies like matte, satin or sheer.

Don’t forget the lip liner

The most important part of any red lip is the liner. The liner will give you more control, a cleaner edge and longer wear. For dark lipsticks make sure that the pencil is a bit darker for a more opaque edge. For sheer red lipsticks you can do either a natural liner to promote a soft stained look or pump up the colour with a strong red pencil.

If you’ve never worn red try starting with what I call a ‶beginner red″, which is a soft stain of colour you can wear until you get used to it. I’d recommend MAC Lady Bug Lipstick and a natural liner (depending on your skin tone) like MAC Spice Liner.

Simple tips for perfect red lips:

- Apply the liner first. Take your time and start in the centre using little strokes to ensure the lips are balanced. If you’re not used to pencil start with a natural colour to learn.

- Apply the lipstick with a lip brush to ensure a thin layer for a more natural look and smoother texture.

- Take a step back and look in a mirror to double check that the lips are parallel and straight.

- Feel free to reapply the liner after the lipstick if you need it.

Photo courtesy of:
Makeup Artist Stacey Laureyssens
Model Amy Harper
Photographer Dahlia Katz